Lesson 7
Strained Relations
that in just a few short years, formerly loyal British
subjects would seek independence through revolution.
After the Glorious Revolution in 1688, Britain
took less interest in the affairs of the American colonies. Despite new laws passed by Parliament to
regulate colonial trade, British authorities seldom
enforced those regulations fearing they might damage the profitable American economy. The weak,
inept, and corrupt leadership displayed by many
royal officials in America allowed colonial assemblies to thrive and assume legislative duties for their
colony, often placing those assemblies at odds with
the government in London. At the same time,
rapid population growth and an expanding economy strengthened ties between the colonies. Yet,
when presented with a plan for a central colonial
government, every assembly rejected it. Their allegiance to the crown was still stronger than their ties
to each other.
By the mid-1750s, conflicts between France
and Great Britain in Europe and North America
began to change the relationship between England
and its American colonies. For almost nine years
during the French and Indian War, British troops
fought the French and their Indian allies in North
America with varying degrees of cooperation from
colonists. When hostilities finally ended in 1763
with the signing of the Peace of Paris, the victorious British found their American empire more than
doubled in size and their debt increased as well.
Defending the new empire had added to Britain’s
financial burden.
Assignment
This lesson is based on information in the following text selections and video. Read the text carefully, watch the video, and study all the material.
Text: Chapter 4 of the text in its entirety is
covered in this lesson.
A. Brinkley, American History: A Survey, Volume 1, 12th edition
A. Brinkley, The Unfinished Nation, Volume 1,
5th edition
Video: Episode 7, “Strained Relations”
Overview
At the dawn of the eighteenth century, most
Americans enjoyed their relationship with the British Empire. Even though the king assumed direct
control of the colonies, Americans largely governed themselves and tended to their own affairs.
America and Great Britain both profited from a
brisk colonial economy fueled in no small part by
lax enforcement of trade laws. Americans viewed
themselves as proud and loyal subjects of the British crown. By the mid 1760s, however, the relationship between the American colonies and the
British government began to deteriorate so rapidly
31
32
T HE UNFINISHED N ATION ( TO 1877)
After 1763 the relationship between Great
Britain and its American colonies steadily deteriorated. Knowing that colonial legislatures had little
inclination to impose taxes themselves, and well
aware that English taxpayers would not accept
additional taxes to support the American colonies,
Parliament decided to reassert its authority over
colonial legislatures and compel colonists to pay
the costs of government. Colonists resented what
they saw as this usurpation of their right to selfgovernment. For more than a decade, Parliament
and the colonies engaged in a struggle of wills,
weakening the ties of Americans to the mother
country but strengthening the ties to each other. In
April 1775 tensions finally reached a critical point
when patriots and British soldiers skirmished at
Concord and Lexington, Massachusetts. Although
few realized it at the time, these “shots heard round
the world” represented the opening battles of the
American Revolution.
Samuel Adams
Albany Plan
Crispus Attucks
Boston Massacre
Continental Congress
Declaratory Act
Fort Necessity
French and Indian War
George III
Intolerable Acts
Lexington and Concord
Mutiny Act
Peace of Paris
Proclamation of 1763
Regulator movement
Sons of Liberty
Stamp Act
Townshend Program
Virginia Resolves
virtual representation
Text Focus Points
Focus Points
Learning Objectives
After reading the assigned pages in the text and
watching the video, you should be able to:
✓ Discuss the relationship between Great Britain
and its North American colonies in the earlyeighteenth century.
✓ Explain the causes and results of the French and
Indian War.
✓ Discuss how the French and Indian War altered
the relationship between Britain and the colonies.
✓ Identify the ways Great Britain attempted to
raise revenue and increase governmental control
in America and how the colonists responded.
✓ Analyze how Americans evolved from loyal British subjects to revolutionaries in just a few short
years.
Key Terms and Concepts
After reading the assigned pages in your text and
watching the video, you should be able to identify
and explain the significance of the following:
These text focus points are the main ideas presented in this section of the textbook. Read these
points carefully before reading the text. You may
want to take notes for future reference and study.
✓ In the early years of the eighteenth century,
despite the implementation of new Navigation
Acts and the inclusion of more colonies under
direct control of the Crown, Great Britain
allowed American colonists vast leeway in controlling their own affairs. Colonies rarely cooperated with each other, viewing themselves as loyal
members of the British Empire.
