10/23/12
The Road to
the Revolutionary War
I.
After the French
and Indian War
A.
Attitudes
1.
The colonists
were proud to be part of the British empire
2.
The English
looked down on the colonists
B.
The British were
in desperate financial trouble
1.
They thought the
best way to get out of financial trouble would be to make the colonists pay for
the war
2.
The colonists
did not want to pay
a)
They didn’t ask
for the war
b)
The taxes the
colonists were paying were going to Britain, and not for the colonists’ own
benefit
II.
Grenville
A.
Became Prime
Minister of England after the war. He
did not like the colonists- thought they were below him
B.
Proclamation of 1763
1.
It created a
proclamation line that no settlers could settle past
2.
It blocked
settlement in the Ohio Valley, which the whole war was fought over
3.
Why did
Grenville do this?
a)
He wanted to
appease the Native Americans and avoid more raids
b)
He also thought
the colonists would be easier to control if they were in a smaller area
4.
This
proclamation angered the colonists- they were being taxed for a war they did
not want, and then were prohibited from settling in the newly conquered areas
C.
Writ of
Assistance
1.
Basically a
blank search warrant- the British could search any place, at any time, without
any reason
2.
England did this
to enforce the Navigation Acts and crack down on smuggling (no more Salutary
Neglect)
3.
James Otis, a
Boston lawyer, argued that Writs of Assistance were against natural law
a)
He lost the
case, but many people joined in his fight
b)
Showed a slow
motion towards disliking the British
D.
Sugar Act 1764
1.
Cut the tax on
the Molasses Act in half
2.
Strictly a
revenue tax
a)
Revenue taxes
are for the purposes of raising money
b)
Protective taxes
are meant to protect domestic industry by making the cost of foreign goods
higher
3.
Wasn’t good for
the colonists because even though the tax was being cut in half, they did not
think they had to pay any taxes to the British at all
4.
This tax was
strictly enforced, and anyone caught smuggling/disobeying the act was brought
to military court with no due process
E.
Quartering Act
1.
Colonists had to
provide shelter and food for British soldiers
2.
The colonists
opposed this- they wanted the soldiers to leave! They didn’t need British soldiers to protect
them
3.
NY refused to
obey this act, and their legislature was suspended
F.
Stamp Act
1.
What it was
a)
Direct tax
(1)
A direct tax is
a tax you see, while an indirect tax is a built-in tax that the merchant pays
and passes on in the cost
b)
Anything you
bought that was made out of paper had to have a stamp on it that showed that
you paid the tax
c)
Short-sighted-
it wasn’t going to bring in enough money for England, yet they still
antagonized the colonists with it
2.
What it caused
a)
“Taxation
without representation is tyranny”
(1)
Truthfully, it
was unrealistic for the colonists to have representation in Parliament
(2)
Since the
colonists could not have representation in Parliament, Britain had no right to
tax them
b)
Sons of Liberty
(1)
Formed by James
Otis and Samuel Adams in Massachusetts
(2)
They were
freedom fighters fighting for American equality
(3)
The British claimed
they were terrorists
c)
In Virginia,
Patrick Henry presented 7 resolutions against the Stamp Act. The House of Burgesses passed 4 of them, but
the newspapers printed all 7, as if all of the 7 resolutions were passed
3.
In October 1765,
delegates from 9 colonies met, calling themselves the Stamp Act Congress
a)
Called for a
boycott of all British goods- nonimportation.
It started in NY and spread to the other colonies
b)
Results
(1)
Cottage
industries- began to produce goods ourselves (candles, wool, etc)
(2)
Stamp Act was
repealed
(3)
The king
replaced Grenville with Rockingham, who passed the Declaratory Acts
G.
Declaratory Acts
1.
Parliament has
the right to make laws for Americans in all cases
2.
Americans
ignored the Declaratory Acts, and smuggling continued
a)
à
King George got rid of Rockingham and brought in Townshend
III.
Townshend
A.
Boasted that he
could tax the colonists excessively without any difficulty and believed that
the Americans would accept indirect taxes (he thought the Americans were stupid
and wouldn’t realize)
B.
Kept Admiralty
Courts
C.
Kept Writ of
Assistance
D.
Declared that
customs officials were paid out of the fines they collected
E.
These acts were
not successful in raising money for Britain, and antagonized colonists against
each other
IV.
Resistance
A.
At first, there
was no real unified resistance
1.
Letters From a Pennsylvania Farmer, by John Dickinson- acknowledged that there was
taxation without representation, but did not suggest doing anything about it. People should not go too far, because they
could be executed for treason
B.
Circular Letter
(started in Massachusetts then sent around to other colonies)
1.
We need to do
something, but for now we will not take any sever action that will cause
problems
2.
Britain demanded
that the letter be withdrawn or they will dissolve the Massachusetts
legislature. They also sent more troops
to Boston, and the colonists responded with more nonimportation (boycotted
British goods)
V.
Lord North- new
British Prime Minister
A.
Repealed all
taxes except for a very small tax on tea, to show that the British are still in
charge
B.
Boston Massacre
1.
NOT a massacre,
but Samuel Adams liked the catchiness of it so he named it a massacre
2.
Many British
soldiers were moonlighting (soldiers during the day who took different jobs at
night to supplement their income) and worked for less pay than the colonists,
which created resentment
3.
