FROM EMPIRE TO INDEPENDENCE

1750-1776

Chapter 6

The Seven Years’ War in America

What were the most important weaknesses of the British Empire in North America at the outset of the Seven Years’ War?

1. Lack of cooperation between the Colonies in their struggles with the French.Failure of the Albany Conference 1754Conference was called to mount a unified

response to the conflict with France.Iroquois delegation walked out because the

colonists wouldn’t agree to stop taking land.Colonies rejected Ben Franklin’s Plan of

Union.

Why did the colonies reject the Plan of Union? It would have

created “one general government” for the colonies.

President-General Grand Council

The colonies were all separate and different entities.

None wanted to surrender sovereignty to a central government.

The British government was a little afraid of this plan as well.

Widespread Warfare Northern Atlantic Coast – Louisburg

(“Gibraltar of the New World”)Captured by Brits in 1745Reclaimed by France in 1748

Border region of new France and New York Canadians & New Yorkers fight for Indian trade.

Trans-Appalachian region along the Ohio River

Strait of Gibraltar

See map p. 6-1 for comparison (p. 168)

Primary focus of the war: Trans-Appalachian region along the

Ohio RiverBritish back country settlers wanted the

land.French were threatened by British

encroachment on its territory.Became a refuge for Indians pushed off their

land in the east.Indians tended to ally with the French, even

though they weren’t thrilled with them either.

Skirmished in the Monongahela River. Result: British General Braddock

defeated. Full-scale war breaks out between

Britain and France in 1756. British were losing because the colonial

troops refused to be bossed around by British commanders.

Where “Cajuns” Come From

French farmers in Acadia who had lived under British rule for 40 years refused to take up arms against France to fight for the British.

The British punished the Acadians by forcing them out (18,000 people) and selling their land.

The Acadians were dispersed and many of them ended up in Louisiana where they were became known as “Cajuns.”

Conquest of Canada Prime Minister William Pitt gets the

support of the colonists by promising the king will pay for the war.

Colonists cooperate and help attack Canada.

British gain Iroquois cooperation by promising to pay for or give back land that had been taken from them.

These alliances changed the course of the war. The British unleashed total warfare on Quebec

British win historic battle - Plains of Abraham. Wolfe and Montcalm die.

Treaty of Paris 1763.

Treaty of Paris 1763 - Results France gives up claims to all possessions

on North American mainland. Britain got all France’s land EAST of the

Mississippi River (except New Orleans) Spain got New Orleans and France’s

land WEST of the Mississippi River. Spain gave Britain Florida and Britain

gave Spain colonies it had taken in the Pacific and Caribbean.

What did the Indians of the Ohio River area think of the Treaty of Paris? “The French had no right to give away

[our] country.”

Effects on the Indians The British banned gift-giving to Indians

as a means of gaining favor. They stopped supplying the Indians with

ammo for hunting. Many Indians starved for lack of food. Neolin – wanted Indians to break

dependence on Europeans and return to their old ways.

Pontiac’s Rebellion Chief Pontiac led the resistance inspired

by Neolin. May 1763, the Indian confederacy

simultaneously attacked all the British forts in the West, killing 2000 settlers.

British General Amherst ordered distributing blankets infected with smallpox among the Indians. (Germ warfare)

Pontiac’s Rebellion ended in a stalemate.

Royal Proclamation of 1763 Colonists were not allowed to settled

west of the crest of the Appalachian Mountains without the approval of the king.

Colonists attacked the Indians. British tried to punish them. 600 frontiersmen marched to

Philadelphia to protest.

Key result of Seven Years’ War: the French gave up its claims in North America. The size of the British territory more than doubled.

The British proved unwilling and unable to control westward migration of settlers.

The Indians hardened against the British.

The Americans “entirely disregard, and despise the settlement agreed upon by their superiors and us.” They “are come in vast numbers to the Ohio, and give our people to understand that they would settle wherever they pleased. If this is the case, we must look upon every engagement you made with us as void and of no effect.” p. 173

What factors led to the growth of American nationalism in the 1760s?

Seven Years’ War – promoted a spirit of nationalism and a wider notion of community among the colonies.

Colonial Newspapers expressed a “continental perspective.”

Sugar and Stamp Acts put American colonists in opposition to the British.Virginia Stamp Act ResolutionLoyall NineSons of LibertyStamp Act Congress

The Seven Years’ War showed contrasts between the colonists and their mother country:Lewd, violent British soldiersSwift and terrible punishment by officersFear of Britain enslaving colistsVOLUNTEER colonial troopsColonial commanders less harsh with

punishment

Colonial Publications John Peter Zenger’s libel case Editors offered a “continental

perspective” on issuees Colonists first began using the term

“American” to denote their common identity.

Revealed certain political assumptions held by the American Colonists.

American Political Assumptions Republicanism

Just government – Biblical valueLimited, self-governmentBroad distribution of powers

Dependence leads to subservience Property ownership is a virtue Representative assemblies History of struggle with royal authorities

British Political Assumptions A strong state is necessary and

desireable. A hereditary elite forces the order of

society.

Stamp Act of 1765 Purpose of the tax - to help pay for troops stationed

in North America after the British victory in the Seven Years' War.

A direct tax imposed by the British Parliament specifically on the colonies of British America.

Required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London, carrying an embossed revenue stamp.[1]

[2] (legal documents, magazines, newspapers, etc.) To be paid in valid British currency, not in colonial

paper money.[3]

From Wikipedia. Yes. Wikipedia.

