APUSH UNIT 3 ULTIMATE REVIEW

Westward expansion conflcit

by the end of the last period, relations with the British were filled with tension due to Britain banning colonists ability to migrate and settle westward into the Ohio River valley because…

1) land inhabited by indigenous groups

• would spark conflict with indigenous groups

• when colonists migrated out of permission they did encounter stiff resistance from an indigenous alliance led by the Shawnee and Delawares

2) land claimed by French

• feared conflict with the French who claimed all the land for themselves

• sparked a whole war as colonists kept migrating to the land

The first 3 wars

3 conflicts occurred between 1689 and 1748 and were named after the British monarch under whose reign they occurred:

• King Williams War (1689-1697) —> British failed capturing Quebec, French burned British frontier settlements

• Queen Anne’s War ( 1702-1713) —> British gained Nova Scotia from France and trading rights in Spanish America

• King George’s War ( 1744-1748) —> captured Louisbourg but was exchanged for political and economic gains in India. (New Englanders were furious)

Decisive Conflict

• in the first 3 wars, Europeans saw little value in committing regular troops to America and they relied on “amateur” colonial forces

• However, by 1754, when the 4th and decisive conflict began, conditions changed as Britain and France realized the great value of their colonies for the raw materials that they produced

• French had 60,000 settlers and with the help of the natives they carried the fur trade

• the British had 1.2 million people

• war began in 1754 and ended in 1763

Beginning of the war

• from the British POV, the French provoked the war by building a chain of forts in the Ohio River Valley which they did only to halt the westward movement of the British

• hoping to stop the French from completing their frontier settlements Fort Duquesne and win control of the valley, the governor of Virginia sent a small militia under George Washington. After gaining a small initial victory, Washington’s troops surrendered to superior Frenchmen and their natives allies on July 3, 1754. The final war began.

• at first the war went badly for the British as in 1755, another expedition from Virginia, led by Edward Braddock ended in defeat near Fort Duquesne

• French had Alogonquin/ Huron Allies and British had Iroquois

• French fought off a British invasion of French Canada in 1756

Albany plan of union

• recognizing need for coordinating colonial defense, the British gov had called for representatives from several colonies to meet in a Congress at Albany, New York in 1755

• the delegates from the seven colonies adopted an agreement developed by Benjamin Franklin that provided for an intercolonial gov and system for recruiting troops and collecting taxes from colonies for common defense

• however, each colony was too concerned about preserving it’s own taxation powers to accept the plan so it never took affect

• moreover, the British didn’t approve because they believed it gave too much power to the colonies

• first attempt to unite the colonies under a representative body

British victory

• British prime minister, William Pitt, concentrated the government’s military efforts on conquering Canada

• retaking of Louisbourg in 1758, surrender of Quebec in 1759, and taking of Montreal in 1760

• peace of Paris in 1763

• Great Britain got French Canada, Spanish Florida, and Ohio River valley

• France gave Spain Louisiana

effects of the war

• French power ended

• British on top and dominant naval power

• challenged autonomy of natives

• colonists no longer faced threats of attack from French, Spanish of their Indian allies

British view

• had low opinion of colonial military abilities

• American militia as poorly trained and disorderly

• noted colonies lack of effort

• convinced colonists were both unable and unwilling to defend the new frontier

Colonists view

• proud of their record in all 4 four wars

• confident they could provide their own defense

• not impressed with British troops or leadership

reorganization of British empire

• earlier policy for salutary neglect was abandoned as the British adopted more forceful policies for taking control of their colonies

• to pay for troops to guard the frontier without increasing taxes at home the British wanted the colonies to pay taxes

Pontiac Rebellion

• in 1763, chief Pontiac led an attack against colonial settlements on the Western Frontier

• natives were angered at growing westward movement of the British on their lands and by British refusal to offer gist as the French had done

• destroyed forts/settlements from New York to Virginia

• British sent regular British troops to put down the uprising

Proclamation of 1763

• in an effort to stabilize the frontier, the British issued a proclamation that prohibited colonists from settling west of the Appalachain mountains

• the colonists resented the proclamation and thousands defined it by migrating past the imaginary boundary drawn by the British

Representation

• colonists combined a desire to defend the long-established practices in Britain of representative government, local self-rule and individual rights with the influence of the ideas of the Enlightenment

• Colonists: could not directly elect representatives to parliament, so they had no way to consent to oppose British actions

• British: stated colonists, like all British citizens had virtual representation. All members of parliament represented the interests of the entire empire not just the small district that chose them.

