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Road to Revolution, 1763-1775

Road to Revolution, 1763-1775. Colonies were virtually ignored (salutary neglect) Colonist remained loyal subjects of the King--”…rights of Englishmen.” Navigation Acts are generally ignored; monopoly on exports 13 independent, cantankerous colonies. “salutary neglect”

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Road to Revolution, 1763-1775

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  1. Road to Revolution, 1763-1775

  2. Colonies were virtually ignored (salutary neglect) Colonist remained loyal subjects of the King--”…rights of Englishmen.” Navigation Acts are generally ignored; monopoly on exports 13 independent, cantankerous colonies “salutary neglect” Virtual self-rule (royal governors are weak) Distant rulers: 3000 miles away Economically prosperous in spite of mercantilism Develop own identity 1760: 2 million colonists Prior to 1763

  3. Proclamation of 1763 • Forbade settlement west of the Appalachians • Attempt to limit contact between colonists and natives • Build a series of forts and station 10,000 troops • Land-hungry colonists seeking farms in the west, extremely disappointed. Simply led to arguments between the two sides • Threatened real estate investors: The Ohio Company

  4. Sugar Act (1764) DESIGNED TO REGULATE TRADE AND RAISE REVENUE • Raised duties on sugar • Re-organized customs • Established admiralty courts (military tribunals) • Issued “writs of assistance” (permitted search and seizure by customs officials) • Used Royal Navy for enforcement • Resulted in mild protests by merchants

  5. Stamp Act of 1765 • Created by PM George Greenville • Required colonists to place stamps on legal documents, licenses, newspapers, cards, dice, etc… • Light economic burden • Precedent of an internal tax on colonists (existed in England) • Ignored colonial assemblies • RAISE REVENUE

  6. Stamp Act: Colonial Reaction • Sons of Liberty • Tar & Feathering • Ransacked homes • Threatened tax collectors • Stamp Act Congress • Opposed internal taxes • Reaffirmed loyalty to the king • Economic boycott • Propaganda • Pamphlets • Flyers • Newspapers

  7. Repeal of the Stamp Act (1766) • All colonial stamp collectors resign before law goes into effect • Parliament repeals Stamp Act • Colonists celebrate their first major “victory” • Protest represented first coordination efforts of colonies • Parliament passes Declaratory Actat the same time • Parliament has full authority over colonies (taxes and laws) • Provision ignored by Americans ”…Caesar had his Brutus; Charles the First his Cromwell; and George the Third ....may he profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it!” --Patrick Henry

  8. Townshend Acts (1767) • New taxes on various colonial imports (external tax): tariffs to pay salaries of gov/judges • Writs of assistance (search anywhere for smuggled goods) • Tried to enforce the “Quartering” Act of 1765 • Disbanded rebellious NY Assembly • -Stationed 10,000 troops in Boston • Colonial boycotts of taxed imports: Daughters of Liberty • Repealed (1770) after Townshend dies • Except for the tax on tea Townshend Acts

  9. The Boston Massacre 1770 • British regulars stationed inside Boston to keep order • Drunken colonists harassed Redcoat sentry verbally and with “snowballs with a core of rock” • Redcoats begin shooting (?), 5 dead colonists • Sam Adams & newspapers sensationalize account, call it a “massacre” • John Adams defends soldiers at trial • http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/boston-massacre/videos/boston-massacre Paul Revere’s look at the Boston Massacre

  10. Other Preludes to Revolution • Gaspée incident (1772) • Tea Act of 1773 • lowered taxes on tea by 50% • East India Co. given special tax breaks • EIC could undersell American competition (smuggled tea)

  11. Boston Tea Party (1773) • Colonists refuse to pay for destroyed tea • Coercive (Intolerable) Acts (1774) • Boston Port Act • Massachusetts Government Act • Quartering Act • Massachusetts Justice Act • http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/american-revolution-history/videos/the-sons-of-liberty-and-the-boston-tea-party

  12. Intolerable Acts •The Boston Port Bill became effective on June 1, 1774. The King closed Boston Harbor to everything but British ships. The Quartering Act was established on March 24, 1765. The King sent British troops to Boston. The colonists had to house and feed the British troops. • The Administration of Justice Act became effective May 20, 1774. British Officials could not be tried in colonial courts for crimes. They would be taken back to Britain and have a trial there. • Massachusetts Government Act became effective on May 20, 1774. The British Governor was in charge of all the town meetings in Boston. Thereby eliminating self-government. • The Quebec Act was established on May 20, 1774. This bill extended the Canadian borders to cut off the western colonies of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Virginia.

