Chapter 4—The Empire in Transition
“BIG PICTURE” QUESTIONS FOR SECTION I:
1) What kind of relationship with England had the colonies grown accustomed to by 1750?
I. Loosening Ties—What kind of control did Great Britain have over its American colonies after the Glorious Revolution?
A. A Tradition of Neglect
1. Growing Power of Parliament—Why did Parliament under Walpole not strictly enforce the Navigation Acts?
2. Decentralized Colonial Administration—Why were the administration of the Navigation Acts in America largely
unsuccessful?
3. Powerful Colonial Legislatures—What powers did colonial legislatures claim? How did they maintain their powers over the
king’s representatives in the colonies?
B. The Colonies Divided—During the early 1700s, to whom did the colonists feel most loyal: England or each other?
1. Albany Plan—Who proposed this plan, what was it, and what happened?
“BIG PICTURE” QUESTIONS FOR SECTION II:
1) What factors led to the French and Indian War, and what were its consequences?
II.
The Struggle for the Continent—What war signaled a struggle between England and France? What was it about?
1. An Uneasy Balance of Power—What three actors balanced power in America? What was the war called in America?
A. New France and the Iroquois Nation
1. New Sources of Conflict—By the 1750s, where had the French spread in America?
2. France’s North American Empire—Where was the center of the French Empire in America? What French city on the
Mississippi rivaled English cities on the Atlantic Coast? Who did the French and English see as important allies to have in their
struggle with each other? Who had better relations with Native Americans, and why?
3. The Iroquois Confederacy—Who were the five nations of the Iroquois nation? How did the Iroquois secure their
independence from both the English and the French? What was the principal area of conflict between England, France, and the
Iroquois?
B. Anglo-French Conflicts
1. European Seeds of Conflict—Describe events between England and France prior to 1750. What began happening between
the English and the French in the Ohio Valley in 1749?
2. Fort Necessity—Who started the French and Indian War?
C. The Great War for Empire
1. Braddock Defeated—How did the early war go for the British and their American colonists?
2. William Pitt Takes Charge—What did William Pitt do during the war that angered Americans? How did the respond?
3. Siege of Quebec—What did the fall of Quebec mean for the French?
4. Peace of Paris—What were the terms of the Peace of Paris in 1763? What were the consequences for Britain, in terms of
debt? How did the British generally think of Americans after the war?
5. Consequences of the Seven Years’ War—How were Americans changed by the war? How did the war end for the Iroquois?
“BIG PICTURE” QUESTIONS FOR SECTION III:
1) What factors led Americans to be disappointed with the outcome of the French and Indian War?
III.
The New Imperialism
A. Burdens of Empire—What were British/colonial relations like during the war?
1. Britain’s Staggering War Debt—What expenses did Britain have in America? How did they believe that they could pay for
it?
2. George III’s Shortcomings—How did George III’s personal issues affect colonial relations? Who was George Grenville?
What his beliefs about the colonies?
B. The British and the Tribes—What was the Proclamation Line of 1763?
1. Proclamation of 1763—Why did the British favor the Proclamation Line?
2. White Encroachment—How effective was the Proclamation Line?
C. The Colonial Response—In what ways did the Grenville ministry attempt to increase British authority in America?
1. Sugar, Currency, and Stamp Acts—What did each of these acts do?
2. Paxton Boys—Who were the Paxton Boys, where were they from, and what were their demands?
3. Regulator Movement—Who were the Regulators, where were they from, and what were their demands? What groups of
Americans were opposed to the Grenville policies?
4. Postwar Depression—What happened to British spending in America after the war, and what effects did that cause?
5. Political Consequences of the Grenville Program—What political arrangements did Americans value, and how were
Grenville’s policy a threat to those values?
“BIG PICTURE” QUESTIONS FOR SECTION IV:
1) What events and philosophies led Americans towards revolt?
IV.
Stirrings of Revolt
A. The Stamp Act Crisis
1. Effects of the Stamp Act—What was different about the Stamp Act from the Sugar Act and prior taxes?
2. Virginia Resolves—What ideas were included in the Virginia Resolves? What was the Stamp Act Congress and what did it
do?
3. Sons of Liberty—Who were the Sons of Liberty and what did they do? How had many New Englanders reacted to the Sugar
Act of 1764? What was England’s response? Why had England reacted that way?
4. Parliament Retreats—What happened to the Stamp Act? What was the Declaratory Act?
C. The Townshend Program—What did English landlords fear would happen to them because of the Stamp Act affair in
America?
1. Mutiny Act—What was another name for the Mutiny Act? What was the purpose of the act? How did Massachusetts and
New York react to the act?
2. Internal and External Taxes—Because they would not follow the Mutiny Act, what happened to the New York colonial
assembly? What were the Townshend Duties? What were the differences between “internal” and “external” taxes in the minds
of Americans?
3. Colonial Boycotts—How did colonists react to the Townshend Duties? What was homespun?
D. The Boston Massacre
1. Competition for Scarce Employment—How was the Boston Massacre portrayed in the colonies (and what really happened)?
2. Samuel Adams—What did the “committees of correspondence” achieve?
E. The Philosophy of Revolt—What did “country Whigs” fear?
1. England’s Balanced Constitution—How was the English constitution structured, and what was that structure supposed to
insure for the English political system? What did Americans fear about the English system? How was the American cry of “No
taxation without representation” received in England? What was “virtual representation” and how did it work?
2. Virtual Versus Actual Representation—How did Americans think the British Empire should be ruled?
F. The Tea Excitement
1. Revolutionary Discourse—Why did Parliament pass the Tea Act of 1773? What were the effects of the act?
2. The Tea Act—How did Lord North think Americans would receive the Tea Act? What actually happened? What role did
women play?
3. Boston Tea Party—What happened during the Boston Tea Party? What four acts did Parliament pass in response?
4. Coercive Acts—What did people in the colonies call the Coercive Acts? What was the Quebec Act? What did Parliament
intend for the Quebec Act to do? How did Americans view the act?
“BIG PICTURE” QUESTIONS FOR SECTION V:
1) How did Americans prepare for war, and how did the war begin?
V.
Cooperation and War
A. New Sources of Authority
1. First Continental Congress—When and where was the First Continental Congress, and who showed up? What did the First
Continental Congress agree to do?
B. Lexington and Concord—What had the people of Massachusetts been preparing, and who were the “minutemen”?
1. General Thomas Gage—Why did Gage march on Lexington and Concord? Who rode to warn the Americans? What
happened at Lexington? Who shot first? What happened to the British troops on the way back from Concord?