Chapter 3
America in the British Empire
I. America in the British Empire
A. Colonies varied and took generations for a "unified" tradition to emerge.
B. Likewise, the English crown did not create a centralized government in the American colonies
due to colonial difference and apparent lack of cohesion.
C. Early British policies allowed the colonist great latitude in economic, political, and religious
practices.
II. British Colonial System - Early Salutary Neglect?
A.
Though many colonists left England to flee oppression, many still wanted to create an old
world culture as the goals of the ruler and the ruled were similar.
B. Early in the colonies, English authority was not seriously questioned, but English
authority was less in the colonies compared to England.
C. By the 18th century all colonies had governors that maintained authority but had
to work with colonial assemblies for various support.
D. All colonies had a two house legislature, except for Pennsylvania.
E. Upper house was reserved for royal members (except Massachusetts General
Court which chose members) while the royal governor selected judges.
F. The Lower House was less powerful in theory, but had power to set the governor's
salary and represented popular opinion of the colonist.
G. Up and down the eastern seaboard, colonial legislators were biased to their own
needs as they tried to erode the authority of the Crown and expand their
advantage.
H. Royal governors had a difficult task due to distance, little leverage, minority
position, and unrealistic expectations from the crown.
I. Royal Governors could be removed at the whim of the King, and the turnover of
royal governors assisted the colonist in gaining greater control over their
destinies. English law was used, but colonial juries had the final say.
J. The decentralized authority over the Colonies was the Privy Council and met on
an ad hoc basis. Different decision applied to different colonies. The Privy
Council also dealt with army, navy, treasury, appeals court, and shipping.
K. Parliamentary legislation was seldom directed at North American Colonies.
Dictates were blanketed over the entire empire until just before the Revolution.
L. British attempted to control the Colonies from time to time. James II created the
Lords of Trade in 1680, but James was removed by the Glorious Revolution.
M. Similar to the failed Lords of Trade was the creation of the Board of Trade in
1696. It nominated royal governors, disallowed colonial laws, and passed laws.
Their recommendations were followed by the Privy Council and the King.
N. The Colonies sent some agents to England, like Benjamin Franklin, to negotiate
and lobby in parliament and to the King. However, these had little impact.
O. England had no real central authority, and the colonist largely enjoyed relative
autonomy over their affairs, which leads to our current federal system with large
amounts of sovereignty given to states.
III. Mercantilism
A.
This theory states the colonies existed to supply the Mother Country with raw goods that
could not be produced at home, to purchase the Mother Country's goods with gold or silver, and
to allow themselves to be exploited in any way for the benefit of the home country (England).
B. Theory of Mercantilism was later defined by Adam Smith the father of
Capitalism Wealth of Nations 1776.
C. The Board of Trade regulated both colonial laws and economic policies.
D. This favorable trade of exports exceed imports was profitable and could be
regulated with tariffs and acts.
E. North American Colonies initially were not as valuable as the Caribbean sugar
production.
F. Colonists violated mercantilism.
IV. The Navigation Acts
A.
These measures passed by Parliament in 1651, 1660, 1663, and 1696 - They upheld
England mercantilistic policies towards the colonies. These acts forbid trade with any other
country except England. Especially not the Dutch!
B. English goal to fill the Royal Treasury, develop imperial merchant fleet, channel
the flow of colonial raw materials into England, and to keep foreign goods and
vessels out of colonial ports.
C. Regulations were often ignored - p.73.
D. All shipping was via England.
E. These acts did little to stop colonial industry:
1. Woolens Act 1699.
2. Hat Act 1732.
3. Molasses Act 1733.
4. Iron Act 1750.
V. Effects of Mercantilism
A.
Kept the Colonies in the role of supplying raw materials.
B. Growth of Colonies created conflict with mercantilism.
C. Colonial specie was used to pay debts that had less value and created
indebtedness to England.
D. There was no market in England for wheat, corn, and fish.
E. By contrast, shipbuilding in New England was profitable.
F. Regarding Mercantilistic policies, the colonist almost always lost out. Parliament
and Board of Trade always favored England.
G. Mercantilistic limitations were actually lessened by inept, corrupt, and cynical tax
collectors, royal governors and customs agents.
H. Smuggling was an accepted practice.
I. Tobacco interests suffered from mercantilism because the Chesapeake area
produced more tobacco than England could consume.
J. Rise of Salutary Neglect, that is, looking the other way when colonists violated
the spirit or even the letter of English laws.
K. Colonist were predisposed to working with the English due to their common
heritage and culture.
VI. The Great Awakening
A.
