American Revolution

Great Britain (1707)

England, Scotland, Wales

United Kingdom (1801)

England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland

mercantilism

An economic system where governments tightly controlled trade and the economy to make their own nation rich and powerful

For Britain, the colonies were…

a market for British goods (furniture, utensils, books, china), a source of raw materials (lumber, fur, fish, tobacco) *the colonies could sell goods and materials to other nations but with strict rules

Navigation Acts (1651)

the colonies could export certain products (like tobacco) only to England, and almost all goods traded between the colonies and Europe first had to pass through an English port

Reaction to Navigation Acts:

some smuggled or traded illegally

Salutary Neglect (Beneficial Neglect)

The English policy of relaxing the enforcement of regulations in the colonies in return for the colonies’ continued loyalty - colonists get used to bending rules and self-governing

Describe the colonial government

The king appoints a governor, and the governor appoints the council (upper house). Voters elect the assembly (lower house). The council and assembly are the lawmaking body.

When were colonists loyal to England?

the first half of the 18th century

Great Britain’s biggest rival

France

New France (1750)

70,000 colonists (compared to 1 million in the British colonies), few towns (many French were fur traders and priests), traded with Hurons, Ottawas, and others, and had military alliances with some Native American tribes (like the Algonquin)

Canassatego

Chief of Onondaga Nation, Diplomat for Iroquois Confederacy

France and GB had competing claims in…

the Ohio River Valley

Result of conflict over the Ohio River Valley

French and Indian War (1754) aka Seven Years War

Which colony sent a militia to the Ohio River Valley?

Virginia

Benjamin Franklin’s saying for the colonies during the French and Indian War

Join, or Die.

French and Indian War ended in 1763 with a _______ victory.

British

Result of French and Indian War

GB claimed all of North America east of the Mississippi River, Spain gained the French lands west of the Mississippi, Native Americas now had to bargain with the English

British become tired of war with the Native Americans and…

are willing to take serious measures

During peace negotiations, the British gave _______ infested blankets to two Delaware chiefs

smallpox

After being devastated by disease and war, most Native American tribes…

negotiated treaties with the British

British government made the Proclamation Line of 1763, which…

banned settlement west of Appalachian Mountains

Colonists ignore the Proclamation line which

angers Great Britain

The British stationed ______ troops in the colonies.

10,000

Why did GB station those troops?

American colonists were moving westward and forcibly taking Indian lands, Native Americans opposed these actions (sometimes violently), To keep peace, the British decided to permanently station troops in America

The colonies (and stationing the troops) was very expensive and

gave GB a money problem

To solve their money problem, GB…

decided American colonists should pay a part of the costs and Parliament passed laws to raise revenue

Which Acts did GB start enforcing in 1763 that had been ignored?

Navigation Acts

The Stamp Act of 1765

placed a tax on all legal documents, playing cards, newspapers, and pamphlets

Stamp Act Congress (1765)

met in NYC, delegates came from 9 colonies, issues a Declaration of Rights and Grievances

In response the the Stamp Act…

Sons and Daughters of Liberty promoted boycotts and intimidated British officials

Quotes used after the Stamp Act by the colonists

“No taxation without representation” and “Life, Liberty, and no stamps!”

British officials and people who still bought British goods risked being…

tarred and feathered

Stamp Acts was repealed in

1766

_________ Act was passed on the same day the Stamp Act was repealed. What did it do?

Declaratory; Parliament still asserted its right to make laws for the colonies (and raise taxes)

Many member of Parliament did not understand why Britons had to pay heavy taxes for the colonies, while colonists refused to pay for only 1/3 of the cost. Caused the…

Townsend Acts (1767)

The Townsend Acts…

Placed taxes on imported glass, lead, paint, and paper, and put a three-penny tax on tea (the most popular drink in the colonies)

Colonists responded the the Townsend Acts by…

protesting, Sam Adams calls for a boycott against British Goods, Daughters of Liberty stopped buying British items and learned to make the things at home instead

Because of riots in Boston, in 1768…

the British stationed 2,000 “redcoats” in the city

The Boston Massacre

March 5, 1770

The Boston Massacre details

20 to 30 laborers taunted a group of British soldiers in front of the Customs House, an armed clash erupted, Crispus Attucks and four others died, Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and others labeled it a “massacre”

Committees of Correspondence

A network established by colonists so that they could share news, pamphlets, and letters with colonists from other colonies, by 1774, were in most of the colonies, connected isolated patriot leaders—they were now able to plan

Joint Stock Company (and ex.)

a business in which shares of the company’s stock can be bought and sold by shareholders (Ex. British East India Company)

The British East India Company…

dominated the global tea trade during the 18th century and early 19th centuries

The Tea Act (1773)

gave the British East India Company the right to sell tea to the colonies free of taxes, and colonial sellers/smugglers still had to pay the Townsend Act’s tax

Reaction to Tea Act…

colonists were angry because the law kept the tax on tea AND favored the British East India Company

The Boston Tea Party

December 16, 1773

Intolerable Acts (1774)

shut down Boston Harbor, Boston was placed under martial law, Quartering Act: allowed for the housing of soldiers on colonists’ property

First Continental Congress (1774)

delegates met in Philadelphia, drew up a list of continental rights, defended the colonies’ rights to run their own affairs, supported the protests in Massachusetts, agreed to meet again in 1775 if demands weren’t met

Minutemen

elite local militia members in New England, were trained to respond toL

Lexington and Concord (April 1775)

the first shot of the revolution (the shot heard round the world)

Second Continental Congress (May 1775)

met in Philadelphia, organized the continental Army - named George Washington commander

Second Continental Congress details

Olive Branch Petition professed American loyalty to King George III and asked him to intervene against Parliament’s policies, continued to meet, and coordinated war effort

August 23, 1775

the King issued an official proclamation declaring the American colonies to be in open rebellion

Thomas Paine’s Common Sense (1776)

attacked King George III, declared time had come to declare independence, published anonymously, sold nearly 500,000 copies

The Declaration of Indepence (year)

1776

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams

Loyalists

colonists who supported the British government during the American Revolution; perhaps 1/3 of the population

Battle of Saratoga (1777)

an important turning point; France agreed to support the Revolution, and would not make peace with Britain unless Britain recognized American independence

England still controlled New York and parts of New England so…

Washington and his troops spent the winter of 1777/78 in Valley Forge, PA

Valley Forge

2,000 out of 10,000 died; Prussian captain Friedrich von Steuben trained American soldiers

The Marquis de Lafayette (from France) joined…

Washington’s staff

The British shifted their war effort to the ______ in 1778.

South

The colonists reversed British advances in the South:

British General Charles Cornwallis led his army to Yorktown, VA; he planned to fortify Yorkton, take VA, and then move north

How did the colonists defeat the British in Yorktown?

Lafayette created a plan for the American and French armies and the French fleet to attack at Yorktown, the siege lasted about 3 weeks

October 17, 1781

Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown

Treaty of Paris (1783)

recognized independence of the United States, sets new boundaries (Atlantic to Mississippi and Great Lakes to Florida), repay debts to British merchants, British evacuate western posts, loyalists could sue to regain losses