✓ Beginning in the late 1750s, the French and
Indian War engulfed much of North America,
forcing colonists and English officials to work
closely together. When the war ended, underlying tensions between colonists and the British
Empire became increasingly apparent.
✓ Facing tremendous debt and responsibility for a
greatly expanded empire following the French
and Indian War, British officials realized they
needed new revenues from the colonies, and that
Parliament must become more directly involved
in the governance of the colonies. Americans
resented the new taxes and resisted efforts to
limit their right to self-government.
L ESSON 7: STRAINED R ELATIONS
✓ Soon after the implementation of new colonial
policies in America, leaders emerged to direct
the struggle against what colonists viewed as
unjust taxation and interference in their affairs.
These leaders and the organizations they formed
led the way in encouraging armed action against
Great Britain.
Video Focus Points
These video focus points are designed to help you
understand and get the most out of the video for
this section. Read these points carefully before
watching the video. You may want to take notes
for future reference and study.
✓ In the 1750s most Americans were content in
their relationship with the British government.
Over the next several years, that contentment
turned into armed conflict as assumptions over
the proper balance between imperial authority
and colonial rights clashed.
✓ Until the French and Indian War, colonists felt
closer to Great Britain than to each other. The
war, however, forced colonists to work together
against a common foe and forge bonds with each
other.
✓ After peace finally arrived in 1763, Britain found
itself saddled with a huge debt and responsibility
for a greatly expanded empire in North America.
Parliament realized it must strengthen its
authority and compel Americans to pay more of
the costs of administering the colonies. For their
part, Americans felt their contributions to the
war effort entitled them to equal standing in the
British Empire.
✓ Parliament enacted a series of taxes on trade in
the colonies, each of which met stiff resistance.
Colonists, while conceding the right of the British government to control trade through tariffs
and duties, objected to taxation for revenue purposes. Boycotts on English goods forced Parliament to repeal most of the new duties.
✓ By the 1770s colonial resentment toward Britain
ran high. The Boston Massacre, Tea Act, and
Intolerable Acts further united the colonies in
their resistance to what they viewed as British
tyranny. By 1775 resentment turned to bloodshed when colonists and British soldiers clashed
at Concord and Lexington, Massachusetts in the
first battle of the American Revolution.
33
Critical Analysis
These activities are designed to help you examine
the material in this lesson in greater depth. It may
be necessary for you to conduct some additional
research (the Internet is an excellent resource).
Armed with what you have learned in this lesson
and your own research, carefully respond to each
of the following activities.
1. Write a short essay explaining the need for
change in the imperial relationship between
the mother country and the American colonies
from the perspective of a British official in the
1770s. What are the major issues? Why would
the British official find the American reaction
to new trade policies surprising?
2. From the point of view of a member of the
First Continental Congress, detail the grievances the colonists have with Great Britain. Be
sure to include the arguments of both moderates and radicals. Explain your personal views
as a member of the Congress and why you
have taken such a position.
3. Assume the point of view of a Massachusetts
farmer who has left his farm to join the minutemen and defend the colonies against an
almost certain attack by redcoats. For years
you were a loyal subject, but now revolution is
your goal. What has driven you to take up
arms against Great Britain? What are your fears
and hopes? What do you think the future will
bring?
Practice Quiz
This quiz is designed to give you an idea of how
well you understand the material. Choose the correct answers for each question and review any
question that you missed.
Matching – Match options a through d with items
1 through 4 below.
_____ 1. Creoles
_____ 2. The Iroquois Confederacy
_____ 3. Thomas Gage
34
T HE UNFINISHED N ATION ( TO 1877)
_____ 4. James Otis
a. Called for action against the Stamp Act
b. Commander of the British garrison in Boston
c. Immigrants of French descent
d. A confederation of five Indian tribes
True/False – Determine whether each of the following statements is true or false:
_____ 5. By the mid-eighteenth century, the
British Empire in America had evolved
into a working federal state that
functioned quite well.
_____ 6. The French and Indian War had few, if
any, international repercussions.
_____ 7. American colonists faced a heavier tax
burden than did people living in Britain.