A unique and unifying element for all the colonies and one of the variables that led to the
rise of Americanism.
B. Throughout the eastern seaboard religious fervor had declined. New England had
the Halfway Covenant. In South Carolina, most Anglican area only a minority
attended church.
C. Frontier families were beyond the reach of the church.
D. Due to the Great Awakening, a dramatic shift occurred by the 1740s, originating
in the Middle Colonies.
E. William Tenant, a Presbyterian minister, was driven to put an Evangelical zeal
into Pennsylvania and New Jersey religion. Also, his son Gilbert Tenant wanted
to subvert traditional churches via revivalism.
F. George Whitefield originally from Georgia made emotional pleas to crowds all
the way to Massachusetts,19,000 gathered to hear him in Boston; they requested
money and received plenty.
G. Hellfire and brimstone sermons usually took place outside because established
clergy would not turn over the pulpit.
H. Less intellectual sermons - Ministers began to preach damnation and salvation.
I. More Egalitarians? The Great Awakening undermined the established church and
offered religion to all. Even the frontier was included as circuit riders spread the
word of God to log cabins.
J. Factions in churches "Old Sides" or "Old Lights" like Alexander Gardner, who
favored more traditional worship. "New Sides" or "New Lights" favored
revivalism as evidenced by Tenants and Whitefield. People realized disobedience
to authority did not guarantee damnation.
K. Yale criticized the Great Awakening and educational reform from the New
Lights went about proving evangelicalism could produce education and value.
Princeton in New Jersey New Light Presbyterians , Brown in Rhode IslandBaptist, Dartmouth and the New Lights Congregationalist, and Rutgers Dutch
Reformers.
VII. The Rise and Fall of Jonathan Edwards
A.
Yale graduate - Started open enrollment in church.
B. We are "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.," according to his famous speech.
C. Salvation was not predestined, but was determined by behavior.
D. Those not born again would suffer a terrible fate. Attendees were motivated to
join and follow or, in one case, take their life - Joseph Hawley.
E. Edwards was poised to be president of Princeton when he died of small pox.
F. The Great Awakening exerted dramatic impacts upon all the colonies except the
religion-starved south.
G. Greater religious tolerance and pluralism was an outcome.
H. Created a common link among all colonies - Later, Franklin's Albany Plan will try
to create a link for the defense against Indians - fails.
VIII. The Enlightenment in America
A.
A dramatic impact on America - Excitements of great discoveries - Galileo and Newton
B. Discoveries in the natural world catalyze new ideas in religion and government.
C. Deism: God was an overseer, like a watchmaker. Did not involve himself in all
affairs of man. - God was the technician of our world but left the operation of the
world to man's reasoning. God's revelations directed man, but man's destiny is
controlled by reason and learning.
D. The Age of Reason.
E. Many educated church members left orthodox churches and formed the Unitarian
church or followed Deism.
F. Writings of John Locke reflect the Enlightenment - Second Treatise of
Government.
G. French philosophers Montesquieu and Voltaire questioned religious and political
corruption.
H. New European publications reached the colonies in only a month.
I. Ivy League Schools were graduating a minority of clergy, a shift to more lawyers
and physicians
J. Franklin's Junto club (later the American Philosophical Society) discussed "any
point of morals, politics, or natural philosophy."
IX. Colonial Scientific Achievements
A.
John Batram - Native American Culture.
B. John Winthrop (descendant of Massachusetts Bay leader) astronomy and math.
C. David Rittenhouse - Astronomy.
D. Ben Franklin: electricity, heating, circulating library, satirism.
E. Thomas Jefferson-Political thinker, not a Locke (but later a practitioner.)
X. Other Peoples' Wars
A.
The North American Colonies were minor pawns in the contests for power between the
British, French, and Spanish empires.
B. The huge region of the new world was frequently the site for declared and
undeclared wars of the European empires.
C. Competition with French for resources led to conflict concerning fishing rights in
the North Atlantic and fur trade in the wilderness areas.
D. Conflict over the fur trade was significant. The five nations of the Iroquois were
fighting the French and other Indian nations as early as 1609.
E. Iroquois allied with the Dutch and traded at New Amsterdam - went as far west as
Michigan.
F. Entering the 18th century, European conflict shifted to England and France. Three
minor conflicts:
1. King Williams War 1689-1697 - minor role played by colonist- French
attacked New York and New England settlements - Colonial forces
captured - Port Royal Nova Scotia,
2. Queen Anne's War 1702-1713 - French Inspired Abenaki Indians to attack
Deerfield Mass. -Colonists retook Port Royal and due to their victory,
France yielded Nova Scotia, Hudson Bay area, and Newfoundland to
England in the Treaty of Utrecht 1713.
