slavery - part 4: Divisions

colonists see themselves as freeborn britons

believed britain’s mixed constitution prevents the crown exploiting them

• crown has control over appointed governors

• greater proportion of whites can vote in colonies

  • 2/3 vs ¼ in britain

colonists feared standing armies

see it as tyrannical

—> militias are virtuous because run by state not crown

patriots fear conspiracy to deprive them of rights

• saw slavery as a potential outcome and britain as a place most aren’t free

• bernard bailyn (historian) = provided compelling evidence that they believed in this conspiracy

• no representatives in parliament

• britain’s growing industrialisation is opposite of virtuous rural society

parliamentary representation

relied on appointed agents to influence colonial policy

• some patriots insist only directly appointed representatives could tax americans e.g., john dickinson

british national debt

• wars with french and NA expensive

• need 225k a year to garrison western forts

• america pays 4% taxes of britons

british parliamentary acts

1764 Sugar Act

• aimed to end widespread smuggling and raise revenue to help pay off Britain’s massive Seven Years' War debt by strictly taxing sugar, molasses, wine, and coffee imported into the American colonies

1764 Currency Act

• banned the American colonies from printing or issuing paper money

  • The law aimed to protect British merchants from being paid in depreciated colonial currency, but it severely worsened the post-war economic recession and fueled colonial resentment

1765 Stamp Act

• direct tax on colonies which meant putting stamps on printed goods

• pays for garrisons

• in america = protests

• repealed 1766 which energised patriots

1767 townshend act

• strengthened duties and customs enforcement

• new customs boards to enforce new taxes and stop smugglers

• new board based in boston

  • 1770 fired on a mob at customs house : 5 dead, 6 wounded

  • john adams defends soliders; 6 free, 2 branded

towards rev

1772 rhode island burned customs cutter Gaspee

• Crown sought tp apprehend sons of liberty but heavy handed response galvanised colonists

1773 East India Company to ship directly to US which sparked boston tea party

• EIC would tax US without their consent

• sons of liberty board ships and dump £10,000 worth of tea in the water

• gov shuts Boston port and put Massachusetts under crown control

  • trials of officers occur in britain and forced america to house british troops'

1774 first continental congress on how to coordinate response to “intolerable acts“

oct 1763 british add acquistions

3 new colonies

• proclamation line which set boundary with NA

  • elites see it as temporary

• quebec, west florida, east florida

Quebec

1774 crown placed ohio country in hands of quebec - angered colonists

• 1774 Quebec Act guaranteed they could be Catholic and follow french civil law

  • gov appointed by crow

protestant colonists see papist quebec as threat to their liberties

1763-75 settlers defy boundaries of NA land

sparked violence

• daniel boone led 50 british soliders into kentucky 1773

  • son killed by NA starting intense violence

NA in Ohio Country revolt against British country

ottawa leader, pontiac, wants to get brits out of great lakes after loss of french allies

• 1763 he destroys british forts and settlements targetting those encroaching on their land

  • killed or captured 2000 whites

  • avoided pitched battles - know brits will win e.g., bushy rain 1763

• 1764-6 Brits isolated pontiac by signing peace treaties with his allies

  • realised friendship better

  • indian agent william johnson urged friendship and gave Wampum Belts to 24 NA nations at Treaty of Fort Niagra 1764

    • recognised British dominion over great lakes but also guaranteed NA land rights

at least 1/5th americans remain loyal

2/5 refused to vote either side or waivered

• even patriot delegates to 2nd continental congress were divided

richard stockton

• signed declaration of independence as a delegate of NJ

  • recants under british pressure

many patriots want to reconcile with crown

• july 1775 olive branch petiiton refused by crown written by john dickinson

  • Abstained from vote on independence

• especially from mid-atlantic and southern colonies

french and US

1778 french side with patriots bringing powerful navy

Bunker Hill 1775

crown victory

• brits had 6000 troops and naval support

• lost 1000 men - highest casualty count of war

war begins april 1775

at lexington a small militia confronted the crown troops after repeated warnings to disperse, the troops fired on the militiamen

• troops then marched onto concord to search for cannon

• 700 british troops marched on concord april 18 to consfisciate weapons from rebels

• colonial militia warned and massed to meet soliders

• news travelled quick about the outbreak of hostilities and militiamen rushed to the battle

• crown forces fought their way all the way back to boston, sparking beginning of the war

july 1776-march 1777 crown captures NY and NJ

washington crossed the delaware with remnants of his army and captured 2 british outposts in NJ

• provided relief to the rebels and forced british to withdraw from NJ

• after evacuating Boston and receiving reinforcements in canada, the british launched a massive attack on NY

  • quickly crushed rebels and seized NYC and NY

    • rebel cause looked doomed by the end of 1776

dec 1777 brits take philadelphia

had been most populous and place of continental congress so key target

• sept = 15k troops sailed up chesapeake to take city

• at brandywine creek, the american army under GW was once again routed and almost destroyed

