Causes of Causes of RevolutionRevolution

1763-17751763-1775

BackgroundBackground• In 1763 the colonies and the “Mother Country” had a

great deal to feel good about. They had just defeated the French in the French and Indian War

• Almost immediately relations between the two allies started to deteriorate

• Britain was about to embark on the Industrial Revolution with interests on four continents

• The colonists wanted to know how they would benefit from the new system

• The English wanted to know who would pay for the cost of the war and maintaining the peace

• The war and the demand for products had revolutionized industry in the colonies

• Factories replaced small workshops, but still the colonists imported far more after the war than they had before the war

• New England merchants especially benefited for the post-war economic boom

• But the war had also:a) created widows and orphans that need to be looked afterb) inflated pricesc) caused unemploymentd) caused a shortage of raw materialse) opened the western land for settlement

The Cost of WarThe Cost of War• The British had passed a series of acts to regulate their

mercantilist system, starting with the Navigation Laws but these laws were loosely enforced and easily circumvented

• The British government found itself with over £100 million in debt. They had paid most of the costs for the war and now expected the colonies to pay towards their own defense

• The colonists argued that the British should bear the expense since they benefited from the colonies

• Royal governors began trying to enforce the Navigation Acts to help pay for the thousands of British troops still in North America

The ReformsThe Reforms• In 1764 the Sugar Act replaced the Molasses Act (1733)• The Molasses Act placed a tax on imported molasses

which was needed to make rum. The Act had not been widely enforced and where it was it was circumvented by smuggling

• The colonists raised their objections to the Sugar Act and eventually the taxes were lowered

• The next act was the Quartering Act of 1765 which required the colonists to feed and house British troops at their own expense

• Also in 1765 the British passed the most notorious act – the Stamp Act

• The courts:were run without the normal codes of law the accused was assumed to be guiltythere were no juries

• The courts ended decades of salutatory neglect by the British and proved to the colonists that they had to follow British law but not be afforded the same protection and rights as Englishmen

• The courts violated the rights of every Englishman and the colonists viewed themselves as Englishmen

• The colonists also started to question why so many British soldiers needed to be stationed in the colonies – unless it was to suppress rebellion!

• The cry of “no taxation without representation” was heard throughout the colonies

• It’s interesting to note that the colonists actually paid less taxes then people in England and in certain areas of the colonies the Stamp and Sugar Acts had very little impact. But there was not one American representative in the British Parliament

• The British completely misread the situation and underestimated the animosity in the colonies

• George III defended his government by claiming all people are represented – virtual representation

• Nine colonies sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress in New York in 1765

• The delegates created a set of Resolves to protest the constitutionality of the Stamp and Sugar Acts and objected to the vice-admiralty courts

• The Congress drew little attention in the colonies and even less in Britain. But it was the first step toward unity

• When the acts took effect several hundred colonial businesses started to boycott British goods and refused to pay the stamp tax

• Mass protest against the Stamp Act prevented the tax from being effective

• The colonists formed protest groups called Sons of Liberty or Daughters of Liberty

• The goal of these protest groups was to ensure a complete boycott of British goods and to find alternatives

Non-importation AgreementsNon-importation Agreements• Opposition began in the coastal towns especially those

involved with trade. Colonists signed non-importation agreements promising to boycott British goods

• The boycott was enforced by patriots, often with the use of violence – mobs sacked the houses of stamp agents and hung them in effigy

• With the resignation of the stamp agents the British government was unable to enforce the tax

• The British economy was devastated by the boycott. Manufacturers could not sell their products, businesses went bankrupt, thousands lost their jobs

Declaratory ActDeclaratory Act• Parliament was besieged by protestors who demanded

an end to the Stamp Act • In 1766 the Stamp Act was repealed• The colonists celebrated their victory, especially in New

York and Boston• Immediately Parliament passed the Declaratory Act –

The British Parliament had sovereign power in North America and it would not yield that power

• But the colonists had tasted victory and believed they had a right to their own sovereignty

Townshend ActsTownshend Acts• Charles Townshend became the new Chancellor of the

Exchequer following the collapse of the government after repealing the Stamp Act

• Townshend promised to make the colonies pay for their action

• In 1767 he passed the Townshend Acts which taxed glass, paper, paint, and tea amongst other things

• Townshend argued that his new legislation made any payment an indirect customs tax since it was payable at the ports

• To the colonists it was still taxation without representation

• The revenue from the new “customs” tax was designated to pay the salaries of royal governors and judges

• Also in 1767 the British suspended the New York legislature for not complying with the Quartering Act

• People once again resorted to non-importation agreements, but this time the colonists were not as successful

