prof: chad tomaselli @ grayson college
Six Arguments of Colonists against Eng
Violation of rights as british citizens
the king personally violated their rights
taxes existed w/out precedent
no point bc they wouldnt be enforced
not fair
no taxation w/out representation
sons of liberty
title used by colonists fighting compliance to new taxes
tarring and feathering
poured hot oil down throats
famous sons of liberty
john hancock and samuel adams(boston chapter)
Sugar Act (1764)
big tax on french molasses to encourage buying british molasses
colonists wrote angry letters
Stamp Act (1765)
tax on all paper products
Stamp Act Congress (1765)
gathering with representatives from 9/13 colonies to fight stamp act
wrote letter w/ “no taxation w/out representation”
little to no short term change
Declaratory Act (1766)
repealed sugar and stamp acts, stated colonists had virtual representation by all of congress
reasons parliament didnt give colonies represantives
saw colonists as lesser englishmen
would have caused other non-white colonists to ask for reps
Townsend Acts (1767)
small tax on 5 most imported products to colonies (glass, led, paper, paint, tea)
got rid of all but tea tax
Boston Massacre (5 March 1770)
escalated conflict between colonist teens and british soldiers that lead to 5 civilians being killed
name penned by Sons of Lib
Crispus Attacks
black man who was first to die from boston massacre
tea act (1773)
gov policy that gave British East India company monopoly on tea trade to prevent BEIC going bankrupt
Boston Tea Party (16 Dec 1773)
Sons of Lib dressed as natives and dumped 340 crates of tea into harbor
2m dollars of tea
Ecletnon Tea Party (25 Oct 1774, North Carolina)
51 WOMEN wrote letters and boycotted BEIC tea
first political action led by women
Battle of Lexington and Concord (19 April 1775)
beginning of fighting for revolutionary war
colonial victory
2nd Continental Congress (before declaration)
created continental army and appointed George Washington
requested assistance from French
sent out Olive Branch Petition
Olive Branch Petition
document sent directly to King George III seeking to reach a compromise that lead to Proclamation of Rebellion
showed colonists did not originally want independence
continental congress acts as a government
sold bonds to raise money
oversaw continental army
recruited foreign military officers
successfully got help from France
authored new constitution and government
General Von Steuben
prussian man hired to train colonial militia into a disciplined and proffesional army
commands got translated german → french → english
Marquis de Lafayette
french noble who supported colonist’s in independence that was a skilled general who also fought good
Intolerable Acts, or Coercive Acts (1774)
collection of acts imposed mostly on Boston and Massachusetts that resulted from Parliament/Kings anger at colonists destroying property
Boston Port Act
boston harbor was closed until destroyed tea was paid for
Justice Act
trial of british soldiers was held in london courts, not colony courts
protected against persecution of soldiers
Second Quartering Act
British officers given the right to quarter soldiers in private homes, without compensation
Government Act
basic rights stripped from Mass (assembly, press, speech)
legislative power given to crown appointed governor
colonial assembly loses power
democracy undone in favor of crown
colonial response to intolerable act
mass. began war with passage of acts
other colonies saw they would likely be treated the same way
First Continental Congress (Fall 1774)
12/13 colonies sent reps to meet in Philadelphia to discuss intolerable acts→ drafted document of grievances w/demand if repeal
stated six arguments
agree to train militia
“wait and see” not revolution, but seeking rights
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
persuasive pamphlet written in 1776 stating arguments for independence in simple language
got common people to support rebellion
hired to write for continental congress
Thomas Jefferson
wrote majority of D of I last minute by himself
future VP, Pres., and had key ideas to American politics
philosopher John Locke’s “Social Contract”
the idea that there are certain exceptions between authority and followers, including:
consent of governed
gov gives right to life liberty and property
people must remove bad gov and rebuild a good one
relation between John Locke’s ideas and D of I
Jefferson tried to show that British government was bad because it didn’t protect Life, Liberty, and Property of colonies so colonist were acting on their duty to withdraw consent and build a new gov
provided moral code for government, not system
