Albany Plan of Union

• Colonies north of Virginia met to discuss mutual defense against Indians and French

• First official plan to unite the colonists

• Went nowhere because no colonies want to give up tax control

• Bribed the Iroquois

Seven Years War

• AKA: French and Indian War

• General Braddock hated colonists and natives

• He invaded French territory and took Fort Duquesne

• Was ambushed by French and Natives

  • Lost 900 Brits including Braddock

  • French and Indians lost 23

  • Only left George Washington(Brit) to lead

• Colonists were hit hard in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, New York, and west New England

• Natives switched over to the French side

• William Pitt came over and won the war for the colonists and Brits

• Promised Parliament would pay for the war if the colonists enlisted( he was the British Prime Minister)

Treaty of Paris(1763)

• France gives up land east of the Mississippi River

• Florida temporarily goes to Britain

• All other French land west of the Mississippi River go to Spain

• England gets Canada from France

Tensions

• War was expensive

• Newly crowned George III (22 yro) thought colonies should pay for the war

• Pitt promised them otherwise

Pontiac’s Rebellion

• Ottawa chief Pontiac led anti-British movement

• Attacked and captured eight British forts

• British fought back by giving them small pox infested blankets

  • Most of the Indians died

Proclamation of 1763

• Issued by George III

• made to prevent tension with the Natives

• Restricted colonists from moving east of the Appalachian Mountains until an agreement could be made between tribal governments and the crown

• Calmed the Natives but pissed off the colonists

• 10,000 Brit soldiers remained in the colonies (8,000 in Massachusetts)

• Colonists saw it as a threat to their liberty

Writs of Assistance (1760-61)

• Attempts to halt colonial trading in French West Indies and crack down on smuggling

• Search warrant without rules

Sugar Act (1764)

• Ends practice of exempting the colonies from paying British taxes

• Started taxing sugar

• Added more materials to the Navigation Acts List

• Documents for ship captains were so complicated it was almost impossible to have legitimate papers

• Violations were sent to military courts where judges received a 5-10% kickback for guilty charges on confiscated cargo

• Strictly enforced

• Smuggling continued until tax was lowered to less than the bribes

• After a year the tax only raised 30,000 pounds

  • almost as much as it took to enforce it

Stamp Act(1765)

• Colonists were still paying less than 6% of taxes to crown than the average Brits paid

• Taxed everything paper

• 1st direct tax- paid by consumers, not shippers

• Brits already had similar tax

• William Pitt(Prime Minister) objected- with other Brits- that colonists were already taxed through colonial assemblies

• Grenville(responsible for taxes) agreed parliament couldn’t tax without representation, but thought colonists represented by all members of parliament

Resistance

• Colonial agents in London lobbied parliament against passage of Stamp Act

• Colonial legislatures sent letters and petitions to Parliament

• All were ignored without discussion

• Under influence of Patrick Henry, eight colonial legislatures passed resolutions against Stamp Act

Boston

• Major port town

• Was the hardest hit by the Navigation Act, Sugar & Stamp Acts, and Writs of Assistance

• Also recovering from major fire in 1760 worsened widespread economic distress

• Riot in Boston led to the resignation of stamp distributor (Oliver Anthony)

Sons of Liberty

• Founded by Samuel Adams

• Rebel groups formed throughout colonies

• Recognized need to contain violence to specific targets and property

• Not allowed to carry weapons of any kind

• Understood impact of martyrdom and vowed any lives lost would be their own

Stamp Act Congress(1765)

• Representatives from nine colonial assemblies

• Successful united opposition to Stamp Act

• Most stamp distributors quit or fled

Boycott

• Sons and Daughters of Liberty organized a wide spread boycott of British goods

• Colonists also purchased about 40% of all Britain’s exports

• Put England’s economy in serious danger

• English businessmen protested that Parliament rescind Stamp Act so colonists would purchase from them again

• Parliament repeals Stamp Act and replaces it with the Declaratory Act

Declaratory Act

• Affirmed Parliament‘s power to legislate colonies

• Written in very general terms

• Colonists interpreted it to their advantage believing it was to save face for the Stamp Act