_____ 8. Parliament attempted to pacify the
colonists by repealing most of the
Townshend Duties.
_____ 9. From the outset, delegates to the First
Continental Congress viewed themselves
as representatives of a new government.
Fill in the Blank – Complete the following sentences with the missing word, concept, or person.
10. The _______ were a group of people from the
backcountry of western Pennsylvania who
demanded relief from colonial taxes and protection from Indians.
11. France deeded the western half of Louisiana to
_______ after the French and Indian War.
12. The Sugar Act of 1764 was primarily a tax on
_______ imported from French islands.
13. Britain gave the _______ the right to sell tea
in the colonies without paying the taxes
imposed on local merchants.
14. After the Boston Tea Party, the _______ Act
imposed a conventional royal government in
Massachusetts.
Multiple Choice – Select the correct answer.
15. The Proclamation of 1763
a. was very effective in keeping the peace.
b. allowed settlers to purchase tracts of land at
a reduced price.
c. honored land titles held by planters.
d. was intended to reduce tensions with the
Indians.
16. Which of the following was NOT responsible
for precipitating the Revolutionary War?
a. Divergence between American and British
societies and economies
b. A declaration of hostilities by the First
Continental Congress
c. Parliament’s efforts to take over the affairs
of Massachusetts
d. Growing animosity between Britain and the
colonies
Essay – These questions are designed to help you
think about all you have learned. Consider them
carefully and then write your responses.
17. Analyze the relationship between Great Britain
and the American colonies in the years
between the Glorious Revolution and the outbreak of the French and Indian War. Be sure
to consider the ways in which the colonies
were governed both by colonial legislative
bodies and by Parliament. How did the relationship between Britain and the colonies differ from the relationship the colonies had with
each other?
18. Describe the events and conflicts that eventually led to the French and Indian War. What
were some of the major battles? How did the
Peace of Paris affect the role of Britain, France,
and Spain on the North American continent?
How did the war affect the Iroquois and other
Indian tribes?
19. Discuss the ways Britain tried to re-assert its
imperial authority in the colonies after 1763,
both politically and economically, and how the
colonists responded to what they viewed as
increasing tyranny from the mother country.
How did the new imperialism turn Americans’
loyalties away from Britain and forge a unity
that would eventually allow them to rise in
revolution?
Answer Key
for the Practice Test
Lesson 1 From Days Before Time
1.
2.
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c used numerical system and calendar
e used human sacrifice in religion
a Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, Seminoles
b Bubonic Plague
d Prince Henry
False Text and Video
True Text and Video
True Text
True Text
Pueblo Revolt; Text and Video
Pigs, new livestock, or horse; Text and Video
Mestizo; Text
Matrilineal; Text
Francisco Coronado; Text
e Text and Video
e Text and Video
Lesson 2 – Turbulent Virginia:
Pirate Base ... Royal Colony
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
d Sir George Grenville
c Predestination
a Ireland
b fur trade
e New Amsterdam
False Text and Video
True Text and Video
False Text and Video
True Text and Video
“Starving Time”; Text
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Lord De La Warr; Text
John Rolfe; Text
Headright system; Text and Video
George Calvert; Text
b Text
a Text
Lesson 3 – Saints and Strangers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
e Sir William Berkeley
c Pilgrims
a Massachusetts Bay Company
b Rhode Island
d King Philip’s War
True Text
False Text
True Text
True Text
Puritans; Text and Video
Massachusetts Bay Company; Video
Town Meeting; Video
Anne Hutchinson; Text and Video
a Text and Video
a Text
Lesson 4 – The Lure of Land
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
147
c
a
d
e
b
Maryland
Cromwell
Diversity
Quakers
Pennsylvania
148
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
T HE UNFINISHED N ATION ( TO 1877)
True Video
True Text
False Text
True Video and Text
Oliver Cromwell; Video
Charles II; Video
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Carolina; Video
Women; Video
Puritans; Video
a Video
c Video and Text
Lesson 5 – Coming to America:
A Portrait of Colonial Life
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
d Slave ship
c Galen
a Colonial doctors
b German Palatinates
False Video
True Video
True Video
True Video
Edwin Morgan; Video
Africans; Video
Benjamin Franklin; Video
Scotch-Irish; Text
Slave Codes; Text
d Video
a Video
Lesson 6 – Divergent Paths
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
c Charles Town
d Salem Witch
a Town Meeting
b Colonial Court
e Great Awakening
True Video
True Video
False Video
True Video
George Whitefield; Video and Text
Peter Hasenclever; Text
Axe; Text
Stono Rebellion; Text
Dame Schools; Text
15. a Text
16. b Text
Lesson 7 – Strained Relations
1. c Immigrants of French descent
2. d Confederation of five Indian tribes
3. b Commander of the British garrison in
Boston
4. a Called for action against the Stamp Act
5. True Video
6. False Video
7. False Video
8. True Video
9. False Video
10. Paxton Boys; Text
11. Spain; Video
12. molasses; Video
13. East India Company; Text
14. Massachusetts Government; Video
15. d Video
16. b Video
Lesson 8 – Not Much of a War
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
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15.
