The American Revolution
Chapter 4
• Shared outrage at the Stamp Act inspired the colonies to
join in unified political action.
• The Sons of Liberty, a collection of loosely organized
protest groups, put pressure on stamp distributors and
British authorities.
• Members of the Sons of Liberty included people from all
ranks of society.
• The leaders however, were mostly middle and upper
class men.
• In 1765, Parliament enacted yet another tax on Americans called the
Stamp Act.
• It required that all valid legal documents, including newspapers,
playing cards, and a variety of other papers, bear a government
stamp for which there was a charge.
• However, the Sugar Act which intended to raise revenue, fell within
Britain’s accepted authority to regulate commerce; the Stamp Act
seemed to be the first internal tax that Parliament had imposed on
the colonies.
• These new restrictions and taxes where a slap in the
face to the Americans.
• The Americans realized that the British were being
unfair.
• The British Constitution was not a single written
document.
• It consisted of the accumulated body of English law and
customs, including acts of Parliament.
• Constitution conflict surfaced early in Massachusetts
over the issue of writs of assistance.
• These general search warrants, which gave customs
officials in America power to inspect virtually any building
suspected of holding smuggled goods, had to be
formally renewed at the accession of a new monarch.
Taxation and the Political
Culture
• The constitutional issue that most strained the bond
between the colonies and the empire was taxation.
• British measures annoyed and disturbed Americans, but
it was an outrage over taxation, the most fundamental
issue- that would be the midwife of American
independence.
• To deprive them of the right to be taxed only by their own
elected representatives was to deny them one of the
most basic rights of Englishmen.
• Response to the Sugar Act was divided.
• By the end of 1764, New York merchants had joined the artisans
and merchants of Boston in a nonimportation movement, an
organized boycott of British manufactured goods.
• Unlike the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act had an equal impact throughout
the colonies, and the response to it was swift and vociferous.
• Newspapers and pamphlets were filled with denunciations of the
supposedly unconstitutional measure, and in taverns everywhere
outraged patrons roundly condemned it.
• Nine colonies sent delegates to the Stamp Act
Congress, which met in New York City in October 1765.
• The adopted the Declaration of Rights and
Grievances, which denied Parliament’s right to tax the
colonies and petitioned unsuccessfully both king and
Parliament to repel the Stamp and Sugar Acts.
• It also declared that the Stamp Act and other taxes
imposed on the colonists without their consent were
unconstitutional.
• In 1766 a law called the Declaratory Act
was passed.
• It accompanied the repeal of the Stamp
Act which stated that Parliament had the
authority to legislate for the colonies “in all
cases whatsoever.”
• Regulators were Vigilante groups who were active in the 1760’s
and 1770’s in the western parts of North and South Carolina.
• Regulators formed in response to corruption and lawlessness.
• The South Carolina Regulators attempted to rid the area of outlaws.
• North Carolina Regulators were more concerned with high taxes
and court costs.
The Townshend Acts
•
Charles Townshend was Prime
Minister of the British government
in 1767.
•
The Townshend Duty Act was
passed by Parliament in 1767…
•
Indirect tax: duties levied on
imports
•
Charles Townshend assumed that
the colonists were willing to accept
new duties or external taxes, but
no internal taxes like the Stamp
Act.
•
Duties were added to colonial tea,
lead, paint, paper, and glass.
American Boycott
• The Townshend duties created
more resistance by colonists.
• John Dickinson, a wealthy
lawyer, used the pen name “A
Farmer in Pennsylvania,” to
write a letter addressing that a
tax was a tax, no matter what
form it took.
Boston Massacre
• On March 5, 1770, the same day a proposal to retract
the Townshend Acts was to go before Parliament, British
soldiers opened fire on American civilians in Boston.
• This became known as the Boston Massacre, which
resulted in months of friction between townspeople and
British soldiers station in the city.
• Boston townspeople complained that British soldiers
insulted them, leered at women, and competed for
already scarce jobs.
