1763-1775
The French & Indian War Ends
The war was extremely costly for Great Britain.
American colonists were content as English citizens in the New World.
They only sought the “rights of an Englishman.”
Republicanism
In true republicanism spirit, all citizens willingly
give up their private, selfish interests.
They devote themselves to the “common good,”
or the “good of the whole.”
Radical Whigs
Colonists who feared that their liberties would
be taken away by the monarch and his ministers.
Always on guard against corruption in
government.
Mother England
Distance weakens
authority.
Great distance
weakens authority
greatly!
The American Colonies
There were no titled nobility in the
colonies.
Property ownership and political
participation was common.
Mercantilism
Wealth is power and a country’s economic
wealth can be measured in the amount of gold
and silver in its treasury.
EXPORT MORE THAN YOU IMPORT
Colonies - Raw materials
England - reduced need for foreign imports
Navigation Law of 1650
All commerce in and out
of the colonies must be
transported by British
ships.
This included colonial
vessels.
European goods heading
to colonies must first
pass through England for
tariffs
No Hard Money
Gold and Silver were
scarce in the American
Colonies
Gold and Silver are
called hard money
No Hard Money
Colonists used butter, nails, pitch, feathers, etc. for exchange
Colonies issued paper notes, which quickly depreciated in value
Currency Act
English Parliament prohibited colonial legislatures from printing money.
This angered the colonists because there was a shortage of necessary
cash.
Parliament’s Hand In America
The British Crown could
nullify any law passed
by a colonial legislature
Only used 469/8,563
colonial laws
Colonists fiercely
resented this right of
Parliament
Colonial Rebellion
Colonists would disregard or ignore restrictions placed on them by
Parliament.
1st American fortunes came from smuggling
John Hancock
Colonial Advantages
Colonists made a large profit from producing ship parts.
Virginia had a monopoly on the tobacco market in colonies and in Britain.
Colonies were protected by the world’s strongest Navy and Army of
Redcoats.
Feeling Used…
Colonists felt used in the mercantilism system.
Colonists were dependent on British agents and creditors.
ENGLAND
After The Seven Years’ War, England had the largest empire in the world.
They also owed a tremendous debt for protecting its empire.
England’s debt was over L 140,000,000
Half of which was spent defending the American Colonies.
George Grenville
Grenville became Head
of the Treasury
Introduced several
taxes on the American
colonies.
Felt America should
shoulder some of the
costs of the 7 Years’
War
Sugar Act of 1764
Increased tax on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies
Quartering Act of 1765
Required certain colonies to provide food and quarters for British troops.
Stamp Act of 1765
Stamped paper that certified the payment of an appropriate tax
ex. Playing cards, pamphlets, newspapers, diplomas, bills of laden,
marriage licenses.
Grenville
Colonists saw Grenville as an aggressive tax collector.
Some colonies refused to comply with the new laws.
Colonists wondered why the British Army was still needed in the colonies
after the French and Indian War.
“No taxation without
representation.”
This becomes the rallying cry of the colonists who disliked Grenville’s
taxes.
Irony – Not all the colonies allowed representation.
Colonies didn’t want members of the House of Commons – they would be
the minority and the taxes would be passed anyway.
Actual Stamp on Newspapers
The colonists hated the
Stamp Act
Stamp Act Congress of 1765
The Stamp Act Congress met in New York City with 27 delegates
representing 9 colonies.
Drew up a statement of rights and grievances.
Asked King and Parliament to repeal Stamp Act
Their pleas were ignored in England
Non-Importation Agreement
The Stamp Act Congress agreed voluntarily not to purchase imported
goods from Great Britain to show disapproval of the tax.
Widespread success
Taxation without Representation
The Sons of Liberty
The Daughters of Liberty
Took law into their own hands and violently enforced the non-importation
agreement.
Mobs destroyed homes of unpopular officials
TAX COLLECTION BROKE DOWN
Stamp Act Mobs
Mobs forced tax collectors to resign from their posts.
There were no agents left on the day the Stamp Act went into effect.
Law was openly defied!
England Hit Hard
Colonies bought ¼ of British exports
½ British shipping devoted to colonial trade
Non-importation hurt British economy
Many laborers lost jobs in England
Repeal of Stamp Act
The British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1766
BUT passed the Declaratory Act of 1766 – declared its “absolute”
sovereignty over its North American colonies.
Charles Townshend
“Champagne” Charley
British Prime Minister
Could give great
orations in Parliament
while completely drunk!
Townshend Acts of 1767
Light taxes on glass, white lead, paper, paint, and tea.
These were indirect customs taxes at the ports, unlike the Stamp Tax.
