FQ: To what extent did the American Revolution result in a genuine democracy? 

Tea Act of 1773

• The Tea Act of 1773 gave the British East India Company the ability to export its tea directly to the colonies without paying import/export duties or middlemen. This was one of the first causes of the American Revolution.

  • Causes

    1. The British East India Company was on the verge of bankruptcy, therefore the Tea Act of 1773 was enacted to increase tea sales.

    2. Tea was the one remaining consumer good subject to the hated Townshend Duties; Britain predicted the colonists would buy more tea if the price of the tea was reduced.

    3. Protest leaders in the colonies avoided buying British tea, drinking smuggled Dutch tea as a sign of Patriotism. The Tea Act of 1773 would allow the East India Company to sell its tea at lower prices than the smuggled Dutch tea, thus undercutting the smuggling trade.

  • Consequences

    • Social

      The disatisfaction of British colonial merchants (most powerful and influential people in the colonies) influenced others to also frown upon the Tea Act of 1773.

    • Political

      Because the tea tax that the Townshend Acts imposed remained in place, tea had intense power to symbolize the idea of “no taxation without representation.”

    • Cultural

      N/A

    • Economic

      Granted a monopoly on tea to the British East India Company. Therefore, this cut out colonial British merchants who would otherwise sell the tea themselves, reducing the profits made from smuggled Dutch tea.

• Event Key Terms

  1. British East India Company

  2. Townshend Duties

  3. Patriotism

  4. Smuggled Dutch Tea

  5. No taxation without representation.

The Boston Tea Party (Dec 1773)

• From a gathering of townspeople at the Old South Meeting House, a group of Sons of Liberty and their approached the Boston Harbor where ships carrying tea were unloaded. Some disguised as Mohawks and disguised by a crowd of spectators, they dumped all the tea into the harbor, destroying approx. $1 million in today’s dollars.

  • Causes

    1. To the Sons and Daughters of Liberty and those who followed them, the Tea Act of 1773 was seen as a violation of the British constitution. Thereforefore, to these groups of people, the 1773 act appeared to be part of a large conspiracy against liberty.

    2. Attempts to boycott British tea were made. Moreover, The Committees of Correspondence helped to coordinate resistance in all of the colonial port cities, so up and down the East Coast, British tea-carrying ships were unable to come to shore and unload their wares. However, Thomas Hutchinson, royal governor of Massachusetts, set up resistance against these anti-tea movements– this further angered the Sons and Daughters of Liberty.

  • Consequences

    • Social

      The wholesale destruction of property shocked people on both sides of the Atlantic.

    • Massachusetts’s resistance (Massachusetts Assembly) to British authority united different factions in Great Britain against the colonies.

    • Political

      The violent destruction of property infuriated King George III and the prime minister, Lord North, who insisted the loss be repaid.

    • Parliament responded by enacting the Coercive Acts, a set of four measures designed to punish Massachusetts.

    • Cultural

      N/A

    • Economic

      Destroyed approx. $1 million in today’s dollars.

  • Important Figures

    1. Samuel Adams -

    2. Thomas Hutchinson -

• Event Key Terms

  1. a

  2. b

  3. c

  4. d

  5. e

Coercive Acts (1774)

• Regulation measures consisting of the following:

  1. The Boston Port Act: Boston Harbor would be shut down until the East India Company was repaid.

  2. Massachusetts Government Act: Placed the colonial government under the direct control of crown officials and made traditional town meetings subject to the governor’s approval.

  3. The Administration of Justice Act: Allowed the royal governor to unilaterally move any trial of a crown officer out of Massachusetts, a change designed to prevent hostile Massachusetts juries from deciding these cases.

  4. Quartering Act: Encompassed all the colonies and allowed British troops to be housed in occupied buildings.

  • Causes

    1. The violent destruction of property (Boston Tea Party) infuriated King George III and the prime minister, Lord North, who insisted the loss be repaid.

    2. Massachusetts Assembly resistance.

  • Consequences

    • Social

      The Coercive Acts were specially infuriating to John Adams and others who emphasized the time-honored rule of law. People saw this as striking at the heart of fair and equitable justice.

    • Political

      The Committees of Correspondence would turn to these new, intolerable assaults on the colonists’ rights as British subjects.

