Module 2 & 3 - The American Revolution

Salutary Neglect

England’s policy of relaxed enforcement of colonial trade laws (early 1700s). Allowed colonies to develop their own assemblies and self-government. Colonists grew used to managing local affairs, planting the idea of independence later.

Mercantilism

Economic system where colonies exist for the benefit of the mother country. Colonies provided raw materials (like tobacco, lumber, furs) and bought British goods. The goal was to increase England’s wealth and power by controlling trade.

Navigation Acts (1651 - 1696)

A series of laws restricting colonial trade. Colonial goods could only be shipped in English/colonial vessels; certain “enumerated goods” (tobacco, sugar, etc.) could go only to England. Boosted England’s economy but led to resentment and smuggling.

Sugar Act (1764)

Lowered tax on foreign molasses but strengthened enforcement of smuggling trials in admiralty courts (no jury). First act to raise revenue directly from colonies, angering merchants. Seen as unfair taxation without representation.

French & Indian War (1754 - 1763)

Part of global Seven Years’ War. British and colonists vs. French and Native allies. Britain won Canada and lands east of Mississippi, but war debt led to new colonial taxes. Colonists gained military experience, but tensions with Britain grew.

Proclamation of 1763

Britain banned settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains to avoid Native conflicts. Colonists, eager for land after the war, defied the ban and felt betrayed by Britain.

Sons of Liberty (1765)

Secret resistance group founded in Boston. Led by Samuel Adams, organized boycotts, protests, and sometimes violent resistance against British tax collectors. Famous for their role in the Stamp Act protests.

Stamp Act (1765)

Tax on legal documents, newspapers, dice, cards. Colonists protested with boycotts, mob threats, and the Stamp Act Congress (Declaration of Rights and Grievances). It was repealed in 1766, but colonists had shown unity.

Declaratory Act (1766)

Passed the same day as the Stamp Act repeal. Asserted Parliament’s full authority to make laws for the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.” Colonists saw this as a threat of continued control.

Townshend Acts (1767)

Indirect taxes on imports like glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. Colonists boycotted again. Women (Daughters of Liberty) spun homespun cloth and made tea substitutes to avoid British goods.

Boston Massacre (1770)

Tensions in Boston exploded into violence. British soldiers fired on a crowd, killing 5 colonists. Crispus Attucks, of African and Native descent, was first killed. Patriots used it as propaganda to fuel anger at Britain.

Court Case (Boston Massacre, 1770)

John Adams defended the British soldiers. Most were acquitted; only two received reduced sentences. Showed colonists could still uphold law despite anger.

King George’s Reaction To Boston Tea Party (1773)

Colonists dumped 18,000 lbs. of tea into the Boston Harbor. King George was enraged, pushing Parliament to pass the Coercive/Intolerable Acts (1774) to punish Massachusetts.

Committees of Correspondence (1772+)

Colonial communication networks formed after Britain tried hauling colonists to England for trial. Spread news of threats to liberty and linked colonies into unity.

Colonial Reaction to Coercive Acts (1774)

Outraged colonists formed the First Continental Congress, demanding rights and preparing to resist British force. Agreed to reconvene if demands not met.

Paul Revere Propaganda

His engraving of the Boston Massacre exaggerated British brutality (redcoats firing into defenseless colonists). Spread widely as anti-British propaganda, fueling Patriot support.

Shot Heard Around the World (1775)

Battles of Lexington & Concord. First military clashes of the Revolution. Minutemen resisted British attempts to seize weapons, showing colonists were ready to fight.

Enlightenment ideas in the Declaration

Jefferson drew on John Locke: natural rights (life, liberty, property → pursuit of happiness), social contract theory, and right to overthrow unjust governments.

Thomas Paine’s Common Sense (1776)

Pamphlet attacking monarchy and King George, urging full independence. Widely read and persuaded many undecided colonists to support the Patriot cause.

Olive Branch Petition (1775)

Colonists’ last plea for peace. Asked King George III to restore harmony. He rejected it and declared colonies in rebellion, ordering a naval blockade.

First Battles – Lexington & Concord (1775)

brief but bloody

Bunker Hill (1775)

costly British victory (over 1,000 casualties vs. 450 Americans) that boosted Patriot confidence.

Patriots

Knew land, inspired by independence, George Washington leadership. Weaknesses: poorly supplied, untrained army, no navy.

British

Best navy and army, well-funded, loyalist support. Weaknesses: long supply lines, unfamiliar terrain, less motivation.

European Support

France allied after Saratoga, providing navy, troops, and funds. Spain and the Netherlands also aided. French alliance was crucial to eventual victory.

Friedrich von Steuben

Prussian drillmaster who trained the Continental Army at Valley Forge. Taught discipline, tactics, and organization that transformed the army.

Battle of Bunker Hill (1775)

Misnamed (mostly fought at Breed’s Hill). British took the hill after three assaults but lost over 1,000 men. Showed colonists could stand up to regular troops.

Battle of Saratoga (1777)

American victory that forced British General Burgoyne to surrender. Turning point of the war because France officially entered as an ally.

Battle of Yorktown (1781)

Washington, with French allies, trapped Cornwallis’s army on a peninsula. British surrendered, effectively ending the war.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

Officially ended the war. Britain recognized U.S. independence, set borders at Mississippi River, and gave Americans fishing rights off Newfoundland.

African Americans in the War

Served on both sides. British promised freedom to enslaved people who joined them. Some African Americans also fought with Patriots (about 5,000). However, slavery persisted after the war.

Crispus Attucks

1770: First person killed in the Boston Massacre.

Justification for the Declaration:

• Colonists argued 'taxation without representation' violated rights.

• Britain broke the social contract by oppressing colonies.

• Enlightenment thinkers (John Locke, Montesquieu) inspired ideas of natural rights and self-rule.

Patriots

- Motivation: liberty, self-rule, land.

- Strengths: home advantage, French support, strong cause.

- Weaknesses: shortages, poorly trained militias.

British

- Motivation: preserve empire and trade.

- Strengths: professional army/navy, wealthy.

- Weaknesses: distance from home, supply issues, unpopular war in Britain.