The Road To Revolution

1. The Road To Revolution 1763-1775

2. The French & Indian War Ends • The war was extremely costly for Great Britain. • American colonists were content as English citizens in the New World. • They only sought the “rights of an Englishman.”

3. Deep Roots of Revolution

4. Republicanism • In true republicanism spirit, all citizens willingly give up their private, selfish interests. • They devote themselves to the “common good,” or the “good of the whole.”

5. Radical Whigs • Colonists who feared that their liberties would be taken away by the monarch and his ministers. • Always on guard against corruption in government.

6. Mother England • Distance weakens authority. • Great distance weakens authority greatly!

7. The American Colonies • There were no titled nobility in the colonies. • Property ownership and political participation was common.

8. Mercantilism • Wealth is power and a country’s economic wealth can be measured in the amount of gold and silver in its treasury. • EXPORT MORE THAN YOU IMPORT • Colonies - Raw materials • England - reduced need for foreign imports

9. Navigation Law of 1650 • All commerce in and out of the colonies must be transported by British ships. • This included colonial vessels. • European goods heading to colonies must first pass through England for tariffs

10. No Hard Money • Gold and Silver were scarce in the American Colonies • Gold and Silver are called hard money

11. No Hard Money • Colonists used butter, nails, pitch, feathers, etc. for exchange • Colonies issued paper notes, which quickly depreciated in value

12. Currency Act • English Parliament prohibited colonial legislatures from printing money. • This angered the colonists because there was a shortage of necessary cash.

13. Parliament’s Hand In America • The British Crown could nullify any law passed by a colonial legislature • Only used 469/8,563 colonial laws • Colonists fiercely resented this right of Parliament

14. Colonial Rebellion • Colonists would disregard or ignore restrictions placed on them by Parliament. • 1st American fortunes came from smuggling • John Hancock

15. Colonial Advantages • Colonists made a large profit from producing ship parts. • Virginia had a monopoly on the tobacco market in colonies and in Britain. • Colonies were protected by the world’s strongest Navy and Army of Redcoats.

16. Feeling Used… • Colonists felt used in the mercantilism system. • Colonists were dependent on British agents and creditors.

17. ENGLAND • After The Seven Years’ War, England had the largest empire in the world. • They also owed a tremendous debt for protecting its empire. • England’s debt was over L 140,000,000 • Half of which was spent defending the American Colonies.

18. George Grenville • Grenville became Head of the Treasury • Introduced several taxes on the American colonies. • Felt America should shoulder some of the costs of the 7 Years’ War

19. Sugar Act of 1764 • Increased tax on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies

20. Quartering Act of 1765 • Required certain colonies to provide food and quarters for British troops.

21. Stamp Act of 1765 • Stamped paper that certified the payment of an appropriate tax • ex. Playing cards, pamphlets, newspapers, diplomas, bills of laden, marriage licenses.

22. Grenville • Colonists saw Grenville as an aggressive tax collector. • Some colonies refused to comply with the new laws. • Colonists wondered why the British Army was still needed in the colonies after the French and Indian War.

23. “No taxation without representation.” • This becomes the rallying cry of the colonists who disliked Grenville’s taxes. • Irony – Not all the colonies allowed representation. • Colonies didn’t want members of the House of Commons – they would be the minority and the taxes would be passed anyway.

24. Actual Stamp on Newspapers The colonists hated the Stamp Act

25. Stamp Act Congress of 1765 • The Stamp Act Congress met in New York City with 27 delegates representing 9 colonies. • Drew up a statement of rights and grievances. • Asked King and Parliament to repeal Stamp Act • Their pleas were ignored in England

26. Non-Importation Agreement • The Stamp Act Congress agreed voluntarily not to purchase imported goods from Great Britain to show disapproval of the tax. • Widespread success

27. Taxation without Representation • The Sons of Liberty • The Daughters of Liberty • Took law into their own hands and violently enforced the non-importation agreement. • Mobs destroyed homes of unpopular officials • TAX COLLECTION BROKE DOWN

28. Stamp Act Mobs • Mobs forced tax collectors to resign from their posts. • There were no agents left on the day the Stamp Act went into effect. • Law was openly defied!

