The Road to Independence
The Mercantilist System
• Assumed:
– Colonies exist only for the benefit of the mother
country
– British colonies beneficial
• Ensured naval supremacy by providing ships, ships’
stores, sailors, and trade
• Provided raw materials: tobacco, indigo, lumber, fish,
etc.
• Provided a large consumer market for British goods
• Kept gold and silver in the empire by making Britain
self-sufficient
Navigation Laws (Acts)
• Purpose was to enforce mercantilist system
• They ensured:
– that restricted commerce to and from colonies to
British or American vessels only
– That certain “enumerated” articles like tobacco can’t
be shipped to any other foreign market except
England, despite higher prices in foreign markets
– All European goods going to America had to go
through England first
– No manufacturing encouraged in colonies and certain
products were prohibited from exportation
Negative Impact of Mercanilism
• Colonial manufacturing hindered
• Southern colonies suffered due to “enumeration”
• New England resented favorable British policies toward
Southern colonies (who produced tobacco, sugar, and rice
• Writs of Assistance
– Search warrants by British customs officers harassed colonial
shipping
– Aimed to reduce colonial smuggling
– 1761, young Boston lawyer James Otis demands repeal of acts
• Parliament refuses, but case becomes famous
• Otis later penned phrase: ‘no taxation without representation’
Reasons for Colonial Alienation
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End of “salutary neglect
King George III
Proclamation of 1763
Currency Act (1764) – restriction on colonial
printing of money; taxes to be paid with specie
only
• Sugar Act, 1764 – aimed to replace earlier
Molasses Act and was first act ever passed
specifically that raised revenue for the crown
• Quartering Act, 1765 – certain colonies required to
provide food and quarters for British troops
Three Great Crises
• Three great crises led to American Revolution: Stamp
Act, Townshend Acts, and Tea Act
• Stamp Act, 1765: perhaps the single most important
event leading to revolution
– Purpose was as a revenue-generator for Britain
– Provisions:
• Official stamps on paper would serve as proof of payment
• Tax applied to published materials and legal documents (pamphlets,
newspapers, diplomas, marriage/death certificates, mortgages,
insurance policies, liquor licenses, and playing cards)
• Sugar/Stamp Act tried offenders in admiralty courts where juries
not allowed
• British viewed this as fair because similar tax had been in effect for
50 years PLUS colonies should contribute toward the expense of
their defense
Reactions
• VA Resolves (led by Patrick Henry)
– VA leaders believed that Stamp Act attacked
colonists’ rights as Englishmen
– 5 of Henry’s 7 resolutions adopted by House of
Burgesses including non-importation
– Claimed that VA could only be taxed by Virginians
(“no taxation without representation”)
– Assemblies of 8 other colonies passed resolutions
similar to that of VA
“Virtual Representation”
• Colonial views distinguished between
“legislation” and “taxation”
– Legislation, “external taxes,” the right of Parliament
regarding the empire; e.g. customs duties (tariffs)
– Taxation, “internal taxes,” exclusive right of local
representational government
• Many believed British taxation was robbery; attacking
the sacred rights of property
• British held that the colonies WERE represented; that
even those who did not vote had their needs attended
(Virtual Representation)
Stamp Act Congress (1765)
• MA invited colonies who adopted VA Resolves to meet
• 27 delegates from 9 colonies drew up a statement of
their rights and grievances and demanded that the king
and Parliament rescind the Stamp Act
• Largely ignored in Britain; little consequence in the
colonies
• Significance: brought together representatives from
different and rival colonies and set precedent for future
resistance to British rule (unity)
• Non-importation agreements against British goods
(boycott)
Sons of Liberty
• Led by Samuel Adams
• group who violently enforced non-importation
agreements against violators (tarring and feathering was
one painful tactic)
• Houses of pro-British officials vandalized, theft occurred,
and the warehouse where stamps were stored was
vandalized
• All stamp agents were forced to resign – none risked
selling them
• Stamp Act was repealed in 1766 but issued Declaratory
Act at the same time (partly to save face – it claimed that
Parliament had the right to tax colonies in the future)
• Sugar Tax also lowered significantly
Townshend Acts (1767)
• Charles Townsend took control of Parliament and
sought to punish colonies for the Stamp Act
uprising
• Provisions: small import duty on glass, white
lead, paper, paint, silk and tea
• Revenues gained from taxes used to pay the
salaries of royal governors and judges
• Established a commission and vice-admiralty
courts for enforcement
– Royal judges would be allowed to grant “writs of
assistance” in private homes, shops or warehouses
Colonial reaction
• Colonies angrily interpreted the act as an inappropriate
tax to raise revenue
• John Dickinson, Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania
– Challenged distinction between “internal” and “external”
taxes
– Denied right to levy taxes for purpose of revenue
