Leading to RevolutionLeading to Revolution

After the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War), which left Britain with an enormous debt, leaders wanted to get new revenues from the colonies to cover war costs and to pay for the expenses of maintaining an army to defend the colonies.

Leading to RevolutionLeading to Revolution

Having studied the writings of British opposition thinkers who said power seeks to encroach on liberty, colonial leaders saw these actions as British design to undermine their freedom.

They concluded that being a part of the British empire was a threat to freedom, rather than its foundation.

Although the British parliament had occasionally acted to restrict colonial economic activities that competed with business at home, the colonists frequently ignored these measures.

Beginning in the 1740’s, Britain tried to strengthen imperial authority by demanding colonial laws conform to royal instructions but the outbreak of the Seven Years’ War suspended the initiative.

Consolidating the Consolidating the EmpireEmpire

Consolidating the Consolidating the EmpireEmpire

Having seen the colonists as allies during the Seven Years’ War, Britain reverted in the mid-1760s to seeing them as subordinates whose main role was to enrich the mother country.

Consolidating the Consolidating the EmpireEmpire

To finance the war, Britain had borrowed 150 million pounds (tens of trillions of dollars in todays money) from banks and investors.

Britons believed it was only reasonable that the colonies should help pay the debt.

Nearly all Britons believed that Parliament represented the entire empire and had the right to legislate for it.

InIn 1764, 1764, Prime Minister George Grenville introduced the Sugar Act the Sugar Act and it is passed by the is passed by the English Parliament. English Parliament. The widely ignored Molasses Act had set a tax rate of 6 The widely ignored Molasses Act had set a tax rate of 6 pence per gallon on French molasses- a rate so high that it pence per gallon on French molasses- a rate so high that it made trade unprofitable. Rather than pay it, colonial made trade unprofitable. Rather than pay it, colonial merchants bribed officials. merchants bribed officials.

Grenville reduced the tax from 6 pence to 3 Grenville reduced the tax from 6 pence to 3 pence and then tightened customs enforcement pence and then tightened customs enforcement so that it would be collected. so that it would be collected.

The Sugar ActThe Sugar Act

The Sugar Act was accompanied by the Currency Act, which reaffirmed the earlier ban on colonial assemblies issuing paper currency.

The Currency ActThe Currency Act

The Stamp ActThe Stamp Act

In March 1765, the Stamp Act was passed by the English Parliament imposing the first direct tax on the American colonies. Its purpose was to raise revenues to support the British military organization in America. Thus for the first time in the 150 year old history of the British colonies in America, the Americans would pay tax not to their own local legislatures in America, but directly to England.

Another new tax, the Stamp Act of 1765, sparked the first great imperial crises.

The act would require a tax stamp on all printed items.

Taxation and Taxation and RepresentationRepresentation

Opponents of the act stated that the colonies had no right to taxed except by its elected representatives.

Benjamin Franklin wrote to Parliament saying, “If you chuse to tax us, give us Members in your Legislature, and let us be one People.”

The British Parliament countered by arguing that the colonists already had virtual representation in Parliament because some members were transatlantic merchants.

On March 24,1765, Parliament enacts the Quartering Act, requiring the colonies to provide barracks, food, and other provisions to British troops.

The Quartering ActThe Quartering Act

The act was resisted or circumvented in most of the colonies.

The Stamp Act CongressThe Stamp Act CongressNine assemblies sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress, which met in New York City in October 1765.

The congress protested the loss of American “rights and liberties.”

They assured Parliament that all colonists were loyal to the king and humbly petitioned for the repeal of the Stamp Act. Soon merchants throughout the colonies agreed to boycott British goods until Parliament repealed the Stamp Act.

Parliament had inadvertently united America.

No word was more frequently invoked by critics of the Stamp Act than “liberty.” Resistance to the Stamp Act spread far beyond the port cities of the colonies.

Opponents of the act forced those chosen to administer it to resign and destroy shipments of stamps.

Liberty and ResistanceLiberty and Resistance

Liberty and ResistanceLiberty and Resistance

Stunned by the ferocity of American resistance and pressured by London merchants and manufacturers who did not wish to lose American markets, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1766.

But this concession was accompanied by the Declaratory Act of 1766, which reaffirmed Parliament’s “full power and authority to make laws…to bind the colonies and America… in all cases whatsoever.”

