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Chapter 6: Toward the War for American IndependencePreview: “Parliament passed the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, and other measures of the early 1760s in hopes of binding the American colonies more closely to the empire. Instead, once-loyal Americans became convinced that their constitutional rights were being violated….With the passage of the harsh Coercive Acts of 1774, a break with Britain was not long in coming.”

The Highlights: The Seven Years’ War The Imperial Crisis Toward the Revolution

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The Seven Years’ War

The Years of Defeat– 1754: war started with George

Washington’s surrender at Fort Necessity to the French

– 1755: disastrous defeat of British regiments, led by General Braddock, at Fort Duquesne

– Most Indian tribes allied with France

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The Years of Victory– 1756-57: British fortunes worsened,

but William Pitt began to take personal control over the war

– By 1758, the tide began to shift in Britain’s favor

– 1759-60: British capture Quebec and Montreal

– Treaty of Paris (1763) ended the war, as well as the French presence in North America

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Postwar Expectations– Britain’s victory stoked colonial pride

and optimism among Americans– English resented American

tightfistedness in supplying the armies– Very different expectations for postwar

America by the English and the colonists

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The Imperial Crisis

New Troubles on the Frontier– Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763) west of

Pittsburgh highlighted the problem of Britain’s large western frontier

– Proclamation of 1763 prohibited settlement west of the Appalachians

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George Grenville’s New Measures– Britain’s national debt doubled,

1754-64– Colonial merchants had been

evading the Molasses Act of 1733– Grenville, the first lord of the

treasury, advocated four policies to raise revenue from the colonies:

1. Sugar Act (1764) 2. Currency Act (1764) 3. Quartering Act (1765) 4. Stamp Act (1765)

– Grenville’s policies prompted an incrementally negative reaction by colonials

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The Beginnings of Colonial Resistance– Significance of John Locke’s beliefs

that property ownership and liberty were intertwined

– Opposition thinkers, while ignored in England, were revered by colonial leaders

– Postwar recession aggravated political tensions caused by Grenville’s measures

“The concern for protecting individual liberties was only one of the convictions shaping the colonies’ response to Britain’s new policies. Equally important was their deep suspicion of power itself, a preoccupation that colonials shared with a minority of radical English thinkers”(153).

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Riots and Resolves– 1765: colonial assemblies passed

resolves challenging Parliament’s power to tax the colonies for the sole purpose of raising revenue

– Patrick Henry’s resolves in Virginia – Resistance groups, most notably the

Sons of Liberty, sprang up across the colonies

Repeal of the Stamp Act– Policy repealed by Parliament in 1766– Continued angst over virtual versus

actual representation

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The Townshend Acts– In 1767, the new minister, William

Townshend, wanted to limit the power of colonial assemblies

– Instituted new tariffs The Resistance Organizes

– Efforts by colonial leaders John Dickinson and John Adams helped colonies to unite

– 1768: Liberty riot in Boston whipped up anti-government fervor

– Widespread boycott of British-made goods

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The International Sons of Liberty– Colonials follow struggle of Pascal

Paoli in fighting for Corsican independence from Genoa

The Boston Massacre– Increasing tensions between

colonists and British troops– March 5, 1770: situation exploded in

Boston, with troops firing upon protesters and killing five

– All of the Townshend duties repealed except the tax on tea

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Resistance Revived– Repeal of Townshend duties reduced

American resistance for two years– Constant tension among Penn, his

council, the legislative assembly, and farmers

– Gaspee incident provoked renewed tensions in 1772

– Samuel Adams engineered mode of communication: committees of correspondence

– 1773: Boston Tea Party

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The Empire Strikes Back– Coercive, or “Intolerable,” Acts

passed by Parliament, 1774– Colonists began to believe in a

conspiracy theory that the British government wanted to reduce their liberties

– Quebec Act (1774)– Call for First Continental Congress

“The Boston Tea Party proved to British satisfaction that the colonies aimed at independence. Lord North’s assessment was grim: ‘We are now to dispute whether we have, or have not, any authority in that country’” (162).

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Toward the Revolution

The First Continental Congress– Delegates, while affirming natural

rights, tried to stake out a moderate position

– Joseph Galloway’s plan for cooperation with Parliament rejected

– Decision to cease all trade with Britain until the Coercive Acts were repealed

– Began to arm colonial militias

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The Last Days of the British Empire in America– Governor of Massachusetts, Thomas

Gage, tried to fortify Boston against the growing number of rebels

– Royal authority collapsed, 1774-75 The Fighting Begins

– April 1775: first battles of the American Revolution, Lexington and Concord, Mass.

Common Sense– Thomas Paine: Americans’ destiny

was to be republicans, not monarchists

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