“ all men are created equal” meaning in D of I vs now
then: all white, british, land-owning men were created
now: all people are created equal
significance of D of I
established colonists’ independence on paper, but they still had to win war for real independence
created framework/inspo for future documents by other countries
ration of colonists who: wanted indep., loyalists, vs neutral
wanted indep: 40-45%
loyalists: 15-20%
neutral: 35-45%
reasons colonists stayed loyal to british
old/wealthy→ rejected any change
valued british identity
didn’t believe colonists could win war
supported ideals but rejected colonists’ violence
washington’s W-L % for rev. war battles
W- 2 ½
L- 30+
washington’s key skills as a general
retreat and leadership
kept morale high despite losses
washington’s battle strategy in rev. war
survive long enough with minimal material losses so that british would waste resources and quit
Battle of Saratoga ( 7 October 1777)
american victory that convinced french to support war effort
significance of french help during war
america wouldn’t have won w/out french army, money and supplies
supplied 80-90% of black powder used
Treaty of Paris (1783)
treaty that ended/paused revolutionary war
john jay, john adams, and ben franklin represented US In france
five terms to Treaty of Paris (1783)
Brits recognize american indep
established new US borders
Brit. agreed to remove troops right away
US agreed to pay debt to Brit., even for Rev. War
US agreed to restore rights and property of loyalists
significance of Treaty of Paris (1783)
both sides failed to uphold promises long term
in some cases, there was more of a pause than an end to conflict
significance of Revolutionary War
the new US gov + gov ideals had to succeed or war was pointless
amnt of Native Americans on now US territory prior to european contact
2m-18m
wide range due to natives using oral tradition over written records
government structures present in both Europe and Native Nations
monarchies, empires, etc.
reason europe naming system of native groups was flawed
europeans group together all natives who spoke the same language, when there were many divisions within one language group
Iroquois Confederacy (1500-1780)
loose union of 5 different Iroquois speaking groups that served as buffer state between french and english
choose wrong sides and lost significance at end of american revolution
most common outcome for natives after colonization
death and disease; 90% died between 1500 and 1650
leading countries in exploration
spain, portugal, france, netherlands/dutch, england
meanings of Gold in 3 G’s
mineral gold that was stolen/mined
wealth through cultivation of resources others gave gold for
meaning of Glory in 3 G’s
honor/respect for country, self, monarchy, and/or faith by attaining power or prestige
meaning of God in 3 G’s
travel to escape religious persecution
travel for missionary work (mostly catholic and unsuccesful)
royal colony meaning
colony under charge of British gov.
every other country only had royal colonies (new spain, new france, etc.)
focus on gold over God/glory
charter colony meaning
colony operated by a company (for day to day) but still technically under British gov
focus on gold over God/glory
proprietary colony meaning
founded and ran by a single person or small group w/out british influence
usually focus on God over glory/gold
Roanoke Island, Virginia Colony (1586-87, 1590)
colony established that was left then visited two years later and every colonist disapeared with no trace, more settlers dropped, visited 3 years later, no people again just “croatan” carved into a tree
first english colony and overall failure
proprietary founded by Sir Walter Raleigh
motivated by gold
Jamestown, Virginia Colony (estab 1607)
charter colony motivated by gold
very problematic until proper leadership, innovation, and funding
five problems of Jamestown
swamp land
people chosen were unfit for wilderness survival
bad leadership
plan fro food was trading not farming
too high of reliance on supply ships (unreliable)
John Smith
lead Jamestown 1607-09
“dont work, dont eat”
exagerated relationship with Pocahantes
The Starving Time @ Jamestown
winter of 1609/10, supply ships arrived late or crashed
settlers ate leather, animals, feces and MAYBE humans
500→ 60 settlers
wanted to leave but forced to stay bc of contract
John Rolfe
lead Jamestown 1610-1615
planted new strand of tobacco that was less harsh (seeds from spain)
figured out how to cure (dry) tobacco so it could be transported on ship
significance of tobacco @ jamestown
saved colony from collapse by creating first cash crop in New World, gold/wealth attained!
