Unit 4 Revolutions
American Revolution
Middle 1700’s
• Drains on government treasury
– French and Indian War—1756-1763
– Seven Years War—1756-1763
• 13 colonies existed for the benefit of the Mother
Country—Britain
• England/Britain provided protection for the colonies
• Mercantilism
• *(England had been through it’s own Revolution in the
1600’s—Puritan Revolution/English Civil War 1640’s &
1650’s and the Glorious Revolution 1688-1689—
confirmed Parliament, rule by written law, and wrote the
English Bill of Rights)
British policies in the West
• British policies undermined the Amerindian
economy provoking Indian raids in Pennsylvania
and Virginia
• The raids were suppressed within a year
• Fear of more violence forced Britain to:
– Proclamation of 1763—placed limits on westward
expansion
– Quebec Act of 1774—slowed settlement east of the
Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River
American Revolution 1775-1800
• Frontiers and Taxes
– British government faced two problems in
North American after 1763
• The danger of war with the Indians as Colonists
pushed west of the Appalachians and a rivalry with
France
• The need to raise taxes from the Colonists to help
pay for the increasing cost of war—both
administration and defense
– British attempt to tax or prevent westward
expansion provoked the Colonists to protest
British Attempts to Raise Revenue
• British tried to raise money through taxes and
commercial regulations
– Sugar Act
– Stamp Act—tax on written documents, paper, cards, deeds, wills
• Colonists protested and Parliament repealed the tax
– Townshend Act—tax on all imports and exports, glass, metal,
etc.
– Tea Act—Colonists protested violently, Boston Tea Party,
monopoly on tea for British East India Co.
• Boston Massacre—5 American civilians killed
– Intolerable Acts—series of acts, closed the port of Boston,
required Colonists to house British soldiers, etc.—refusal would
get one sent to England for trial
British Advantages
• Numbers—more soldiers
• Manufactured goods
– Weapons, ammo, clothing
• More money—large treasury
• Experienced, well-trained army
Colonial Advantages
• Fighting at Home—knew the lay of the
land
• Fighting for a cause—motivated &
determined
– Independence
– Protecting homes and families
• Aided by the French
• Strong leaders—George Washington, had
previously fought with British
Course of Revolution 1775-1783
• Colonial governing bodies established a
Continental Congress that printed
currency and organized an army
• Ideological rhetoric for support
– Thousands of street-corner speakers
– Thomas Paine—Common Sense
– Declaration of Independence
Course of Revolution 1775-1783
cont’d.
• British forces were sent to colonies
– British forces won most battles, but were
unable to control countryside
– British forces also unable to achieve a political
compromise to the solution of the colonial
problems
• Native Americans served both sides—
British and Colonies
– Mohawk leader fled to Canada when war was
over
Course of Revolution 1775-1783
cont’d.
• France entered the war in 1778
• Assisted American forces including Naval
Warfare that helped General Washington
defeat General Cornwallis
• Treaty of Paris in 1783 ended the war
granting unconditional independence to
the colonies
Prelude to Revolutions
• Rivalry among European powers intensified in the 1600
and 1700’s—growing competition
• Piracy was growing on the seas
• Dutch attacked Spanish and Portuguese ships
• British placed the Dutch in check
• British defeated the French in the Seven Years’ War
1756-1763 taking over French colonial possessions in
the Americas and India
• Competition and war led to unprecedented costs
– European governments were being forced to seek new sources
of revenue while at the same time, the Enlightenment was
inspiring people to question the government
Enlightenment
• Enlightened thinkers sought to apply
methods of the Scientific Revolution to the
study of Human Society—social studies
Enlightened Thinkers
• John Locke
– Argued governments were created to protect
people
– Emphasized importance of individual rights
• Jean Jacques Rousseau
– Argued the will of the people was sacred
• Voltaire
– Argued monarchs could be agents of
change—not a radical or revolutionary per se
Enlightened Thinkers cont’d.
• Some nobility patronized enlightened
thinkers
– Catherine the Great (Russia) & Frederick the
Great (Prussia) used Enlightened ideas to
reform bureaucracies, legal systems, tax
systems, & economies BUT, suppressed
ideas that promoted republicanism or
attacked religion
Enlightened Communication
• Enlightened intellectuals communicated
with political leaders
– Women were instrumental through
dissemination, purchase and discussion of
writings, and making homes a salon for
gathering of the minds
• Enlightened ideas became popular with
the growing Middle Class in Europe and
the Western Hemisphere
Enlightened Communication
• Many saw the Americas as a new, uncorrupted
place where the ideas would have a chance
• Benjamin Franklin
– Came to symbolize natural genius and vast potential
of the America
– His success in business, scientific and intellectual
accomplishments, and political career offered proof
that in a free society without chains such as America,
that genius could thrive
Folk Culture and Popular Protest
• Most Westerners did not share Enlightened ideas
• Most common people were remaining loyal to preindustrial tradition
• As monarchs tried to change tradition with increases in
authority and power—such as through tax collection—
common people began to protest
• Protests were aimed to restore custom and tradition, not
bring about revolution
• When combined with conflicts within the Elite, potential
for revolution grew