Aftermath

• Colonists were still loyal to England, but wary of parliament

• Began reading about Roman republic and the ideas of John Locke

• Sam Adams linked Christian piety and republican ideals effectively combining two biggest motivating factors for colonists- religion and intellect

• Protestant preachers asked congregations to stand up for God and liberty

• William Pitt died and was replaced by Charles Townsend

Quartering Act

• Required colonial legislatures to pay for certain goods required by soldiers stationed in the colonies- mainly low cost

• Legislatures saw this as a ‘tax’

• Resented a ‘standing army’

• New York refused temporarily to pay but complied when George III threatened to nullify the legislature

Townsend Duties(1767)

• Tax on glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea

• Money raised was intended to pay the colonial legislatures salaries

  • stripped legislatures “power of the purse”

• Only the tea tax generated any revenue

• Costed the treasury $23,000

Sons of Liberty

• Reorganize after two years

• Began 2nd boycott to get Townsend Duties repealed

• More effective in the North

• Kept 40% of British goods out of the colonies

• British merchants began calling for repeal

Daughters of Liberty

• Assisted in the Stamp Act repeal through a letter writing campaign

• Women drank more tea than men

• Women’s boycott on tea consumption was more effective than the rest of the movement

• Made their own clothes

• Female involvement signaled depth of colonial protest

Boston Massacre(1770)

• John Hancock’s ship “The Liberty” was seized in Boston Harbor

• Riot erupts in support of Hancock

• 4,000 additional troops sent to Boston

• Soldiers paid poorly, often needing 2nd jobs, worsening job shortage

• March 5, a mob protested outside customs house and it became violent

• 5 died, 6 wounded

• Soldiers were defended in court by John Adams

  • all but two were acquitted

Crispus Attucks

• Escaped slave

• Whaler and rope maker

• Didn’t like Brits

• Shot twice in the chest during the Boston Massacre

• Known as the 1st hero of the Revolution- first martyr of the Sons of Liberty but wasn’t actually part of them

Side Note

• Boycotts worked

• Townsend Duties got repealed except for the tea tax

• Tea boycott continues

• America turned to coffee instead

Committees of Correspondence

• Sam Adams asks Massachusetts towns to set up committees to maintain close political cooperation

• Idea quickly spread throughout colonies

Tea Act(1773)

• Reduced the price of tea to below smuggling price but didn’t get rid of the tax

• Colonists continued the boycott knowing tea revenues were meant as an end to self rule

• Committees of Correspondence went into action to prevent tea landing on American shores

Gaspee Affair

• The Gaspee was a boat owned by Lieutenant Dudington who loved enforcing the Navigation Acts on the colonists in Rhode Island

• Runs the ship aground & gets stuck

• Group of locals blow it up

• No one was turned in despite the large reward being offered

Boston Tea Party- December 6, 1773

• Tea ships sitting in Boston Harbor can’t unload or leave

• Sam Adams and 5,000 Bostonians meet at the Old South Church and hatch a plan

• 50 men ‘disguised’ as Indians “symbolizing a proud American identity”

• Went to docks followed by most of the crowd

• Thousands watched 45 tons on tea get dumped into harbor

Coercive/Intolerable Acts (1774)

• Closed Boston Harbor

• Revoked Massachusetts’ charter and reconstructed it government

• New government resembled other colonial governments, but was seen as hostility towards representative governments and liberty

• New Quartering Act allowed governor to house soldiers in empty private buildings

• Eventually ran out of room and put soldiers in already occupied homes

• General Thomas Gage appointed a new governor of Massachusetts essentially placing Massachusetts under martial law

• Acts meant to punish Boston

• Backfired and pushed colonists to rebellion

1st Continental Congress

• September 1774

• 12 colonies sent delegates(no GA)

• 56 delegates including Patrick Henry, Sam Adams, John Adams, George Washington, and John Jay

• Agreed defensive action should be taken if royal troops attacked

• Boycott all British goods to begin December 1st, and no exports after September 1775 unless demands were met