• The British revenue schooner, called the Gaspee had been on patrol
in the Narragansett Bay, seizing smugglers, and supposedly
stealing livestock and cutting down farmers’ fruit trees for firewood.
• The Gaspee accidentally ran aground while chasing American
ships.
• Local merchants (Rhode Island colonists) shot the captain and
burned the ship.
• Twelve colonies formed the committees of correspondence in
order to keep American informed about British measures against
them.
Boston Tea Party
•
American enjoyed smuggled (untaxed) Dutch tea, because the British East
India Company, nearly went bankrupt.
•
The Tea Act of 1773 allowed the East India Company to sell through agents
in America without paying the duty usually collected in Britain, therefore
making the tea cheaper.
•
This cut colonial merchants out of the tea trade , because the East India
Company could sell its tea directly to consumers for less.
•
Boston Tea Party occurred on December 16, 1773. in which Bostonians
rebels, dressed as Indians, destroyed15,000 pounds worth of tea that
belonged to the British East India Company in order to not pay taxes on it
Intolerable Acts (1774)
• Angered by the organized destruction of British property, King
George III demanded Parliament pass a series of acts against the
colonists.
– Boston Port Act
– Massachusetts Government Act
– Administration of Justice Act
– Quartering Act
• General Thomas Gage appointed as new governor of
Massachusetts.
– Marital law: rule imposed by military forces.
•
The Boston Port Act closed the port to all incoming and outgoing traffic
until the East India Company and the king had received payment for all the dumped
tea and its duties.
•
The Massachusetts Government Act, modified the colonies
charter providing the king would appoint members to the governor's council and
limited the number of town meetings that could be held without the governors prior
approval.
•
The Administration of Justice Act, declared that an official that
killed a colonist while performing his duties could be tried in England, rather
than in Massachusetts.
•
The Quebec Act enlarged the boundaries of Quebec south to the Ohio
River, provided for trial of civil cases without a jury and recognize the
Catholic Church.
•
Between 1774 and 1775 British and
American hatred grew sparking
public debated and divisions.
•
Just before the American Revolution
the colonist split into two groups; the
Whigs and the Tories.
•
The Whigs were advocates of
colonial rights.
•
The Tories were loyalists in America
who supported the king and
Parliament.
Views of the “Revolution”
•
•
•
•
War of Independence
Civil War (England)
Continuation of the English-French Wars
1st in a series of Democratic Revolutions
Advantages - British
• Population – 11
million to 3 million
• 48,000 well trained
troops when war
started
Advantages - British
Advantages - British
• Largest and Best Navy in the world
Advantages - British
• Extensive Financial Resources
• Loyalist and Indian Support
• Stable government experienced in wars
Advantages - American
• Superior Generals
George
Washington
Nathanael
Greene
Benedict
Arnold
Advantages - American
• Shorter Supply Lines
• Fighting on their own soil
– Know terrain
– Fighting for homes
Advantages - American
• Greater chance for foreign aid
• Did not have to win, only had to avoid
losing
Combatants - British
• British Army
– Regulars enlisted for
life
– Loyalists were used
– Mercenaries (17,000
Hessians)
– Poorly led by
commanders who
purchased promotions
Combatants - American
• Militia
– Served when and
where they wanted
to
Combatants - American
• Continental Army
• In May of 1774, General Gage, commander of all British
military forces in the colonies, arrived in Boston, followed
by the arrival of four regiments of British troops.
• Patriot leaders heard about the plan and sent Paul
Revere and William Dawes to warn all the Americans.
• Congress declared Parliament, is "not to be obeyed,"
and also formed local militia units.
• First Continental Congress was a meeting of 54 delegates from
most of the colonies held in September 1774 in response to the
Intolerable Acts.
• The First Continental Congress also adopted the Declaration of
Rights and Grievances, and agreed to establish the Continental
Association.
• The Continental Association cut off trade with Britain until the
objectionable measures had been repealed.
• In February of 1775, Massachusetts
began preparations for a state of war.
• The English Parliament then declared
Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion.
