Ideological Origins
Lecture 1
What factors cause the rvolution to occur - big question for now
Trade surrounding the US
The navigation acts of 1660 make it to where US was getting a free pass to trade
They were enforced to a variety of reasons
One rule - ships must sail under a british flag - was being broken due to them swapping the flag out along the voyage
People were getting around the rule that ¾ of the crew must be british
Enumerated goods had to be shipped to England
enumerated goods were tobacco, sugar, rice
Afterward, it could go to other markets
Tax Legislation
Staple act of 1663 - if it coming from africa or europe, must go through england to be taxed first
Plantation act of 1673 - If the ships captains didn’t deliver enumerated goods to britain first, they would suffer penalties.
However, snice they are so far away from Britain, they can’t really be taxed. Charles II and James II were already making so much money they could care less about the colonies - this is Salutatory Neglect. Because of this, many of the tax and navigation acts weren’t enforeced.
Since so much money was being made through mercantalism, Robert Walpole, England’s first prime minister makes it to where this system of salutary neglect continues.
Salutary Neglect would last from about 1692 to 1750.
Saultary Neglect would end after the seven years war due to britain needing money - they begin to create obscure taxed on the colonies - why do the colonists care?
Eats into their profits
Colonists aren’t ttreated like equal citizens
These taxes make some groups believe the british empire is trashing their libtery - enlightenment ideas about liberty begin to spread throughout the country
REminder that the enlightenment starts when the Un\ited States was starting.
While there are notions of things like brotherhood from the englightment, equality with women and other races was not what they thought of when we say brotherhood.
John Locke - physician and political theorist
Argued for rationalism and inspired american political philosophers
He would go on to inspire the declaration of independe with his ideas that man given power with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
The Cato Letters
Pseudonym for newspaper writers john tretchland thomas gordon.
About 144 letters are written by “cato” between 1720 and 1723 in the active london journal.
They gave americans ideas about liverty, the importance of property in regards to liberty, and the importance of free speech.
The egnlish bill of rigths in 1689
One of the subtle rights was that you are allowed to petition the king and being unable to do so is illegal, you are allowed to have freer speech,
Lecture 2
Sugar Act of 1764 - Taxed luxury items, such as wine.
Stamp act of 1765 - Taxation on any legal piece of paper. This could be newspapers, marriage licenses, property transfers to deeds, etc.
Many governors and royal governors were against this tax since they saw it as a hassle for the colonist’s legal system - it is expensive.
Colonist’s begin to protest the stamp act, mainly a group called the sons of liberty.
They seeked to terrorize the british government to stop doing what they considered unjust taxes.
They hold many public spectacles, like a funeral for liberty, attacking stamp collectors, and destroying statues of the king.
They also would take violent actions, like tar and feathering stamp collectors
The stamp act would be repealed two years later
After the Boston Massacre, small acts of rebellion began to occur in every colony afterward.
The Gatsby Incident - a British patrol boat invovled in taxation was ran aground. A reward was posted for any info on who did it and no one volunteered. - a sentiment of rebellion is present.
What unites people to create a new political movement that builds up from the past experiences? - new taxes.
The act of 1773 - thought to be an economic boom for the struggling british east india company, this act taxed imports into the colony.
These taxes may have been low, but they add up. Take tea, for example. If a colonist drinks around 5 to 10 cups a day, that adds up to be a lot of tea.
In response, the sons of liberty dressed up as american indians and raided a ship in the boston harbor and dumped all the tea onboard into the ocean - “The Boston Tea Party”. Some historians estiamte it to be the equivalent loss of something in the millions in modern money.
What was the reponse to this? - The British governemtn passes the Coercive acts of 1774.
The Coercive Acts of 1774 - Essentially it shuts down the port of Boston.
Since boston is a port city, it makes most of its money through shipping - no port, no money.
The act was made to strangle the city’s economy. It also declared if a British soldier was accused of a crime, he could not be tried in America. It also invoked more power to rural governors, required people to house soldiers and pay for them out of pocket, and sent more troops into Boston Harbor.
The colonists would call them the intolerable acts. They began to wonder “If it can happen in boston, can it happen to my colony as well?” The colonies came to Boston’s aid and there was a founding of a committee of safety, as well as the founding or meeting of the First Continental Congress, in 1774, in Philadelphia.
The First Continental Congress - Some voices were load critizisers of the brits, like Adams. THey wanted revolution, but the congress decided to appeal to George III to diplomatically remove the acts. They tried to write a declaration of rights as well. They also called for the arming of colonists and to do economic sanctions on British trade.
Every colony would send delegates bar Georgia.
Congress essentially wants their relationship with Britain to go back the way it was seven years ago - salutory neglect and no coercive acts
AFter the meeting was adjourned, they agreed that if they needed to meet again, they should, especially if the two requirements weren’t made.
George III would respond to the demands very lackingly, so they meet again for the second time.
Side Note: Committees of Correspondence
Formed in 1773
Formed by the colonies for communication between colonies to coordinate the arming of militias, buying weapons, etc.
Samual Adams, a strong voice in the sons of liberty, was involved in creating the committees.
The British would try to capture arms in 1775, making tensions for the revolution rise out of control. How did the colonists feel about all of this going on?
They were heavily divided - some wanted independence (about a quarter of the colonists supported this), a quarter wanted to remain loyal, and most were in the middle.
Newspapers would filled with debates. Should they remain in the empire? found their own colony? find a middle ground? should they found their own nation?