• Petition sent directly to George III

• Parallel governments and militia set up throughout many colonies

Lexington and Concord

• After 1st Continental Congress many towns quietly stockpiling ammunition

• General Gage learned about plans in Concord

• Also learned Sam Adams and Hancock were staying in Lexington

• Gage prepared to send troops to Concord to destroy all munitions Joseph Warren learned plan for Concord and of planto capture Adams and Hancock

Ride of Paul Revere

• Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode to spread the word that 700 ‘regulars’ were headed to Concord

• Revere made it to Lexington to warn Adams and Hancock before he was arrested

• Dawes was also arrested and they were both released later

Lexington

• April 19, 1775

• 70 minutemen met the regulars on the village green

• British commander ordered them to leave

• Some began to follow the order

Shot Heard Around the World

• Someone fired a shot

• The British opened fire

• 8 colonists were killed, and 10 were wounded

• 1 soldier was wounded

• The whole standoff lasted 15 minutes

Concord

• The British found an empty arsenal and very little resistance

• An early warning and the delay in Lexington allowed supplies to be moved and hidden

• The British went back to Boston

Old North Bridge

• 3,000-4,000 minutemen from surrounding towns gathered in the woods while the British were searching Concord

• They picked off the soldiers all along the road back to Boston

• Colonial victory

• 20,000 colonials had gathered by the time the regular army made it back to Boston

2nd Continental Congress

• May 1775- delegates return to Philadelphia

• Led by Hancock

• Members were divided on the topic of independence

• Did agree to name militia Continental Army and appointed George Washington as the commander

• Also formed a committee to deal with foreign nations like France and Spain

Olive Branch Petition

• More polite version of earlier petition, begging for peace, but still included the same demands

• George III ignored it

Bunker Hill

• Actually happened on Breed’s Hill

• Colonists help the top of the hill keeping the British in Boston

• The British charged the hill three times

• Colonists retreated on the 3rd charge because they ran out of ammo

• Deadliest battle of the Revolution

• Colonists lost 450, the British lost 1,000

• Technically a British win

• Colonists win the respect of General Gage

• Colonists are still hoping for reconciliation

Common Sense (January 1770)

• Pamphlet by Thomas Paine- small book

• Argued for independence

• Circulated throughout the colonies and swayed many

• 50,000-100,000 copies sold

• A copy was also gifted to George Washington

Battle of Trenton

• Hessians: German mercenaries hired by the British

• Hessians were staying in their winter camp at Trenton

• The Germans were drunk and drinking all day because it was Christmas

  • Washington counted on this

• After crossing the Delaware River, Washington’s men set up an ambush

• They began their attack at dawn while the Hessian’s were still sleeping

• Considered Washington’s first victory: 30 Hessians killed, 918 captured, and gained 6 cannons

• Washington asked his men to stay with him past their contracts

• 8 days later they won at Princeton against 1,200 British

• Nearly every soldier re-enlisted and some new recruits even joined

New Jersey

• Washington’s victories and the looting from the British undermined New Jersey’s loyalists

• Most switched sides and a few even enlisted in the Continental Army

Marquis de Lafayette

• 20 year old French aristocrat

• Volunteered his services to George Washington

• Lobbied the French government for assistance and supplies

• Would later command his own forces in the south near the end of the war

Saratoga (Oct. 1777)

• Turning point in the revolution

• The decisive battle the French were waiting for before they committed to helping Washington and his forces

• Spain (French ally and didn’t like the British) also joined in February 1778

  • Mostly naval forces

• By the end of 1780 the Dutch had also declared war on Britain

  • Only stayed in the war for about a year

Valley Forge

• NOT A BATTLE

• Valley Forge was Washington’s winter headquarters for the Continental Army for the winter of 77-78

• When they arrived there were only two houses so the rest of the men split into groups of 12 and built their own lodgings

• Horrid conditions

  • Very little, food, clothes, or shelter

• 10,000 camped there and 2,000 died during the winter

• All those that survived stayed

• The soldiers were yet still untrained and undisciplined even after two years with Washington

Baron Friedrich von Steuben

• Prussian military officer

• Also volunteered his services to Washington claiming he could train the army

  • to “make regular soldiers out of country bumpkins”