– Prompted the Massachusetts Circular Letter
• MA supported Dickinson’s arguments and called for other colonies
to pass petitions calling for Parliament to repeal the acts
• In response, British sent troops to Boston and threatened to
dissolve MA legislature if letter not retracted
• Some colonies reenacted the boycott (Brit exports fall 40% in a few
months)
• Several colonial legislatures dissolve as they supported MA: MD,
VA, DE, SC
Boston Massacre
• (peaceful) arrival of troops in Boston aroused American
resistance; colonials afraid of standing armies and
believed Britain sought to suppress colonial liberties
• March 5, 1770: British soldiers (having been provoked)
fired on a crowd
• 11 civilians are killed or wounded, including mulatto
merchant seaman Crispus Attucks (“first casualty of the
revolution”) who was allegedly leader of the unruly
mob
• Colonial propaganda grossly exaggerated the event
• The act is repealed in 1770, though a three-cent tax on
tea remained to demonstrate Parliament’s right to tax
• Half the troops in Boston were removed
Committees of Correspondence
• Some colonial discontent continued as the British
redoubled efforts to enforce Navigation Laws
• Sam Adams used propaganda to whip up colonial
resentment
• Adams organized local committees of
correspondence in MA whose function it was to
spread propaganda and info by interchanging
letters to keep opposition alive
• These intercolonial groups evolved directly into
the first American congresses
Tea Act Crisis and First Continental
Congress
• Brits grant British East India Tea Company a
monopoly on American tea trade because it is
nearly bankrupt
• Tea prices would be cheaper (even with tax), but
Americans reacted angrily and saw Tea Act as a way
to trick colonies into accepting the tax by lowering
tea prices
• Boston Tea Party (12/16/1773): Sons of Liberty,
dressed as Native Americans, boarded three ships,
smashed 342 chests open, and dumped tea into
harbor
Tea Act crisis, continued
• “Intolerable Acts” (Coercive Acts), 1774: Parliament
passes the Coercive Acts to punish Boston
• Boston Port Act: harbor remained closed until damages
were paid and law and order restored
• MA charter is revoked and crown forbade town
meetings (except for election of town officials)
• Enforcing officials who killed colonists could now be
tried in England instead of the colonies (thereby
avoiding colonial justice)
• Quartering Act: provided for the quartering of troops
once again in Boston
Quebec Act, 1774
• Coincidentally accompanied Coercive Acts but was NOT
intended to punish colonies
• French in Canada were guaranteed right to practice
Catholicism and Quebec territory extended down to
OH River, next to NY and PA
• French allowed to keep old customs and institutions
which did not include representative assemblies or trial
by jury
• Colonial reaction: viewed this act as attempt to create
a new French Canadian and Amerindian threat to OH
Valley region and anti-Catholic sentiment roused
First Continental Congress, 1774
• In response to “Intolerable” acts, committees of
correspondence urged colonies to act quickly
• Bostonians agreed to end all trade with Britain
and urged others to join
• First Continental Congress deliberated fall of 1774
– 12 of 13 colonies present (not GA)
– Delegates included Sam Adams, Thomas Jefferson,
George Washington, Patrick Henry
FCC, 1774
• Denounced Intolerable Acts
• Urged colonies to organize militia for defensive purposes
• Called on colonies to suspend all trade with rest of
British empire
• Urged citizens to avoid paying taxes
• Complete boycott of British goods
• Petition (Declaration and Resolves) made to air
grievances, reiterate allegiance to King, and to demand
right to assemble in order to seek redress
• King and Parliament do not respond, as this would have
legitimized Congress and recognized its right as a
legislative body
Lexington and Concord
• “Shot Heard Round the World”
• Parliament now orders Gen. Gage (MA gov.) to
arrest leaders of rebellion and prepare for
military action
• April 1775, 700 British redcoats sent secretly to
nearby Lexington and Concord to seize
gunpowder and arrest S. Adams and J. Hancock;
Paul Revere and William Dawes warn the militia
• The battle begins when Minutemen refuse to
disperse and shots are exchanged – later, at
Concord, the British are forced to retreat
British Strengths and Weaknesses
• Strengths:
– Population favored GB (7.5 million v 2.5 million
colonials)
– Superior monetary advantage and best navy in world
– 20K slaves in Carolinas and GA joined Brits (slaves
promised freedom and many fled with Brits post-war)
– Many Amerindians sided with Brits and attacked along
the frontier (saw Proc. Of 1763 as sole attempt to
stem tide of settlement)
– Brits possess a 50K professional army and hired
additional 30K “Hessians” as mercenaries
British Weaknesses
• Enormous distance from GB to colonies
• America too large for GB’s army to effectively occupy;
population too dispersed
• Brit generals in America were poor leaders
• Many British troops did not want to kill Americans, who
they saw as their countrymen
• Provisions for army are poor
• Americans would win with just a tie, whereas Britain
would have to win outright
• France was waiting for an opportunity to exact revenge
• British gov’t was ineffective and internal struggle
