Independence

Why is the Ohio River Valley the middle ground (native american)?

Native American - historical hunting lands, traded with both French and British

Why is the Ohio River Valley the middle ground (french)?

claim to the land as a part of Louisiana, wanted to control the Native American trade and keep the Pennsylvania traders out, did not plan to settle

Why is the Ohio River Valley the middle ground (british)?

dreamed of establishing a new empire west of the British colonies, could easily acquire fertile land and freedom

Specifically, what events were responsible for the British increase in public debt?

the fact that the 7 years war was global dramatically increased the British’s public debt

Who was William Pitt and why significant?

changed the British fighting style, secretary of state, took office in 1757, raised huge sums of money and poured men and naval forces into the war

Battle of Quebec Significance

MONUMENTAL turning point, British vs. french

• British win

• Led to British control of Canada

• French pushed out of North America

Results of the Seven Years War/French and Indian War

1754 to 1763.

• The English won the war and the Peace of Paris was negotiated in 1763

• French expulsion from North America, and increased British power

• Massive British debt

What issue did the Native Americans face at the conclusion of the 7 Years War (CHANGE OVER TIME)

Indians fought on both sides. but ultimately wanted to keep their independence from both.

• Colonial expansion from British and French lost and ceding territory posed a threat to the Indians

• Later led to a pan-Indian identity, rallying up everyone against colonists

• FRENCH GONE, TRADING PARTNER GONE, UNSAFE

Pontiac’s Rebellion

Led by several war leaders inspired by Neolin’s teachings

• Reject European technology

• Free themselves from commercial ties with whites and alcohol dependence

• Clothe themselves in the garb of their ancestors

• Drive colonists from their territory

Why was Pontiac’s Rebellion significant for the colonies?

Eventually led to the Proclamation of 1763 after the killing of white settlers by the Native Americans

Proclamation Line of 1763 (Define)

prohibits further colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains

• lands acknowledged as belonging to the Indians

• Banned the sale of Native American ands to private individuals

Proclamation Line of 1763 (British rationale)

Less to protect the Indians, more to avoid having conflict on the frontier that would increase war debts

• Don’t want to agitate the Indians and can’t protect their colonists

Proclamation Line of 1763 (Colonists rationale)

RUGGED INDIVIDUALISM

Wanted to take advantage of the expulsion of the French to consolidate their claims to western lands

• Most ignored the line, because they fought for the British and now can’t reap the rewards

Pacifist?

a person who rejects war/conflict and believes there are no moral grounds which can justify resorting to war: QUAKERS

Paxton Boys

mostly Scots-Irish farmers. destroyed the Susquehannock town of Conestoga and then marched onwards to Philadelphia, intending to attack Moravian Indians

Albany Plan of Union of 1754

Drafted by Ben Frank

• Creation of a grand council composed of delegates from each colony

  • Power to levy taxes and deal with Indian relations and the common defense

• Never sent to London for approval

What was the British response to the Colonists claim that because the colonies were unrepresented in the British Parliament, Britain had no right to tax the colonies.

Virtual Representation

Virtual Representation Definition

Each member represented the empire, not just his own district - the interests of all who lived under the British crown were supposedly taken into account

Define Writes of Assistance

enforce Navigation Acts

• General search warrants that allowed custom officials to search anywhere they chose for smuggled goods

  • Colonists saw this as destructive to English liberty and the fundamental principles of the British Constitution

How did the British debt from the Seven Years War impact the relationship between Britain and the North American Colonies?

British saw colonies as subordinates and continued to use them to raise money to pay off their debt, furthering colonist’s discontent with the now-active British government

Admiralty Courts

Courts where accused smugglers could be judged without benefit of a jury trial

• Tried to stop the widespread smuggling by colonial merchants

Sugar Act

tax MUST be paid in GOLD

• Introduced by George Greenville, reduced the existing tax on molasses imported into North America from 6 pence to 3 pence

• Established new machinery to end widespread smuggling by colonial merchants

Stamp Act

The FIRST time Parliament tried to directly raise money via taxes

• Required all printed material produced in the colonies to carry a stamp purchased from authorities

• Purpose - to help finance the operations of the British Empire

Why is the Stamp Act significant

• Colonists didn’t want a standing British army in the colonies

• Imposition of the tax without colonial consent challenged local elite authority

• Led to No Taxation without Representation

Significant of the Stamp Act Congress

Second Unity of Colonies (first was First Great Awakening)

• October 1765 - met in New York, affirmed allegiance of all colonists to the British Crown

• Right to consent to taxation was essential to the freedom of a people

• Boycott British goods until repealed

How many colonies attended the Stamp Act Congress

9

Explain the two major resolutions from the Stamp Act Congress

1. Right to consent to taxation was “essential to the freedom of a people”

2. Plan to boycott British goods until Parliament repealed the Stamp Act

How did the Stamp Act Congress plant the seeds of unification of the colonies?

