Road to Revolution, 1763-1775

Essential Questions

• How did imperial struggles in the mid- eighteenth century and new British efforts to collect taxes without direct colonial consent lead to colonists beginning to unify around ideas of home rule?

• How did colonial leaders use ideas about individual rights, self-rule, and Enlightenment philosophy to justify resistance to British policies?

• How did both colonial elites and common folk become political activists during these years?

• What advantages and disadvantages did both sides bring with them into the Revolutionary War?

Recapping Significant Ideas

• British mercantilist philosophies of economic control clash with colonial traditions of conducting business.

• Colonists became increasingly used to the principles of salutary neglect.

• Parliament became more assertive of its rights to govern the empire directly.

• Enlightenment philosophy and the principles of the Great Awakening also contributed to shaping colonial ideas about resistance.

• The results of the Seven Years’ War changed the dynamic between Parliament and the colonies.

Political Theory and the Revolution

• Representation and Consent

  • Colonial government was based on the idea of direct representation.

  • Parliament felt the colonies were virtually represented in London.

• Sovereignty and the Empire

  • Who has sovereignty within the empire?

  • Can an empire have divided sovereignty?

Why Taxation?

• Why did Parliament begin taxing the colonies?

• Problems on the Frontier:

  • Desire for western lands after Seven Years’ War

  • Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763)

  • Proclamation Line of 1763

  • French Canada

• Colonists feared that a standing army would be used to take away their rights

Legislation and Resistance, 1763-1765

• Why did the colonists view taxes as a threat?

• Did they threaten their “Natural Rights”?

• Did they have a practical effect?

• Sugar Act (1764)

• Currency Act (1764)

• Stamp Act (1765) and Violent Resistance

• Quartering Act (1765)

Legislation and Resistance, 1767 -1776

• Townshend Duties (1767)

• Nonimportation

• Female Resistance

• Boston Massacre (1770)

• Tea Act (1773) and Tea Party (1773)

• Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts) (1774)

  • Boston Port Act

  • Administration of Justice Act

  • Quebec Act

• Violence and Independence

• Battles of Lexington and Concord (1775)

• Declaration of Independence (1776)

Advantages and Disadvantages

• The British Army and Royal Navy were among the finest in the world.

• Britain’s financial stability was also essential to her success.

• However, British supply lines were long, military leadership often incompetent, and the nation faced powerful enemies in Europe.

• The colonists were fighting on their home ground, a “cause,” and later aid from European powers.

• The Continental Congress struggled with raising money, training troops, and exercising authority over anyone.

Wrapping Up Essential Points

• Transatlantic commercial, religious, philosophical, and political exchanges led residents of the British colonies to evolve in their political and cultural attitudes as they became increasingly tied to Britain and one another (chapters 2-3).

• Distance and Britain’s initially lax attention to the colonies created self-governing institutions that were unusually democratic for the era (chapter 4).

• Colonial resistance to imperial control drew on local experiences of self-government, evolving ideas of liberty, and greater religious independence and diversity (chapters 3-4).

• The desire of many colonists to assert ideals of self-government in the face of renewed British imperial efforts led to a colonial independence movement (chapter 7).

• Colonial leaders based their calls for resistance to Britain on arguments about the rights of British subjects, the rights of individuals, local traditions of self-rule, and the ideas of the Enlightenment (chapter 7).

• The imperial struggles of the mid-18th century, as well as new British efforts to collect taxes without direct colonial representation or consent and to assert imperial authority in the colonies, began to unite the colonists against perceived and real constraints on their economic activities and political rights (chapter 7).

• The efforts for American independence was energized by colonial leaders such as Benjamin Franklin, as well as by popular movements that included the political activism of laborers, artisans, and women (chapter 7).

Key Terms and Concepts (connecting ideas)

• Mercantilism: a system of economic control emphasizing national wealth and favorable balance of trade, often restricting colonies’ trade to benefit the mother country.

• Salutary neglect: a deprecated term describing Britain's lax enforcement of trade regulations prior to 1763, which allowed colonial self-rule to develop.

• Virtual representation: the idea that members of Parliament represented the interests of all British subjects, including colonists, even if they did not elect representatives locally.

• Direct representation: the idea that colonists should elect representatives to govern themselves in a colonial assembly.

• Sovereignty: who holds ultimate political authority within the empire; questions of whether sovereignty can be divided within an empire.

• Proclamation Line of 1763: a boundary line intended to stabilize relations with Indigenous peoples and restrict colonial expansion west of the Appalachian Mountains.

• Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763): Indigenous-organized resistance after the Seven Years’ War affecting colonial policy.

• Sugar Act (1764): a tax on sugar and certain goods intended to raise revenue and regulate trade.

• Currency Act (1764): restricted colonial currency issuance to stabilize the currency relationships within the empire.

• Stamp Act (1765): tax on printed materials, provoking widespread protest and resistance.

• Quartering Act (1765): required colonial governments to provide housing and supplies for British soldiers.

• Townshend Duties (1767): a series of taxes on imported goods to raise revenue and assert Parliament’s authority.

• Nonimportation agreements: colonial boycotts of British goods in response to taxes and laws.

• Boston Massacre (1770): confrontation between colonists and British troops used as propaganda for independence.

• Tea Act (1773) and Boston Tea Party (1773): monopoly policies on tea led to political theater of resistance.

• Coercive Acts (1774): punitive measures that intensified colonial frictions, including the Boston Port Act, the Administration of Justice Act, and the Quebec Act.

• Lexington and Concord (1775): early battles signaling the start of the American Revolutionary War.

• Declaration of Independence (1776): formal articulation of colonial independence and Enlightenment influence.

Connections to Larger Themes

• The period shows how imperial policy, economic theory, religious transformations, and Enlightenment philosophy coalesced to reshape political identities.

• The Great Awakening and Enlightenment fed popular critiques of authority and ideas about natural rights, liberty, and self-government.

• Revolutionary activism emerged from both elite leadership (e.g., Benjamin Franklin) and broad popular movements (laborers, artisans, women), illustrating a broad-based push toward self-rule.

• The conflict over sovereignty, representation, and taxation demonstrates a transition from imperial governance to an insurgent movement grounded in local governance traditions and universal rights.

Summary Takeaways

• The Road to Revolution was driven by disputes over taxation without representation, frontier tensions, and debates about sovereignty and consent within an expanding empire.

• Legislative acts and protests escalated from 1763 to 1776, culminating in a unified push for independence supported by Enlightenment ideals and diverse social groups.

• Understanding the period requires linking economic policies, political theory, military realities, and social activism to see how a colonial society moved toward independence.