“No taxation without representation.” Virtual representation – Members of

Parliament represent “everyone” not just their districts.

Actual representation – Actually chose and send your own representatives to Parliament

Colonial Opposition Patrick Henry Virginia Stamp Act

Resolutions Loyall Nine – workers’

club led by Samuel Adams destructive protest

Sons of Liberty – moderate forms of protest

Stamp Act CongressPatrick Henry

Stamp Act Congress Delegations from 9

colonies met and agreed to stop all importations from Britain until they appealed the Stamp Act.

Repeal British merchants also opposed it

because their businesses were being hurt by the nonimportation movement.

The Stamp Act was repealed in March 1766.

Passed the Declaration Act which said that Parliament had “absolute supremacy” over the colonies.

How did political and economics problems in Britain contribute to unrest in the colonies?

Debt from the Seven Years’ War Unemployment Inflation (High Prices) Tax Protests Changing Leadership – Charles

Townshend replaced the popular William Pitt as Prime Minister.

Townshend Revenue Acts To pay the debt – new taxes. Import duties to colonies

LeadGlassPaintPaperTea

Colonial Response - Objection John Dickinson – Parliament had no power

to tax goods to raise revenues in America. Royal revenues would pay salaries of royal

officials; colonies would not be able to have some authority over the king’s officials.

Townshend Revenue Act – strictly enforced.

Fears among colonists.

Colonial Response - Action Non-importation: Boycott Massachusetts letter denouncing the

acts. Mob attacks on custom’s officials in

Boston.

Boston Massacre 1770 Crowds taunt British soldiers, threw

snowballs & rocks. Soldiers fired into the crowd, killing 7. Paul Revere’s propaganda Importance: Recognition of how the

relationship between Britain and its American colonies had deteriorated.

From Paul Revere’s publication

Most of the Townshend Acts had been repealed the same day as the Massacre.

EXCEPT for the tax on tea.

What steps did Britain take to punish Massachusetts for the colonists’ acts of resistance?

The Tea Act – cheap tea with a small tax Intolerable Acts

No load/unload in Boston HarborNullified Massachusetts charterBritish governor in control of local gov’t.Protected British officials in courtMade colonists quarter troops

Quebec ActCatholic official religion of QuebecFeudal land laws

Response to the Tea Act Colonies began to unify in resistance

against Britain. Committees of Correspondence

share informationshape public opinion; andbuild cooperation among the colonies.

Boston Pamphlet Boston Tea Party, December 16, 1773

Lexington & Concord British decide to

take military action Try to capture

colonial munitions Fighting breaks out

British soldiers fire upon Massachusetts militia at Lexington, the first of four hand-colored engravings included in Amos Doolittle’s View of the Battle of Lexington and Concord (1775). It is the only contemporary pictorial record of the events of April 19, 1775, from an American point of view. Doolittle, a Connecticut silversmith, traveled to the site of the conflict in the weeks afterward, and his engravings are based on first-hand observation. Important buildings, individuals, or groups of people are keyed to a legend that explains what is happening. Doolittle intended his prints to be informative in the same sense as a photograph in a modern newspaper.

Colonists Unify First Continental Congress September

1774Adamses, Patrick Henry, George

Washington, Christopher Gadsden, John Dickinson, Joseph Galloway, John Jay, etc.

Their Committees of Observation took over the duties of local government.

Organized militia companiesPeople began to refer to the colonies as the

American “states.”

Who made up the Second Continental Congress and why was it formed?

Second Continental Congress Delegates sent from

12 colonies. Some from the First

Continental Congress

New – Thomas Jefferson

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress

aimed to organize the defense of the colonies.

The Congress designated the militia forces besieging Boston as the Continental Army and made George Washington commander-in-chief.

The Olive Branch Petition was written to prevent further hostilities.

Reaction from outsiders? The French Canadians did not support

the rebellion. Several British Caribbean islands did

support the Continental Congress, but the British navy stopped any involvement.

Spain adopted a neutral position officially, but secretly sought to help the Americans.

War for Independence Fighting in New England. Unsuccessful attempt to take Canada

-spring of 1776. British forced out of Boston. British efforts in the South failed. King George III rejected the “Olive

Branch Petition” and issued a proclamation declaring that the colonists were in open rebellion.

The Connecticut artist John Trumbull painted The Battle of Bunker Hill in 1785, the first of a series that earned him the informal title of “the Painter of the Revolution.” Trumbull was careful to research the details of his paintings, but composed them in the grand style of historical romance. In the early nineteenth century, he repainted this work and three other Revolutionary scenes for the rotunda of the Capitol in Washington, DC.

No Turning Back Spain and France opened trade with the

colonies. In Common Sense, Thomas Paine helped

cut Americans’ emotional ties to Britain and the King.The “two ancient tyrannies” of aristocracy

and monarchy were not appropriate for America.

Declaration of Independence The text of the Declaration of

Independence was approved without dissent on July 4, 1776.

The writers blamed King George III for the events leading up to the decision for Independence.

They could be condemned as traitors and sentenced to death but they chose to sign.

Draft Committee: Jefferson, J. Adams, Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston.

Revision struck a long passage condemning slavery.

The Manner in Which the American Colonies Declared Themselves INDEPENDENT of the King of ENGLAND, a 1783 English print.

Understanding that the coming struggle would require the steady support of ordinary people, in the Declaration of Independence, the upper-class men of the Continental Congress asserted the right of popular revolution and the great principle of human equality.

Equality & Revolution The idea of equality inspired the poor as

well as the wealthy, women as well as men, blacks as well as whites.