mercantilism

• economic policy where a nation tried to export more products than it imported

• followed by many European countries in the 1600s and 1700s

American colonies

• established by England to supply raw materials for her industry

• also served as a market for finished goods exported from England

Examples of pre-Independence colonial

self-government:

• Virginia House of Burgesses

• Mayflower Compact

House of Burgesses(est. 1619)

• first representative body in America

• was formed at the request of the king

Mayflower Compact

• Pilgrim leaders agreed to “join together in a civil body politic” with the other passengers in order to enact “just and equal laws” for the good of the colony

Pilgrims establish political traditions that have endured

• government based on the consent of the governed

• majority rule• laws enacted should treat all

people fairly

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

• first written constitution in America

• based on the following ideas:-consent of the governed-majority rule-protection of minority rights

bicameral legislature

• two-house legislature (made up of an assembly and a council)

• modeled after the two houses of the English Parliament

• only one colony was not organized this way by 1750

Colonial Assembly

• akin to the House of Commons

• elected by the male property- owners

• was supposed to represent the common citizen’s interests

Colonial Council

• similar to the House of Lords• members usually appointed by the

colonial governor• supposedly acted as a balance to

the assembly (theoretically had the power to veto laws passed by the assembly)

Monarch’s view of Colonial Assemblies

• assemblies were conveniences-made it easier to operate colonies at long distances

Colonists’ view of Colonial Assemblies

• saw assemblies as necessities-were a fulfillment of the social contract-performed functions that kept the colonies running smoothly:

raised taxesorganized militias

“I never heard in any conversation from any

person . . . the least expression of a wish for

separation from England.”

- Benjamin Franklin

French and Indian War(1754-1763)

• between England and France• lasted nine years

England won an enormous amount of land.

salutary neglect

• means “healthy neglect”

• conscious policy of not over-regulating the colonies as long as they supply England with raw materials and markets

Parliament’s new policies

• passed acts designed to shift the burden of empire from English taxpayers to the American colonists

• provided for strict enforcement of existing laws

- James Otis

“Taxation without representation is

tyranny!”

Declaratory Act of 1766

• Parliament claimed full power to tax and rule the colonies

• sent two regiments of soldiers to Boston to enforce their will

• imposed new taxes on paper, glass, paint, and tea

Colonial response to the Declaratory Act

• simple disobedience

• formal protests

• boycotts of English goods

• violence

Events in New York

• New Yorkers protested the quartering of troops in their homes

• England suspended the New York legislature

The Boston Massacre.

Bostonians protested the tea tax by dumping 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor.

First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in September 1774.

It advised the colonies to organize militias and stockpile supplies.

Causes of the AmericanWar of Independence

• social

• economic

• political

Social Causes

• colonists had developed an “American consciousness”

• sense of independence due to isolation from the “mother country”

• felt their legislatures were equal to Parliament

Economic Causes

• Parliament tried to enforce mercantilist policies

• colonists chafed under the following:-burden of taxation-enforcement of trade and manufacturing restrictions

Political Causes

• colonists questioned who should be doing the taxing-felt they had both the right and understanding to tax themselves-argued that Parliament had violated their rights

The Colonists Declare

Independence

Second Continental Congresssends mixed signals:

- profess loyalty to king and a desire to end hostilities

- asks colonies for war supplies and troops

England mobilizes

• withdraws protection from the colonies

• hires German mercenaries

• authorized the Royal Navy to seize American ships

Divided Colonial America1775

P atrio ts U n d ec id ed L oya lis ts

A ll A m ericanC o lon is ts

“Everything that is right or reasonable pleads for separation. The blood of the slain, the weeping voice of nature cries “Tis Time To Part!”

- Thomas Paine

“These United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.”

- Richard Henry Lee,Delegate from Virginia

7th June 1776

Congress appointeda committee to write

a declaration:

John Adams,Massachusetts

Ben Franklin,Pennsylvania

Philip Livingston,New York

Roger Sherman,Connecticut

Thomas Jefferson,Virginia

The signing of the Declaration.

Purposes of theDeclaration of Independence

1. a theory of government

2. a list of grievances

3. a declaration of independence

The Declaration as a theory of government

• people have “inalienable” from God (i.e. life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness)

• governments were organized to protect these rights

• just governments rule with the peoples’ consent

The Declaration asa list of grievances

• contained 27 grievances against the English crown-was trying to list the reasons for separating from England-was trying to gain support in Europe for our independence

The Declaration as a Declaration of Independence

• argued that the colonists had done everything possible to preserve peace

• independence was inevitable in light of England’s intransigence

• was viewed by England as a declaration of war