3. 1740-1748 King George's War - Typical Indian attacks and skirmishes on
the frontiers. New Englanders took ports on the St. Lawrence River but
were forced to return them.
G. Blame for the conflicts was not placed on the British Crown but rather the
troublesome French. After all, the French claimed the Ohio valley as their
own, and used it for the fur trade (much to the chagrin of the colonist).
XI. The Great War for the Empire
A.
French Indian War: 1754-1763 or Seven Years War in Europe
B. The French control of the fur trade led to a broad and elaborate system of posts
and Indian Alliances. When American Colonies tried to penetrate the Ohio Valley
to access the fur trade of the Virginia Land Company, the French attacked
preemptively.
C. The French then made a series of forts to protect their interests and cut off
colonial advances.
D. Young George Washington was sent to warn the French of their trespass. The
French were militant.
E. Washington was sent to make a fort at the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers,
but reconnaissance showed that the French had already created a fort (Duqesne)
and they were outnumbered. - Washington pressed on, routed a recon. patrol, and
retreated under the French counterattack to Fort Necessity. A military blunder and
Washington was humiliated as he was forced to sign papers of surrender and was
released - He returned a hero(?)
F. Most Indians allied with the French and used this as an opportunity to avenge 150
years of domination. Used guerrilla tactics and extreme brutality against
settlements. Braddock set prices on scalps: 5 £ for French and 200£ for the
Delaware Chief.
G. Braddock was defeated by a French ambush attempting to gain fort Duqesne.
Washington and 500 were the only survivors of a force of 1400. More military
failures at Ft. Niagara and Montreal.
H. England was facing defeats in Europe as well, and George II appointed an
controversial figure as the leader of the war effort.
I. Pitt was questionable in his mental stability but was brilliant as a military leader
and possessed remarkable foresight.
J. Pitt knew the value of North America and the urgency of his mission. He created
huge deficits and emptied treasuries to hire soldiers and buy equipment.
K. He used the British Navy to cut communication and supply lines.
L. Pitt recognized military talent and advanced promising young officers: James
Wolfe , general at 31, and Jeffery Amherst, naval commander of the blockade.
M. Pitt prepared, supplied, and attacked with fine strategies - took Fort Duqesne later renamed Pittsburgh. Attacked at Fort Niagara. Then in Quebec 1759, Wolfe
defeated Marquis De Montclaim on the Plains of Abraham. Finally, the Battle of
Montreal and the Peace of Paris.
XII. The Peace of Paris
A.
North American interests of the French were largely given to England.
B. The British soldiers fought most of the war and paid most of the cost.
C. British generals called the colonist "the worst soldiers in the Universe" and the
"most contemptible cowardly dogs one could conceive"- Colonists only wanted to
defend their homes and grab prized territory.
D. The colonists were pleased with the efforts of George the II and the British Army
- Great celebrations and praise erupted, and the Colonist seemed pleased with the
British policy of royal protection, mercantilism and salutary neglect.
XIII. Putting the Empire Right
A.
Changes between 1754-1763 need to be addressed:
1. Larger region to administer.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
2. Large war debts required payment.
3. The global British Empire had to be financed and the people of England
would not bear the entire burden via taxes.
B. The Ohio Valley was being contested by many colonies and was a point of
conflict. The failure of the Albany Plan in 1754 for a common defense
against Indians failed not due to a lack of colonial unity but rather to the
competing interests for western land.
Proclamation of 1763 prohibited settlement beyond the Appalachians.
Pontiacs Rebellion 1763-Pontiac was an Indian chief who fought settlers moving
into the Mississippi Valley, he was defeated by smallpox.
British leaders were not necessarily evil or tyrants, but rather their polices
reflected ineptness and ignorance regarding the colonies and a pragmatic bias to
simplify administration and finance in the colonial situation.
George III was a weak and indecisive leader that further frustrated the Colonial
Policies.
Growing Colonial Populations were also requiring greater attention from the
Crown. In 20 years(1757-1770), the colonies' population doubled from 1 to 2
million. Franklin's prediction of surpassing England proved correct.
XIV. Tightening Imperial Control
A.
The British attempted to regulate the colonies but faced frustration and a lack of
understanding regarding colonial intricacies.
B. This conflict leads to the American Revolution that later changes the British
Empire, England, and the world!
C. The colonists have the bias of pro-salutary neglect: allotment of latitude and
autonomy in economics, politics, and religion.
