Unit 3: 1754 - 1800
French & Indian War:
Part of a larger conflict: 7 Years war
Conflict began in America as British colonies thought French were encroaching on their western borders (Ohio River Valley), and French thought British were encroaching as well.
British started out poorly, losing battles to French & their NA allies, so they called for a congress with reps from several colonies to assemble a more organized response to frontier defense, trade, & western expansion: The Albany Congress
Benjamin Franklin’s Albany Plan of Union:
Wanted a more centralized government for better coordination on western defense
Colonies rejected the plan due to the taxation required for raising the troops for the plan
Laid the mold for the future revolutionary congress
Peace of Paris treaty 1763:
Ultimately, British win French & Indian war & sign the Peace of Paris treaty in 1763
Effects: French lost all influence/land in North America, Louisiana territory is given to Spain, British doubled their land in the North American continent gaining all the land east of Mississippi River.
Consequences of the War:
Colonists began to push westward into the Ohio River Valley → increased conflict with NAs
eg. Ottawa leader Pontiac led raids on the encroaching colonists
Royal Proclamation of 1763: Issued by British gov to stop this conflict → Banned colonists from taking land in the Ohio River Valley (West of the Appalachian Mountains)
Proclamation angered colonists as they felt they had fought for the land in the war
War was expensive, British debt doubled & cost of running the colonies increased → Taxation with out representation implemented as Britain wanted colonies to help pay for the war
Taxation & End of Salutary Neglect:
Taxation without Representation marked the end of Salutary Neglect, where British had always had political authority over the colonies, but they mostly let them manage their own affairs as they were far from the motherland. Eg, Britain didn’t enforce the Navigation Acts.
Now to pay for the war, Parliament more strictly enforced the Navigation Acts
Quartering Act of 1765:
Said that although war was over, troops would remain in colonies to enforce the new rules and it was the colonists responsibility to house/feed them
Sugar Act:
Imposed taxes on coffee, wine, and other luxury items
Stamp Act of 1765:
Tax on all printed/paper items (newspapers, playing cards, contracts, etc…)
Threatened colonists as they were experiencing declining wages and higher unemployment → belief formed that it was unfair to be taxed if they weren’t represented in parliament
Virtual Representation:
Britain said colonists were represented through ‘virtual representation’ (idea that members of parliament represent all classes of British citizens, every British territory)
American colonists weren’t disagreed as they were used to more localized representation and rebel groups like Sons of Liberty & Daughters of Liberty wanted to repeal the act
Stamp Act Congress:
27 delegates from 9 colonies met in NY to petition parliament to repeal the Stamp Act
Main argument: Taxation without Representation was tyranny
Not trying to gain independence, still loyal to Britain: Just wanted to protect their rights.
Stamp Act congress + Protests + Violence → parliament repealed Stamp Act & Sugar Act
Declaratory Act:
Was implemented after parliament repealed the Stamp & Sugar Acts to assert authority
Said that Britain had the right to pass any law that they wished in the colonies.
Townsend Acts, 1767:
New taxes on items imported to the colonies (paper, glass, tea)
Colonists were confident after the repeal of the Stamp & Sugar Acts → Highly organized protests from all classes of society (poor, middle, elite). Mainly boycotting British goods.
Women fueled boycotts as they bought most household items
Boston Massacre, 1770:
Tensions reached their peak when a group of boys harassed British troops (stationed to enforce British rules), and the troops started shooting. 11 colonists wounded, 4 dead
6/8 troops were acquitted of any wrongdoing. The Massacre was a sign to the colonists of increasing British tyranny
Boston Tea Party, 1773:
Reaction to the Tea Act (gave British East India Company exclusive rights to buy/ship tea in the colonies). Angered colonists who were used to smuggling tea from the Dutch
≈50 colonists disguised as NA’s boarded a merchant ship & dumped ≈45 tons of British tea
Coercive Acts & New Quartering Act
British reaction to Boston Tea Party
Coercive Acts closed the Boston harbor until all the tea was paid for
Colonists called these acts the ‘Intolerable Acts’, & as the news spread, colonists organized themselves into armed groups to stop more British tyranny. They called themselves ‘Patriots’.
