Empire to Independence

1. Empire to Independence

2. The Aftermath of the Wars • This was the 1st time most America colonists felt they were part of the British Empire. • They admired the British soldiers, but they noticed the differences more, i.e. cussing, drunkenness, womanizing, breaking the rules of the Sabbath, etc. • Most were appalled by this behavior & wanted nothing more to do with these people. • Also, they brought back diseases from the squalled, overcrowded camps.

3. They could not believe the torturous punishments that were common in the British military. • The British did not really know what to do with the Americans. They did most of the fighting, the Americans did little of it. Most British officers & soldiers looked down on the American troops as untested country bumpkins. • Now England had to deal with governing the Americans, protect it’s vast Empire, & make money.

4. Many in the English government felt that since most of the wars were fought in the New World, & since they did protect the Americans, so the American should help pay the expenses for their freedom. • Most Americans felt they paid enough in the men & materials sent to assist the British military. • But with the changing policies in England, the many changes in the ministers & those loyal to the King, the American colonies were caught in the middle.

5. George Grenville • The 1st Minister & 1st Lord of the Treasury. • Very intelligent, hard working, & the 1st to deal with the failing Imperial finances. • Felt that America should have a large standing army (100,000 British troops). Many in Parliament & in the Colony disagreed with him. • He wanted to use a Stop-Loss system to keep from losing many high ranking, influential officers (that may influence the government when they return home)

6. He introduced a 3 Point System (New Colonial Policy) 1) Western Policy, 2) Raise Revenue, 3) Tighter control over American Trade. • Western Policy – the Proclamation of 1763 – stated that settlers could not move into the trans-mountain region. This area belonged to the Indians & basically ran along the crest of the Appalachian Mountains. It tried to keep the Indians from attacking the colonists, but the military, the colonists & investors wanted the land on the other side of the mountains, thus enraging the Indians.

7. Raise Revenue – Grenville felt that the colonists should pay for their defense & protection. • Act for the Encouragement of Officers Making Seizures (1763) – established a new, more effective vice-admiralty court with jurisdiction over all of the colonies. They were now going to enforce all the laws, especially against smuggling, that had been ignored for many, many years, i.e., the Molasses Act of 1733 was now going to be strictly enforced. Mainly to stop the trade with the French & Spanish in the Caribbean.

8. Revenue Act of 1764 – called the Sugar Act, reduced the duty on foreign molasses from 6 pence/gallon to 3 pence /gallon & by 1766, 1 pence/gallon. This was mainly done to increase revenue rather than regulate trade. It also put duties on foreign textiles, wines, coffee, indigo, & sugar. • The theory was that merchants would rather pay a small duty than risk breaking the law. • Currency Act of 1764 – forbid the colonies from printing or issuing paper money. This hurt the colonies economy.

9. The Stamp Act of 1765 – required people buy stamps for official documents & published papers, to include, deeds, licenses, wills, passports, pamphlets, newspapers, playing cards & dice, diplomas, etc. This was met with even greater protest, because it was to raise money internally rather than externally. Completely going against Mercantilism. • Virginia was the 1st colony to protest the Stamp Act, led by Patrick Henry. He introduced the Virginia Resolve – that stated the Colonists had the same rights as British citizens. “No Taxation without Representation”.

10. Opposition to the Stamp Act was the 1st real disturbance of the American Revolution. • As soon as the newspapers reported on Virginia’s response, Rhode Island ordered its officials to ignore the Stamp Act. Mass., Conn., NY, NJ, Penn., Maryland, & S.C., all followed Virginia’s lead. They all claimed the same rights as any other British citizen. • Speeches, articles, pamphlets, etc. were being published criticizing the Stamp Act & its supporters. The cry of “No Taxation Without Representation” was everywhere in the Colonies.

11. Grenville’s response was that the Colonists had the same representation in Parliament as did an Englishman living in London. • Virtual Representation – the House of Commons represented every citizen of the British Empire, whether or not they could vote on its members. • Many in the Colonies refused to accept this policy, they wanted to have someone in Parliament that knew what it was like in the Colonies.

