Prelude to Revolution Great Awakening allowed people to question many forms of established authority encouraged independent thinking broadened the range of religious options Newspaper and pamphlet wars expanded the printing capabilities of the colonies ID: 752336
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The American Revolution: 1763-1783Slide2
Prelude to Revolution
Great Awakening
allowed people to question many forms of established authority
encouraged independent thinking
broadened the range of religious options
Newspaper and pamphlet wars expanded the printing capabilities of the coloniesSlide3
Effect of the French & Indian War
The colonies emerged from the Seven Years' War with an increased sense of solidarity
The colonies were never more British than in 1763
However, the Proclamation Line of 1763 & increased attention from Britain led many to feel betrayed
France cedes Canada to Britain in exchange for Guadeloupe & Martinique
Gave Louisiana to Spain
Spain gave Florida to Britain in exchange for the Philippines & CubaSlide4
Proclamation Line of 1763
Declared by Britain in response to Pontiac's Rebellion and increased tensions everywhere between settlers and Native Americans
Indians could no longer play the French against the British & vice versa
increased sense of pan-Indian identity developed out of the French & Indian War for Native Americans as well
Angered colonists & was largely ignoredSlide5Slide6
Consolidating the Empire
Britain realized anew the importance of the colonies in the French & Indian War
contributed soldiers & economic resources
believed that new regulations were necessary to ensure British prosperity & strength
Britain was enormously in debt due to the war
expected the colonist to help pay for their defense
took measures to prevent actions which evaded the Navigation Acts and passed additional measures to raise taxes Slide7
Wool Act 1699, Hat Act of 1732, & Iron Act of 1750
forbade colonial manufacture of these items
Molasses Act of 1733
prohibitive tax on French-produced molasses used in the making of rum
These were largely ignored by the colonistsSlide8
Board of Trade
was est. in the late 1740s to strengthen imperial authority & prevent the colonies from ignoring lucrative British laws
suspended due to the Seven Years' War Slide9
End of Salutary Neglect
Sugar Act 1764
reduced molasses tax from six to three pence per gallon
strengthened admiralty courts
prevented colonists from being tried by a jury & ensured their prosecution for smugglingSlide10
Stamp Act of 1765
newspapers, legal documents, books, etc. must carry a stamp indicating the payment of the tax
marked a departure from regulation of trade
imposed without the assent of local authorities
willing to defend their authority
colonists claimed that they were not represented in Parliament
others in England were only represented through virtual representation in the House of Commons as well
long history of neglect by England + direct representation = unwillingness to submit to an abridgment of usual rights Slide11
Other Regulations in 1764
Currency Act
reinforced an earlier ban on colonial assemblies issuing paper money as "legal tender"
Revenue Act
wool and hides were added to the enumerated list
previously traded with Holland, France, & southern EuropeSlide12
Patrick Henry's Resolutions
Virginia's House of Burgesses approved four of Patrick Henry's resolutions
Colonists enjoyed the same "liberties, privileges, franchises, and immunities" as residents of England
right to consent to taxation was the cornerstone of "British freedom"
rejected three of Henry's resolutions as too radical
One of the three advocated outright resistanceSlide13
Stamp Act Congress
October 1765
:
twenty-seven delegates from nine colonies met to endorse Virginia's position
affirmed their allegiance to Great Britain & subordination to Parliament
Merchants soon agreed to boycott British goods until Parliament repealed the Stamp Act
first major act of cooperation among the colonies'Slide14
Resistance
Crowds forced people chosen to administer the taxes to resign, burned them in effigy, and attacked their houses
shipments of stamps were destroyed
organized by the Sons of Liberty
Alexander McDougall, Isaac Sears, & John Lamb
enforced the boycott Slide15
Repeal
1766: Britain repealed the Stamp Act
accompanied by the Declaratory Act
stated that Britain had the right to pass laws "in all cases whatever"Slide16
