CHAPTER 5
The American Revolution: From Elite Protest to Popular Revolt, 1763–1783
SUMMARY
This chapter covers the years that saw the colonies emerge as an independent nation.
The colonial rebellion began as a protest on the part of the gentry, but military victory
required that thousands of ordinary men and women dedicate themselves to the ideals of
republicanism.
I. STRUCTURE OF COLONIAL SOCIETY
In the period following the Seven Years' War, Americans looked to the future with great
optimism. They were a wealthy, growing, strong, young people.
A. Breakdown of Political Trust
There were suspicions on both sides of the Atlantic that the new king, George III, was attempting
to enlarge his powers by restricting the liberties of his subjects, but the greatest problem between
England and America came down to the question of parliamentary sovereignty. Nearly all
English officials assumed that Parliament must have ultimate authority within the British
Empire.
B. No Taxation Without Representation: The American Perspective
The Americans assumed that their own colonial legislatures were in some ways equal to
Parliament. Since Americans were not represented at all in Parliament, only the colonial
assemblies could tax Americans.
C. Ideas About Power and Virtue
Taxation without representation was not just an economic grievance for the colonists. They had
learned by reading John Locke and the "Commonwealthmen" that all governments try to
encroach upon the people's liberty. If the people remained "virtuous," or alert to their rights and
determined to live free, they would resist "tyranny" at its first appearance.
II. ERODING THE BONDS OF EMPIRE
England left a large, expensive army in America at the end of the French and Indian War.
To support it, England had to raise new revenues.
A. Paying Off the National Debt
In 1764 Parliament passed the Sugar Act, which was clearly designed to raise revenue and not
just regulate trade. Merchants protested, but most American ignored it.
B. Popular Protest
The Stamp Act united the gentry and the mass of the population. The protest spilled into the
streets, and groups of workingmen, organized as the Sons of Liberty, rioted and pressured tax
collectors to resign. Boycotts became popular and allowed women to enter the protest. The more
moderate protestors met at a Stamp Act Congress and petitioned the King and Parliament for
repeal.
C. Failed Attempt to Save the Empire
The American protest coincided with a political crisis in England. A new government took
office, sympathetic to English merchants whose business was hurt by turmoil in America. The
new ministry wanted to repeal the Stamp Act, but dared not appear to be giving in to the
Americans. Repeal was therefore tied to the Declaratory Act of 1766 which claimed that
Parliament was sovereign over America "in all cases whatsoever." While the crisis of 1765 did
not turn into rebellion, the Stamp Act controversy did cause the colonists to look upon
English officials in America as alien representatives of a foreign government.
D. Fueling the Crisis
In 1767, Charles Townshend, chancellor of the exchequer, came up with a new set of taxes on
American imports of paper, lead, glass and tea. Townshend also created the American Board of
Customs Commissioners in order to ensure rigorous collection of the duties. Americans again
resisted. The Sons of Liberty organized a boycott of English goods, and the Massachusetts House
of Representatives sent a circular letter urging the other colonial assemblies to cooperate in
protesting the Townshend Acts. When the English government ordered the Massachusetts
assembly to rescind its letter, ninety-two of the representatives refused, and their defiance
inspired Americans everywhere.
E. Fatal Show of Force
In the midst of the controversy over the Townshend taxes, the English government, in order to
save money, closed many of its frontier posts in America and sent troops to Boston. Their
presence heightened tensions. On March 5, 1770, English soldiers in Boston fired on a mob and
killed five Americans. Just when affairs reached a crisis, the English government changed again.
Lord North headed a new ministry and repealed all of the Townshend taxes except for the duty
on tea, which North retained to demonstrate Parliament's supremacy.
E. Last Days of the Old Order, 1770--1773
Lord North's government did nothing to antagonize the Americans for the next three years, and a
semblance of tranquility characterized public affairs. Customs collectors in America, however,
contributed to bad feelings by extorting bribes and by enforcing the trade acts to the letter, while
radicals such as Samuel Adams still protested that the tax on tea violated American rights.
Adams helped organize committees of correspondence that built up a political structure
independent of the royally established governments.