12. Mass. House of Representatives sent out a Circular Letter requesting delegates from the various colonies to meet in NY to work on appeals to the King & Parliament. • The Stamp Act Congress- Oct. 7-25, 1765- Nine sent representatives totaling 27 in all. They issued the Declaration of Rights & Grievances of the Colonies – it consisted of a petition to the King for relief & a petition to Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act. They also acknowledged that the Colonies were subordinate & subservient to the King & Parliament, but questioned their right to tax without proper representation of the Colonies.

13. Grenville stated that the Colonists were ungrateful. • Anti-Stamp mobs had been attacking Stamp collectors, mainly in the New England colonies. Andrew Oliver, the Stamp collector for Boston, resigned after the mob burned his “office” & his home. The mob (The Sons of Liberty) later destroyed Lt. Governor Thomas Hutchinson’s mansion, along with many other government officials. • Other Colonies wanted their Collectors to resign also & most did. Except the Stamp Collector in Georgia.

14. By the end of 1765, Grenville had fallen out of favor with the King & was fired. The new minister was the Marquis of Rockingham. His party “the Old Whigs” had similar views as those of the Colonies. • By 1766, Rockingham repealed the Stamp Act, but issued the Declaratory Act. This gave Parliament the power to make laws “binding the Colonies in all cases whatsoever”. It did nothing about the issue of taxes, yet. • Rockingham also lowered the molasses tax from 3 pence to 1 pence per gallon.

15. Rockingham only slowed the process of the Revolution. His “Band-Aid” quick fix did not really change anything. Many of the laws & taxes that infuriated the Colonists were still on the books. • A prime example is The Quartering Act of1765 – required the colonies to supply British troops with all their supplies & provide them with a place to stay. British troops that were on the frontier were brought in as a “show of force” & to enforce British policy. This mainly affected NY, which refused to comply with the Act.

16. Due to Rockingham’s quick fixes, he too, lost favor with the King & was fired. • William Pitt used this to his advantage. He was a brilliant politician that, at one time, backed the repeal of the Stamp Act because it was unjust on the Colonies. But, he urged for the use of military troops to keep the Colonies “in line with Parliament”. • By this time he was loosing his mind. Given to fits of “brilliant Insanity”, causing his supporters to doubt him & which, in turn, caused him to loose the Ministry.

17. Charles Townshend – took advantage of Pitt’s condition & was appointed to head the Ministry. He was Chancellor of the Exchequer, & used his experience to reopen the issue of colonial taxation. • The Townshend Acts (Duties) – Feb. 1767 – 1) force NY to comply with the Quartering Act by suspending its Assemblies. NY reluctantly submitted. 2) The Revenue Act of 1767 – levy duties on imported glass, lead, paint, paper, & tea. 3) Set up a Board of Customs Commissioners to deal with smuggling. 4) Set up Vice-Admiralty courts in Halifax, Boston, Philadelphia & Charleston.

18. These actually hurt the Colonies more than Grenville’s plan, and they hurt British manufacturing that was supplying the Colonies. • Townshend died a few months after this passed through Parliament, and the response to his Acts would be slow coming. No real protests against it until 1768. • “Letters of a Penn. Farmer” written by John Dickenson. Basically restated what the earlier Stamp Act Congress said, but added that British taxation in the America’s were wrong & dangerous.

19. The Colonies passed a Non-Consumption Agreement – the Colonies were to boycott all British goods & build their own factories & make their own goods. • Many merchants opposed the boycott because it would hurt their business. Plus, there were a lot of Loyalists in the Colonies, literally pitting neighbor against neighbor. • The Sons of Liberty – founded by Samuel Adams, one of the most active & violent of the Revolutionary trouble makers. Samuel Adams was a virtual genius at causing trouble for the British.

20. 3 things will increase tension to the boiling point: • The Earl of Hillsborough was now appointed by the King to the position of Sec. of State for the Colonies. His 1st action was to declare that if any colony complied with the Circular Letters, they would loose their charter. • The Customs agents began to harass John Hancock & seized 2 of his ships the “Lydia & Liberty”. (they were used for smuggling) This caused the Liberty Riots of May 1768 – mainly to get the Rum off the ships. Now the Royal Navy sent in Press Gangs to “recruit” for new sailors.