the Regulators
Conflicting land claims flamed into disputes between settlers, colonial governments, speculators, & Native Americans as people went west
settlers & small farmers challenged the claims of land speculators & large proprietors
Wealthy residents of the Carolina backcountry calling themselves Regulators sought to settle disputes caused by a lack of regularized land titles and bands of outlaws that committed "shocking outrages" against people & propertySlide17
Parallel movement in North Carolina involved small farmers
refused to pay taxes, kidnapped local officials, assaulted the homes of speculators, merchants, & lawyers
condemned the rich & powerful
Peak = 8,000 Regulators
1771: "battle of Almance" the farmers were suppressed by the colonial militiaSlide18
Tenant UpRising
In the mid-1760s, a different group men claiming to be the Sons of Liberty, tenants on the Livingston, Philipse, & Courtland manors on the Hudson River, stopped paying rent & began to seize land
suppressed by British & colonial troops
Green Mountain Boys
mid-1770s group of men led by Ethan Allen who resisted the outside claims to land in what was New York, but in the 1750s the governor of New Hampshire had given large land grants in the area to New England families
gained control of the region & it became Vermont
These conflicts revealed social tension in the coloniesSlide19
Townshend Crisis
1767: new taxes on goods imported to the colonies were imposed & a new board of custom commissioners were appointed to collect them & suppress smuggling
1768: ban on importing British goods is reinstated
became a virtue to wear colonial goods instead of imported British finerySlide20
Boston Massacre
Royal troops had been stationed in Boston since riots in 1768 following the seizure of the
Liberty
for violating trade regulations
March 5, 1770
fight broke out between a snowball-throwing crowd of Bostonians and British troops
5 colonists are left dead
commanding officer & 8 soldiers were put on trial
defended by John Adams
seven not-guilty, two convicted of manslaughter
Paul Revere stirs the feelings of the colonies with his print of the eventSlide21
end of the Townshend duties
1770: boycott of British goods was collapsing
British merchants push for the repeal of the Townshend duties
government agreed, but left a tax on tea
troops removed from Boston
boycott ends
Unrest remained as rumors of a plan to send Anglican bishops to America to establish religious courts surfacesSlide22
Tea Act
East India Company was given rebates & tax incentives to sell tea in America
undertaken to bailout the struggling company
undercut merchants & smugglers
tax on tea was not new
many insisted that it acknowledge Britain's right to tax the colonies
December 16, 1773
group of colonists disguised as Indians boarded three ships in Boston Harbor & threw 300 chests of tea into the water
Became known as the Boston Tea Party
in response, Parliament passes the Coercive Acts (AKA Intolerable Acts)Slide23
Intolerable Acts
Parliament closed the port of Boston until the tea was paid for
altered the Massachusetts Charter of 1691
curtailed town meetings
governor could appoint members to the council
Military commanders could lodge soldiers in private homesSlide24
Quebec Act
Extended the southern boundary of the Canadian province to the Ohio River
granted legal toleration to the Catholic Church in Canada
threw into question land claims in the Ohio country
convinced many Britain was trying to strengthen Catholicism in AmericaSlide25
Growing Tension
September 1774:
Worcester, MA
4,600 militia from 37 towns line both sides of the streets as British appointed officials were forced to walk the gauntlet between them
Suffolk Resolves
convention of delegates from MA towns approve a series of resolutions
urged Americans to refuse obedience to the new laws, withhold taxes, & prepare for warSlide26
Continental Congress
September 1774 in Philadelphia
leaders of 12 colonies (all except Georgia) met to coordinate resistance to the Intolerable Acts
endorsed the Suffolk Resolves & adopted the Continental Association which called for an almost complete halt to trade with Great Britain & the West Indies
encouraged domestic manufacturing
authorized local Committees of Safety to take action against "enemies of American liberty"
Local committees such as this became the political training grounds for people with little prior experience in governmentSlide27
Sweets of Liberty
