Chapter 5

Road to Revolution

1750-1776

The Triumph of the British Empire 1750-1763

• A Fragile Peace 1750-1754– French begin to build forts in Ohio Valley– George Washington leads troops against

them and fails– Albany Plan (attempt to unify 7 colonies north

of Virginia) fails because they are unwilling to cooperate on taxation

The Seven Years War in America 1754-1760

• War breaks out between Britain and France• French and Indian War in the colonies• French allied with Indians threaten NY and

New England• PM William Pitt offers assistance to colonial

militias• French forces crumble when the Iroquois

and other Ohio tribes stop helping the French. Quebec and Montreal fall to the British

The End of French North America 1760-1763

• 1763 Treaty of Paris ends the 7 Years war. All French lands East of the Mississippi are ceded to Britain

• All lands West are given to Spain

• Some French migrated to Louisiana and today are known as Cajuns

Imperial Revenues and Reorganization 1760-1766

• Britain tries to tighten control over it’s empire after the Seven Years War

• George III becomes king

• British-American relations are strained

Friction among Allies 1760-1763

• War leads to huge debt and taxation

• British do not repay militias for self defense and are now upset because they must spend money to defend colonies from Indians

• Proclamation of 1763 forbids British colonists from settling lands West of the Appalachian mountains

War of Assistance 1760-1761

• British began to crack down on search warrants to enforce mercantilist laws

• Colonials protest unreasonable search and seizure

The Sugar Act 1764

• Tax on Sugar for the British Treasury

• Trials for those refusing to pay taxes were tried without juries

• Mass., NY and Penn. Merchants hurt most

The Stamp Act 1765

• PM George Grenville was not satisfied with the revenue from the Sugar Act

• All public documents would be taxed

• Violators would be tried without jury trial

• Taxation without representation

• Colonist claimed that Britain could regulate trade but not tax, circumvented the authority of local legislatures

Resistance to the Stamp Act 1765-1766

• Patrick Henry and Virginia House of Burgesses pass resolutions in opposition the Stamp Act

• 8 other colonial legislatures pass similar legislation• Loyal Nine from Boston and other groups called Sons of

Liberty are formed to protest in colonial cities.• Stamp collectors are attacked• Stamp Act Congress convenes in NY 1765 representing

9 colonies and passes resolutions concerning trial by jury, taxation without representation and they determine to boycott British goods

The Declaratory Act 1766

• March 1766 Parliament repeals the Stamp Act and adopts the Declaratory Act

• Restates its right to tax and legislate over the colonies

• Colonial legislatures see this as a victory over the Mother Country

Ideology, Religion and Resistance

• Colonists saw Stamp Act as a conspiracy to deny them their rights .

• It was their duty to resist

• Protestant ministers preached that resistance to British rule meant obeying God

Resistance Resumes 1766-1770

• Opposition to the Quartering Act 1766-1767– New PM Charles Townshend saw colonial

objection to Quartering as an opportunity to crack down on colonial disobedience

The Townshend Duties 1767

• New taxes on glass, paint, lead, paper and tea.

• Tax money is intended to pay Royal Governors so that they will not be pressured by the colonists.

The Colonists Reaction 1767-1769

• John Dickenson in Letters From A Farmer in Pennsylvania stated opposition to the Townshend duties

• Boston Merchants sign a non-importation agreement

Wilkes and Liberty 1768-1770

• British merchants begin to protest the policies of George II and his ministers because it is hurting their income.

• John Wilkes, a London journalist, led the protest.

• Wilkes is arrested and refused his seat in the House of Commons

Women and the Colonial Resistance

• Women refused to serve taxed tea

• Sponsored spinning bees to produce homespun clothing instead of importing English goods

Customs Racketeering 1767-1768

• Customs officials are corrupt and use the Navigation and Sugar Acts to confiscate items from sailors and merchants.

• Liberty incident-sailors begin to attack customs officials

• Attacks on customs officials become more frequent

The Deepening Crisis 1770-1774

• 4000 British soldiers were sent to Boston because of the Liberty incident and threats to customs officials

The Boston Massacre

• March 5, 1770- British soldiers fired into a crowd that had gathered to protest the presence of the soldiers and the corruption of the customs officials.

• 5 killed and 6 wounded• Mass. Governor Thomas Hutchinson promised

to try the soldiers for their actions• John Adams defended them• Crispus Attucks- Former slaves died in the

attack

Lord North’s Partial Retreat 1770

• April 1770 Townshend Acts are repealed except for Tea Act

• Colonists boycott the Tea Act and revenues do not pay the Royal officials as intended

The Committees of Correspondence 1772-1773

• Townshend Acts are presented to be reinstituted.

• Sam Adams organizes Committees in each New England town to exchange information and activities in defense of colonial rights

• Virginia follows• Within a year, all but Pennsylvania has

Committees of Correspondence

Backcountry Tensions

• Tensions increase between Indians and White settlers as the colonist continue to push West

• Colonist ignore the Proclamation of 1763

• New Hampshire’s “Green Mountain Boys” moved into Vermont and set up their on government.

The Tea Act 1773

• British East India Tea Company going Bankrupt because of boycott

• New Tea Act allowed the British East India Tea Company to undercut the prices of colonial smuggled tea

• Committees of Correspondence denounced the Act and the colonies stood firm in boycotting the British Tea

• December 16, 1773 a band of colonials convinced a group to board vessels in Boston Harbor dressed as Indians and throw tea overboard

Toward Independence 1774-1776

• Liberty for Black Americans– Black freedom protestors are arrested in Charles

Town- 1765– James Somerset trial in Great Britain led American

slaves to believe that the British were trying to do away with slavery, more slaves rebelled

– Royal Virginian Governor Lord Dunmore proclaimed that any slave that joined in resisting colonial uprisings and restoring Royal Authority would be freed.

The Coercive Acts

• British response to Boston Tea Party• Closed Boston harbor• Revoked the colony’s charter• Banned town meetings• Provided Quartering Act• Trials would be held in England• General Thomas Gage named Royal

Governor of New England

The First Continental Congress

• All colonies except Georgia send representatives to Philadelphia in September 1774

• Suffolk Resolves encourage colonials to begin arming themselves and training against attacks from royal troops

• Continental Association formed to cutoff all trade with Great Britain

• Letter sent to George III to dismiss the Coercive Acts

From Resistance to Rebellion

• Loyalists and Tories are intimidated by colonial Americans• Volunteer Militias called Minutemen are formed• April 19, 1775- General Gage sends 700 troops to Lexington and

Concord to destroy storehouses of colonial ammunition and weapons

• William Dawes and Paul Revere warn the colonial militias and the first fighting on the Revolution took place

• 20,000 New Englanders rush to Boston to fight the British. They are defeated at Bunker Hill (Breed’s Hill).

• British suffer heavy losses• 2nd Continental Congress meets to send one last letter to King

George• Continental Army is established with George Washington as the

commander

Common Sense

• Thomas Paine published a pamphlet in January 1776 declaring the corruption of the British Monarchy and parliament and called for the colonial to unify to rebel and form their own government

Declaring Independence• June 7, 1776 Richard Henry Lee

proposes that Congress declare independence.

• Committee is appointed to write the document

• Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin

• July 2nd Lee’s proposal was adopted• July 3rd Jefferson’s document was

debated and edited• July 4th Declaration was approved by the

Continental Congress