21. Wilkes Affair – John Wilkes, had been elected to Parliament, & wanted England to take the West Indies & not Canada. He felt that the Americans would rebel if England took control over Canada. He printed in his own newspaper about an affair between the King’s mother & a Lord. The King sent a General Search Warrant for his arrest. It took them 5 years to catch him, he was sent to prison but was still elected to Parliament 3 times while in jail. Parliament expelled him & this caused a protest at St. George’s Field (Park) where the British Army shot & killed 6 British citizens. This became an early rallying cry for the Americans. Along with the Glorious 92!!

22. 1768 the boycotts took affect in NY, Boston & Philadelphia. • About the same time, England removes 2 regiments of it’s army from NY to Boston. To maintain order & enforce the Townshend Acts. • Samuel Adams & The Sons of Liberty were getting more prominent & vocal about their concerns. Actually asked the Governor of Mass. To call an Assembly on what to do about the British Army moving into Boston. He refused, so Adams called for a Convention of Towns to deal with this situation. They decided to do nothing.

23. Sept. 1768 – the British Army arrives in Boston. Started out pretty well, no major incidences. • The Army surprised the civilians with their strict discipline & punishment of the troops. The people remembered what the veterans of the 7 Years War told them. Floggings, executions, etc. Also, the class differences between the wealthy officers & poor soldiers. • Problems began when the soldiers started looking for deserters. Utilizing the Writ of Assistance for this purpose, they could enter your home to look for these people.

24. Tensions increased as the troops began fighting with the civilians, public drunkenness, harassing the women, etc. Also, the Quartering Act allowed for the soldiers to be housed in private homes. Soldiers actually started blending in with the local population, getting jobs & dating local girls. This caused problems with the local men. • Cultural differences between the Puritans & the soldiers really intensified the situation.

25. Jan. 1770 – the merchants of Boston were going to continue the Boycott of British goods. The Sons of Liberty vowed to increased their presence & actions unless the British withdrew from Boston. • Feb. 22, 1770 – Theophilus Lillie, a merchant, became a target of the Sons of Liberty. They surrounded his business & scared off customers. One of Lillie’s neighbors, Ebenezer Richardson, began yelling at the mob. They threatened him, so Richardson grabbed a musket & shot into the mob, killing an 11 yr. old boy – Christopher Seider.

26. The mob stormed his house, dragged him into the streets, & began to beat him until Mr. Richardson was arrested for his protection • March 2, 1770 – Gray’s Ropewalk Riots. British soldiers were looking for jobs at the ropewalk. The owner told the soldiers that the only jobs they would be suited for would be cleaning outhouses by hand. The soldiers began yelling & cussing, causing a mob to surround them. The killing of young Mr. Seider was still fresh in the minds of the local population. Fights broke out among the soldiers & the civilians three (3) separate times that day.

27. The Boston Massacre • March 5, 1770 – following on the heels of the Ropewalk Riots, tensions were very high in Boston. • Many different versions of what happened at that day. • Version 1 is in the book. A mob began yelling & throwing snowballs at the British troops, one was knocked down & shot into the crowd. The rest of the soldiers opened fire in turn. Crispus Attucks, a run-away slave & leader of the mob, was killed.

28. Version 2 – March 5, 1770 – a 14 yr. old Boston boy was spitting at the British guard stationed outside the Customs House. An officer confronted the boy & told him to move along. As the boy was leaving, a British Private slapped the boy in the head. The child, ran & told a group of men (The Sons of Liberty) that the British had attacked him. A large crowd began to assemble in front of the Customs House. The young Private was being taunted, harassed, and was the target of many rocks thrown by the crowd.

29. The Captain of the Day, Cpt. Thomas Preston, took a squad of 7 men to march in & remove the Private to a safe location. At around 10pm, the squad marched in. The crowd focused their attention on them. A rock was thrown, hitting a soldier in the head causing him to drop his weapon. It went off, the rest of the squad opened fire since they heard a shot & one of their men was laying on the ground bleeding from his head. Cpt. Preston did not give the order to open fire, but was heard giving the command to cease fire! The result was 5 civilians killed & Crispus Attucks.

30. Gov. Thomas Hutchinson arrived & was able to get the crowd to leave by promising that the soldiers would be held accountable for their actions. • They were arrested & had to stand trial. John Adams (Samuel’s cousin) was the lawyer for the British soldiers – 9 total. He was able to get the trial postponed from March 1770 to Oct. 1770 & had Cpt. Preston tried separately from the men. He was acquitted of all charges. The men did not fair so well. This proved the class differences in the military.