failure of jamestown wouldve lead to England slowing down or stopping colonization
Bacon’s Rebellion (1675-77)
rebellion led by Nathaniel Bacon against the government b/c gov and William Berkley wouldn’t let him attack Natives as result of an extended conflict between Doeg People and a farmer
significance of bacon’s rebellion
b/c Bacon promised freedom to slaves, Virginia created the first slave codes in 13 colonies (served as base for future slave laws)
Pilgrims (or Separatists)
Massachusetts group that founded proprietary colony to separate from church of england
Puritans or “Non Separatists”
Massachusetts group that sought to reform church of england by removing Catholic influence by building a perfect “City on a Hill”
Plymouth Colony (1620-1691) (Pilgrims)
propriety colony known for writing Mayflower Compact and having the so-called “first” thanksgiving
significance of Mayflower Compact
first expression of self government in the New World
Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630-1776) (Puritans)
large (1k-20k) proprietary colony founded on strict Puritan values that endured Salem Witch Trials, King Phillip’s War with Metacomet/Natives
significance: earliest identifiable separate “american” identity
Salem Witch Trials (1692-93)
incident of mass hysteria leading to 200 women accused of witchcraft, 19 women and 1 man executed, and only being stopped by governor when his wife was accused
4 Puritan Ideals
Education (so everyone can read the bible)
Work Ethic (find calling, work hard, thrift and prosper to God’s glory)
Individualism ( faith is each person’s own)
Separation of Church and State
King Phillip’ s War (1675-78)
war between 5 native nations led by Metacomet (aka King P.) and colonists
colonists won but 10% military age men died, settler econ destroyed, ½ all settlements attacked
significance of King Phillip’s War
Metacomet’s nations were either killed or sold into slavery; exterminated
broke puritan power over colony and led to it becoming a royal colony in 1680
three reasons for switch fro IS to African Chattel Slavery
corruption of indent. servitude led to percetion of servants as chattel
need for larger pool of cheap labor for tobacco boom
racism proved the driving force long term ( white IS to African slaves
Triangle Trade System
trade system not exclusive to slavery where europe→ finished goods→ africa→ slaves→ americas→ cotton/ tobacco
11-12m slaves transported 1519-1867
Middle Passage
section of TTS between Africa and the Americas
brutal, 2m deaths (15% total)
Mercantilism
an economic idea where the state has extreme control of the economy that was instituted through the navigation acts
three principles of mercantalism
nation is self-sufficient
favorable balance of trade
total monopoly w/in own empire
enumerated commodities
products England only allowed to be traded within their empire
tobacco, sugar, cotton, indigo
more profitable the product, more rules on sales
Woolen’s Act (1699)
stated all raw materials in colonies would be processed in England
finish product cost more money, so Eng should get to buy raw
Enforcement and Salutary Neglect (1660s -1760s)
refers to how Eng rules were in place but not enforced in colonies, so an eventual enforcement led to root of rebellion causing American rev
causes of French and Indian War
land, resources
colonial westward expansion
Ohio Country
William Pitt, the elder
unofficial leader in british parliament
similar to modern prime minister
influenced Blue Water policy
Blue Water Policy
British focused on fighting france everywhere except Europe
brits decided not to worry about expenses until war is over
Treaty of Paris (1763)
ended french and indian war, ended 7 years war
victory for british colonists b/c france kicked out of North America
ways west was defended after F and I war
Proclamation of 1763
Pontiac’s Rebellion
2nd Continental Congress (1775-81)
served as interim/new government after revolutionary war
wrote new laws
established gov structure
Articles of Confederacy
pre-constitution document written by 2nd continental congress
13 articles
One Branch of Government
weak central power with lots of state powers
details of one branch gov (articles of confederacy)
a mix of modern legisl. and exec. branch, the “Confederation Congress”
unicameral( only had one house of congress)
each chose how many representatives they sent, but still only had one vote
5 Powers of Confederation Congress
regulate and fund the military
declare war and negotiate peace
negotiate alliances with foreign countries
act as final mediator between states if requested
regulate post office
3 key powers confederation congress did not have
no right to collect/regulate taxes
regulate trade or currency (internal or external)
deal with internal disturbances ( protests, etc.)
State Power
states could do anything except what confed. congress did
success of the articles
handling of western issue, Land Ordinance of 1785, Land Ordinance of 1787
Land Ordinance of 1785
surveyed, divided, and sold in W Territory
significances of Land Ordinance of 1785
survey methods still used today
method for division and sale remained for 80 yrs
allowed wealthy to profit, allowed average person to buy land, allowed gov. to raise money
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
established process for new territories to become states, said new states were equal to existing ones, banned slavery in NW Territory
significance of NW Ordinance of 1787
statehood process and state equality is still used, US history/Civil War would be very different if NW was slave states
reason Jefferson banned slavery in NW territory
to ensure average people could buy and work on land opposed to slave owners having monopoly