The American Revolution: A Comprehensive Study Guide

Paradoxes and Origins of the American Revolution

• Emotional and Political Context (1760s):

  • In the $1760s$, colonists like Benjamin Rush of Philadelphia held deep emotional ties to the British monarchy and constitution. Rush described feeling as if he walked on "sacred ground" when seeing the king’s throne in the House of Lords.

  • Following the victory in the Seven Years’ War, American colonists were exceptionally proud to be British; the Revolution would have seemed highly improbable in $1763$.

• Revolutionary Paradoxes:

  • The Revolution was fought for liberty but allowed the institution of slavery to persist.

  • Resistance to centralized authority led to a closer union of colonies under new governments.

  • It promoted republican selflessness for the public good while simultaneously encouraging individual self-interest and personal gain.

  • The "founding fathers" aimed for independence but were notably not fighting to create a "democracy" in the modern sense.

• Imperial Administration Failures (1688–1763):

  • Between the Glorious Revolution of $1688$ and the end of the Seven Years’ War in $1763$, Britain failed to create a coherent program of imperial reform.

  • Constant warfare (from the War of the Spanish Succession to the Seven Years’ War) was economically expensive and politically consuming.

• Competing Visions of Empire:

  • Old Whigs and Tories: Envisioned an authoritarian empire based on land conquest and resource extraction. They aimed to reduce national debt by raising taxes and cutting colonial spending.

  • Radical (Patriot) Whigs: Based their vision on trade and manufacturing. They argued that economic growth would solve the debt and believed colonies should have equal status with Britain.

• Colonial Political Development:

  • Salutary Neglect: The colonists attributed their success to Britain's hands-off approach.

  • Autonomous Identity: Samuel Adams described colonies as "separate body politics." Every colony established a colonial assembly that assumed duties like taxing residents and managing revenue, similar to the House of Commons.

  • Republicanism: This ideology stressed that power is inherently corrupting; self-governing people must be virtuous, putting the "public good" over self-interest. Vigilance against conspiracy and tyranny was essential.

Intellectual and Cultural Foundations

• The Enlightenment and John Locke:

  • Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding argued that the mind is a tabula rasa (blank slate), formed by environmental factors rather than innate superiority.

  • His Some Thoughts Concerning Education suggested that education produces rational beings who question authority.

• The Great Awakening:

  • Between $1739$ and $1740$, Rev. George Whitefield led an evangelical revival preaching Calvinist sermons that appealed to emotions.

  • Whitefield emphasized personal responsibility and an unmediated relationship with God, challenging established Church hierarchies.

  • Both Locke and Whitefield empowered individuals to question traditional authority.

• Anglicization:

  • Colonists became more culturally similar to the British through the consumption of British manufactured goods (fashions, dining wares). By mid-century, the middling class could afford these previous luxuries.

Immediate Causes of the Revolution (1763–1770)

• The Postwar Crisis:

  • The Seven Years’ War doubled Britain's national debt to $13.5$ times its annual revenue.

  • Royal Proclamation of 1763: Forbade settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains to avoid costly wars with Native Americans, angering colonists who fought for that land.

• Taxation and Legislation:

  • Sugar Act (1764): Halved the duty on molasses but increased enforcement via vice-admiralty courts (no jury trials).

  • Currency Act (1764): Restricted paper money production during a postwar recession.

  • Stamp Act (1765): The first direct ("internal") tax, requiring stamps on newspapers, legal documents, and playing cards. Daniel Dulany argued that Britain could regulate trade but not impose internal taxes for revenue without consent.

• Resistance to the Stamp Act:

  • Legislative: The Virginia Resolves (May $30$, $1765$) declared colonists had the same rights as Britons. Some radical versions suggested those supporting British taxes were "enemies."

  • The Stamp Act Congress (Oct 1765): Nine colonies sent delegates to NYC to issue the "Declaration of Rights and Grievances."

  • Economic: Merchants in New York City and Philadelphia (over $200$ principal merchants) signed nonimportation agreements.

  • Popular: The Sons of Liberty used violence/intimidation. Andrew Oliver and Lieutenant Governor Thomas Hutchinson had their property destroyed by Boston mobs.

  • Virtual Representation: Parliament argued colonists were "virtually represented" like non-voting British counties; colonists rejected this as a "monstrous idea."

• Townshend Acts and The Boston Massacre:

  • Repeal of Stamp Act (Feb $1766$) was accompanied by the Declaratory Act, asserting Parliament's "full power" to bind colonies.