Soldiers were
marching on the Boston Common, and the colonists began to taunt them and
something was thrown at a soldier (different stories as to what was thrown),
and the soldiers fired at the people.
4.
Five colonists
were killed, the British soldiers were put on trial
a)
John Adams
defended the soldiers because if we do not offer due process, how can we expect
it for ourselves
b)
Sam Adams used
the “massacre” to rile people up
C.
Relative peace
until the Tea Act of 1773
1.
British East
India Company was in financial trouble so they got permission to ship the tea
directly to the colonies (without stopping at a British port) and sell the tea
right off the ships
2.
The British
figured that even with the tax on the tea they could still sell the tea more
cheaply than the smuggled tea.
3.
The colonists
still didn’t buy British tea (it was like giving in), and began to tar and
feather the tax collectors
4.
If cargo
remained on the ship for 20 days without being sold, it would go to
auction. The night before the expiration
date, colonists disguised as Native Americans went on the British ships and
dumped the tea in the harbor à Boston Tea
Party
a)
Result- most of
the colonists did not approve- they thought it went too far and destroying
property was not a right thing to do
D.
British Response
to the Boston Tea Party- Coercive Acts (called the Intolerable Acts by
the colonists)
1.
The port of
Boston was closed until the tea was paid for
2.
The power of the
royal governor was increased at the expense of the legislature
3.
Any British
soldier accused of a crime in Massachusetts could be tried somewhere else and
not in local court (where it would be likely for the soldier to be convicted)
4.
The Quartering
Acts were strengthened (now soldiers had to be in your home)
5.
Quebec Act-
extended the province of Quebec to the Ohio river, which destroyed the
colonists’ chances of expansion
10/25/12
VI.
First
Continental Congress
A.
Met in
Philadelphia in 1774
B.
Passed the
Suffolk Act
1.
Denounced the
Intolerable Acts
2.
Called for
stricter boycotting (boycotting was very effective because the British
merchants would put pressure on the government to lighten regulations)
3.
Set up
preparations for local militias (just in case)
C.
A proposition
for the union of the colonies was rejected- the colonies were still independent
of each other, but were starting to work together
D.
They gave it a
year, and if at the end of the year things were not better, they would meet
again to decide what to do
E.
In the meantime,
the colonists started to stockpile weapons
1.
The British
found out, and under General Gage, they decided to arrest the colonist leaders
and destroy the weapon stocks in Concord, Massachusetts
a)
The colonists
knew the British were coming, but they did not know how (on a land route or a
water route)
b)
Paul Revere’s
famous ride- “The British are coming!”
2.
70 colonists
were on the green in Concord, and the British showed up with 700 troops
(yikes). The colonists were told to go
home, and a shot rang out
a)
8 colonists
died, many were wounded, most colonists were shot in the back (which shows that
they were leaving)
b)
No one knows who
shot that initial gunshot
The War
Begins!
VII.
Second
Continental Congress- May 1775
A.
Split in two
factions
1.
Mainly New
Englanders wanted to break away from the British and gain independence
2.
The middle
colonies, led by John Dickenson, were not ready to go that far and break away,
but agreed that something needed to be done
B.
Issued the Olive
Branch Petition
1.
Sent it to King
George asking him to intercede in Parliament and restore peace by stopping the
outrageous taxes and control
2.
Sent it to the
king and not to Parliament to prevent treasonous accusations- going against
Parliament is not treason, but going against the king is
3.
King responded
with the Prohibitory Act
a)
The colonies are
in rebellion and no longer under crown protection
b)
à
Britain began to plan for a full scale war
C.
Thomas Paine
wrote Common Sense in 1776
1.
Before this, the
colonists weren’t really thinking about a rebellion
2.
Paine
a)
Was a British
living in the colonies for 2 years
b)
He was on the
side of the colonists though
3.
Common Sense
said that it was time to break away
a)
It was poorly
written yet it was an instant bestseller
b)
Said that it was
time to break away
D.
June 1776,
Richard Henry Lee introduced a formal resolution in Congress, calling for
independence and a national government
1.
Two Committees
a)
One was headed
by John Dickinson, and its job was to frame a national government
b)
The other
committee was headed by Jefferson and
its job was to write the Declaration of Independence
E.
George
Washington
1.
He was put in
charge of the army
a)
He really was
not a great army general
VIII.
We won!
A.
Reasons
1.
The colonists
had a great deal of determination
a)
Fighting for an
ideal
b)
Fighting on our
own soil
2.
British were
arrogant
a)
They were so
convinced they were right and were going to win
b)
This caused them
to do some silly things
3.
Colonists
practiced guerilla warfare
B.
Treaty of Paris
1783
1.
The American
negotiating team- Ben Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay
2.
Provisions
a)
The United
States was recognized as an independent nation by the European nations
b)
America’s
western boundary was set at the Mississippi River, its southern boundary was
set at the 31st northern latitude (top of Florida)
c)
Britain kept
Canada, but had to give Florida to Spain
d)
Private British
creditors would be free to collect any debts owed by US citizens (the problem
was that the government was not going to get involved- it was all private)
e)
Congress would
recommend that the states restore confiscated loyalist property (again, the
government would not be involved)
IX.