31. The soldiers did not fair so well. Only 2 soldiers were found guilty of Manslaughter. But they claimed “Benefit of the Clergy” & were branded on their thumbs & released. • The aftermath of the Boston Massacre was fairly widespread. The colonies were very angry & even some of the Loyalists began to doubt British authority. In England, Parliament repealed the Townshend Duties, except for the Tea Tax. For the most part, tensions had been eased on both sides of the Atlantic.

32. Much of the Colonial life returned to normal. Smuggling continued, British goods were once again being bought & sold in the Colonies, & the British Army withdrew from Boston. • For the next 2 yrs. it was fairly peaceful. Only the occasional incident between the Army & civilians or the Navy with smugglers. But nothing major. • Samuel Adams was worried that the cause was lost & vowed to start it back up!!

33. The Lull • From 1770 – 1773 there was relative peace in the colonies. This was the time period between the repeal of the Townshend Duties & the Tea Act. • Samuel Adams still pushing the Revolution. He was finally able to get John Adams & Benjamin Franklin to back the colonists cause. • Several rumors were being circulated, many think by Samuel Adams, that the appointment of an Anglican Bishop in the colonies.

34. The Gaspee Afffair – June 9, 1772, a Royal Navy Schooner, The Gaspee, ran aground while searching for smugglers off the coast of Rhode Island. A crowd of over 100 men boarded the ship, attacking the crew & wounding its commander, William Dudingston. They set the ship on fire, destroying it. England sent a Commission of Inquiry to find those responsible & send them to England to be tried for high treason & destruction of Royal property. • The Commission never found anyone.

35. The Colonists thought the act of taking Americans to England to stand trial would be a threat to their rights. • The Sons of Liberty took the lead once more & started pushing for the formation of Committees of Correspondence to issue statements of Colonial Rights & grievances against England. By 1773, these Committees were in all 13 colonies. • Tensions were now building back up, as Samuel Adams had hoped. • They are going to get even worse, very fast.

36. The Tea Act of 1773 • Lord North’s government was tasked to bail out the East India Co. Mainly because many of those in Parliament were stock holders & it would cause a recession in England. • The Tea Act would raise funds for the Co. by taxing tea in America. It actually cut the duty on tea, making it cheaper than ever before. It also allowed the East India Co. to have a monopoly on tea in America. • “Duty Tea” was being sent to S.C., Penn., N.Y. & Mass. In Aug & Sept. 1773.

37. Charleston, S.C. stored the tea in a warehouse & would not sell it. • N.Y. & Penn. would stage riots at the docks & turned the ships away. • But the protest in Boston, Mass. is the most famous. It starts with the locally owned ship The Dartmouth. A local ship, loaded with tea & docked in Boston Harbor. It had to be unloaded within 20 days. The longshoremen refused to unload it & asked Gov. Hutchinson to send it back to England. He declined due to personal reasons. (He was one of the owners)

38. The Boston Tea Party • Dec. 16, 1773 – with tensions still high from the Dartmouth incident, two (2) more tea ships from England docked in Boston Harbor, The Eleanor & The Beaver. The crowd that gathered, along with the Sons of Liberty, vowed that the tea would never fall into the hands of the British customs Agents. • That night, these men, dressed up as Mohawk Indians, boarded the ships & dumped over 300 chests of tea into the harbor. Destroying over 90,000 lbs. of tea & with a cost of about 10,000 English Pounds.

39. Surprisingly, few people in Boston (and in the Colonies) agreed with the destruction of property. Many condemned it as an act of cowardice, including Benjamin Franklin & George Washington. • Several voted to pay reparations & formally apologize. • England’s response was swift & stern. Lord North decided that steps should “be taken to secure the Dependence of the Colonies & to mark out Boston & separate that town from the rest of the Delinquents.”

40. The Coercive Acts • These were Lord North’s response to the Tea Party. His Ministry chose not to back down to the Colonists & try to appease them. Rather, force compliance from the Colonies by any means necessary. • Called the Intolerable Acts in the Colonies. They consisted of 4 (Four) separate acts to punish the Colonies & assert England’s power over this “rogue” territory.

