chapter 7 the road to revolution, 1763 – 1775. the deep roots of revolution two ideas had taken...
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 7
The Road to Revolution, 1763 – 1775
The Deep Roots of Revolution
• Two ideas had taken root in the minds of the American colonists • Republicanism
• “Radical Whigs” • Argued against patronage and corruption of the
monarchy and aristocracy
Mercantilism and Colonial Grievances
• The original thirteen, except Georgia, were not formally founded by the British crown
• Mercantilism – the British theory that justified their control over the colonies • Raw materials and a
guaranteed market
• The Navigation Law of 1650
• Regulation for the colonies
The Merits and Menace of Mercantilism
• Benefits to the colonies• Liberal bounties to
colonial producers of ship parts
• Virginia tobacco monopoly
• Protection of the English navy and army
• Burden to the colonies • Dependency on British creditors• Trade limitations• American colonists felt used
The Stamp Tax Uproar
• Prime Minister George Grenville • 1763 – Ordered the
British navy to enforce the Navigation Laws
• The Sugar Act of 1764• Increased duty on
foreign sugar
• The Quartering Act of 1765• Colonies provide food
and quarters for British troops
• The Stamp Act of 1765• Stamps were on
certain types of commercial and legal documents
• “No taxation without representation’’
Parliament Forced to Repeal the Stamp Act
• The Stamp Act Congress, 1765• Step towards inter-
colonial unity• Nonimportation
Agreements
• Sons of Liberty and Daughters of Liberty
The Townshend Tea Tax and the Boston “Massacre”
• “Champagne Charley’’ Townshend passes the Townshend Acts in 1767
• Import duty on glass, white lead, paper, paint, and tea
• British troops sent to the colonies in 1768
• March 5, 1770 –
the Boston Massacre• Crispus Attucks
The Seditious Committees of Correspondence
• Lord North persuaded Parliament to repeal the Townshend revenue duties
• Samuel Adams organizes the local committees of correspondence• Formed to spread the
spirit of resistance
Tea Parties at Boston and Elsewhere
• 1773 – the British East India Company faced bankruptcy• The royal ministry
awarded the company a complete monopoly of the American tea business
• December 16, 1773 – the Boston Tea Party
Parliament Passes the “Intolerable Acts”
• 1774 – the Boston Port Act• Closed the harbor until
damages were paid • Restrictions on town
meetings
• 1774 – the Quebec Act• The French-Canadians
were guaranteed their Catholic religion their old customs and institutions
The Continental Congress and Bloodshed
• The First Continental Congress in 1774• 55 representatives from
12 colonies meet in Philadelphia
• Deliberated for seven weeks
• The Association• Called for a complete
boycott of British goods
• April 1775 – the British commander in Boston sends to Lexington and Concord
• The “Minute Men’’ and the “Lexington Massacre’’
• Concord and the retreat to Boston
Imperial Strength and Weakness
• Strength• Larger population
• Professional military
• Monetary wealth
• Weakness• British troops needed around the globe
• Britons had no desire to kill their American cousins
• Lack of capable leaders
• Large distance from home
• Lack of food