  • Townshend Acts (June 1767): Duties on lead, glass, paint, and tea. Revenue paid royal governors' salaries, removing colonial assembly leverage.

  • Spinning Clubs: Women produced "homespun" clothing as a marker of patriotism.

  • Boston Massacre (March 5, 1770): Sentry was harassed by a crowd; soldiers fired, killing $5$ Bostonians, including Crispus Attucks. Paul Revere’s engraving served as effective propaganda.

The Escalation Toward Independence

• The Tea Act (1773):

  • Designed to save the East India Company, which had nearly $15 \times 10^{6}$ pounds of tea in storage. It allowed direct sales to colonies, making tea cheaper but enforcing the duty.

  • Boston Tea Party (Dec 16, 1773): Men disguised as Mohawks emptied $342$ chests of tea into the harbor.

• The Coercive (Intolerable) Acts:

  1. Boston Port Act: Shut down the harbor.

  2. Massachusetts Government Act: Dissolved the assembly; restricted town meetings.

  3. Administration of Justice Act: Allowed royal officials to be tried in Britain.

  4. Quartering Act: Required housing for British soldiers in colonial homes.

• The Continental Response:

  • First Continental Congress (Sept 5, 1774): Issued the "Continental Association," the most radical document of the period, creating local Committees of Inspection to police and shame non-compliant citizens.

  • Lexington and Concord (April 19, 1775): British marched to seize arms stores; "minutemen" fought back. Approximately $20000$ militiamen subsequently laid siege to Boston.

  • Common Sense (1776): Thomas Paine’s pamphlet argued against the absurdity of an island governing a continent.

• Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation (1775):

  • Offered freedom to enslaved people who joined the British ("Ethiopian Regiment"). Between $500$ and $1000$ joined initially; thousands more later. This was the first mass emancipation in American history.

  • Somerset v Stewart (1772): English court case that undercut the legality of slavery on the British mainland, alarming southern enslavers.

Conflict and Resolution

• Declaration of Independence:

  • Richard Henry Lee offered the resolution on June $7$, $1776$; passed July $2$. Written by Thomas Jefferson (edited by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin). Approved July $4$, $1776$.

  • An early draft blaming Britain for the slave trade was removed at the insistence of South Carolina and Georgia.

• Key Military Engagements:

  • New York (1776): British launched the largest expeditionary force including German Hessians; Continental Army retreated through New Jersey.

  • Trenton (Christmas 1776): Washington crossed the Delaware for a surprise attack on Hessians to boost morale.

  • Saratoga (1777): Major turning point; Burgoyne surrendered. Led to the Treaty of Amity and Commerce with France (Feb $6$, $1778$).

  • Southern Strategy: Conflict became a civil war between local patriots and loyalists.

  • Yorktown (Oct 1781): General Cornwallis was trapped by Continental/French armies and the French navy; he surrendered.

  • Treaty of Paris (Sept 3, 1783): Official end of the war.

• Costs and Roles during the War:

  • Valley Forge (1777–1778): Over $2500$ Americans died from disease and exposure.

  • Women's Roles: Managed farms and shops (Abigail Adams), petitioned for prisoner releases (Mary Silliman).

  • Black Americans: Peter Salem fought at Lexington and Bunker Hill. Estimated $30000$ to $100000$ enslaved people deserted during the war.

Consequences of the Revolution

• State Building:

  • Popular Sovereignty: Government authority derives from the people. Most states created weak governors and strong legislatures.

  • Pennsylvania: Created the most radical constitution with a unicameral legislature and no property requirements for voting.

  • Massachusetts (1780): Established three branches with checks and balances.

  • Articles of Confederation (1781): Created a weak central government with no power to tax or regulate trade.

• Social and Economic Shifts:

  • End of Mercantilism: Opened new markets and trade relationships.

  • Republican Motherhood: Mothers were tasked with raising virtuous citizens, leading to some education opportunities for women but not civic equality.

  • Loyalists: Approximately $60000$ fled (to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec). Many had property seized despite the Treaty of Paris protections.

  • Native Americans: Groups like the Shawnee, Creek, and Iroquois sided with Britain to restrain settler expansion. American victory marked the "beginning of the end" for Native American independence.

  • Slavery: Northern states passed gradual emancipation laws; manumissions occurred in the Upper South. However, the Lower South largely maintained the system, setting the stage for future conflict in the $1850s$.