Continental Congress, 1774-1776:
Colonial leaders agreed that they needed to resist any further violations of their liberties by Parliament, but they still wanted to be loyal British subjects (no independence yet!)
Influenced by Enlightenment thought:
Natural Rights: Humans have god given rights that can’t be taken away by a government
Social Contract: The power to govern is with the people, they give it to a government. If the government fails to protect their natural rights, they have a right to overthrow it.
Separation of Powers: Allows the branches to check and balance the power of the others
1776: Shooting had broke out in Lexington and Concord → Decided that independence from Britain was necessary for their nation to survive.
“Common Sense” pamphlet published by Thomas Paine, early 1776:
Said the only way forward for America was independence.
Used references to the Bible and enlightenment principles.
Pamphlet spread quickly through the colonies → Most colonists now wanted independence
Declaration of Independence:
Second Continental Congress told Thomas Jefferson to write a Declaration of Independence
Deeply influenced by Enlightenment thought (Natural Rights, Social Contract, etc)
Adopted by congress in July 1776
Loyalists:
People who were opposed independence (Loyal to Britain)
American Revolution:
Continental Congress created the Continental Army, led by George Washington
The army was ill-equipped, ill-trained, etc → Americans suffered many defeats → Continental Congress wanted help, but no country believed in the suffering Nation
Battle of Saratoga, 1777: Patriots defeated the British → French were convinced to become an ally against the British → they sent guns & ships
British did not have the resources to outlast their American enemies → surrendered after their defeat at the battle of Yorktown
Articles of Confederation (AOC):
States had already made their own constitutions & govs throughout the revolution: Most put the power for governance in the legislative body → congress copied this model for the AOC
By 1781 the states ratified the AOC and it became the constitution of the new US
Its provisions: Power for the federal government was put into the legislative body, no president or judicial body, no national military force implemented, gov had little taxing power
Northwest Ordinance, 1787:
Made to solve the problem of westward migration as violence between westward pushing settlers (mostly squatting on the land with no legal ownership) and NAs was increasing.
Provided a plan for how unformed territories could be occupied and then apply to the union for statehood, and abolished slavery in the Northwest Territories
Shay’s Rebellion:
The US was suffering economically as many farmers had fallen into debt while fighting in the war & were unable to pay because of inflation & taxes, & the gov didn’t help
Farmer Daniel Shay in MA gathered a militia of 1000 other farmers who planned to arm themselves and wreak havoc, but squashed by local militia.
Showed the weakness of the AOC as the rebellion alarmed leaders who saw that there was no president or national army to help if it were to occur again → Constitutional convention
Constitutional Convention, 1787:
Purpose was to revise AOC and fix its weaknesses, but they realized a new constitution was needed. Discussion about ideas began and two groups formed:
Federalists: Urban folks with a commercial background who wanted a stronger central gov
Anti-Federalists: More rural, liked the states having more power over the Federal gov
Important Issue: How the people were represented in this new gov
Virginia Plan: Representation by population (favored big states)
New Jersey Plan: Equal representation regardless of population (favored small states)
Result: The Great Compromise → Legislative branch split into 2 houses, House of Representatives (states represented by population) and Senate (states have equal votes)
Important Issue: How to account for the large slave population, especially in south
Southerners (lots of slaves) wanted slaves to be counted, Northerners (few slaves) opposed this → 3/5 Compromise: 1 slave = 3/5 of a person
New Constitution:
Would make a more robust central gov & split it into 3 branches to check and balance its power (legislative, executive, judicial). It was given to states for ratification.
Federalists: Wrote persuasive essays to convince Americans of the benefits (Federalist Papers)
Anti-Federalists: Argued against ratification as it lacked a bill of rights (list of specific rights)
Federalists prevailed as they agreed to add a bill of rights; Constitution implemented in 1789