  13. The Quebec Act (1774) Allowed French residents to practice Catholicism No representative assembly Permitted French customs and traditions Extended Canadian boundary to Ohio River Threatened English land speculators: Ohio Company

  14. First Continental Congress • 56 delegates from 12 colonies • Met for six weeks in Philadelphia in the fall • Twofold purpose • Organize a boycott • Petition Parliament to repeal the Intolerable Acts • If Parliament refused, meet again in 1775

  15. Revolutionary Viewpoint • By 1775, the split was not irreconcilable • Moderates dominated: defend “…the rights of Englishmen.” • Conservatives: Must be loyal to the crown • Revolutionaries still considered extremists

  16. The Fighting Starts • Lexington and Concord: April 18, 1775 • Angry against the First Continental Congress, the king’s government declares Mass. in a state of rebellion. • British troops seize military supplies in Concord • Paul Revere and William Dawes, (minutemen) of Lexington face the British. • Americans forced to retreat • Who fired the first shot??? • Returning from Concord, British suffered 250 casualties

  17. Bunker Hill • June 17, 1775 • Two months later, opposing armies fought outside of Boston • Colonial militia of Mass. Farmers fortified Breed’s Hill • British force took the hill, but suffered over a thousand casualties.

  18. Second Continental Congress • May 1775 • Some (New England) wanted to declare independence • Others (Middle Colonies) sought negotiation • Adopted Declaration of the Causes and Necessities for Taking Up Arms • Colonies were called upon to provide troops • George Washington became commander-in-chief of colonial army • Navy and Marine corps organized to attack British shipping

  19. Peace? • Olive Branch Petition: pledged loyalty to Crown but sought peace and colonial rights • King ignored petition and agreed to Parliament’s Prohibitory Act, declaring colonies in rebellion and forbade trade and shipping between Britain and the colonies

  20. Thomas Paine • Common Sense • Used clear and forceful language • Urged breaking political ties with Britain • Distance and corruption of King was obvious reason to separate.

  21. Declaration of Independence • June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced a resolution to declare independence. • Five delegates including Thomas Jefferson formed committee in support of Lee’s resolution. • Declaration drafted by Jefferson listed specific grievances against King George III and listed basic principles that justified revolution. • Adopted on July 4, 1776.

  22. Analysis • Evaluate the relative importance of three the following as factors prompting Americans to rebel in 1776: • Parliamentary taxation • Restrictions of civil liberties • British military measures • The legacy of colonial religious and political ideas (or “salutary neglect”)(1992)

  23. Analysis • Evaluate the relative effectiveness of three of the colonial responses to British Parliamentary policies and actions from 1763 to 1776: • Propaganda • Mob Violence • Economic Boycotts • Organizational Structures

  24. Historical Interpretations • The American Revolution began in 1607 rather than with the change in British imperial policy in 1763. • The American Revolution was prompted more by economic concerns than by political and ideological ones. • The American Revolution was not about who would rule, but who would rule at home.

  25. Historical Interpretations • The British were within their rights and authority to levy taxes for defense, to regulate trade within the empire, and re-organize the imperial administrative structure. • The American Revolution proved to be an exercise in hypocrisy because representative government, civil liberties, and equality did not extend to blacks, slave and free, Indians, women, and the lower socio-economic classes. • The events of the American Revolution were led and “managed” by a small and educated colonial elite, unsupported by the majority of the colonial population.

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