roads to revolution, 1750-1776

Roads to Revolution, 1750-1776

• After 1763, Parliament and the King attempt to reorganize the enlarged empire by tightening control

• Many ordinary people engaged in direct often violent demonstrations against this

• These actions reflected a growing socio-economic tension with the colonies

• The road to revolution arose from a constitutional crisis with the Empire

A Fragile Peace• The King George’s War failed to solve

anything in America• Ohio Valley became a tinderbox for

conflict with competing claims from Virginia, Penn., France, and the Iroquois

• The French began building forts in 1753

• George Washington sent in to deal with it, but is repelled in 1754

• Seven colonies north of Virginia meet in Albany to lay the foundations of mutual defense

• First they showered the Iroquois with gifts to get them to stay neutral (30 wagon loads)

• Known as the Albany Plan of Union (Ben Franklin)▫ It was to set up a Grand Council that included

reps. From all colonial assemblies▫ Devise policies regarding military defense and

Indian affairs▫ A way to demand funds from the colonies

▫ It was a unity plan that failed due to the taxation issue

Seven Years’ War in America, 1754-1760

• After Washington’s loss, the British send 1,000 troops under Gen. Edmund Braddock to seize Fort Duquesne

• Braddock’s 2,200 defeated by 850 French, Canadians, and Indians (loss of 900)

• As a result, the western lands were under constant assault, and little expansion could take place

• But two developments change in favor of the British▫1. the Iroquois and most of the Ohio

Indians abandon support for the French▫2. William Pitt takes over control of the

British forces. He believed the key to success was mobilizing the colonial soldiers, but have Parliament pay most of the cost of the war The colonies organized 40,000 troops in

1758-59 Montreal falls in 1760

The End of French North America, 1760-63

• The Seven Years’ War officially ended in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris▫France gives up all its land claims

east of the Mississippi (except New Orleans) to Britain

▫Spain cedes Florida to Britain (in return for Cuba)

▫In the Treaty of San Ildefonso (1762) France cedes Louisiana to Spain

• French colonist become English or Spanish subjects

• Most adversely affected were the Acadians▫Living in Nova Scotia they were told to

swear loyalty to Britain at the outbreak of the war and not bear arms for France

▫Most refused to take the oath and the British drove them out and burned their homes

▫Many settled in Louisiana and became the Cajuns

Imperial Revenues and Reorganization, 1760-66

• Much of the tension after the war centered on Britain’s attempt to finance its enlarged empire

• The new revenue measures were controversial economically and politically

• They were direct measures and did not rely on local authorities

• They were an extension of Parliament’s power• Each level of society expressed their disdain in

their own way▫ Elites – worded arguments based on

constitutional law and their colonial charters▫ Businessmen, etc. – street demonstrations▫ Working people and the poor – defiance of both

elites and British authorities

• Notebook Quiz 9/20▫1. During the 1750s, the English and

French came to blows over which region?

▫2. The English end up winning, and a certain French fort changed its name to Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh). What was its original name?

▫3. What was the name of the loose unity plan established to deal with this issue?

▫4. Why did this plan ultimately fail?▫5. What did Spain get out of the Seven

Years’ War?

Friction Among the Allies, 1760-63

• During the war the British were critical of the colonial troops

• Quakers had refused to finance the war effort

• NY and MA opposed quartering troops• But Pitt’s promise to reimburse the

colonies upset the British▫ The colonials had profited from the war

by bringing in British currency (military troops, contracts, etc.). Their illicit trade with the French West Indies even continued

•The British felt that they were paying for the war through a land tax and increased excise taxes on beer, tea, salt, and bread

•However, the American colonists were trapped in a “consumer revolution” in which they spent their new wealth on British goods, thus overloading themselves with debt

• The crown continually needed money to fight the reorganized Indians in the Ohio Valley

• Hoping to settle this issue, King George III issued the Proclamation of 1763▫ Direct control by the Crown of all

transactions, trade, settlement, etc. west of the Appalachians

▫ Angers colonists Subordinates claims to imperial authority Limits their opportunity for wealth 10,000 British troops remain This is a tremendous cost the British feel the

colonist must incur

Writs of Assistance, 1760-61

• The Royal Governor of Massachusetts authorized revenue officers to employ these in 1760

• They are documents that allow authorities to seize illegally imported goods.▫ More importantly, they are a general

search warrant that permits customs officers to enter any ship or building where smuggled goods might be hidden

▫ No evidence of probable cause for suspicion

The Sugar Act, 1764• Passed in 1764 to offset Britain’s military

expenses in North America• The Navigation Acts had not been about

revenue; they were about stimulating trade and protecting English manufacturing; they raised to little money for their own enforcement

• But the Sugar Act also stipulated that lumber, iron, skins, and many other commodities exported must go directly to Britain▫ To have colonial shippers purchase more in