  • their defeat left philadelphia undefended

  • british took city wihtout opposition and congress fled

june 1777-oct 1777 british lose an army at saratoga NY

june = 8k british soliders marched south from canada to take upstate NY

• blocked by thousands of colonial militia

• oct = brits found themslves isolated and outnumbers

  • surrendered to americans

  • first major rebel success

2 july 1776

12 out of 13 colonies vote for indpendence

• patriots destroy royal symbols

• new flag

• in NY take down G3 statue

• forced them to stop attempts at reconciliation

1776 Paine’s Common Sense

energised case for independence

• ideals mirrored in declaration of independence

• utopian view of nation = no monarhcy

1775/6 british calls patriots rebels

pushes them towards revolution

• “colonists in open and abowed rebellion“

  • traitors would be hung

• crown recuits slaves, NA and german mercenaries to fight them

  • confirmed them as foreign enemies not britons

war extended outside US

• canada expediiton 1775-6

• 1775 raided bermuda

• 1778 invaded florida

• france, spain and holland had declared war by 1780

continental army

formed 1775

• led by GW

• blue uniforms and songs sets apart from brits

patriots formed “committies of correspondence“

• enforced continental association

• created new gov

• local elites and militiamen

  • new shadow gov

  • military association

  • link to wider patriot info and political networks

• forced locals to sign oaths of allegiance

  • if refused, know loyalists and faced violence, poor conditions and/or death

slaves and the war

brits recruited slaves to undermine the patriots

• govenor dunmore offers proclamation that any slaves that fought would be granted freedom in 1775

  • 300 of dunmore’s ethiopian regiment fought patriots 1775/6

  • fought 2 battles in virginia then evecuated to NY

  • disbanded 1776 but “colonel tye“ created black brigade to fight war of attrition in NY

• 1781-3 = slaves captured at yorktown returned to masters

  • others become bandits or escaped

  • attacked john laurens

  • many got smallpox and sent out the towns 1781 = many face re-enslavement

• 12,0000 joined crown often as pioneers

patriots recruit 6000 slaves

• 1783 = 1/10th continental army = double their proportion in nrothenr popualtion

• disliked the thought of arming them

• mostly in the navy

• Laurnens plans to arm 3000 who would receive freedom and $50 after war

  • south carolina legislators reject in fear of slave uprisings

    • virginia proposes to arm large amounts of slaves but REJECTED in favour of giving 100 acres to each white recruit in the army

    • 500 serve in place of their masters

peace negotiations and slaves

paris 1782-3

• insists slaves must return to owners

  • brits refuse to return 3000 slaves

  • instead evacuate them to canada

guerilla war in countryside

destroyed land and plantations

• destroys local economy

• by 1871 currency = worthless and low taxes

  • congress had been printing money to pay for war and pay foreign allies

• debased currency

• some soliders mutinied over low pay

community vs community

patriots surpress loyalist recruitment

brits defeated jan 1781

• destroyed supporting regiments

• feb 1781 400 loyalists attacked by patriots = 93 killed

loyalists crushed in south carolina 1780

surrounded and surpised by 900 pats

• lost 453, remainer captured

  • crushing blow to brits

british legions

NY Cavalry force

• brits seeking to recuit southern loyalists and convince pats to switch sides

  • at least 25,000 side with brits vs 80,000 in CA

1780 = massacred patriots at battle of waxhaws

• 420 killed after legion leader killed and wanted revenge

brits switch focus to south

• southern slaves would be crucial

• carolina split = backcountry loyalists are vital

• also highland scots eager to fight

1775/6 crown cedes south

royal governors flee colonies

• now contorlled by patriot committees

• june 1776 pats had repulsed an attempted british invasion of south carolina

  • carolinas largely insulated from war

dec 1778 brits seized savannah

450 US captured

• brits only lost 17 men out of 3000

oct 1779 frnace and US attempt to retake but failed with 1000 casulaties

may-aug 1780

brits smashed continental amry in south carolina

• seiged charleston and captured 5500 US

• brits lose less than 300

august = 2100 brits defeat 4000 US in an hour

1781 americans start war of attrition

need to avoid battles so skirmishes

• british defeat them in march but lost ¼ men

• brits penned into yorktown, Virginia and captured by larger Franco-American army

  • had been awaiting reinforcements

  • but when they dont arrive GW invades and seiged

1778 philadelphia

brits evacuated and move troops to caribbean

abolitionism in atlantic

• 1787 brits start campaigns

  • enquireies into slave trade and colony’s role in economy of empire

  • 2006 christopher brown says BR want to increase their “moral capital“ after US loss

  • 1807 parliament ends slave trade

• both america and BR end slave trade 1807

  • BR 1839 emancipates all slaves in empire and compensates owners

  • US 1865 congress passes 13th amendment after civil war

• 1783 brits ban colonies trading with US

  • economy declines

craibbean during war

ALL remain loyal

• despite history of protest

• planters often resided in or returned to britian

  • whites outnumbered 30-1 so need british support

    • rebellion would lead to slave revolt

    • also need british markets for exports

white loyalists and canada

reorganised canada after civil war

• no rent to crown, less tax and promsied not for revenue

• but assmeblies are made up of elites

brits granted compensation

• 4118 claimants fpr £10 mil but only £3mil paid

• loyalists in canada = free grants of 100-300 acres

NA loyalists

1784, 2000 iroquis resettled in canada

• given land in ontario

  • 30,000 “late loyalists“ move to ontario

• patriots had devastated homeland

“liberty exiles“

60,000 loyalists who fled after civil war

• quebec = 7000

• bahamas = 5000

• maritimes = 38000

• britain = 13000

• canada especially nova scotia

property in US confiscated or destroyed

• fled or forced exiles

• brits take with

loyalists in america

many remained in community especially mid-atlantic and south = 85% reintergate and many become patriots

• patriots release need for concessions if peace

  • can recover property and not persecuted (1782 south carolina had stripped loyalists of their property, readmitted loyalists 1784 and 70% reintegrate )