between Whigs (more liberal) and conservative Tories
weakened support
American Strengths
• Outstanding leadership (e.g. George Washington
as military leader and Ben Franklin, diplomat)
• Economic aid from France at outset, later
economic aid is decisive
• Defensive military tactics worked
• Agriculturally self-sustaining
• Colonials are good marksmen, better than Brits
• Moral advantage from belief in a just cause
American Weaknesses
• Badly organized for war and lacked real unity
from the beginning (Continental Congress was
weak and fought entire war without producing
constitution)
• Jealousy among colonies who each regarded
themselves as sovereign and resisted
Congressional weak power to lead
• Economic difficulties (little specie; little to pay
soldiers; little money circulation)
• Militia unreliable and under-armed
Second Continental Congress
• Meets on May 10, 1775
• All 13 colonies present, delegates still not
interested in independence but rather in redress
of grievances
• Most significant act was to go to war and to
select G. Washington as head of Continental
Army
• Drafted 2nd set of appeals to King and Brits to
resolve issues as well as the last-ditch effort to
salvage relationship, Olive Branch Petition
• King refuses to acknowledge either
Declaration of Independence
• Most citizens did not want independence and
were proud to be British citizens
• But hiring of Hessians, burning of Falmouth and
Norfolk by British, as well as promising slaves
freedom alienates colonials
• Thomas Paine’s Common Sense (1776)
– King was “royal brute”
– Argued that nowhere else in universe did a smaller
body control a larger one – why should tiny Britain
control huge North America?
Declaration of Independence
• June 7, 1776, Philadelphia Congress: Richard
Henry Lee proposed independence
• Motion adopted on July 2, 1776
• Congress appointed a Committee on
Independence to prepare an appropriate
statement shortly after Lee’s appeal – they
choose T. Jefferson
• Declaration of Independence formally
approved on July 4, 1776
Declaration of Independence
• 3 major parts: preamble, list of grievances and formal
declaration of independence
• Preamble: states rights of colonists to break away if
natural rights were violated: life, liberty, and pursuit of
happiness (property)
• List of 27 grievances of the colonies: charges King with
imposing taxes without consent, eliminating trial by
jury, military dictatorship, maintaining standing armies
in peacetime, cutting off trade, burning towns, hiring
mercenaries, and inciting Amerindian violence
• Formal declaration: officially broke ties with England
and United States now officially an independent
country
Patriots and Loyalists
• John Adams claimed that 1/3 of colonists were
Patriot, 1/3 were Loyalists, and 1/3 were neutral
• Loyalists: wanted to return to colonial rule and
were mostly conservative, educated, and wealthy
and especially feared “mob rule”; 80K flee
colonies and their confiscated holdings are sold
to help finance war
• Patriots: sometimes called “whigs” (after liberal
British party) and were mostly rebels who fought
both soldiers and Loyalists, mostly found in New
England
Articles of Confederation (1777)
• Drafted by John Dickinson and set up by 2nd
Continental Congress in order to create a lasting
gov’t
• Did not go into effect until 1781 and was first
constitution in U.S. history and lasted until 1789
when the Constitution was formally adopted
• Congress had power to: conduct war, handle
foreign relations and secure loans as well as
borrow money
• Congress DID NOT have power to: regulate trade,
conscript troops, levy taxes
Peace
• British ready to come to terms after both losing big in their
other conflicts abroad and when Tories are replaced by more
sympathetic Whigs
• Treaty of Paris, 1783: Britain formally recognizes US
independence
– Grants US huge boundaries stretching to MS River in the west, the
Great Lakes in the north, and to Spanish FL in the south
– Americans concede that Loyalists will not be further prosecuted,
that Congress will consider returning confiscated Loyalist holdings
and that American states are bound to pay back debts to British
creditors
– America does not comply with many of these concessions and it
later becomes partial cause of War of 1812
– America alone gains from this war: France becomes bankrupt,
Britain loses territory and face, Spain gains nothing
American Society During the War
• Over 250K American soldiers fought: 10% died, the
largest % of any American war in history
• War economy: all of society became involved in war
effort
• Poorest Americans do most of the fighting
• African Americans fought on both sides of conflict
• Natives fought on both sides as well
• Women managed farms and businesses while men
served; many traveled with armies as laundresses,
nurses and cooks; women were more politically active
and expressed thoughts more freely
Memory Aid for Events Leading up to
Revolution
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Pretty (Proc. Of 1763)
Silly (Stamp Act, 1765)
Tammy (Townshend Acts, 1767)
Baked (Boston Massacre, 1770)
Tea (Tea Act, 1773)
Cookies (Committees of Correspondence)
Inside (Intolerable Acts, 1774)
Freshly (First Continental Congress)
Layered (Lexington and Concord)
Spicy (Second Continental Congress)
Dough (Declaration of Independence)