• Many Americans had little inclination to protest the new taxes since they were relatively light and only affected a few people

• Colonists also found that smuggling could easily supply most needs

• In 1768 the British government sent two regiments to Massachusetts to help restore order and catch smugglers

• The soldiers did little to make friends with the colonists, they were rude and often drunk

• The colonists resented the “lobster backs” and tormented them at every opportunity

Boston MassacreBoston Massacre• On March 5, 1770 a large crowd started to

torment a small British patrol

• As the situation deteriorated the British opened fire on the colonists. Several colonists died including Crispus Attucks, a runaway slave

• The soldiers were put on trial and defended by future president John Adams

• Two were found guilty of manslaughter and released after being branded on the hand

Committees of CorrespondenceCommittees of Correspondence

• The Townshend Acts were a disaster for the British government – they could not be enforced, nor did they bring in much revenue

• Lord North persuaded the government to repeal the Acts – except for a small token tax on tea

• To the colonists a tax was still a tax, regardless of size

• Samuel Adams, cousin of John Adams, formed committees of correspondence in Boston

• The idea was to keep other colonies informed about the affairs in Massachusetts. Quickly, committees sprang up in other colonies

• By the end of 1773 every colony had a committee, some had been approved by the colonial legislature

• The committees became powerful weapons in spreading the ideas of rebellion throughout the colonies and keeping anti-British feeling alive

Boston Tea PartyBoston Tea Party

• In 1773, tea in the colonies was cheaper than tea in Britain, even with the tax

• Fewer people were resisting and it seemed like the rebellion might pass, besides nothing had happened to seriously damage relations between the colonies and the “Mother country”

• The British East India Company, close to bankruptcy, pressured the British government for financial help

• The government could not afford for the company to collapse

• The government responded by giving the company a monopoly on tea sold in the colonies

• The result was cheaper tea for the colonists, but it was still taxed, and that upset some colonists

• The British government supported the company and shipped the tea to the colonies

• Not one crate of tea reached its destination• In ports all along the eastern seaboard

demonstration forced the British ships to return to England with their cargoes

• In Boston, the royal governor, Thomas Hutchinson was determined not submit to mob rule

• Hutchinson had suffered at the hands of the demonstrators during the Stamp Act, now he was determined to enforce the law

• Hutchinson refused to let the ships leave Boston without unloading their cargo

• On December 16, 1773, a group of colonials, thinly disguised as Indians, boarded the ships and threw the tea into Boston Harbor

• Reactions varied, not everyone approved of the needless destruction of property

• Hutchinson left for Britain, never to return

• The British determined to make the colonists pay

Intolerable ActsIntolerable Acts

• The British responded with a series of acts intended to punish the colonies, especially Massachusetts

• The Boston Port Act – closed the port until someone paid for the tea

• Restrictions were placed on town meeting – to the colonists, violating their freedom even more

• Any representative of the British government who killed a colonist in the line of duty would now be sent to Britain for trial

Quebec Act 1774Quebec Act 1774

• At the same time as the Intolerable Acts, the British passed the Quebec Act

• The colonists believed the Quebec Act was aimed at them, it was not – it was aimed the French settlers in Canada who were now part of the British Empirea) The Catholic religion was guaranteedb) French customs and practices were allowed, but not representative assembly or trial by jury in civil cases

• The border was set at the Ohio River

• The French approved of the Quebec Act, but the British colonies only became more suspicious

• They saw the French as being better suited to claim the vast unpopulated land that was west of the Allegheny Mountains and they feared the spread of Catholicism

Continental CongressContinental Congress

• Although not everyone agreed with the action taken by the Boston rebels there can be little doubt about the outpouring of sympathy from all the other colonies

• In 1774 in response to the Intolerable Acts, the Continental Congress was summoned to meet in Philadelphia

• The Congress was intended to find ways to settle the grievances with Britain

• 12 colonies sent representatives (Georgia was missing)• The Congress assembled men like George Washington,

John Adams, Patrick Henry, and Sam Adams

• The Congress met for 7 weeks to discuss the situation

• John Adams persuaded others to adopt a more rebellious approach and he warned against mediation and acceptance

• The Congress drew up a Declaration of Rights, made an appeal to the king, and formed The Association

• The Association wanted a complete boycott of all British goods

• No one advocated revolution – but if the British did not act the Congress would meet again in 1775

Lexington and ConcordLexington and Concord

• The British ignored all appeals from the colonies

• In early 1775 the British sent a detachment to Lexington and Concord to collect arms that had been hidden by the colonists

• The British were met at Lexington by minutemen who refused to disperse and stood their ground

• The British opened fire killing several before moving on to Concord