The Revolutionary Era

1. The Revolutionary Era 1763-1783

2. What political, social, and economic factors led to the American Revolution? • Britain reexamined its long-standing policy of salutary neglect. • Began enforcing old restrictions and issuing new ones • English political tradition emphasized limiting the power of the ruler (Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, etc.) • 1763 – Weak authority of royal governors was exposed (had to share power with colonial assemblies); Proclamation of 1763 led to colonial resentment

3. The Issue of Taxation • Stricter enforcement of the Navigation Acts • Sugar Act of 1764 – first act passed with the express purpose of raising revenue • Currency Act of 1764 – outlawed colonial issues of paper money • Stamp Act of 1765 – all printed materials had to be stamped indicating a tax had been paid to the Crown • Prime Minister George Grenville used concept of virtual representation to dismiss colonial concerns

4. The Stamp Act Congress • Delegates from nine colonies met to form a collective response to the Stamp Act • Petitioned King George III and Parliament asking for repeal of the act • Called for a boycott on all trade with Britain • Organized the Sons of Liberty to pressure merchants to honor the boycott • Colonial women made homespun woolen garments • Stamp Act was repealed in 1766

5. Trouble in Boston • Townshend Acts of 1767 – imposed an import duty on glass, paper, and tea (indirect tax paid at American ports) • British troops sent to Boston in 1768 • Boston Massacre of 1770 – first time disputes over taxes led to bloodshed • Britain repealed the Townshend Acts, except for the tea tax

6. Response to the Townshend Duties • Sons of Libertyorganized a another boycott of British goods • Issued a circular letter from the Massachusetts House of Reps to protest the Townshend Acts • This “seditious letter” was considered an act of treason & the Massachusetts colonial assembly was dissolved

7. Response to the Townshend Duties • Effect: • The crisis over colonial representation was now evident • Colonies began communicating with each other effectively via committees of correspondence • Colonies became united in their “moral” opposition to these English abuses

8. Trouble in Boston • Tea Act of 1773 – tea could be sold in America only by the East India Company • Actually lowered the price of tea, but colonists still argued “taxation without representation” • Tea shipments sent to four cities – New York, Philadelphia, Charleston, Boston • December 16, 1773 – The Boston Tea Party

9. Coercive (Intolerable) Acts • Parliament retaliated against this act of insubordination with the Coercive Acts in 1774: • Closed the port of Boston until the destroyed tea was paid for • Massachusetts town meetings were limited to once per year • New England, Middle, & Southern colonists rallied to support Boston

10. The Quebec Act (1774) • The Quebec Act created a gov’t for newly ceded Canada…but it lacked a colonial assembly • Colonists interpreted this as final proof of a Parliamentary plot to “enslave” America

12. Colonial Unity • First Continental Congress – 1774 • Delegates from 12 colonies met in Philadelphia • Delegates included Patrick Henry, George Washington, John Adams, and Sam Adams • Resolved to send a Declaration of Rights to the King • Placed a boycott on British goods • Planned to call for a Second Continental Congress in May, 1775 • Lord North declared the Congress an illegal assembly

13. Loyalists and Patriots • Loyalists included British-appointed government officials, Anglican clergy, merchants whose trade depended on good relationships with Britain, and some slaves who believed Britain would pursue anti-slavery policies • Patriots included the colonial elite, urban artisans, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, and merchants who dealt in American commodities