Chapter 2: The American Revolution
Section 1: The Colonies Fight for
Their Rights
and Indian War:
• French
1754-1763
• France and England battled for supremacy in
Europe. Eventually the conflict spills to America.
• 1740’s: Common interest in the Ohio River Valley.
• Both England and France begin to build forts in
the territory.
• France: Wanted to link New France with
Louisiana.
• England: Looking to expand colonies westward.
Sides:
• French and the Native Americans.
• English and American Colonists.
• 1756 to 1763: Seven Years War fought in
Europe. France vs. England. Fought during
French and Indian War.
Fighting:
• Spring 1754: George Washington was asked to
intervene for the British to expel the French from
Fort Duquesne.
• After a brief battle, Washington and his troops
will retreat and build Fort Necessity.
• French troops will attack Fort Necessity and
defeat Washington. (He is only 22 at the time).
Albany Conference:
• Held in Albany, June 1754.
• Meeting between the British, representatives
from colonies, and Iroquois leaders.
• Results: Iroquois agreed to remain neutral and
British planned to name a Commander of
British troops in the colonies.
• Albany Plan of Union: This was the 1st time
that it was suggested that the colonies should
unite and form a government.
General Edward
Braddock:
• Appointed British Commander in Chief, he will
appoint Washington as his aide.
• His forces will be ambushed by the French near
Fort Duquesne.
• He believes that his forces were unstoppable.
• Braddock is shot and killed and Washington will
save the British troops.
• 1755: Realizing the British were not unstoppable,
Indians begin attacking settlements on the
frontier.
• Turning Point: September 12, 1759: Battle of Quebec:
British troops were able to defeat the French at the
capital of New France.
• 1763: Treaty of Paris officially ends the war.
• Results:
1. This will eliminate France as a colonial power in
North America.
2. All lands east of the Mississippi River became British
territory.
3. Many colonists (especially Washington) experience
the first taste of battle (Before American Revolution).
Colonies Grow Discontent:
• The British victory in the war caused a huge
amount of debt (Wars cost $$$).
• Since it was fought in America, the British felt
that the colonies should help pay off the debt.
• George Grenville: British Prime Minister and
First Lord of Treasury who implements new
tax policies in the colonies.
Policies Against Colonies:
• Royal Proclamation Act of 1763
• Spring 1763: Pontiac, chief of the Ottawa tribe
convinced several Native tribes to go to war
against the British (Attacked on frontier).
• Fearing another war, the British will pass this act
to calm the natives who were angered with
westward expansion.
• They will draw a line south down the Appalachian
Mountains. This line was the furthest a settler
could live without British permission.
• Angered colonial farmers and land speculators.
Custom Duties
• The British placed taxes on imports and
exports which were ignored by the colonists.
• Prime Minister passed a law that sent
smugglers to a new vice admiralty court in
Nova Scotia.
• Colonists felt that this was a violation of their
rights. They argued about a trial by jury,
protection by British common law, and the
right to a speedy trial.
Sugar Act:
• Officially called the Revenue Act of 1764.
• Act changed taxes on raw sugar and molasses.
• Merchants argued that the act hurt trade and
it violated traditional English rights.
• Under the act: Smugglers were presumed
guilty, officials could seize cargo without due
process, and improperly seized goods were
not returned to owners.
Currency Act of 1764:
• Act banned the use of paper money in the colonies.
• Angered the colonists who used paper money to pay
off debts.
• Reactions by Colonists:
• Pamphlets emerged in all major cities.
• James Otis: Argued that because the colonists had no
representation in Parliament, the colonies could not be
taxed to raise money for the government.
• NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!!!
Strict Regulations:
• The British continued to tax the colonies throughout
the 1760’s.
• Stamp Act (1765): Parliament passes the act requiring a
stamp being placed on most printed materials
(Newspapers, pamphlets, posters, wills, mortgages,
deeds, licenses, diplomas, dice, and cards).
• This was the 1st direct tax on the colonists.
• Quartering Act (1765): American colonists had to
provide living quarters for British troops stationed in
America.
• Summer 1765: Colonists began meeting to discuss
these unfair taxes.
• Sons of Liberty: Colonial group that demonstrated and
protested against British acts.
• They will use intimidation tactics against British officials
(Tar and Feathered).
• Many colonial merchants began signing Non Importation
Agreements. They stopped importing British goods.
• 1766: Stamp Act was repealed.
• 1767: Townsend Acts Passed. Series of regulations and
taxes named after Charles Townsend, British Finance
Minister.
• Revenue Act of 1767: Placed new customs on British goods
and legalized search warrants called Writs of Assistance.
• This allowed British officials to seize property without due
process.
Reactions:
• John Dickenson: Published a series of essays
called Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer, which
stressed that only assemblies elected by the
colonists had the right to tax citizens.
• Virginia Resolves: The House of Burgesses passed
a law stating that only the House could tax
Virginians.
• Virginia along with many other colonies passed
Non Importation Laws blocking British goods.
• Sons of Liberty encouraged colonial resistance.
Problems in Boston:
• Fall 1768: Violence in Boston against British
custom officials.
• Results: England will send roughly 1000 troops
to Boston to maintain order.
• Lobsterbacks (Red Coats): British troops.
Boston Massacre:
• March 5, 1770.
• Around 9 PM a group of colonists were demonstrating
in front of the British custom officials house.
• British troops were called to break up the disturbance.
• Colonists would not leave (some threw snowballs).
• British troops fired into the crowd of protesters.
• 5 colonists were killed, 6 were wounded (Real
Massacre?).
• News of the event spread quickly and a revolution
might have started if the British didn’t repeal many of
the Townsend Acts.