Chapter 4: The Quest for Liberty

1. Chapter 4: The Quest for Liberty The American Revolution

2. 1760-1860 major changes happened in North America, France and Britain. • America: colonists rebelled against the British who ruled them • Led to the Establishment of the USA. • France: experienced a revolution which led to the end of oppressive royal control. • Britain: was starting to industrialize and slave production in the colonies was no longer as profitable. • They decided to end slavery in the colonies. • However, the end of slavery also came about due to the new ideas of human liberty which the American and French Revolutions had produced.

3. Definitions: • Liberty: a call for individual rights, such as freedom of speech and religion. • Equality: the desire for the identical rights for all instead of special privileges for a few. People wanted equality of opportunity, where positions were based on ability and not birth or status. • Fraternity: means ‘brotherhood’. The revolutionaries believed in a sense of belonging and of working together for the same purpose.

4. UNIT 4.1 WAS THERE AN AMERICAN REVOLUTION? • In 1775 the 13 British colonies in N. America rebelled against British rule and established a new independent nation, the United States of America. • THE AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE OR THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION? • Revolution: something that fundamentally changes not only the government but also the way of life of people living in that society.

5. THE SITUATION IN AMERICA BEFORE THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. • A governor, appointed by Britain, ruled each colony. The assembly (legislative body) was elected by most of the male settlers in each colony. The right to vote was more widely available to colonists than it was in England. • Colonists were used to making decisions and resented British interference. Britain wanted the colonies to supply raw materials and buy manufactured goods from Britain. Britain resented the colonies industrializing initiative which competed with Britain factories. • The British government imposed controls that limited the colonies. Despite these restrictions the economy boomed and colonists generally had a higher standard of living than people in other countries, including Britain.

6. The 13 Colonies before 1763 Britain had 13 colonies in North America. Each colony was a separate entity with its own government. Intercolony ties were not created until conflicts with Britain, united the colonists. Source A

7. HOW DID THE DISSATISFACTION WITH BRITAIN BECOME A WAR? • Britain and France fought a war in 1757-63 known as the Seven Years’ War. Actions by the British government at the end of the war caused resentment in the colonies. [The British army protected colonists in N. America from attacks by Native Americans and against the French.] • 1. Britain passed the Stamp Act (1765) they felt that the colonies should help pay for the cost of the war & the upkeep of the British army in N. America. The Stamp Act meant that Americans had to pay tax on newspapers, legal documents, pamphlets and playing cards. Americans protested and as a result the British parliament withdrew the tax. But for the Americans the underlying issue remained, they believed that the parliament in London did not have the right to impose taxes.

8. HOW DID THE DISSATISFACTION WITH BRITAIN BECOME A WAR? …(continued) • 2. Britain decided to restrict further movement of the colonists westward. Britain knew that expansion would result in war between the colonists and Native Americans living there. ‘Frontier’ farmers who had hoped to get more land were upset with this decision. • 3.The British government then imposed taxes on other products, such as tea, sugar and paint.

9. Source B • Britain hoped to shift some of the financial burden onto the colonists by imposing a series of taxes without consulting colonial governments. The colonies resisted, claiming there should be no taxes without representation.

10. HOW DID THE DISSATISFACTION WITH BRITAIN BECOME A WAR? …(continued) • Boston Massacre: Colonists refused to buy these products, & the assemblies refused to work with the British governors. The situation became violent when the British soldiers fired on a crowd of protestors in Boston in 1770, killing 5 of them. • The Boston Tea Party: In protest against the tax on tea, a group of Boston residents disguised as Native Americans, boarded a British ship in Boston harbour in 1733 and threw the cargo of tea into the sea. Britain reacted by closing the harbour, local elections were suspended and the British governor was given more power. • In 1775 fighting between British troops and American volunteers began in Massachusetts. Soon other colonies joined in open rebellion against British rule.

11. Source C • Boston Massacre was actually a street fight between a mob and a squad of British soldiers that ended with the deaths of five colonists. This picture was engraved, printed, and sold by Paul Revere but does not depict events as they actually happened.

12. Source D Bostonians Paying the Excise Man • Colonists in Boston, pour tea down the throat of a tarred-and-feathered tax collector in this adaptation of a 1774 cartoon The background shows the Boston Tea.

13. WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE WAR? • In 1776 representatives from the 13 colonies met in Philadelphia and adopted the Declaration of Independence. Britain did not accept this. For the next 7 years a bitter struggle took place: the War of Independence. • The War of Independence became a civil war as well. Some colonies (‘Loyalists’) supported Britain. They tended to be wealthy and politically moderate. The opposition called themselves ‘Patriots’. Patriots included wealthy planters and businessmen farmers and artisans.

14. Source E • Extract from Declaration of Independence • We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. • That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. • That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, having its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

15. Source F American Revolution Uniforms • During the American Revolution (1775-1783), the colonists wore different uniforms depending on the state they were from and their military rank.

16. WHO FOUGHT IN THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE? • A 1/5 of the population in the colonies was African-American and 95% of them were slaves. As the colonists became in desperate need for soldiers they allowed black soldiers to serve in the army. • Many African-Americans fought on the British side because they were promised freedom. A number of Native Americans also fought on the British side because they were promised freedom. A number of Native Americans also fought on the British side. The French sent arms, ammunition and soldiers to help the Americans. The British were defeated and by 1783 Britain was ready to recognize the independence of the American colonies.

17. WHAT CHANGES HAPPENED AS A RESULT OF THE WAR? • Decided that there should be a balance between the powers of the central government (Washington DC) and the rights of individual states (former colonies). • Each state also drew up a new constitution. More people had an opportunity to participate in decision-making, by voting or being elected to power. • The USA therefore was more democratic than the colonies had been.

18. HOW MUCH LIBERTY DID THESE CHANGES BRING? • The American Revolution did not bring equality and liberty to all Americans: • Slavery remained in the southern states, although some northern states abolished it. • Native Americans were excluded from the benefits of the revolution. Rapid westward expansion of the USA after the war created further problems for them. Gradually lost their land and independence and became 2nd class citizens.

19. HOW MUCH LIBERTY DID THESE CHANGES BRING? …[continued] • The poor did not benefit. Political power remained in the hands of the wealthy. Political equality for white men only came in the 1830s. • The position of women didn’t change: they were regarded as inferior to men. For example any property owned by women became the property of their husbands.

20. Source G Advertisement for Slave Auction, 1829 • This slave auction advertised slaves for sale or temporary hire by their owners. Buyers often paid $2000 for a skilled, healthy slave. Auctions often separated family members. • Evidence that liberty, equality and fraternity was not for all