    • Cultural

      N/A

    • Economic

      N/A

  • Important Figures

    1. John Adams

    2. King George III

    3. Prime Minister Lord North

• Event Key Terms

  1. a

  2. b

  3. c

  4. d

  5. e

The Creation of the First Continental Congress (Sep 1774)

• The governing body by which the American colonial governments (12 out of 13 colonies) coordinated their resistance to British rule (a direct challenge to Lord North and British authority in the colonies) during the first two years of the American Revolution.

  • Causes

    1. Disaffection—the loss of affection toward the home government—had reached new levels by 1774. Colonists felt the urge to start defying government.

  • Consequences

    • Social

      The emergence of opposing views towards Parliament: Loyalists and Patriots.

    • Political

      N/A

    • Cultural

      N/A

    • Economic

      N/A

• Event Key Terms

  1. a

  2. b

  3. c

  4. d

  5. e

The Creation of the Suffolk Resolves (Sep 1774)

• A document passed by the Massachusetts Provincial Congress which laid out a plan of resistance against the Intolerable Acts. This became the basis for the Declaration in Resolves of the First Continental Congress after Paul Revere rode from Massachusetts to Philadelphia with the Suffolk Resolves.

  • Causes

    1. The creation of the First Continental Congress.

    2. Disaffection.

    3. The Intolerable Acts (includes Quebec Act)

  • Consequences

    • Social

      N/A

    • Political

      1. The adoption of the Declaration and Resolves in October 1774, which demanded the repeal of all repressive acts passed since 1773 and agreed to a non-importation, non-exportation, and non-consumption pact against all British goods until the acts were repealed.

      2. In the “Petition of Congress to the King” on October 24, the delegates adopted a further recommendation of the Suffolk Resolves and proposed that the colonies raise and regulate their own militias.

    • Cultural

      1. Though still considering themselves as British subjects, as the Declaration and Resolves shows, colonists were slowly moving away from British authority, creating their own de facto government in the First Continental Congress.

    • Economic

      N/A

  • Important Figures

    1. Paul Revere -

• Event Key Terms

  1. a

  2. b

  3. c

  4. d

  5. e

The First List of Un-American Activities (1774)

• The ban of certain activities that the delegates of the First Continental Congress believed would undermine their fight against what they saw as British corruption. These included these four activities: horse races, cockfights, the theater, and elaborate funerals.

  • Causes

    1. As first-hand witnesses of British corruption, colonists wanted to stand apart from their British relatives. By not participating in these activities, which were deemed immoral or corrupt, they pictured themselves as faithful defenders of liberty against a corrupt Parliament.

  • Consequences

    • Social

      N/A

    • Political

      N/A

    • Cultural

      1. Resistance-minded colonists began to form an identity separate from their British relatives.

      2. Independent fervor was just starting to brew.

    • Economic

      N/A

• Event Key Terms

  1. a

  2. b

  3. c

  4. d

  5. e

Publication of “Common Sense” (Jan 1776)

• “Common Sense” was an anonymous pamphlet, later discovered to have been published by Thomas Paine, that is famous for being, arguably, the most radical pamphlet of the Revolutionary era. In this pamphlet, Paine made a powerful argument for independence, extolled Republicanism, and included the idea of Popular Sovereignty. The pamphlet’s wording allowed people of all classes to understand the argument, and soon, it was popularized both orally and in writing.

  • Causes

    1. Thomas Paine emigrated from England to Philadelphia in 1774.

    2. With the events of 1775 fresh in their minds (the start of the revolutionary war), many colonists reached the conclusion in 1776 that the time had come to secede from the Empire and declare independence.

  • Consequences

    • Social

      N/A

    • Political

      1. It helped convince many to reject monarchy and the British Empire in favor of independence and a republican form of government.

      2. It influenced the content of the Declaration of Independence.

    • Cultural

      N/A

    • Economic

      N/A

  • Important Figures

    1. Thomas Paine -

• Event Key Terms

  1. Republicanism

  2. Popular Sovereignty

The Declaration of Independence (Summer of 1776)

• A document, written by Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, that laid out the foundation of American government as a republic and listed out a long list of grievances against King George III. It had a global impact, since it was distributed to nations like France and Spain and influenced additional revolutionary movements. 

