The Road to Revolution

1763-1775

By: Mr. Michael R. KahoeDel Valle High School

Aftermath of the French & Indian War

• War had enlarged England’s imperial domain– Victory was expensive– Garrisoning troops in America was expensive• Wanted colonists to help pay

• American colonists were becoming more unified

The Deep Roots of Revolution

• Colonists were not saddled by tradition• Two emerging ideas– Republicanism – system in which citizens elect others to

represent them in gov.• Subordination of private interests for common good

– Fearful of governmental abuse of power and corruption

The Deep Roots of Revolution

• Circumstances of colonial life contributed to revolution– No nobility in colonies– Used to political participation– Used to self government– Distance from England

Mercantilism

• Mercantilism – economic theory embraced by the British– A country’s power is measured by its wealth– Export more than import– Colonies used for raw materials & provided a market for

exports (manufactured goods)

Navigation Laws

• Navigation Laws – trade laws which benefited the mother country– All commerce had to be transported in British ships– Goods destined for America first had to stop in England

(taxed)– Colonists had to trade certain products exclusively with

Britain (Tobacco)

Colonial Grievances

• Shortage of currency• Royal Veto• Redcoats still on American soil

The Merits & Menace of Mercantilism

• Up to 1763, many of the Navigation Laws were only loosely enforced

• Benefits to Colonists– Paid well for ship parts & tobacco– Protected by huge British empire

• All for free!

• Burden of the System– Gave colonists no economic initiative– Dependence on British agents & creditors– Americans felt used

George Grenville

• England had a huge debt after the war

• 1763, Prime Minister George Grenville began enforcing Navigation Laws– He was despised by colonists

New Taxes

• Sugar Act of 1764 – tax on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies

• Quartering Act of 1765 – required colonists to provide food and quarters for British troops– Colonists felt army was there to keep an eye on them

• Stamp Act of 1775 – use of stamped paper or using stamps to certify payment of the tax– Required on paper products and documents

The Stamp Tax Uproar

• Violators of the Stamp Tax were sent to England and tried without a jury– Assumed guilty

• “No taxation without representation” becomes rallying cry– Colonists felt only colonial legislatures could tax them– Grenville said colonists were “virtually represented” in

parliament• It represents all British subjects

Stamp Act Congress

• Stamp Act Congress of 1765 – met in NY with 27 delegates from 9 colonies– Drew up request for withdrawal of tax– Was ignored in England, but– Brought together influential colonists

Non-importation Agreements

• Colonists adopted non-importation agreements against British trade goods– Made homespun garments– Drew up petitions– This united the Americans

Sons & Daughters of Liberty

• Sons of Liberty – aggressively fought against new taxes

• “Liberty, Property and No Stamps”– Enforced non-importation

agreements• Tarred and feathered violators• Broke into houses of tax officials

– Many to resigned

England Hit Hard in the Pocketbook

• This noncompliance hurt England– ½ of shipping was devoted to America– Hurt merchants, manufacturers, laborers and shippers

• Some in Parliament called for a repeal of the tax• Others felt the colonists should pay their share– 2 million colonists to 7.5 mil British

Repeal of the Stamp Act

• Parliament begrudgingly withdrew the Stamp Act in 1766

• Passed the Declaratory Act – stated that England had complete sovereignty over the colonists

Funeral of Stamp Tax

The Townshend Acts

• “Champaign Charley” Townshend was a leader of Parliament

• Townshend Acts passed in 1767– Created an imports duty on glass, paper, paint, and tea• Many drank tea and did

not like the tax

– Taxes were to pay for theroyal governors and judges

Suspension of NY Legislature

• Legislature of NY is suspended in 1767 by the crown– Upset colonists reinstate non-importation agreements• Most colonists put up with the new tax• Smuggled tea for cheap

Boston Massacre

• British sent two regiments of troops to Boston to enforce the law– Many were young, drunken “ruffians”

• Boston Massacre – occurs on March 5, 1770– Crowd of 60 began taunting and throwing snowballs at

squad of redcoats• They were mad about death of 11 yr old boy, which occurred 10

days earlier during a protest

Boston Massacre

• Troops opened fire and killed 11• Crispus Attucks – a young mulatto, and one of the

instigators, is killed

John Adams

• John Adams served as the defense attorney for the soldiers– 2 were found guilty– The rest were branded on the

hand

King George III

• King George III was 32 by 1770– Was a man of good moral

character– Bad ruler– Poor choices of advisors• Including Lord North

Lord North

• Lord North – the new Prime Minister• Townshend Acts failed to produce much

revenue– Only £295– Military in colonies cost £170,000

• Lord North repealed Townshend Acts– Kept tea tax as sign of

Parliamentary power

The Seditious Committees of Correspondence

• British officials stepped up Navigation Laws

• Samuel Adams – a political agitator, set up local committees of correspondence– Exchange letters & keep opposition to

British gov. alive• 1772 – there were 80 in Mass.• 1773 – intercolonial committees were meeting