The Sugar Act (1764)

• duties on foreign sugar and certain luxuries

• stricter enforcement of Navigation acts, those accused of smuggling were to be tried in admiralty courts by crown appointed judges without juries

Quartering Act (1765)

forced colonists to house and feed British soldiers stationed in the colonies to enforce the policies enacted

Stamp act (1765)

• required revenue stamps be placed on most printed papers in the colonies, including all legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, and advertisements.

• first direct tax in which people in the colonies payed as opposed to the taxes on imported goods, which were paid by merchants

Reaction to Stamp act

• Virginia lawyer, Patrick Henry spoke in the House of Burgesses to demand that the king’s government recognize the rights all citizens including the right not to be taxed without representation.

• In Massachusetts, James Otis, called for cooperative action among the colonies to protest the Stamp act. representatives from nine colonies met in New York in 1765 to form the stamp act congress they resolved that only their elected representatives had the legal authority to approve taxes

• Sons and Daughter’s of liberty formed, a secret society organized for the purpose of intimidating tax agents. Sometimes destroyed revenue stamps and tarred and feathered revenue officials.

Boycotting

• most effective form of protest

• in 1765 and 1766 people did not purchase any article of British origin

• instead of buying imported British cloth, colonial women made their own

Declaratory act

• repealed the stamp act

• asserted that parliament had the right to tax and make laws for the colonies in all cases whatsoever

Townshend Acts (1767)

• duties to be collected on imports of tea, glass, and paper

• the revenue would be used to pay crown officials in the colonies, thus, making the officials independent of the colonial assemblies that had paid their salaries.

• search of home for smuggled goods —> writ of assistance

reaction to Townshend acts

• leaders protested duties as they rejected taxation without representation as a violation of an essential principle of English law

• in 1767 John Dickinson made Letters from a farmer in Pennsylvania which argued parliament could only tax colonists with the approval of assemblies that included colonial representatives

• in 1768, James Otis and Samuel Adams wrote the Massachusetts circular letter and sent to every colonial legislature urging the colonists to petition parliament to repeal the Townshend acts.

• The British retracted the letter and threatened to dissolve the legislature and increased the number of British troops. As a result, the colonists again boycotted and smuggled.

• repealed in 1770

Boston Massacre

• on a snowy day in March 1770, a crowd of colonists harassed the guards near the customs house

• the guards fired into the crowd, killing five

• the colonists were defended by John Adams

• acquitted of murder and two convicted on less serious charge of manslaughter

Committees of Coresspondence

• created by Samuel Adams in 1772

• regularly exchange Letters about suspicious or potentially threatening British activities

• led to Gaspee

Boston Tea party

• colonists continued their refusal to buy British tea because the British insisted on their right to collect tax on it.

• parliament passed the tea act in 1773, which made the price of east India' company’s tea cheaper than smuggling

• a group of Bostonians disguised as Natives and dumped 342 chests of tea into the Boston harbour.

Intolerable Acts

Coercive Acts (1774):

• closed the port of Boston, prohibiting trade until the tea was payed for

• reduced the power of the Massachusetts legislature while increasing the power of royal governor

• allowed royal officials accused of crimes to be tried in Britain instead of in the colonies

• quartering act expanded to enable British to be quartered in private homes.

Quebec act:

• French Canada organized for French Canadadians

• established Roman Catholicism as the official religion of Quebec

• also have no representative assembly and extended Quebec’s boundary to the Ohio River

• colonists resented it as they believed it took away their lands, feared the British would take away their representative government, and didn’t like recognition given to Catholicism.