The Road to American

Independence:An Overview of the Events

Leading to the Revolutionary War

Colonial America•British rule•French rule•and Spanish rule

– The colony exists solely for the economic benefit of the mother country

– All trade rules and routes are dictated by the mother country

– Raw materials in the colonies are for the sole benefit of the mother country

– Finished goods are returned to the colonies and sold at a great profit.

– Export more than import– Only let gold and silver (bullion) into the country,

never out of the country

Mercantilism:Rules to Live…Trade…by

MERCANTILISM: AN ECONOMIC SYSTEM IN WHICH NATIONS SEEK TO INCREASE THEIR WEALTH BY OBTAINING GOLD & SILVER AND WITH A FAVORABLE BALANCE OF TRADE

Navigation Acts (1650-1696) (Mercantilism and English Law) *Required colonies to trade primarily with England, always through England, and always on English (or English colonial) ships sailed by English (or English colonial) sailors.*Set import taxes on goods shipping into England (for the first time)*Some colonists resisted the Navigation Act laws (especially in New England – why?), most did not –why not?

Beginning in the late 1600’s – France, England, and Spain competed for European power and colonial control. These Imperial wars (such as King William’s War, Queen Anne’s War, King George’s War) broke out in Europe, and quickly spilled over into the various (American and Asian) colonies, sucking their respective colonists (and their respective native allies) into battle with colonists from the the other nations.

Some side notes:• In the wars over control of North

America – Most Indians sided with France• French believed that British were trying to take

away their fur trade• British believed that the French were stopping

their expansion westward

As a result of these continuous Imperial Wars, and the fact that they diverted England’s attention and resources: SALUTARY NEGLECTEngland imposed little, to no, political authority, over the colonies, AS LONG AS they adhered to Mercantilism and satisfied England’s needs. Over time, colonists became less “British” and more “American” in their attitudes

French and Indian War 1754-1763

Like KW’s War, QA’s War and KG’s War, The French and Indian War was part of a much bigger European war (Seven Years War) that soon spilled over into the American (and Asian) colonies, pulling both French and English colonists and their Native American allies into the larger conflict between France and England.

“French and and Indian War” is a bit of a mislabel – Native Americans fought on both the English and French sides in the war, though more on the French side at first, until the tide of the war changed, and more native groups flipped to the British side, anticipating a British win…3 comments/questions here…

Both the French and the British wanted to control the Ohio River valley, as well as two rivers, the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River. These rivers converge in what is today known as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Controlling this Ohio territory and these two rivers meant controlling good routes for TRADE: Access to the Ohio River, and thus, access to the Mississippi River

*Pittsburgh

Young George Washington of the Virginia Militia

What is now considered the French and Indian War (though at the time the war was undeclared), began in November 1753, when the young Virginia militia major, George Washington, and a number of men headed out into the Ohio region with the mission to deliver a message demanding that French troops withdraw from the Ohio territory. The demand was rejected. In 1754, Washington received orders to build a fort near the present site of Pittsburgh. In May, Washington's troops clashed with local French forces, resulting in Washington having to surrender the meager fort he had managed to build. The incident set off a string of small and , for the British and British Colonial forces, disastrous battles.

After a year and a half of undeclared war, the French and the English formally declared war in May, 1756. For the first three years of the war, the outnumbered (but heavily allied with Native Americans) French dominated the battlefield, soundly defeating the English in battles at Fort Oswego and Ticonderoga. Perhaps the most notorious battle of the war was the French victory at Fort William Henry, which ended in a massacre of British soldiers by Indians allied with the French.

The tide turned for the British in 1758, as they began to make peace with important Indian allies and, under the direction of Lord William Pitt (hello – “Pittsburgh”?) began adapting their war strategies to fit the territory and landscape of the American frontier. The British had a further stroke of good fortune when the French were abandoned by many of their Indian allies. Exhausted by years of battle, outnumbered and outgunned by the British ( and also losing in Europe and Asia), the French collapsed during the years 1758-59, culminating with a massive defeat at Quebec in September, 1759. By September 1760, the British controlled all of the North American frontier; the war between the two countries was effectively over.

Bottom Line: England won.

Treaty of Paris – 1763 peace treaty ending the war

1. French lost most of their North American territories (kept islands in West Indies and off coast of Newfoundland)

2. England controlled everything east of the Mississippi – Spain controlled everything west of Mississippi River

• After the war, English colonists (pioneers) began expanding west into the Appalachians and Ohio River Valley “backcountry”

• Conflicts with Native Americans resulted– Indians did not believe European treaties applied to them and would not give up their land – ex.: Pontiac’s Rebellion – 1763

• Proclamation of 1763 – British government wanted to avoid future conflicts with natives:– 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. Plus, all these conflicts (such as F-I W and P’s R) had left the British in financial difficulty, looking for new ways to pay these debts Tax the colonists!!!WHAT HAPPENED TO SALUTARY NEGLECT!?!?!

“Mad”King George III

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.

Stamp Act 1765

• 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

• 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

Townshend Acts 1767• 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.

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

Boston Massacre

John Adams

Tea Act 1773

• 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.

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

Boston Tea Party

• 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

INTOLERABLE ACTS (COERCIVE ACTS)

“No Taxation Without Representation!”

First Continental Congress Meets in Philadelphia September 1774

First attempt to unite the colonies to protest British taxationBoycott of British goods

No one yet willing to pursue independence