F. The Final Provocation: The Boston Tea Party
In 1773, Parliament aroused the Americans by passage of the Tea Act. This act, designed to help
the East India Company by making it cheaper for them to sell tea in America, was interpreted by
Americans as a subtle ploy to get them to consume taxed tea. In Boston, in December 1773, a
group of men dumped the tea into the harbor. The English government reacted to the "Tea Party"
with outrage and passed the Coercive Acts, which closed the port of Boston and put the entire
colony under what amounted to martial law. At the same time, Parliament passed the Quebec
Act, establishing an authoritarian government for Canada. The English considered this act in
isolation from American affairs, but the colonists across the continent saw it as final proof that
Parliament was plotting to enslave America. They rallied to support the Boston colonists and
protest the British blockade. The ultimate crisis had now been reached. If Parliament continued
to insist on its supremacy, rebellion was unavoidable. Ben Franklin suggested that Parliament
renounce its claim so that the colonies could remain loyal to the king and thus remain within the
empire. Parliament rejected this advice.
III. STEPS TOWARD INDEPENDENCE
Americans organized their resistance to England by meeting in a continental congress. This
section traces the major events, from the seating of the First Continental Congress in September
1774 to the decision for independence in July 1776.
A. Shots Heard Around the World
On April 19, 1775, a skirmish broke out between Americans and English troops in Lexington,
Massachusetts. The fighting soon spread, and the English were forced to retreat to Boston with
heavy losses.
B. Beginning "The World Over Again"
The Second Continental Congress took charge of the little army that had emerged around Boston
by appointing George Washington commander. The English government decided to crush the
colonists by blockading their ports and hiring mercenary troops from Germany. Royal governors
urged slaves to take up arms against their masters. These actions infuriated the colonists. Thomas
Paine, in his pamphlet Common Sense, pushed them closer to independence by urging Americans
to cut their ties to England. On July 2, 1776, Congress voted for independence, and on July 4,
Congress issued the Declaration of Independence, a statement of principles that still challenges
the people of the world to insist upon their rights as humans.
IV. FIGHTING FOR INDEPENDENCE
In the ensuing war, the English had a better-trained army than did the Americans, but England's
supply line was long, and the English army faced the task not only of occupying terrain, but also
that of crushing the spirit of a whole people.
A. Building a Professional Army
Washington realized that America would eventually win independence if only he could assemble
enough able troops and keep his army intact.
B. Testing the American Will
During July and August 1776, English forces routed the American army on Long Island,
captured New York City, and forced Washington to retreat through New Jersey.
C. "Times That Try Men's Souls"
As Washington's army fled toward Philadelphia, the English military authorities collected
thousands of oaths of allegiance from Americans, many of whom had supported independence.
The cause seemed lost, but Washington rekindled the flame of resistance by capturing two
English outposts in New Jersey, Trenton and Princeton.
D. Victory in a Year of Defeat
In 1777, General John Burgoyne led English forces out of Canada in a drive toward Albany,
New York. Americans interrupted Burgoyne's supply lines and finally forced him to surrender at
Saratoga, New York. General William Howe, who was supposed to help Burgoyne, instead
decided to capture Philadelphia, which he did easily. Washington's discouraged army spent
that miserable winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
E. The French Alliance
France supplied the Americans with arms from the beginning of hostilities. After Saratoga,
England feared an open alliance between France and America and proposed peace. Parliament
offered to repeal all acts passed since 1763, to respect the right of Americans to tax themselves,
and to withdraw all English troops. The Americans, however, preferred full independence and
allied themselves with France in 1778.
F. The Final Campaign
After 1778, the English turned their attention to securing the South. They took Savannah and
Charleston, and in August 1780, routed an American army at Camden, South Carolina.
Washington sent General Nathanael Greene to the South to command American forces, and
Greene's forces defeated English general Lord Cornwallis in several battles. When Cornwallis
took his army to Yorktown, Virginia, for resupply, Washington arranged for the French navy to
blockade Chesapeake Bay while the Continental Army marched rapidly to Yorktown, where
Cornwallis was trapped. He surrendered his entire army on October 19, 1781. The English
government now realized it could not subdue the Americans, and began to negotiate for peace.
V. THE LOYALIST DILEMMA
Americans who had remained openly loyal to the king during the Revolution received poor
treatment from both sides. The English never fully trusted them, and the patriots took away their
property and sometimes imprisoned or executed them. When the war ended, more than one
hundred thousand Loyalists left the United States.
VI. WINNING THE PEACE
Ben Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay negotiated the peace treaty that ended the evolutionary
War. By playing France against England, the Americans managed to secure highly favorable
terms: independence and transfer of all territory east of the Mississippi River, between Canada
and Florida, to the Republic.
VII. CONCLUSION: PRESERVING INDEPENDENCE
The American Revolution was more than armed rebellion against England; it was the beginning
of the construction of a new form of government. The question had yet to be decided whether
this would be a government of the elite or a government of the people.