Britain▫ Buy fewer goods from foreign competitors▫ Provide jobs for Englishmen

• The last aspect of the Sugar Act was its disregard for a fair trial▫It allowed customs a officials to

transfer the smuggling cases from colonial courts to the vice-admiralty courts (judge alone gave the verdict) Judges got 5% of confiscated cargo

▫Defendants were tried in Nova Scotia, not the site of the offense

▫Required the defendant to disprove the prosecution’s case

• The burden of the act fell overwhelmingly on Massachusetts, New York, and Philadelphia

• Most colonies had no interest in resisting something that didn’t seem to affect them

• However, it did show and direction the Crown was heading

The Stamp Act, 1765• Revenue raised by the Sugar Act did

little to ease Britain’s financial crisis• Britain had the 2nd highest tax rates in

Europe (26 shillings per person; colonies no more than 1 ½ shillings per person)

• The Stamp Act required colonists to purchase and use special stamped paper for newspapers, customs documents, various licenses, diplomas, and legal forms used in recovering debts, buying land, and making wills.

• Prosecution in vice-admiralty courts without juries

• This was an internal tax levied directly on property, goods, and government services▫External taxes had been about

regulating trade and the burden fell on the merchants and ship captains

▫This was established to raise revenue for the crown

▫Anyone who made a will, bought cards, transferred property, borrowed money, etc.

• Colonists objections▫ They taxed themselves through their elected

assemblies▫ You cannot be taxed unless you enjoy

representation▫ Felt they were like Ireland with special

exemption of self-governance

• Briton’s counterargument▫ The Britons had been paying a similar tax since

1695▫ But most colonists didn’t fit the “sufficient

property” qualification to enjoy representation▫ Colonists possessed “virtual representation”▫ Colonial assemblies are like British and

Scottish towns that enact local legislation

Resisting the Stamp Act, 1765-66

• The Loyal Nine: Patrick Henry (29 yr. old Virginia lawyer and planter)

• Pushed for VA to adopt resolutions denying Parliament the power to tax

• The Assembly passed the weakest worded• the Loyal Nine: middle-class artisans and

small business owners formed in Boston (most hard hit by the tax)▫ Also had lost ground to NY and Philly▫ British impressments▫ 1760 fire

• Bostonians were already politically active▫Pope’s Day rallies

• They demolished some property of the wealthy

• Formation of the Sons of Liberty▫They were concerned that the

“crowd” would just turn on elites (which meant them as well)

• They forbade their group to carry weapons

•Stamp Act Congress▫Met in 1765▫Included representatives

from 9 colonial assemblies

▫Agreement on Parliament’s lack of authority to tax outside Britain and to deny a person a trial by jury

•By late 1765 most stamp distributors had resigned or fled, and without the proper paperwork, most royal customs officials and court officers refused to perform their duties

•Oct. 1765, NY merchants boycott all British goods

•England was in danger of a recession

Declaratory Act, 1766• Parliament revokes the Stamp Act,

but passes the Declaratory Act▫This act affirmed Parliaments

power to legislate for the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.”

• This was general language, but the Americans viewed it as Parliament’s way of saving face amidst its defeat with the Stamp Act issue

Ideology, Religion, and Resistance

• Educated colonists turned to the new political theories as guidance▫ Locke and natural rights, the social

contract, right of revolution▫ Concepts of civic duty and public virtue

• Many others, particularly the unschooled, looked towards religion▫ Concept of a Christian Sparta, linking

Christian piety with republican ideals▫ Colonial traditions confirmed legitimacy

of their cause▫ The Great Awakening

Great Awakening•Beginning the late 1730s the

GA cut across class, gender, and racial lines

•Appealed to the audiences emotions rather than intellects

•Focused on emptiness of material comfort, the utter corruption of human nature, the fury of divine wrath, and the need for immediate repentance

•Most converts were young males

•Claimed established clergymen were dead Drones

•Exposed colonial society’s divisions

•Split churches into New and Old

•Received serious backlash from churches

• Impact▫Marked a decline in Quakers,

Anglicans, and Congregationalists▫Rise of Presbyterians, Baptists▫Stimulated the founding of new

colleges: Brown, Columbia, Princeton, Rutgers

▫African Americans and Indians were included

▫Women’s roles increased▫Blurred denominational differences

among Protestants

Opposing the Quartering Act, 1766-67• The act required the colonies to supply troops

with inexpensive barracks, candles, windowpanes, straw, polish, liquor

• It was a small indirect tax, but it did require the colonies to raise a stated amount of revenue

• Hit all the colonies differently, but specifically New York

• Parliament was bitter about withdrawing the Stamp Act, so they draft the Suspending Act – which threatened to nullify all laws passed by the colony if they refused to vote the supplies