It was the first major cooperative action among Britain’s mainland colonies

Why was the Stamp Act repealed?

American resistance + pressure from London merchants and manufacturers who did not wish to lose their American markets

What was the purpose of the Committee of Correspondence?

In Boston, communicated with the other colonies to encourage opposition to the Sugar and Currency Acts

Sons of Liberty

1765, New York

• Led protest processions

• Posted notices reading: “Liberty, Prosperity, and No Stamps”

• Enforces the boycott of British imports

Boston Massacre

March 5, 1770 - fight between snowball throwing, drunk colonists and British soldiers, five colonists killed

• Crispus Attucks as 1st person to die

What led to the repeal of the Townshend Acts?

British merchants - pushed for the repeal as they wanted to lose a possible source of future interruption of trade

• British left a tax on tea and removed British soldiers

What happened to the value of stock of the East India Company?

The price of stock in the company sharply rose and then collapsed, leaving its value pretty low with now-broke investors

What special privilege did the British government give the British India Company?

• Helped market its Chinese tea to North America

• Offered the company a series of rebates and tax exemptions

  • Enabled them to dump cheap tea on America, pushing out established merchants and smugglers

What would the tax on tea pay for?

The tax on the tea would pay for the British East India Company, who was facing a lot of economic losses

Why did colonists refuse to pay the tax on tea?

If the colonists paid the tax on tea, they would be acknowledging Britain’s right to tax the colonies

Define the terms of the Intolerable/Coercive Acts

1. Curtailed town meetings (no right to assembly)

2. Authorized the governor to appoint members to the council

   1. No more elected assembly

3. Empowered military commanders to lodge soldiers in private homes (quartering)

What impact did the Intolerable Acts have on the colonists?

Unified the colonies in opposition to what was widely seen as a direct threat to their politcal freedom

Define the Quebec Act

ENRAGED THE COLONISTS

Extended the Southern boundary of the Canadian Province to the Ohio River and granted legal toleration to the Roman Catholic Church in Canada

Why did a Continental Congress Convene?

To coordinate resistance to the Intolerable Acts

12/13 colonies attended (no one knows why Georgia didn’t come)

What did the Continental Association call for?

• Endorsed the Suffolk Resolves

• Adopted the Continental Association

• Authorized Committees of Safety

  • Implemented mandates and took action against enemies of American Liberty

Suffolk Resolves

urged fellow citizens to cease paying taxes or trading with Britain and to undertake militia drill each week

Lexington and Concord on April 19th

1775, British advance onto Concord in order to seize arms being stockpiled

• 49 Americans dead

• 73 British dead

• American Victory - “Shot heard around the world”

Why was Ticonderoga important to the war effort?

First American Victory

• Secured the strategic passageway north to Canada and gave Americans artillery that would later be used in other battles

Significance of Breed’s/Bunker Hill

First MAJOR battle of the Revolutionary War

• Americans used Ticonderogan artillery

• British flee (under Sir William Howe) and cut down the liberty tree

• British victory, but they sustained double the casualties of Americans (Americans ran out of ammo)

List the actions of the Second Continental Congress

1. Authorized the raising of a Continental Army

2. Printed money

3. Appointed George Washington as commander

Why was George Washington’s appointment significant?

He was from the South, and that unified the colonies. He was also just really capable in battle.

• Brought over Virginia (Biggest colony) to the Patriot side

How did the Olive Branch Petition show how the colonists were reluctant revolutionaries?

Happened around the same time as Declaration of Independence and Common Sense, so it showed the colonies as unwillingly to cling to one specific side

Who was Thomas Paine?

An emigrant from England that moved to Philadelphia late in 1774

• Became associated with a group of advocates of the American cause

Why was Paine’s Common Sense unique?

New Style of Political Writing

• Designed to expand dramatically the public sphere of political discussion

• Avoided complex language and Latin phrases

What did the Declaration of Independence consist of?

• Mostly a long list of grievances directed against King George III

• Thomas Jefferson’s Preamble

What ideas did Thomas Jefferson use from John Locke?

Government

• Derives its powers from “the consent of the governed”

• Citizens have the authority to alter or to abolish governments when they threaten their subject’s natural rights

Define American Exceptionalism

the belief that the U.S. has a special mission to be a refuge from tyranny, a symbol of freedom, and a model for the rest of the world

What was the most important factor for the colonists in the struggle for independence?

Americans were more concerned with gaining international recognition in their struggle for independence than anything else

British Advantages

• Well trained army

  • Plus hired German missionaries

• World’s most powerful navy + money

• Experienced military commanders

British Disadvantages

• Uncertain public support due to prospective taxes

• European rivals pressured Britain

• 3,000 miles away

• No central authority in the States

American Advantages

• Fighting on their own turf

• Massive Morale

Americans Disadvantages

• Local militias and an inadequately equipped Continental Army

Why was the alliance with France so important?