Americans began to base their claims not on the rights of Englishman but on natural rights & universal freedom
Influenced by the Enlightenment thinkers such as John LockeSlide28
The Shot Heard Round the world
April 19, 1775
British troops marched on Concord, MA to seize arms being stockpiled there
Riders warn colonists & militiamen take up arms
skirmishes took place at Lexington & again at Concord
British retreat to Boston
49 colonists & 73 British troops die
British declared the colonies in rebellion, dispatched thousands of troops, & ordered the closing of all colonial portsSlide29
Second Continental Congress
May 1775
authorized raising of an army
printed money to pay for it
George Washington appointed the commanderSlide30
Early Conflict
May 1775:
Ethan Allen & the Green Mountain boys with militia from Connecticut led by Benedict Arnold surround Fort Ticonderoga & force its surrender
June 17, 1775:
Bunker Hill
British dislodged colonial militia from Breed's Hill at a heavy cost
March 1776:
Canons from Fort Ticonderoga are used to push the British out of Boston
Sir William Howe cuts down the original Liberty Tree before their retreatSlide31
1776
Colonists were at war with Britain but still pleading for rights within the empire
Many believed that anarchy would result if the colonies broke away
July 1775: Congress had sent the
Olive Branch Petition
to King George III
Thomas Paine
in his pamphlet
Common Sense
in January 1776 argued that the English monarchy was headed by a "royal brute" and the English constitution the result of two ancient tyrannies: monarchy & aristocracy
Stated that a democratic government based on frequent elections with the protection of citizen's rights by a constitution would be ideal Slide32
Paine's Impact
Ideas were not new
message was for the common man, not the educated elite
sold an est. 150,000Slide33
Declaration of Independence
July 2, 1776: Congress formally declared the United States a separate nation
2 days later, it approved the Declaration of Independence
clause condemning the slave trade was deleted at the insistence of Georgia & South Carolina
Cemented the idea of American exceptionalismSlide34
Balance of Power
seemed to favor the British
American soldiers
had fought in the Seven Years' War or undergone extensive militia training
fighting on their own soil for a cause they truly believed in
Britain
conquering the colonies would be an enormous & expensive task
not certain that British citizens would want to pay high taxes to finance such a warSlide35
Blacks in the Revolution
Washington was forced to accept them after Lord Dunmore's proclamation in 1775
drafted individual could provide a substitute, and many sent their slaves
many fought in integrated companies
free blacks were allowed to fight for all militias except in Georgia & South Carolina
not explicitly promised freedom, but many received it at the end of the warSlide36
first years of the War
Washington suffered many defeats, but avoided direct confrontations & kept his army intact
Eventually many soldiers went home bc they became demoralized
28,000 to 3,000 men
December 26, 1776
surprise attack on Hessian soldiers in Trenton, NJ
January 3,1777
defeat of the British force at Princeton
These wins improved American moraleSlide37
October 17, 1777
General John Burgoyne's defeat by Washington's troops at Saratoga
Led the French to sign the Treaty of Amity and Commerce with America in 1778
recognize the U.S. & send military assistance
soon Spain also joined the U.S. sideSlide38
Winter 1777-1778
British under Sir Henry Clinton encamp at Philadelphia
Washington's men encamp at Valley Forge
suffer tremendously from a lack of suppliesSlide39
War in the south
In 1778, the focus of the war shifted to the South
British were attempting to capitalize on social tensions and the presence of Loyalists
Actions of Colonel Banastre Tarleton convinced many to join the colonists
defeated at Cowpens January 1781
British position in South Carolina was eroded by hit-&-run attacks by Francis MarionSlide40
Yorktown
October 19, 1781
British under Cornwallis were defeated when Washington's troops trapped his forces on the peninsula by land and the French blocked their exit by sea
destroyed British support for the war
Treaty of Paris 1783
recognize the U.S. as independent
nation extended to the MS River
Americans must pay back British merchants & honor Loyalist land claims
right to fish in waters off Canada