Road to Revolution
A. Mercantilism
1. Economic belief that wealth could be accumulated if a
country had more exports than imports.
2. Exports would exceed imports if raw materials to
make exports were cheap and markets existed to buy
up the finished goods.
3. Therefore colonies benefitted the mother country by
•
•
•
•
supplying raw materials (tobacco, sugar, ships’ masts)
NOT competing with British made goods (hats, wool)
Buying exported manufactured goods exclusively from GB
Not even thinking about economic self-sufficiency or selfgovernment
4. Navigation Laws
a.
b.
c.
First passed in
1650 to ensure all
trade between
colonies was done
on British vessels.
Later laws made
all goods stop in
GB first so tariffs
could be taken by
middlemen.
Even later, certain
“enumerated”
products like
tobacco sold only
be sold to GB,
even if there was
a better price
offered
elsewhere.
5. Benefits of
Mercantilism
a. Navigation Laws
loosely enforced.
b. Many colonial
industries had
exclusive buyer in GB
(VA tobacco held
monopoly in GB)
c. Colonists had
protection of world’s
strongest armed and
naval forces without
paying for it.
6. Bummers of
Mercantilism
a. Stifled economic
initiative
b. Dependency on
British creditors.
c. Felt like a perpetual
state of economic
adolescence
d. GB Navy started to
strictly enforce
Navigation Acts in
1763 a la PM George
Grenville.
B. Stamp Tax Uproar
1.
French and Indian War expensive
a.
b.
2.
GB in £140 debt
Half of this defending colonies
Prime Minister George Grenville
a.
b.
c.
d.
Thought it would b a good idea to
charge the colonists for their own
defense
GB felt military presence
necessary to prevent another
Pontiac’s Rebellion.
Colonists already mad about
Navigation Laws and Proclamation
of 1763
Here Come the Taxes
i.
ii.
iii.
SUGAR TAX – 1764
QUARTERING ACT – 1765 (had to
provide food and quarters to GB
troops)
But these were nothing compared
to…
3. Stamp Tax – 1765
a. Meant to raise revenue
for new military force
b. Stamps required on
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
Bills of sale
Legal documents
Playing cards
Newspapers
Marriages licenses
c. Tax actually less than
that charged in GB
d.
Colonist Reaction
i.
ii.
Saw these as an affront to
liberty
Especially hated that violators
would be tried in admiralty
courts
•
•
iii.
iv.
Felt that British “protection” was
a front – really there only to spy
on colonists
Cried “no taxation without
representation”
•
•
•
v.
No trial by jury
Guilty until proven innocent
Did not argue Parliament’s power
to pass laws, but to tax
Ok with local gov’ts taxing them.
Did not really want
representation in Parliament as
they would be outvoted every
time…. But it sounded good
though
Grenville asserted that all British
subjects were represented in
Parliament through “virtual
representation”
4. Stamp Act Repeal
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Stamp Act Congress
1765 – 27 delegates from 9
colonies
Drew up petition to have tax
repealed
Ignored, but another step
toward colonial unity
Non-importation Agreements
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
Common colonial action
Stopped buying British made
goods (boycott)
New opportunity for men and
women to participate by
making homemade cloth,
manufactured goods
Boycott hit GB hard
•
•
¼ GBs good bought by colonists
½ of GB shipping for American
trade
John Singleton Copley, Paul Revere (1768)
e. Sons of Liberty
i.
Used violence (tar and
feathers, hanging in
effigy, etc) against
violators of nonimportation
agreements and tax
collectors
ii. Tax agents had all
resigned by the day tax
was to go into effect
f. Parliament relented
and repealed Stamp
Tax in 1766
“Public Punishment for the Excise Man”, 1774
C. Townsend Tea Tax and the Boston Massacre
and Tea Party
1.
Grenville out as GB PM and Charlie
Townsend in.
a.
b.
Passed “Townsend Acts” in 1767
Light tax on lead, glass, paper, paint
and tea.
i.
ii.
c.
d.
Indirect tax
Tax $$ to go towards paying salaries of
royal govs and judges.
1 million colonists drank tea daily.
Smuggling revived - esp in
Massachusetts
GB responds with sending troops to
Boston in 1768.
March 5, 1770 – Boston Massacre
e.
f.
i.
ii.
60 townspeople taunting 10 GB
soldiers
GB opened fire killing 5 – including
Crispus Attucks, first casualty of the
Revolution.