France would go on to supply military assistance to the U.S. and turn the tides of war

How did Howe’s fighting style help George Washington?

Howe didn’t chase down any remnants of the Continental army after winning battles, leaving the Continental army in pieces, but able to recuperate and learn

How did the failure impact the colonial army?

Successive failures caused the colonial army’s numbers to go down from 28,000 to 3,000

Why did George Washington attack Trenton and Princeton?

To regain the initiative of the war and restore morale

Significance of the Battle of Saratoga

Howe essentially abandoned General Burgoyne

• Burgoyne had to surrender at the Battle of Saratoga on October 17, 1777

• Significant boost to American morale

What were the French reasons to help the Americans?

• Revenge on previous wars

• French fought British ships in the Caribbeans, Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean

Why is Saratoga a turning point?

Gained international allies for America

• Put the British on the defensive in places ranging from the West Indies to England itself

How did France become involved in the war?

• American diplomates travelled to France and created a Treaty of Amity and Commerce

  • French recognized America as a state

Why did the British shift the war to the South?

1. Hoped to exploit the social tensions between backcountry farmers and wealthy planters that surfaces in the Regulator movement

2. Enlist the support of the numerous colonists in the region who were loyal to the crown

3. Disrupt the economy by encouraging slaves to escape

Why did the British fail?

Wherever they went, the Americans militias harassed them, causing British commanders to be unable to consolidate their hold on the South

Battle of Yorktown

More frenchman than American soldiers

• General Cornwallis surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, on Oct 17, 1781

• Public support for the at in Britain diminished and peace negotiations began

Negotiators for the Treaty of Paris 1783

American delegation - John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay

List the terms of the Treaty of Paris 1783

1. British to cede the entire region between Canada and Florida east of the Mississippi River

2. Gained Americans the right to fish in Atlantic waters off of Canada

3. Americans agreed that colonists who had remained loyal to Britain would not suffer persecution

Following the American Revolution, why did inflation increase?

The American government had printed much more Continentals (currency) to pay off debts to international and domestic parties, leading to the decrease in Continental purchasing power

As a new independent nation, what challenges with regard to trade did the U.S. face?

Lost its primary trading partner in Britain

• Higher prices for British imperial goods

• American ships susceptible to piracy

Who became the U.S. major trading partners following the revolution?

France, as well as Spanish America

How did trade with Spanish America change following the American Revolution?

The American trade with Spanish America increased and established commercial relations outside of Spain’s boundaries while also assisting patriot revolutionaries there

List the POSITIVE effects on the U.S. economy following the revolution

• Independence on the high seas

  • Can trade with other countries

• Free to industrialize

• Free to produce whatever

• Both industry + agricultural economies set to expand with a lot of potential

List the NEGATIVE effects on the U.S. economy following the revolution

• High inflation

• Loss in British trade/goods

• Piracy more prevalent

What happened to loyalists following the revolution?

From 1783-1800, about 50,000 people (all loyalists) emigrated to Canada

• Did not get compensated for material loss

• Lost their spot as the top of the social hierarchy

Following the revolution, who replaced the loyalists at the top of society?

The revolutionary officer corps began to form a new upper class

• Decided to place limits on the advancement of groups below them

How was the economic situation with farmers?Why?

Faced new taxes levied by states to eliminate the U.S. debt

• Many faced foreclosure

• Shay’s Rebellion - fought against this, freed debtors, and changed Massachusetts law, led to the Constitution

How was the economic situation with artisans and tradesmen? Why?

Not rewarded by economic/social advancement even though they fought. Advancement, if any, happened in urban areas but most laws benefitted those with money + property

How was the economic situation with foot soldiers from the revolution? Why?

Not paid pensions they were due, little social mobility, decided to move beyond the frontiers of the U.S.

How was the economic situation with Native Americans? Why?

Seen as savages and not in possession of basic human rights, most had to flee as colonists moved west, some fought and lost and had to cede their territory

The Status of Slaves (war time, British)

promised freedom to all slaves who defended the Empire (12,000 slaves join)

The Status of Slaves (war time, Patriots)

promised freedom to slaves who escaped from loyalists

The Status of Slaves (after war, North)

freed slaves for participation in the Continental Army

• 7/13 states set slaves free

• Slaves not really needed in economy anyways

The Status of Slaves (after war, South)

escaped slaves NOT freed, sold back into slavery even if they were already freed, slavery necessary for plantation agriculture

The Status of Slaves (after war, Britain)

did their best to make their promises come true

• Where possible, freed slaves + evacuated them to other parts of the British Empire