• Was successful in his efforts and possibly changed the course of history

• Went on to write military training manuals that would be used up to WWI

• Lied and said he was a Baron when he had no actual aristocratic title

  • He wasn’t even a Prussian officer, instead just a soldier

War in the South

• Spanish troops drove British out of West Florida

• Spain and French navies wreaked havoc on the British at sea

• The British though the South would be an easy target due to the hugh number of loyalists

  • Not as many as they thought

  • Many switched sides because of the native raids in the name of Britain, slave uprisings and runaways

General Cornwallis

• Commanded the British in the South

• Took over Charles Town

• By 1780 he controlled all of North and South Carolina

• 1781- Patriot raiding parties forced him to retreat out of North Carolina and move to Virginia

Yorktown

• Cornwallis camped at Yorktown on a peninsula

• Ended up being a huge mistake

• French forces and navy arrived in the colonies

• Lafayette came up with a plan

• The French navy defeat the British fleet and cuts Yorktown off by sea

• Combined French and American troops cut off Yorktown by land

• Yorktown was bombarded for three weeks before Cornwallis surrenders, ending the Revolution

Treaty of Paris 1783

• America was represented by John Jay, John Adams, and Ben Franklin

• American independence was formally recognized by all of Europe

• Borders now went from Canada to the Florida line, and from the Atlantic to the Mississippi River

• Florida was returned to Spain

Creating a New Government

• Each of the colonies saw itself as its own separate government

• Each state had its own Constitution

• All were afraid of developing a strong federal government

Continental Congress

• Looked for examples in history for the type of government they wanted to create

• Greek democracy and the Roman republic were inspirations although neither lasted

• Also borrowed from John Locke and Baron de Montesquieu

  • Natural rights and separation of powers

Articles of Confederation

• Original government for the US

• Each state got 1 vote, making it all equal

• Loose association of states

• Most of the power remained with the individual states

Problems with the Articles of Confederation

• All 13 states had to agree to make a decision to change the AOC

• The federal government had no power to tax and was heavily in debt

• The military was not powerful enough to deal with foreign nations

• There was no executive branch to enforce the laws

Shays’ Rebellion

• Shays was a Revolutionary war vet

• He was heavily in debt- blamed high taxes in Massachusetts, and couldn’t pay because the federal government still owed him his money from serving in the war

• Shays and 1,200 other farmers marched on the Springfield arsenal in September 1786

• The state militia was called in- four rebels were killed and the others ran away

• The rebellion caused a panic in all of the states

Philadelphia Convention

• May 1787- twelve states sent delegates back to the Philadelphia State House

  • Rhode Island was absent

• George Washington was unanimously elected presiding officer

• Also present: Ben Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison

• The room was also sealed off to prevent eavesdropping

  • They were committing treason and making a whole new government and didn’t tell the rest of the country

New Government

• In five days delegates decided to ditch the Articles of Confederation all together and start from scratch

• In the meeting they decided on:

  • The Great Compromise

    • Two House Congress:

    • Senate; each state gets two votes

    • House of Representatives: based on state population

  • 3/5 Compromise:

    • 3/5ths of the state’s population would count for both representation and taxes

    • Congress agreed to not intervene in the slave trade for 20 years

      • Mostly because the slave trade was dying out

• Federalism: division of power between federal and state governments

• Separation of Powers: Checks and Balances

  • Legislative- makes the laws

  • Executive- enforces the laws

  • Judicial- interprets the laws

Constitutional Controversy

• The new Constitution published in newspapers and shocked the citizens

• New battle lines:

  • Federalists- wanted the Constitution ratified immediately

  • Anti-federalists- opposed the Constitution without a Bill of Rights

Federalists

• Federalist Papers: a series of essays published in the papers in support of the Constitution

  • Written by Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay

Antifederalists

• Their main argument was for a Bill of Rights

• They felt that the citizen’s individual rights needed to be protected from the central government

• Leaders: Patrick Henry, Sam Adams, Richard Henry Lee

  • Richard Henry Lee was Robert E. Lee’s father

Compromise

• Federalists promised to add a Bill of rights if the states would ratify the Constitution

• The Constitution got ratified

• Bill of Rights immediately added