29. England Hit Hard • Colonies bought ¼ of British exports • ½ British shipping devoted to colonial trade • Non-importation hurt British economy • Many laborers lost jobs in England

30. Repeal of Stamp Act • The British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1766 • BUT passed the Declaratory Act of 1766 – declared its “absolute” sovereignty over its North American colonies.

31. Charles Townshend • “Champagne” Charley • British Prime Minister • Could give great orations in Parliament while completely drunk!

32. Townshend Acts of 1767 • Light taxes on glass, white lead, paper, paint, and tea. • These were indirect customs taxes at the ports, unlike the Stamp Tax. • However, colonists did not overlook the tax, and they were rebellious after the Stamp Act victory

33. Colonists & Teas • 1,000,000 colonists drank tea twice a day • Townshend Acts – revenue went to pay royal governors and judges • Colonists were again angered

34. London • Parliament shut down the New York colonial legislature for failure to follow the Quartering Act • Colonists found that smuggled tea was cheaper • Smuggling was high in Massachusetts • John Hancock

35. Boston • Because of rebellious actions of colonies, Britain sent 2 regiments of troops to Boston to face the breakdown of law and order - 1768

36. Boston Massacre • March 5, 1770 • 60 Bostonians attacked 10 British soldiers with clubs • Troops opened fire and killed 11 “innocent” citizens • 1st to die – Crispus Attucks – “mullato” African American leader of the mob

37. King George III • In 1770, King George III was 32 years old • Good man in private morals • Bad ruler • Stubborn and lustful for power

38. Townshend Acts Fail • The Townshend Acts failed to generate any sort of revenue • However, they did produce near rebellion from the colonists • Lord North – King’s “yes man” repealed the Townshend Acts but kept a 3 pence tax on tea…angered colonists

39. Samuel Adams • From Boston • Cousin of John Adams • His hands trembled • Lived and breathed politics • Zealous, courageous, tenacious, faith in common people

40. Adams cont… • Samuel Adams organized local committees of correspondence to spread resistance to British laws • Virginia followed Adams’ idea in 1773 • Soon, every colony had a central exchange system

41. Tea • By 1773, colonists were paying the tax on tea • Legal tea was cheaper than smuggled tea • Even cheaper than tea in England

42. Problems with Tea • The government in London awarded the British East India Company a monopoly on American colonial tea trade – 1773 • This principle of monopoly outraged the colonists • Colonists protested and forced all ships with BEIC tea to return to England with a full cargo (Philadelphia and New York City)

43. Gov. Thomas Hutchinson • Governor of Mass. • Hated by colonists • Ordered tea ships not to clear Boston Harbor until tea was unloaded • Colonists refused the ship to unload its cargo

44. Boston Tea Party • Band of Bostonians load the ship dressed as Indians • They smash 342 chests of tea and dumped it into Boston Harbor • Hutchinson left MA for England

45. Intolerable Acts • Parliament passed a series of acts to punish Boston and Massachusetts for the acts of the Boston Tea Party and other defiant actions of the colonists. • Many colonial charter rights were taken away from MA – restrictions on town meetings

46. Boston Port Act of 1774 • Closed Boston Harbor until damages were paid and order was restored.

47. Quebec Act of 1774 • Boundaries of Quebec were extended South to the Ohio River – trans-Allegheny area was snatched away from the colonists.

48. Continental Congress of 1774 • A congress was called to meet in Philadelphia from Sept. 5 – Oct. 26, 1774 • Met to consider ways to address their concerns to the King • 12/13 colonies – 55 delegates (GA) • Sam Adams, John Adams, George Washington, Patrick Henry

49. Continental Congress of 1774 • This was more of a convention than a Congress that makes laws. • Congress created The Association – called for a complete boycott of British goods; non-importation, non-exportation, and non-consumption • DELGATES DID NOT CALL FOR INDEPENDENCE !!!!! • Congress would meet again May 1775

50. April 1775 • British troops were sent to Lexington and Concord to seize stores of gunpowder • They were to capture Sam Adams and John Hancock • 8 Americans killed @ Lexington • Redcoats were forced to retreat from Concord • 300 dead British soldiers