American Revolution

Long-Term (Structural) Causes

  • Undefined imperial relationship
    • Britain = nominal “metropolis,” yet legal/administrative boundaries with colonies never codified.
    • Policy of “salutary neglect” → colonies accustomed to self-rule.
  • Britain 1701–1763: almost continuous wars (esp. against Spain)
    • 1701\text{–}1763 = 62 \text{ yrs} of costly conflict → diverted attention & funds.
  • Competing British visions of empire
    • Authoritarian/Tory: conquer territory, extract resources for crown.
    • Radical Whig: focus on trade, manufacturing, mutually profitable commerce.
    • Two models clash; impossible to do both simultaneously.
  • Colonial self-perception
    • Saw themselves as culturally “of Britain” yet politically separate.
    • Believed they occupied a privileged place within empire; no earlier penalties reinforced this view.

Political Institutions & Colonial Self-Governance

  • Colonial Assemblies
    • Created at settlement; duplicated many powers of Parliament (taxation, budget control, paying royal officials).
    • Bold/italicized lecture line: Colonies considered themselves politically separate from Britain.
  • “Overlap problem” → jurisdictional collision with Westminster.
  • Britain’s refusal to clarify/legalize colonial prerogatives = tacit approval in colonial eyes.
  • Franchise differences
    • Suffrage tied to land on both sides of Atlantic.
    • More land in N. America ⇒ higher % of adult white males voting.
    • Political culture thus more participatory, community-minded, suspicious of concentrated power.

Ideological Foundations

  • Enlightenment (rational) current
    • John Locke – tabula rasa ("blank slate"), environmental shaping of character.
    • Wealth ≠ innate superiority; education/resources matter.
    • Rational education, critical thinking, questioning authority = keys to human betterment.
  • Great Awakening / Revivalism (emotional) current
    • George Whitefield – itinerant Calvinist; emphasized personal conversion & 1-to-1 relationship with God.
    • Rejected church hierarchy; encouraged emotional challenge to authority.
  • Shared takeaway despite opposition: Challenge illegitimate authority.

Economic & Cultural Threads

  • Anglicization
    • Colonists consciously mimic British culture; purchase British luxury goods → vast export market for Britain.
  • Logic chain:
    • Cultural similarity ⇒ expectation of British liberties.
  • Metropole vs colony tariff structure
    • High duties on luxuries → rampant smuggling.
    • \text{Smuggled volume} \uparrow \Rightarrow \text{Customs revenue} \downarrow.

Immediate (Short-Term) Causes 1763–1774

  • Seven Years’ War (French & Indian War) ends 1763
    • King George III adopts more authoritarian imperial management.
  • Royal Proclamation 1763
    • No settlement W. of Appalachians ⇒ colonists: “We fought for that land!”
  • Sugar Act 1764
    • Halved molasses duty (from \text{6d} \rightarrow 3d per gallon) to curb smuggling; reinforced vice-admiralty courts.
  • Currency Act 1764
    • Banned colonial paper money → specie shortage, trade difficulties.
  • Stamp Act 1765
    • First direct internal tax: required stamped (duty-paid) paper for legal docs, newspapers, playing cards.
    • “No taxation without representation!” breach.
  • Resistance spectrum
    • Elite → Virginia Resolves (Patrick Henry): rights of Englishmen, taxes only by elected reps.
    • Merchants → non-importation accords.
    • Crowd → property destruction, intimidation of stamp distributors (skull-and-crossbones “stamp”).
  • Repeal & Declaratory Act 1766: Parliament retains full legislative sovereignty “in all cases whatsoever.”
  • Townshend Duties 1767–70: lead, paint, glass, tea; new customs board, informer-rewarded courts.
    • Colonists see slippery slope of domination.
  • Boston Massacre 1770
    • British troops fire; 5 Bostonians killed.
    • “Massacre” rhetoric → sympathy & inter-colonial unity; Parliament repeals all Townshend duties except tea.

Resistance, Solidarity & Identity Formation

  • Non-importation & non-consumption (boycotts) – cross-class & gender.
    • Home-spun, home-produced goods return; “performative patriotism.”
  • Subscription lists, petitions, town meetings knit colonies together.

Tea Crisis & Coercive Cycle (1773–1774)

  • Tea Act 1773
    • Bailout for near-bankrupt East India Company by lowering duty; actually made tea cheaper.
    • Colonists refuse on principle (accepting tea = accepting right to tax).
  • Boston Tea Party & other “tea parties” 1773–74 – ships blocked/unloaded, chests dumped.
  • Coercive/“Intolerable” Acts 1774
    • Closed Boston port, suspended MA assembly, restricted town meetings, quartering.
    • Other colonies send aid → shared grievance deepens.
  • First Continental Congress 09-05-1774
    • Declaration of Rights & Grievances: rights of native Britons, jury trial, taxation only by elected reps.
    • Still seeks reconciliation.