Townshend Duties, 1767• The landed gentry in Britain cut their own

taxes by 25%• Since colonists had opposed internal taxes

Townshend decided to tax imports entering from Britain (an external tax)

• This Townshend Revenue Act of 1767 taxed glass, paint, lead, paper, and tea imported from England (tea was the big revenue producer)

• Catch: Townshend wanted the revenue raised so it would pay the salaries of governors and royal officials who were paid by the assemblies

The Colonists’ Reaction, 1767-1769

• John Dickinson’s essays entitled Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania

• James Otis and Samuel Adams write letters in opposition that circulate the colonies

• This bothered the British• Royal governors responded by dismissing

legislatures• In 1768 Bostonian merchants adopt a

nonimportation agreement which eventually kept out 40% of all imports from Britain

Women and Colonial Resistance• The cause rested on republican

foundations of moderation, morality, and self-sacrifice

• Women far outnumbered men in church membership

• Established the Daughters of Liberty• Denouncing the consumption of tea• Made their own clothes

▫more than 1600 women engage in spinning bees

Customs Racketeering, 1767-68

• Stricter enforcement of the Navigation Acts began as an attempt to increase revenue

• The American Board of Customs Commissioners was established▫ Increased the number of port officials▫ Funded the creation of a colonial coast

guard▫ $ for secret informers

The informer got 1/3 of the value of all goods and ships appropriated through conviction

Vice-admiralty courts were used

• The “reason” was to bring honesty and efficiency to a system susceptible to bribes, etc.

• All cargo loaded without a custom’s officers written authorization was considered illegal

• The maritime custom of the sailor’s chest was ignored

• It was legalized piracy• John Hancock’s ship, Liberty, was a

chief target

The Boston Massacre, 1770• Due to the violence and protests from

incidences like Hancock’s ship, the British sent 4000 troops to Boston in 1768

• Mainly Protestants townspeople did not like this

• Feb. 1770, a customs informer shot into a picketing crowd and killed an 11-yr.-old boy

• The army was not responsible, but it became a target of the people’s anger

• Mar. 5, soldier’s fire into a crowd that was taunting them and hit 11, killing 5

• John Adams was the attorney for the officers▫He didn’t like crowd action

• The governor removed the soldiers to a nearby island

• All but two of the soldiers are acquitted, and those just had their thumbs branded

•A new Prime Minister, Lord North, seemed to be in favor of retreating from previous actions by eliminating most of the Townshend duties to prevent a widening boycott

•However, he kept the tax on tea•In 1770, colonists make voluntary

agreements not to drink British tea▫Revenue from tea drops to 1/6 the

expected amount

Committees of Correspondence, 1772-73• At the persuasion of Samuel Adams,

every community in Massachusetts is to appoint persons responsible for exchanging information and coordinating measures to defend colonial rights

• First attempt to maintain close and continuing political cooperation and popular sentiment

• In 1773 this begins in Virginia

Backcountry Tensions•British government was

helpless in enforcing the Proclamation of 1763

•Green Mountain Boys in Vermont

•Regulators in North Carolina

The Tea Act, 1773•To save the East India Company

from financial ruin•This act eliminated all remaining

import duties on tea entering England and thus lowered the selling price to consumers

•The company could also sell its tea directly to the people

•Both of these actions lowered tea below the cost of smuggled tea

•This law would corrupt Americans into accepting the principle of parliamentary taxation by taking advantage of their weakness for a frivolous luxury

•Dec. 1773, the Boston Tea Party▫50 disguised men (plus others)

dump forty-five tons of tea overboard

The Coercive Acts• Also called the Intolerable Acts

▫ Boston Port Bill ordered the closing of the harbor until the tea was paid for

▫ Mass. Govt. Act revoked their charter, makes upper house appointed for life by the crown, the gov. names all judges and sheriffs, and only one town meeting a year

▫ Administration of Justice Act said any one charged with murder while enforcing royal authority was to be tried elsewhere (Murder Act)

▫ Quartering Act said the Gov. could use empty private buildings for housing troops

•The added on the Quebec Act which establish Roman Catholicism as Quebec’s official religion▫Why? To cement loyalty to

Britain among conquered French-Canadian Catholics

First Continental Congress• Because of the Intolerable Acts• 56 delegates• Suffolk Resolutions was the first action:

colonies owed no obedience to any of the Coercive Acts; provisional govt. should collect all taxes until the former Mass. Charter was restored; defensive measures should be taken

• Voted to boycott all British goods and cease exporting almost all goods to Britain

•Not all delegates supported this plan•Some supported the “Grand Council”

approach•They settled on a Petition that stated

the following:▫Affirmed Parliaments power to regulate

trade▫All previous paramilitary efforts to

impose taxes, enforce laws through admiralty courts, suspend assemblies, and unilaterally revoke charters were unconstitutional