16.
d “Common Sense”
a Tories
b Declaration of Independence
c Home rule
e Green Mountain Boys
True Video
True Video
True Video
False Video
Sally Bache; Video
The Battle of Saratoga; Text
France; Text
Benedict Arnold; Text
Count Jean Baptiste de Rochambeau; Text
c Text
c Text
Lesson 9 – A Precarious
Experiment
1. c
Led a rebellion in New England
A NSWER K EY FOR THE P RACTICE T EST
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
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15.
16.
d Basis of the post-Revolution government
b Established the grid system
a Proposed a “continental impost”
False Video
False Text
False Vdeo
True Video
True Video
Connecticut; Text
western lands; text
Statute of Religious Liberty; Text
Fallen Timbers; Video
New Orleans; Video
a Text
c Video
Lesson 10 – Vision for a Nation
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
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11.
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13.
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15.
d Virginia plan
a New Jersey plan
b Slavery
c All power rests in the people
True Video
True Text and Video
False Video
True Video
James Wilson; Video
states; Text and Video
Anti-Federalists, Federalists; Text and Video
Hamilton, Madison, Jay; Text and Video
Rhode Island; Video
d Text
c Text
Lesson 11 – Rivals and Friends
1. c
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Federalist appointed Chief Justice by John
Adams at the end of his presidency
d Vice presidential candidate in 1800
b United States minister to France
a Chief justice of the Supreme Court
True Text
False Video
True Video
False Video
False Video
Pinckney’s; Text
Alexander Hamilton; Text
Quasi War; Video
13.
14.
15.
16.
149
Alien and Sedition; Video
Tammany Society; Text
c Video
a Video
Lesson 12 – Best Laid Plans...
1.
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3.
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5.
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c Louisiana Territory
d Berlin and Milan decrees
b Prophet
a Second Great Awakening
False Video
True Video
False Video
False Video
Spain; Video
$15 million; Video and Text
Sacagawea; Video and Text
Dolly Madison; Video
Andrew Jackson; Video and Text
c Text
d Text
Lesson 13 –Pressures from Within
1.
2.
3.
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5.
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7.
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d Proponent of the American System
c Commander in the Seminole War
a Monroe’s secretary of state
b Proposed an anti-slavery amendment
False Text
True Video
True Video
False Video
Black Belt; Text
John Jacob Astor; Video
Great American Desert; Text
Virginia Dynasty; Video
Panic of 1819; Video
a Text
c Video
Lesson 14: He Brought the People
With Him
1. c
2. a
Adams’ Vice President
Speaker of the House
150
T HE UNFINISHED N ATION ( TO 1877)
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
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b Charles Dickinson
d Jackson’s inauguration
True Video
True Video
True Video
False Video and Text
Martin Van Buren; Text
Margaret Timberlake; Video
Robert Hayne; Text
Dorr Rebellion; Text
“Our Union, next to our liberty, most dear”
“Our Federal Union, It must be
preserved”; Text
14. b Text
15. d Text and Video
Lesson 15 – Legacy of an
Autocratic Ruler
1.
2.
3.
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9.