2. Grenville, Townsend and
now Lord North
a.
Townsend Taxes generating
no $ (£295 in one yr when military costs in
colonies were £170,000)
b.
c.
Townsend taxes repealed
but kept tax on tea
Committees of
Correspondence
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
Formed by Samuel Adams
of Massachusetts
Purpose was to spread the
spirit of resistance among
the colonists to keep
opposition alive.
Favored united action –
another step toward
intercolonial unity
precursor to the first
congresses.
3. Boston Tea Party –
1773
a. British East India Co.
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
looking at going bankrupt
had 17 million lbs. of
unsold tea.
GB stood to lose tax $
GB gave Dutch EIC
monopoly in colonies
Tea would now be sold
even cheaper then before
even with tax added on
b. Colonists felt it was a
trick to get colonists to
buy tea
c.
b.
Ships of tea burned, forced
to return or harrassed in
several colonial cities.
Boston – GB official refused
to cower.
i.
ii.
c.
Mass Gov Tom Hutchinson
ordered tea to be unloaded.
Didn’t agree with tax, but
believed in law and order.
Dec. 16, 1773
i.
ii.
iii.
100 Bostonians (disguised as
natives) boarded ships in
harbor and dumped 342
chests of tea into Boston
Harbor.
Colonists reaction split
between support and
disappointment with
destruction of private
property.
Tom Hutchinson disgusted –
left for GB never to return.
1. Intolerable Acts 1774
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
GB wanted to punish
Boston in particular
Boston Port Act – closed
port of Boston until
damages paid
Town meetings restricted
New Quartering Act
imposed
Coincided with Quebec Act
imposed.
i.
ii.
Allowed Catholicism to
continue
Granted Quebec land all
the way south to Ohio
River – more than doubled
their size.
2. First Continental
Congress – 1774
a. Denounced Intolerable
Acts
b. Urged colonies to
organize a militia for
defense purposes
c. Urged colonies not to
trade with GB
d. Urged colonists not to
pay taxes
e. Still swore allegiance to
the King
D. British Strengths and Weaknesses
• 1. Strengths
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
Larger population
Strong currency
Superior navy
20k slaves joined British
9promise of freedom)
50,000 man professional
army
Hired 30,000 Hessian
soldiers
Enlisted 50,000 colonial
“Loyalists” or “Tories”
• 2. Weaknesses
a. 3000 mi away
b. Colonies too large to
occupy
c. British generals were
poor
d. British had to win
outright
e. Many British soldiers
unwilling to fight their
“American cousins”
f. GB Gov’t ineffective
g. France waiting to jump in
and exact revenge on GB
E. Colonial Strengths and Weaknesses
• 1. Strengths
a. Outstanding leadership
(Washington, Franklin)
b. Economic aid from France
at outset, military aid
later
c. Home field advantage
d. Agriculturally seldsustaining
e. Excellent marksmen
f. Moral advantage in belief
in a just cause
• 2. Weaknesses
a. Badly organized and
b. Jealously among colonies
c. Little metal money – led
to paper $ and inflation
d. Military supplies
inadequate
e. Morale undermined by
greedy profiteers.
f. Maybe 1/3 of colonists
were truly committed to
the cause.
F. “Shot Heard around the World”
• 1. Lexington and Concord –
April 1775
a. British sent to L & C to
seize gunpowder and
arrest Sam Adams and
John Hancock.
b. Colonial minutemen
refused to disperse on Lex
Green – someone fired
first shot(?)
c. Brits moved on to
Concord but forced to
retreat
d. By days end, 273 British
casualties, 95 American –
war had started
• 2. 2nd Continental Congress
meets in May 1775 and
selects Geo. Washington as
commander of colonial
militia.
• 3. “Common Sense”
a. Radical Thomas Paine
writes best selling
pamphlet
b. Derides colonists for not
declaring independence
and urges them to do so
and create a republic
c. Catalyst many need to
envision complete break
with GB
• 4. Declaration of Independence
a. Originally drafted by Richard
Henry Lee of Va. On June 7 and
adopted by Congress on July 2
b. “these United Colonies are, and
of right ought to be, free and
independent states.”
c. Congress appointed a
committee of 5 to rewrite the
resolution – actual task fell to
Jefferson.
d. Provided purpose to military
engagement and a boost in
morale to troops
e. Signers now officially seen as
traitors – certain death sentence
if revolution failed.
f. Liberty! Episode 2: Blows Must
Decide 37:15