Tea Brewing in Boston

• By 1773 no one called for rebellion– Non-importation agreements were slacking– More colonists were paying the tea tax then before• English tea was now actually cheaper than the smuggled variety

• British East India Company – had 17 mil. pounds of unsold tea & was facing bankruptcy

Tea Brewing in Boston

– England stood to lose a lot of tax revenues• Gave it a complete monopoly of the American tea business• Tea would end up being cheaper than before

• Americans saw it as a British ploy to get them to pay the tax– To colonists the principle was more important than the

price

Tea Brewing in Boston

• British authorities decided to enforce the law– None of the thousands of chests of tea made it to their

destinations• Sent back to England instead (NY & Philly)• Ships burned (Annapolis, MD)• Cargo seized and sold (Charleston)

Governor Hutchinson

• Thomas Hutchinson – the gov. of Mass., would not be bullied– He ordered the ships to deliver their goods– He was already unpopular• House had been burned

down• In a letter he called for the “suspension of

English liberties” in the colonies

Boston Tea Party

• Dec. 16, 1773 – 100 Bostonians, disguised as Indians, boarded the ships & dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor– Organized by Sons of Liberty– Several hundred

cheered them on– The tea was a symbol

of colonial solidarity• Everyone drank it

Reactions to Boston Tea Party

• Many colonists were sympathetic to Boston’s plight and cheered the act

• Conservatives believed the destruction of private property threatened anarchy

• Fed up and scared for his life, Governor Hutchinson fled to England

Intolerable Acts

• Parliament responded in 1774 with a series of acts to punish Bostonians– Boston Port Act – closed the harbor until damages were

paid and order restored• Colonies rallied behind Boston by sending food and supplies

– Restrictions placed on town meetings– Gov. officials were tried overseas– New Quartering Act – had to lodge soldiers even in colonial

homes

Intolerable Acts

• Quebec Act– French guaranteed their catholic religion– Could retain old customs• Had no representative government or trial by jury!

– Sphere of influencewould extend south

• This alarmed landspeculators in Ohio

• Upset anti-Catholics

First Continental Congress (1774)

• Met in Philadelphia to discuss grievances– 12 colonies represented, 55 delegates• (including Samuel Adams, John Adams, Washington, & Patrick

Henry)

– John Adams tried to persuade them to a revolutionary course of action

– Drew of Declaration of Rights and appeals to the king– The Association

First Continental Congress

The Association

• Called for a complete boycott of European goods– Nonimporation– Nonexportation– Nonconsumption

• Colonists were mainly looking for a repeal of the taxes• However Parliament rejected the Congress’s petitions

Tensions Increase• Colonists began boycotting all trade with England• April 1775, British General Thomas Gage marched on Concord

to seize colonial ammunition and put an end to any uprising

• Colonials warned byPaul Revere, WilliamDawes and SamuelPrescott

Midnight Ride of Paul Revere

But wait… What about Sybil?

Sybil Ludington“The Teenage Girl Paul Revere”

•16 years old, volunteered to warn the countryside of the attack and to alert the militia troops to muster at Ludington's. •She became known as the "female Paul Revere“. She rode about twice as far as he (40 miles)did on his famous ride. •Her actions helped stop the advance of the British, and thus give the American militia more time to organize and resist.

Lexington and Concord, April 1775

• Battle of Lexington – 700 British soldiers encounter 77 colonials in Lexington on their way to Concord– John Parker, colonial leader – “Don’t fire unless fired upon. But if they mean to

have war, let it begin here.”– 8 minutemen killed

• Battle of Concord – resistance better organized at a bridge near the city– Hundreds of colonists took cover behind trees and shot at the British– 250 British casualties– 90 American casualties

The British

• STRENGTHS– Population (7.5 million to 2.5 million

colonists)– Monetary wealth– Naval forces– Professional army armed with 6' muskets

with bayonets attached• 50,000 British• 30,000 Hessians• 30, 000 American Loyalists

• WEAKNESSES– Poor leadership– Lack of desire to crush American

cousins– Military difficulties

• Second-rate generals• Inadequate, poor provisions• Need for clear victory• Armies were 3000 miles from home• Vast colonial territory (1000 by 600 miles) to

subdue. No urban nerve center to conquer

The Yankees• STRENGTHS

– Outstanding leadership• Military—Washington• Diplomatic—Franklin

• European imports--Lafayette, Kosciuzko – Colonists fighting defensively– Food sources– Colonists were better marksmen (Americans

accurate at 200 yds.) – Moral advantage. Americans were

supporting a just cause with a positive goal

• WEAKNESSES– Poorly organized & slow to act– No written constitution until 1781 – Economic difficulties

• Little metallic currency available• Fearful of taxation• Inflation

– Limited military supplies• Inadequate firearms and powder• Clothing and shoes scarce. At Valley Forge, 2800

men barefooted

– American soldiers were numerous but unreliable