From Skirmish to Revolution (1775–1776)

  • Lexington & Concord 04-19-1775 – British try to seize militia stores; “shot heard ’round the world.”
  • Battle of Breed’s/Bunker Hill 06-17-1775 – costly British victory, boosts patriot morale.
  • Second Continental Congress
    • Olive Branch Petition rejected by George III.
    • Continental Army formed; George Washington Commander-in-Chief.
  • Growing pro-independence propaganda (Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense,” etc.).
  • British offer freedom to enslaved who join their forces (pragmatic manpower increase).
  • Vote for independence → Resolutions July 2 1776; Declaration of Independence approved July 4.

Revolutionary War Highlights (1775–1783)

  • Britain expects quick win; war lasts 1775!\to!1783 = 8 \text{ yrs}.
  • 1776 – New York Campaign: British seize NYC & Hudson corridor; Washington retreats.
  • 12-25-1776 – Surprise attack at Trenton vs Hessians → morale surge.
  • 1777 – Saratoga (turning point)
    • British forces split; Burgoyne surrenders.
    • Success convinces France → Treaty of Amity & Commerce 06\,\text{Feb}\,1778.
  • 1778–1781 – Southern strategy; British tactical wins but can’t hold territory.
  • Yorktown 10-19-1781 – Cornwallis trapped by Washington + French fleet; decisive British surrender.
  • Treaty of Paris 03-09-1783 (signed 09-03) = international recognition of U.S. independence; borders to Mississippi R.

Human & Material Costs

  • Battlefield deaths + disease/exposure; winter hardships (Valley Forge exemplar).
  • Women: managed farms/businesses, endured battles on doorsteps; some camp followers (“Molly Pitcher” archetype).
  • Enslaved persons
    • 3 000–100 000 (estimates vary) escape/defect; some gain freedom via British lines or Continental enlistment.
  • Loyalists
    • Property confiscations, exile to Canada, Caribbean, Britain.

Immediate Political Aftermath

  • Articles of Confederation (ratified 1781) → deliberate weak central gov’t
    • Congress could not: \bullet levy taxes \bullet regulate interstate/foreign commerce \bullet create federal courts.
  • States draft written constitutions
    • Trend = weak executive, strong legislature, bill of rights protections.
    • MA pioneers three-branch govt & checks–and-balances.
  • Expanded suffrage
    • Most states drop property requirement for white males ⇒ broader electorate.

Socio-Economic Consequences

  • Movement toward egalitarian meritocracy; decline of hereditary privilege.
  • End of mercantilism → emergence of capitalist market economy.
  • Institutionalized religious tolerance; disestablishment of Anglican Church in several states.
  • Accelerated westward migration → intensified Indigenous dispossession.

Ideological Paradoxes & Legacies

  • Freedom vs Slavery
    • Revolution fought for liberty while enslaving ~500 000 (≈20 % of pop.).
  • Equality vs Hierarchy
    • Women, Indigenous peoples, free Blacks denied political rights.
  • Individualism vs Public Virtue
    • Republican rhetoric celebrated civic sacrifice yet unleashed market individualism.
  • Independence vs New Dependence
    • U.S. independence → Indigenous nations’ loss of autonomy; Loyalist expulsions.
  • Enduring ideals
    • Declaration’s universalistic language becomes touchstone for later abolition, women’s suffrage, civil rights.

Key Dates At-A-Glance

  • 1763 – Proclamation Line, Sugar Act.
  • 1765 – Stamp Act.
  • 1770 – Boston Massacre.
  • 1773 – Tea Act & Boston Tea Party.
  • 1774 – Intolerable Acts; 1st Continental Congress.
  • 19\,Apr\,1775 – Lexington & Concord.
  • 4\,Jul\,1776 – Declaration of Independence.
  • 17\,Oct\,1777 – Saratoga surrender.
  • 6\,Feb\,1778 – French alliance.
  • 19\,Oct\,1781 – Yorktown.
  • 3\,Sep\,1783 – Treaty of Paris signed.

Formulas & Numbers Quick-Reference

  • Tax reduction (Sugar Act): \tfrac{\text{old duty}}{\text{new duty}} = \tfrac{6d}{3d} = 2 (cut by half).
  • War duration: 1783-1775 = 8 years.
  • Boston massacre deaths: 5.
  • Potential slave desertion range: 3\,000 \le N \le 100\,000.