The Townshend CrisisThe Townshend Crisis

Often the course of history is changed by a small event. In 1767, King George III named the chronically ill, (and American sympathizer) William Pitt to head a new government. As a result of Pitt’s illness, chancellor of the exchequer (Charles Townshend) was left in command.

The government in London decided to impose a new set of taxes on Americans. The Townshend Act of 1767 imposed duties on colonial imports of paper, paint, glass, and tea.

Homespun VirtueHomespun VirtueAlthough opposition to the Townshend duties developed slower than in the case of the Stamp Act, leaders in several colonies decided to reimpose the ban on importing British goods.

The boycott began in Boston and soon spread to the southern colonies. Reliance on American rather than British goods, on homespun clothing rather than imported finery, became a symbol of American resistance.

The Boston MassacreThe Boston Massacre

On March 5th, 1770 a crowd began harassing a group of soldiers guarding the customs house; a soldier was knocked down by a snowball and discharged his musket, sparking a volley into the crowd which killed five civilians.

Royal troops had been stationed in Boston, as well as several other colonial cities. The presence of the soldiers wore on locals.

Crispus Attucks, one of those who fell, would be remembered as the “first martyr of the American Revolution.”

The Tea ActThe Tea Act

The Tea Act of May 1773 provided financial relief for the East India Company, a royally chartered private corporation that served as the instrument of British imperialism.

The company was deeply in debt and also had a huge surplus of tea.

The company was given rebates and tax exemptions which enabled it to dump low-priced tea on American markets. The tax on tea was not new but many colonists insisted to pay it would acknowledge Britain’s right to tax the colonies.

The Tea PartyThe Tea PartyOn December 16, 1773, a group of colonists disguised as Indians boarded three ships at anchor in Boston Harbor and threw more than 300 chests of tea into the water. The event became known as the Boston Tea Party.

The Coercive or Intolerable The Coercive or Intolerable ActsActs

The British governments response to the Boston Tea Party was to close the port of Boston to all trade until the tea was paid for.

Massachusetts colony charter was annulled and most town meetings were prohibited.

Parliament also empowered military commanders to lodge soldiers in private homes.

The First Continental The First Continental CongressCongressCrisis followed crisis in the 1770s. British actions had

destroyed the legitimacy of the imperial government in the eyes of many colonists.

In June 1774, Massachusetts called for a meeting of delegates from all the colonies to consider common action against Britain.

In September 1774, the most prominent political leaders of twelve mainland colonies (Georgia did not take part) convened in Philadelphia.

The Continental The Continental AssociationAssociation

Before it adjourned at the end of October 1774 the First Continental Congress established the Continental Association to enforce a third boycott of British goods.

Congress authorized Committees of Safety to oversee its mandates and to take action against “enemies.”

As the crisis deepened, Americans increasingly based their claims not simply on the historical rights of Englishmen but on the more abstract language of natural rights and universal freedom.

““The Shot Heard Round the The Shot Heard Round the World”World”By the time the Second Continental Congress

convened in May 1775, war had broken out between British soldiers and armed citizens of Massachusetts.

““The Shot Heard Round the The Shot Heard Round the World”World”

When the Redcoats reached Lexington the next morning, the common was occupied by Minute Men. A shot was fired and when the smoke cleared eight militiamen lay dead.

Fighting erupted between colonists and the British army in April 1775 in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. British troops were planning to march to Lexington to capture John Hancock and Sam Adams, then on to Concord to seize colonial munitions.

The Second Continental The Second Continental CongressCongressOn May 10th, the Second Continental Congress met in

Philadelphia.

John Hancock was chosen president of the Congress.

Forces around Boston were organized into the Continental Army and George Washington was appointed commander-in-chief.

Bunker Hill (June, 1775)Bunker Hill (June, 1775)

In May 1775, British Fort Ticonderoga, fell to colonial militiamen led by Benedict Arnold.

On June 17, 1775, the British dislodged colonial militia from Breed’s Hill. (The battle came to be known after the nearby Bunker Hill).

Bunker Hill (June, 1775)Bunker Hill (June, 1775)

“The day ended in glory” for the British, but the victory was really for the Americans, who proved themselves against professional soldiers. 1,000 Redcoats fell while only 400 Patriots were lost.

Common SenseCommon Sense

As military conflicts escalated, Americans were divided in their opinions of King George III.

Even as fighting raged, Congress in July 1775 had addressed the Olive Branch Petition to King George III, reaffirming Americans’ loyalty to the crown and hoping for a “permanent reconciliation.”