However, colonists did not overlook the tax, and they were rebellious after
the Stamp Act victory
Colonists & Teas
1,000,000 colonists
drank tea twice a day
Townshend Acts –
revenue went to pay
royal governors and
judges
Colonists were again
angered
London
Parliament shut down the New York colonial legislature for failure to follow
the Quartering Act
Colonists found that smuggled tea was cheaper
Smuggling was high in Massachusetts
John Hancock
Boston
Because of rebellious
actions of colonies,
Britain sent 2
regiments of troops to
Boston to face the
breakdown of law and
order - 1768
Boston Massacre
March 5, 1770
60 Bostonians attacked 10 British soldiers with clubs
Troops opened fire and killed 11 “innocent” citizens
1st to die – Crispus Attucks – “mullato” African American leader of the mob
King George III
In 1770, King George
III was 32 years old
Good man in private
morals
Bad ruler
Stubborn and lustful
for power
Townshend Acts Fail
The Townshend Acts failed to generate any sort of revenue
However, they did produce near rebellion from the colonists
Lord North – King’s “yes man” repealed the Townshend Acts but kept a 3
pence tax on tea…angered colonists
Samuel Adams
From Boston
Cousin of John Adams
His hands trembled
Lived and breathed
politics
Zealous, courageous,
tenacious, faith in
common people
Adams cont…
Samuel Adams organized local committees of correspondence to spread
resistance to British laws
Virginia followed Adams’ idea in 1773
Soon, every colony had a central exchange system
Tea
By 1773, colonists
were paying the tax on
tea
Legal tea was cheaper
than smuggled tea
Even cheaper than tea
in England
Problems with Tea
The government in London awarded the British East India Company a
monopoly on American colonial tea trade – 1773
This principle of monopoly outraged the colonists
Colonists protested and forced all ships with BEIC tea to return to England
with a full cargo (Philadelphia and New York City)
Gov. Thomas Hutchinson
Governor of Mass.
Hated by colonists
Ordered tea ships not
to clear Boston Harbor
until tea was unloaded
Colonists refused the
ship to unload its cargo
Boston Tea Party
Band of Bostonians
load the ship dressed
as Indians
They smash 342
chests of tea and
dumped it into Boston
Harbor
Hutchinson left MA for
England
Intolerable Acts
Parliament passed a series of acts to punish Boston and Massachusetts
for the acts of the Boston Tea Party and other defiant actions of the
colonists.
Many colonial charter rights were taken away from MA – restrictions on
town meetings
Boston Port Act of 1774
Closed Boston Harbor until damages were paid and order was restored.
Quebec Act of 1774
Boundaries of Quebec
were extended South to
the Ohio River – transAllegheny area was
snatched away from
the colonists.
Continental Congress of 1774
A congress was called to meet in Philadelphia from Sept. 5 – Oct. 26, 1774
Met to consider ways to address their concerns to the King
12/13 colonies – 55 delegates (GA)
Sam Adams, John Adams, George Washington, Patrick Henry
Continental Congress of 1774
This was more of a convention than a Congress
that makes laws.
Congress created The Association – called for a
complete boycott of British goods; nonimportation, non-exportation, and nonconsumption
DELGATES DID NOT CALL FOR INDEPENDENCE
!!!!!
Congress would meet again May 1775
April 1775
British troops were sent to
Lexington and Concord to
seize stores of gunpowder
They were to capture Sam
Adams and John Hancock
8 Americans killed @
Lexington
Redcoats were forced to
retreat from Concord
300 dead British soldiers
The fight for America’s
Independence
War Against A Mighty Empire
7.5 million British citizens
2.5 million American colonists
British Army of 50,000 men
30,000 Hessian mercenaries
50,000 American Loyalists
Indians
130,000 + British troops for the war…
British Parliament
Parliament was
confused and inept
No more William Pitt
Brits didn’t want to kill
American cousins
Some Brits openly
cheered the colonists
British Army In America
British Generals in America were 2 nd rate and untrained
Provisions for troops were scarce, rancid and wormy
One load of biscuits for the troops had been confiscated from French – 15
year old biscuits – a cannon ball dropped on them to soften them up…
Britain
3,000 miles away from home
Delays
Uncertainty
Obvious communications problems
American was HUGE – 1,000 miles X 600 miles
Parliament’s Reaction
Parliament and the King rejected all of the Continental Congress’ petitions
Colonists began to drill openly in the streets with their militias
A clash seemed certain
Lexington and Concord
April 1775 – British troops were sent to Lexington and Concord to seize
stores of gunpowder and capture Sam Adams and John Adams to be
hanged
8 Americans killed and several wounded at Lexington
Redcoats forced to retreat from Concord
300 dead British Redcoats
The American Revolution
War Begins
Great American Leaders
George Washington
Benjamin Franklin
Marquis de Lafayette
Fled from France
because of boredom
Loved glory
Ultimately loved liberty
19 years old when he
became Major General
in American Army
Moral Advantage
They believed the war was a just cause
BUT, they were badly organized for war
Lacked unity, states saw themselves as sovereign
“Continentals” – paper money printed in great quantity – became
worthless