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The Road to American Independence:. An Overview of the Events Leading to the Revolutionary War. Colonial America. British rule French rule and Spanish rule. Early American Settlements. Colonies developed different identities according to climate and charter. Colonies were divided into
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The Road to American Independence: An Overview of the Events Leading to the Revolutionary War
Colonial America • British rule • French rule • and Spanish rule
Colonies developed different identities according to climate and charter
Colonies were divided into • 3 regions • New England – NH, MA, • RI, CT • Middle Colonies – NY, PA, • NJ, MD, Del. • Southern Colonies – VA, • NC, SC, GA
13 Colonies New England Colonies – mostly came for religious freedom (Pilgrims/Puritans) • Economy was based on fishing, lumbering, and shipbuilding Middle Colonies – More of a mix coming for religious freedom and economic opportunities – more diverse backgrounds • Economy was based on farming and trade (Furs) Southern Colonies – mostly came for economic opportunities • Economy was based on agriculture – Tobacco, Cotton, Rice, Indigo
Slavery • Much more widely used in the Southern colonies – mid 1600’s to 1865 • Between 1517 and 1808, over 20 million people are taken from West Africa. Half did not survive to reach America • Slaves were viewed as necessary for the South’s agricultural economy. Triangle Trade – three-part voyage • 1. Europe to Africa – guns, textiles, manufactured goods • 2. Africa to America – Middle Passage – slaves to America - 6 to 8 weeks • 3. America to Europe – sugar, tobacco, cotton etc.
Graph for Loading slaves Aboard ship
North Carolina • Created in 1663 by Charles II – named after his father, Charles I • Lords Proprietor – 8 men who were rewarded for their loyalty to Charles • 1712 – splits into North and South Carolina • 1729 – becomes a royal colony under direct control of the King • Original economy – tobacco and lumber/naval products – most people are small farmers (Yeomen) • Original settlers – English, Quakers, Moravians, Scotch-Irish
Early Problems in North Carolina • 1677 – Culpeper’s Rebellion – NC refused to enforce the Navigation Acts • Bath – NC’s first town - 1706 • 1700’s – NC’s coast was a prime hiding spot for pirates – Blackbeard • Colonists began to have more conflicts with Native Americans • 1711 – Tuscarora War – lasts for two years, Indians upset over colonists taking their land
Charles II Early Carolina Colony
Beginning in the late 1600’s – France and England competed for control of North America – Most Indians sided with France – series of wars for control • French believed that British were trying to take away their fur trade • British believed that the French were stopping their expansion west French and Indian War – 1754-1763 – England wins Treaty of Paris – 1763 – peace treaty ending the war • 1. French lose all of their North American territories • 2. England controls everything east of the Mississippi – Spain controls everything west
Delaware Indian British Soldier
Afterwards, English colonists (pioneers) begin expanding west into the Appalachians and Ohio River Valley - backcountry • Conflicts with Native Americans – Indians did not believe European treaties applied to them – would not give up land – Pontiac’s Rebellion - 1763 Proclamation of 1763 – British government wanted to avoid future conflicts • 1. Banned British settlers from moving west of the Appalachians • 2. Any settlers already there had to move back • Caused great anger in the colonies and was widely ignored • These conflicts left the British in financial difficulty, looking for new ways to pay these debts
George Washington King George III
Mercantilism The colony existed for the economic benefit of the mother country All trade rules were dictated by the mother country Raw materials were for the sole benefit of the mother country Finished good were returned to the colonies and sold at a great profit. An early version of Imperialism Salutary Neglect England imposed little, to no authority, over the colonies. Mercantilism satisfied England’s needs Over time, colonists became less British and more American The Colonies develop…in spite of England
MERCANTILISM: AN ECONOMIC SYSTEM IN WHICH NATIONS SEEK TO INCREASE THEIR WEALTH BY OBTAINING GOLD & SILVER AND WITH A FAVORABLE BALANCE OF TRADE MERCANTILISM
England had many debts from French and Indian War – believed that the colonies should help pay for these • Navigation Acts – 1650-1696 – required colonies to trade primarily with England • Set taxes on some imported goods for the first time
Sugar Act 1764 • British needed money to pay back war debts. • George Grenville – British Prime Minister • 3 cent tax on foreign sugar. • Higher import tax on non-British cloth, coffee, indigo, and Madeira Canary wines. • Resulted in… • Banning of importation of foreign rum and French wine • Local production increased. • Colonies begin to protest British taxation. • Increased smuggling
No Taxation Without Representation • James Otis/Sam Adams – first colonial leaders to speak out against British taxes • Parliament could not tax the colonies since the colonies had no representatives in it. This was unfair. • Committees of Correspondence – spread info about British acts and how to resist them – Boycotts
Quartering Act 1765 • England kept a standing army in the Colonies after the French and Indian War. • Act required colonial assemblies to house and provision the British soldiers.
Americans had to pay a tax on… Paper Legal Documents Newspapers Playing Cards Other Documents Americans had to buy the special stamp to put on these Tax equaled half a penny Resulted in… Stamp Act Congress – asked England to repeal Stamp Act -Declaration of Rights and Grievances Colonists’ boycott of British goods. King George repealed the Stamp Act on March 18, 1766 Stamp Act 1765
Sons of Liberty – secret protest group created in Boston – used violence to protest British acts – created by Sam Adams • Colonists were never asked to pay any taxes that people in England were not paying – British were paying 25 times more – Colonists would have paid an extra dollar per year.
Stamp Act Protests Sam Adams
Established a board of customs collectors in Boston. Writs of Assistance – search warrants for smuggled goods Money from taxes paid salaries of British colonial officials. New import taxes… Glass Lead Paints Paper Tea Colonists boycotted all imports from England. Daughters of Liberty March, 1770, repealed all taxes, expect for tax on tea. Townshend Acts 1767
The Regulators • Western NC was increasingly unhappy with all political power being held by Eastern NC – corruption/Embezzlement • Tryon’s Palace – William Tryon • Regulators – Westerners who refused to pay taxes or follow state government’s laws • Herman Husband • Battle of Alamance – May 16, 1770 – Regulators lose
Boston Massacre • Sons of Liberty began attacking tax collectors – British soldiers begin arriving in Boston in 1768 to restore order • Boston Massacre – March 5, 1770 – five colonists are killed by British soldiers (Crispus Attucks – free black – maybe runaway slave) • Sons of Liberty used this as propaganda (only telling one side of the story) against British • John Adams defended the British in court case • All but two British soldiers found not guilty – the two get light punishments
Tryon’s Palace Battle of Alamance
Created to save the ailing East India Company. The Company could sell its surplus tea in the American colonies. The act retained the import tax on tea (Townshend Acts). 3 pennies per pound This Tax resulted in the Boston Tea Party. Tea Act 1773
The Boston Tea PartyDecember 16, 1773 • Group of men disguised as Blacks and Mohawk Indians. • Led by Samuel Adams. • Dumped 342 chests of British tea into the Boston Harbor. • 3 million dollars damage
INTOLERABLE ACTS (COERCIVE ACTS) • Intolerable Acts – 1774 – shut down Boston • Disbanded Massachusetts legislature • Put Massachusetts under military rule • – made colonists even angrier since it violated their rights as British citizens • Proposed total boycott of British goods – (refusal to buy or use) • NC – Edenton Tea Party – Penelope Barker
“No Taxation Without Representation!” First Continental Congress Meets in Philadelphia September 1774 First attempt to unite the colonies to protest British taxation Boycott of British goods No one yet willing to pursue independence