41. The Boston Port Act – the port of Boston was closed & boycotted by England until the tea was paid for. • The Massachusetts Government Act – the charter of Mass. was changed by the Upper House, Judges were to be appointed by Royal Governor & town meetings were confined to local issues only. • Administration of Justice Act – permitted the English government to send all indicted Royal officials to England for trial. • Quartering Act – housing of British soldiers. Now, the British Commander in America had the authority to seize buildings to use for barracks if none were freely provided.

42. The Quebec Act – June 1774 - passed by Parliament to extend the territory of Quebec south of the Great Lakes, Quebec would not have a representative assembly & be led by an appointed Governor & guaranteed freedom of religion for Catholics. • Colonial response was rather quick. • New England had been singled out for punishment since the rebellion started in Boston. • Samuel Adams called for a Boston Town Meeting to decide further action against England.

43. They agreed to stop all trade with England, not to purchase any English goods after Aug. 31, 1774, & boycott any businesses that continued to trade with England. • June 17, 1774 – they agreed on forming a Continental Congress with Samuel & John Adams as the Mass. delegates. • Sept. 5, 1774 – the 1st Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, Penn. 12 colonies sent 55 delegates, Georgia was the only colony not represented. Factions were already forming early on, Radical & Conservative.

44. The Radical Faction was led by Samuel Adams. They wanted a national boycott of all English goods. Lots of strong allies, i.e. Richard Henry Lee of Va. • The Conservative Faction was led by Joseph Galloway from Penn. They sought a compromise between the American Colonies & England, claiming they were both right. Wanted to establish an American Branch of Parliament, led by the President General appointed by the King.

45. They established a Committee for the Declaration of American Rights – 12 delegates from each Colony, except Georgia. Very similar to the earlier attempts to voice American rights in the colonies. • It stated once again that the American Colonists were English citizens & had the same rights. Also, that Parliament had jurisdiction over American commerce & dealing with Imperial affairs, but not colonial affairs. The use of British troops in the colony should be left up to each respective colony.

46. The Continental Association of 1774 was formed to encourage each colony to form committees to enforce the boycott of English goods within its towns & cities. This boycott enforcement was designed to force the repeal of the Coercive, Quebec & Tea Acts. • Thomas Jefferson wrote & published The Summary View of the Rights of British Americans , basically stating that the King, not Parliament, has power & authority over the American Colonies. • This did not please the King nor Parliament, but both agreed something must be done.

47. Parliament answered with the Conciliatory Resolution, Feb. 27, 1775 – Lord North stated that Parliament would not regulate trade in the colonies by any means except taxes, but it would share with the colony in which they were collected. The colonies must freely give their share to the military & defense of the British Empire. But it also stated that Mass. was in a state of rebellion & forbade the New England colonies from trading with any country not in the Empire, nor were they allowed access to the fisheries & fishing waters off the coast of Canada. • This only caused more problems.

48. The Shot Heard ‘Round the World • By this time, it was really too late to turn back. • The Continental Congress had already requested that every colony activate its militia to train them. • The British officials in the colonies were losing control over them. The British military still felt that a quick, decisive strike would stop the trouble makers. • But most British officials in England & the colonies, felt it was only a localized incident.

49. Gen. Thomas Gage, Commander of British Forces in the American Colonies, felt it was a widespread in the colonies, not just a few local revolutionaries starting trouble. • Gen. Gage requested 40,000 more men, Lord North denied his request & would later replace him. A major mistake for the British. • April 14, 1775 - Gen. Gage received “secret” orders to stop the rebellion before it starts, arrest the leaders, & seize the militia supply cache at Concord. • April 18 – Lt. Col. Francis Smith & Major John Pitcairn, organized their men outside Boston at 10pm to move out.

50. Boston’s Committee of Safety heard about the British soldiers marching towards Lexington, sent Paul Revere & William Dawes to warn John Hancock & Samuel Adams. • Revere, Dawes & Dr. Samuel Prescott headed for Concord. Revere & Dawes were captured by a British patrol, Prescott continued on to warn Concord. • April 19, 1775 – Cpt. John Parker, Commander of the Lexington Militia, (about 56 men) had lined his men along the road as a show of force. It did not work!