D. Issue of Parliamentary taxation was key.
E. During the war the British Navy also boarded many American ships and seized
illegal cargo.
F. James Otis, a Boston lawyer, attempted to argue the seizures as illegal because
Parliament had no right to issue writs of assistance.
G. Attempts at regulation and control:
1. Proclamation act 1763 - Board of Trade.
2. Pontiac's Rebellion.
3. Attempted to stop. settlement but proved to be nearly impossible.
4. British were trying to save money and protect settlers from Indians.
5. Maintain a mercantilistic trade system.
XV. The Sugar Act
A.
George Grenville - Sugar, Stamp and Currency Acts.
B. Greenville wanted to reduce governmental debt.
C. Sugar Act: Actually reduced the tax on molasses to 3 pence but then enforced the
law to stop smuggling.
D. Currency Act: Dramatically decreased the printing of paper money. - Colonists
saw this as an attack on their assemblies.
E. The Post war depression escalated the impact of Grenville's acts and raised
questions about Parliamentary taxation - Locke and Otis had both published
theses regarding the rights of man and property.
XVI. "Essential Rights and Liberties"
A.
Many in England felt the taxation with out representation issue was petty. - Virtual
representation of colonist was the same as the commoners in England.
B. Colonists were using this lack of representation to hide their distaste for taxes, but
the hard truth was the colonies needed a complex government to manage a
growing region.
C. The colonists did recognize the crown, but wanted the benefits of England
without the responsibilities.
XVII. The Stamp Act: The Pot Set to Boil
A.
Greenville put a stiff excise tax on print materials with the goal of generating revenue.
B. The Stamp Act marked an escalation in Parliamentary taxation because it was a
direct tax.
C. Patrick Henry of Virginia led the attack after his victory on Parson's Cause,
asserting the House of Burgesses over the Privy Council.
D. Stamp Act Congress in Massachusetts had 27 delegates from 9 colonies.American unity?
E. Rise of the Sons' of Liberty - irregular and militant -Trashed homes and called for
the heads of tax collectors.
F. In New York a mob trashed the house of the Lt. Governor who said he would
force the stamps down the throat of New Yorkers.
G. Some took advantage of the opposition to the Stamps by looting. John Adams "Scum rises to the top when the pot prepares to boil."
XVIII. Rioters or Rebels?
A.
Likely not looking for revolution- more concerned about hard economic times and the
new taxes were insulting.
B. British knew the colonies would oppose taxes but did not anticipate the powerful
reactionary force and radicalism.
C. The real issue was being taxed by a political body in which the colonist had no
input.
D. The first Quartering Act also increased concern. Why so many troops in the
colonies and why were they in urban areas when troops were needed on the
frontier to deal with Indian threats?
E. Paranoia of a London conspiracy to subvert all British subjects.
XIX. Taxation or Tyranny?
A.
Was tyranny present? Not by 18th century standards. But the colonists were asserting a
new standard of representation beyond the House of Commons.
B. Their was no conspiracy by England, but rather a pragmatic policy of balanced
payment for services and debts incurred from the French Indian War.
C. Colonies were more mature, sophisticated and complicated then English authority
realized.
D. Non-importation agreement by American Merchants hurt the English merchants
and thus broadened pressure to repeal the Stamp Act. In March of 1776 the Stamp
Act repeal was celebrated as a victory among colonists.
XX. The Declaratory Act
A.
Allowed Parliment to make any laws for the colonies without representation from the
colonists.
B. This act made virtual representation legal. It was the right of "parental assertion"
over the colonies.
C. To the British this law was logical.
D. To the American Colonist it was obnoxious and violated their self-image as
Americans.
E. Debate in America over the definition and application of sovereignty,
constitution, representation, and others consumed the intelligentsia.
XXI. The Townsend Duties 1767
A.
The need for revenue to support the Crown's efforts was still a reality:
1. Townsend was warned by Franklin to avoid direct taxes.
2. Townsend was arrogant and saw the colonies as stupid and ungrateful
children.
B. Colonists reacted with boycotts
C. Townsend began to enforce shipping regulations, seize cargo, send violators to
trial with no juries, and there was some evidence of corruption.
D. Some great American thinkers began to ponder this rift and speak out and publish
1. Massachusetts Circular Letter.
2. John Dickinson's "Letters From a Farmer."
E. The British responded by sending two regiments from the frontier to Boston and other areas of
dissent.
XXII. The Boston Massacre
A.
Boston militancy, crowding 16,000 colonist/4,000 Redcoats. Economic depression after
the war, taxes from the crown, attacks against colonial governments was a formula for disaster.