Common SenseCommon Sense

With popular sentiment in flux, a single brief pamphlet tipped the scales. In January 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense under the name “an Englishman.” In Common Sense, Paine assaulted the traditional monarchial order.

Mixing insults with Biblical quotations, Paine blasted the British system of government and argued for American independence.

Declaration of Declaration of IndependenceIndependence

On July 4th, 1776, the Second Continental Congress approved a declaration of independence.

The Declaration of Independence declared the colonies to be “free and independent states absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown.”

Only six months elapsed between the appearance of Common Sense and the decision by the Second Continental Congress to sever the colonial ties with Great Britain.

Committee to draft declaration: Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston

Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson

Enlightenment ideas were applied by Thomas Jefferson in the American Declaration of Independence. The Declaration recognized the existence of natural rights such as the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It stated that the purpose of government was to protect these rights. This demonstrated the strong influence of John Locke on colonial thinking.

The ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence resulted in the growth of European democratic movements.

The American colonists were less concerned with securing human rights for all mankind than with winning international recognition in their struggle for independence from Britain.

Foreign Support Foreign Support

Foreign Support Foreign Support Of great importance to the colonies’ cause was support from foreign countries.

The French supplied arms and money to the patriot forces. French officers, including Marquis de Lafayette, served in Washington’s army.

Spain and the Dutch Republic also entered the war against Great Britain.

All wanted to weaken the British empire.

Declaring independence was one thing but winning independence was another and the newly created American army was up against the greatest military power on earth.

•Britain had a well-trained army•World’s most powerful navy•Experienced military commanders

• American soldiers fighting on their soil• Some military experience• Fighting for cause that inspired devotion

Balance of Balance of PowerPower

To conquer the thirteen colonies would be an enormous and expensive task. Britain misjudged the degree of support among the American population.

Blacks in the RevolutionBlacks in the Revolution

At the war’s outset, George Washington refused to accept black recruits, but changed his mind when Lord Dunmore offered slaves their freedom if they fought for the British.

Blacks who fought under George Washington and in other state militias did so in racially integrated companies. They were the last black American soldiers to do so officially until the Korean War.

Blacks who participated in the war (on both sides) often received their freedom.

LoyalistLoyalist

StrongholdStrongholdss

Early DefeatsEarly Defeats

Washington was nearly surrounded on Manhattan Island, but the British under General Howe hesitated and Washington withdrew to safety.

Despite early defeats in New York and New Jersey, Washington and his army avoided total annihilation and learned from their mistakes.

Washington Crossing the Washington Crossing the DelawareDelaware

A surprise visit to the Hessians at Trenton on December 26, 1776. Washington defeated the Hessians and suffered few losses. The American victory inspired colonists to join Washington’s ranks against the British.

To restore morale and regain the initiative, Washington launched a surprise attack on the Hessians at Trenton.

The Battle of Yorktown The Battle of Yorktown (1781)(1781)

Count de Rochambeau

AdmiralDe Grasse

End of the War End of the War In October of 1781, General Cornwallis was forced to surrender to combined American and French forces under Washington at Yorktown.

The Treaty of Paris, signed in 1783, recognized the independence of the American colonies.

The 13 American colonies had gained their independence. These colonies, which were now states, feared concentrated power and each were concerned with their own interests.

For these reasons, they had little enthusiasm for creating a united nation with a strong central government. The result of their efforts was the creation of the American nation’s first constitution, the Articles of Confederation.

Birth of a NationBirth of a Nation

Weaknesses of theWeaknesses of theArticles of Articles of

ConfederationConfederationA unicameral Congress [9 of 13 votes to pass a law].

13 out of 13 to amend.

Representatives were frequently absent.

Could not tax or raise armies.

No executive or judicial branches.

State ConstitutionsState ConstitutionsRepublicanism.

Most had strong governors with veto power.

Most had bicameral legislatures.

Property required for voting.

Some had universal white male suffrage.

Most had bills of rights.

Many had a continuation of state-established religions while others disestablished religion.

The Constitutional The Constitutional ConventionConventionIn the summer of 1787, 55 delegates met in

Philadelphia to revise the Articles. That meeting became known as the Constitutional Convention.

Convention’s delegates decided to write a plan for an entirely new national government.

The ConstitutionThe Constitution

The Constitution created a federal system in which power would be shared between the national government and the state governments. The federal government was divided into three branches, (executive, legislative, judicial) each with some power to check the workings of the others.