No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the
very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different
men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it
will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do
opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my
sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The
questing before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my
own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery;
and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of
the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill
the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep
back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should
consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of
disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly
kings.
Mr. President, it is natural to man to
indulge in the illusions of hope. We
are apt to shut our eyes against a
painful truth, and listen to the song of
that siren till she transforms us into
beasts. Is this the part of wise men,
engaged in a great and arduous
struggle for liberty? Are we disposed
to be of the number of those who,
having eyes, see not, and, having
ears, hear not, the things which so
nearly concern their temporal
salvation? For my part, whatever
anguish of spirit it may cost, I am
willing to know the whole truth; to
know the worst, and to provide for it.
I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no
way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there
has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with
which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious
smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to
your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious
reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and
darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we
shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love?
Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last
arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its
purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for
it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of
navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no
other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have
been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we
have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject?
Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in
vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have
not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have
done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have
petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before
the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and
Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional
violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with
contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope
of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free-- if we
mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long
contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so
long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object
of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms
and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!
• They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so
formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it
be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are
totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in
every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and
inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by
lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom
of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?
Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means
which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions
of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a
country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force
which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall
not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides
over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to
fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone;
it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have
no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too
late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in
submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking
may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable-and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.
• It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter.
Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is
no peace. The war is actually begun! The next
gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our
ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren
are already in the field! Why stand we here idle?
What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they
have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to
be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?
Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course
others may take; but as for me,
give me liberty or give me death!
Battles – Northern Theater
1775-1778
• Lexington & Concord (Revere, Dawes &
Prescott)
• Revere reached Lexington by midnight and warned the people that
the “British were coming.”
• He and Dawes and third man, Dr. Samuel Prescott, then set out to
Concord. A British patrol stopped Revere and Dawes, but Prescott
got through in time to warn Concord.
• On April 19, British troops arrived in Lexington and spotted some 70
minutemen lined up on the village green. Then…the “shot heard
around the world” happened.
• The Battle of Lexington lasted only 15 minutes!
• The British then headed to Concord, but when they arrived, they
found that most of the military supplies had been removed. When
they tried to cross the North Bridge on the far side of town, they ran
into some 3,000-4,000 colonial militia. A fight broke out, forcing the
British to retreat.
Second Continental Congress
• Three weeks after the battles of Lexington
and Concord, the Second Continental
Congress met in Philadelphia.
– Voted to adopt the militia army surrounding
Boston, and called it the Continental Army.
– Congress appointed George Washington as
general and commander in chief of the new
army.
Battles – Northern Theater
1775-1778
• Fort Ticonderoga
Battles – Northern Theater
• Fort Ticonderoga
Battles – Northern Theater
•
•
•
•
Fort Ticonderoga
Strategic for its large # of artillery pieces
Benedict Arnold, Ethan Allen
Henry Knox
• At the outset of the American Revolution a small
company of British soldiers still manned the Fort.
On May 10, 1775, Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold,
and the Green Mountain Boys crossed Lake
Champlain from Vermont and at dawn surprised
and captured the sleeping garrison. This was the
first American victory of the Revolutionary War.
From then until July 1777, Fort Ticonderoga
served as an important staging area for the
American Army while invading Canada and
holding the territory against the British forces.
Northern Theater
• Battle of Breed’s Hill
Battle of Bunker Hill
• Actually occurred on Breed’s Hill
• General Gage sent 2,200 of his troops to take
the hill.
• When the British closed in within 50 yards, the
Americans took aim and fired. They fought back
two British advances and were forced to retreat
only after running out of ammunition.
Olive Branch Petition
• July 8, 1775
• Congress sent King George III the “Olive Branch Petition”, urging
him to return to “the former harmony” between Britain and the
colonies.
• King George rejected the petition and declared the colonies in
rebellion; Ordered Parliament to set up a naval blockage on the
American coast.
Patriots Declare Independence
• Common Sense, written by Thomas
Paine.
– Anonymous, 47 page essay published as a
pamphlet.