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c
d
a
b
President of the Bank of the United States
Chief justice of the Supreme Court
Radical Democrats from the Northeast
Sought to capitalize on Anti-Mason
sentiment
True Video
False Video
False Text
True Text
Removal Act; Video
Trail of Tears; Video
Henry Clay; Video
King Andrew I; Video
Panic of 1837; Text
a Text
d Video
Lesson 16: A Revolution of a
Different Sort
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
c Population growth
d Canals
a Erie Canal
b Penny Press
False Text and Video
False Text and Video
False Text and Video
False Text and Video
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Railroads; Video
Factory; Video
Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago; Video
Moses Brown; Video
small workshops; Video
a Text
a Text
Lesson 17: Worlds Apart
1.
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b Godey’s Lady’s Book
c the American Museum
d steel plows
a Mount Holyoke College
False Video
True Text
False Video
True Video
True Text
Irish, free blacks; Text
Catherine Beecher; Video
Oberlin; Text
minstrel show; Text
a Video
c Video
Lesson 18: Master and Slave
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
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15.
d Mrs. Benjamin Perry
c legalized slavery
a Maryland, Delaware, Virginia
b slave rebellion
True Video
False Video
False Video
True Text
Slave women; Video
Slave auction; Video
Christianity; Video
Factor; True
Northern states; Video
d Text
a Text
Lesson 19: Voices of Reform
1. d published the Liberator
A NSWER K EY FOR THE P RACTICE T EST
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
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12.
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c escaped from slavery
b black anti-slavery activist and feminist
a prison reformer
True Text
False Video
True Text
True Video
Hudson River School; Video
Brook Farm; Text
Joseph Smith; Text
temperance; Video
phrenology; Text
a Text
c Video
Lesson 20: Manifest Destiny?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
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11.
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c To govern is to populate
b First legal settlement in Texas
a Alamo
d Spot Resolution
False Video
True Video
True Video
False Video
Californios; Video
slavery; Text and Video
Zachary Taylor; Text, Video
Popular Sovereignty; Text
Gold, John Sutter’s; Text and Video
c Text
b Text
Lesson 21: Decade of Discord
1. a
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
divided Clay’s compromise bill into
individual parts
d supported the “Young America”
movement
a assaulted a Massachusetts senator
b defeated Fillmore and Frémont in 1856
False; Video
True; Video
True; Text
False; Text
False; Video
benevolent diffusion; Video
Personal liberty laws; Text
Ostend Manifesto; Text
151
13. Gadsden Purchase; Video
14. c Text
15. a Video
Lesson 22: House Divided
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
d Abraham Lincoln
c CSA
a Fort Sumter
b Anaconda Plan
True; Video
True; Video and Text
False; Video
False; Video
Benjamin Butler; Video
G. McClellan; Video and Text
R.E. Lee; Video and Text
Line item; Video
90,000–100,000 men; Video
c Video and Text
c Video and Text
Lesson 23: Battle Cry
1.
2.
3.
4.
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6.
7.
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16.
d Last Confederate general to surrender
e Often reluctant to commit troops to battle
b United States secretary of state
a Killed at Shiloh
c American minister to London
False Video
True Text
False Video
False Video
True Video
Monitor, Merrimac; Text
Peninsular Campaign; Text
Antietam; Video
Fredericksburg; Video
b Text
c Video
Lesson 24: Final Stages
1.
2.
3.
4.
d
a
c
b
Vicksburg
Replaced Joseph Hooker
Gettysburg
Chickamauga
152
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
T HE UNFINISHED N ATION ( TO 1877)
False Video and Text
True Video
False Video
False Text
“Grease”; Video
Jeb Stuart; Video and Text
P.G.T. Beauregard; Video
Cold Harbor syndrome; Video
G. McClellan; Video and Text
c Text
b Video
Lesson 25: What Price Freedom
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
d scandal during the Grant administration
c refers to the purchase of Alaska
e required an Ironclad Oath
b response to the Black Codes
a opposed the gold standard
True Text
False Video
True Text
True Text
reuniting the country, emancipation and
freedom; Video
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Freedmen’s Bureau; Video
Fifteenth; Video
sharecropping; Text
Grantism; Text
a Video
d Text
Lesson 26: Tattered Remains
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
d Republican Party
c Perpetual debt
a Atlanta compromise
b Enforcement Acts
True Video
True Video
True Video
True Video
Landowners or merchants; Video and Text
leave in the middle of the night; Video
black women; Video
KKK; Video and Text
Samuel Tilden; Text
c Text
b Video