B. Several incidents of taunting by the Liberty Boys and others.
C. 1770 in front of a Boston Custom house the trouble began-5 colonist killed
(Crispus Attacks.)
D. The trial saw most soldiers get off with light sentences.
E. Later most Townsend Acts were repealed. Non-importation agreements and
boycotts fell.
F. No serious crisis yet.
XXIII. The Pot Spills Over
A.
1772: The Gaspee Incident - Liberty Boys burn an English ship looking for smugglers
as 1000 cheered. - No one would testify against the culprits in court.
B. Massachusetts Governor Hutchins announced his salary would be paid by the
Crown, limiting colonial control.
C. Committees of Correspondence were created if trouble arose. - Later proved to be
a good organizational system during the revolution.
XXIV. The Tea Act Crisis
A.
The East India Tea Co. had financial trouble and wanted to exploit American markets as
a monopoly.
B. The American tea market was gutted due to smuggled Dutch tea.
C. Lord North reduced the British tax on the tea and only kept the Townsend tax of 3
pence. This would drive down the cost of the tea dramatically.
D. The real cost of the tea was North's trick to have the colonist accept Parliamentary
taxation. - The colonists fumed with anger.
E. New York and Philadelphia sent the tea ships back. Boston, under Governor
Hutchinson, was determined to sell the tea and collect taxes.
F. The Boston Tea Party followed, and popular support was everywhere for the
actions of the Sons of Liberty.
G. No American jury would convict the culprits. (The lesson of the Gaspee.)
H. George III was enraged as were many in England.
XXV. From Resistance to Revolution
A.
Passage of the Coercive Acts or the Intolerable Acts of 1774:
1. Boston Port Act.
2. Administration of Justice Act
3. Massachusetts Government Act.
4. Quartering Act.
5. Quebec Act.
B. These actions were inappropriately punishing all for the crimes of a few.
C. The English saw the colonists as subordinate and inferior.
D. Lord North thought the acts only being applied to Massachusetts would have little
impact in other colonies. - A huge misjudgment.
E. The colonies now began to work in concert.
F. To organize, the First Continental Congress was called in 1774. Opposition to the
Intolerable Acts was organized, and the order was given to gather munitions and
raise militias.
G. Suffolk Resolves (1774) pledged to fight the Intolerable Acts and was adopted by
the First Continental Congress.
H. The more conciliatory Galloway Plan was rejected.
I. Continental Associations: created economic sanctions against England.
J. Declaration of Rights and Grievances: adopted by the First Continental Congress.
Promised obedience to the king but rejected parliamentary taxation.
K. Sam Adams was a radical and pushed for a more militant approach. - The
Revolution had begun!
Terms:
-Woolens Act- Forbade production of woolen cloth in the colonies
-Hat Act- Prohibited hat production in colonies
-Mollasses Act- Placed prohibitive duties on non-English sugar, rum, and mollasses
-Iron Act- Prohibited production of certain types of iron
-Proprietarship- A colony given to a wealthy person
-French and Indian War-A war between France and England over the land in North
America
-Albany Congress-Attempted to bring Iriqious into the French-Indian war
-William Pitt-A brilliant English general who was victorious in the French-Indian War
-Treaty of Parris 1763-Ended French Indian War abd gacve England all of France's land
in America
-Proclamation of 1763-Prohibited settlement in area beyond Appalachians in an attempt to
appease Indians
-John Locke-An English philospher who said "Government is created by the people, for
the people"
-Salutary Neglect-Referred to England's neglect of the colonies
-Grenvlle Acts-Acts designed to control trade and raise revenue
-Sugar Act-Threatened the traingle trade
-Currency Acts-Drained species from the colony and made money scarce
-Stamp Act-Declared all printed materials must have revenue stamp
-Declaratory Act-Made virtual representation legal
-Townshend Acts-Placed a light duty on glass, white lead, paper, and tea
-Sons of Liberty-A group of radicals that tarred and feathered unpopular officials and
ransacked houses
-Boston Massacre-A mob mobbed British troops who fired and killed 5 colonists
-Boston Tea Party-Sons of Libery boarded British tea ships and threw the tea overboard
-Declaration of Independence 1776-Document that formally cut ties between England and
America
-Mercantalism-Colonies existed to supply mother country with raw goods
-Deism-Stated that there was a God who only oversaw, didn't interfere
-The Gaspee Incident-A British ship was burnt, no one was convicted
-The Quartering Act-Stated colonists must quarter British troops
-Pontiac's Rebellion-Pontiac was a Indian chief who fought setllers moving into the
Mississippi Valley, he was deeated using smallpox