– Around 500,000 copies were sold
Declaring Independence
•
Declaration of Independence
– Written by Virginia lawyer,
Thomas Jefferson
– Concepts came form English
philosopher, John Locke
– Locke believed people should
enjoy “natural rights” to life,
liberty, and property.
– July 2, 1776: a
unanimous vote by the
delegates for freedom in the
colonies.
– July 4, 1776:
Declaration of Independence
was adopted.
Northern Theater
• Invasion of Canada
– Arnold and Montgomery
Northern Theater
Trenton (Hessian Commander Colonel Johann
Rall v. Washington at Trenton)
• Crossing the Delaware
• Importance of Spy
• Surprise Attack and Surrender
• Importance of Victory
Northern Theater
• Princeton (Gen. Charles Cornwallis v.
Washington)
• Washington Flees British
• Washington Stops Retreat at Princeton
• Importance of These Battles
Burgoyne’s Campaign
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Saratoga
General Burgoyne
Burgoyne's Campaign down from Canada
Burgoyne's Plan to Meet Gen. Barry St. Leger
and Howe at Albany
St. Leger's Defeat at Oriskany and Hessian
Defeat at Bennington
American Rifleman under Daniel Morgan
Benedict Arnold's Role
Burgoyne's Surrender
• The Battle of Saratoga
– Turning point of the war
– Improved American morale and also convinced
France to commit troop to the American cause.
– On February 6, 1778, the Unite States signed its first
of two treaties.
• One with France being the first to recognize the
United States as being an independent nation.
• Two making the United States and France allies.
Burgoyne’s Campaign
Southern Theater
• British aim was to go south where they
had more Loyalist support.
• Capture Charleston and invade S.C.
Southern Theater
• Lord Cornwallis takes
command
• Banastre Tarleton
Southern Theater
• Waxhaws
Southern Theater
• After defeating American and French troops trying to take
Savannah, General Clinton attacked Charles Town, SC.
• Nearly, 14,000 British troops surrounded the city, trapping American
forces.
• May 12, 1980, American forces surrendered and about 5, 500
American troops were taken to prison.
• Clinton returned to New York, leaving General Charles Cornwallis in
command.
• The Continental
Congress then sent
General Horatio Gates,
the hero at Saratoga, to
defend SC.
• Gates tried to destroy the
British supply base at
Camden, SC, but failed
and ran away.
Southern Theater
• King’s Mountain
• Patrick Ferguson (led the loyalists) tried to
subdue the people living in the
Appalachian Mountains.
• Angered by his tactics the “over mountain”
men, put together a militia force and
intercepted Ferguson at Kings Mountain
on October 7, 1780, and destroyed im
army.
Cowpens
• Daniel Morgan vs.
Banastre Tarleton
Yorktown
• Cornwallis retreats to safety on Yorktown
Peninsula
• Greene Follows
• Washington Marches down from New
Jersey
• Comte de Rochambeau
• French Navy
Peace of Paris
• Peace negotiations held in Paris
• Americans demanded their independence
• November 30, 1782 a preliminary AngloAmerican Treaty of peace was signed.
• Final draft = Peace of Paris, signed
September 3, 1783.
– United States got everything, but Canada
– Britain acknowledged the United Sates as
“free, sovereign and independent.”
Components of Success
• December 1783, last of British troops left New
York.
• French assistance played a crucial role in the
American’s victory.
• 175,000-200,000 troops – Continentals and
militia helps prevent Great Britain from
recovering the colonies.
• Casualty rate was 30-40%
Women’s War
• Women assumed a more
public role due to the war.
• Some nursed wounded
soldiers
• Some wove new uniforms
• Ladies’ Association of
Philadelphia was
established in 1781.
Effects on African American and
Native Americans
• In the North…
– Slavery had become economically marginal
– Black men could join the Continental army
– Revolutionary War brought an end to slavery
(although it still existed for a period of time
after the war)
• In the South…
– Slavery remained an important part of the
economy.
• 13,000 Native Americans fought with the
British.
• Native Americans paid a high price for
helping the British in the war.
– Lands were constantly invaded and ravaged