  • Causes

    1. Built-up tensions between Britain and the American colonies.

    2. Common Sense independency arguments.

    3. Enlightenment ideals.

  • Consequences

    • Social

      1. The conflict between the existence of slavery and the idea that “all men are created equal.”

    • Political

      1. The beginning of the creation of the United States.

      2. An example to foreign nations, which served as a basis for many subsequent movements to gain independence from other colonial powers.

    • Cultural

      1. The creation of a new nation with its new, distinct culture, rooted in individualism.

    • Economic

      N/A

  • Important Figures

    1. Thomas Jefferson -

    2. John Adams -

The States’ Constitutions (1776-1780)

• Right after the Declaration of Independence, John Adams encouraged the newly created states to write their own constitutions. He wrote “Thoughts on Government,” which influenced many state legislatures; he proposed the idea of checks and balances to ensure no tyranny would make its way into government. In response to John Adams’ command, states created constitutions that varied in their degree of democracy:

  The 1776 Pennsylvania Constitution (Democratic) 

  The 1776 Maryland Constitution (Not Democratic)

  The 1778 South Carolina Constitution (Not Democratic)

  The 1780 Massachusetts Constitution (Not Democratic)

  The 1784 New Hampshire Constitution (Democratic)

  • Causes

    1. Instead of forming one big constitution, John Adams opted for this approach, believing it would avoid any hints of tyranny, as previously experienced when under British rule.

  • Consequences

    • Social

      1. For the not democratic constitutions, political representation was mostly reserved for the rich, elite, white male land-owning class.

    • Political

      N/A

    • Cultural

      N/A

    • Economic

      N/A

  • Important Figures

    1. John Adams

• Event Key Terms

  1. a

  2. b

  3. c

  4. d

  5. e

The Creation of the Articles of Confederation (1781)

• The Articles of Confederation were the predecessor of the U.S. Constitution. This form of government prioritized state governments rather than a federal government. Thus, there was no president nor executive, passing and enforcing laws was difficult, there was no national army/navy, and there was no taxation power.

  • Causes

    1. The American colonies had just declared independence. They needed a way to run their country. Thus, they turned to Britain to see how they ran their government and came up with the Articles of Confederation.

  • Consequences

    • Social

      N/A

    • Political

      1. A new divide between Americans: the federalists vs. the anti-federalists.

    • Cultural

      N/A

    • Economic

      1. After the American Revolutionary War, debts increased immensely. Since the Articles of Confederation couldn’t tax the states, this proved fatal for the newly formed country.

• Event Key Terms

  1. a

  2. b

  3. c

  4. d

  5. e

The Federalists vs. The Anti-Federalists (1787-1788)

• Upon realizing the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation, the prospect of a more powerful, central government was introduced: The U.S. Constitution. There were two different views of this: the Federalist view, and the Anti-Federalist view. The former supported the idea, and even suggested creating a national bank to fix up America’s debt; the latter, on the other hand, rejected the idea of a strong, central government, fearing the reduction of state and personal rights that would ensue this decision.

  • Causes

    1. The failure of the Articles of Confederation.

    2. The idea of the U.S. Constitution.

    3. The nuance of the different perspectives of colonists at the time.

  • Consequences

    • Social

      N/A

    • Political

      1. The creation of the Bill of Rights (suggested by James Madison).

      2. Establishment of a national bank, which set a single currency for the country and settled debt.

      3. Acceptance of the U.S. Constitution.

    • Cultural

      N/A

    • Economic

      N/A

  • Important Figures

    1. John Adams - Federalist

    2. Thomas Jefferson - Anti-Federalist

    3. Alexander Hamilton - Federalist

    4. James Madison - Federalist

• Event Key Terms

  1. The Federalist Papers

  2. Democratic-Republicans 

The U.S. Constitution (June 1788)

• The foundation of American government, ratified in 1788. It wasn’t a perfect governing document– it had to be amended several times and continues to be. It is often compounded with the Bill of Rights.

  • Causes

    1. Prompted by the failure of the Articles of Confederation.

    2. The compromise between federalists and anti-federalists upon the U.S. Constitution, so long a Bill of Rights was created.

  • Consequences

    • Social

      N/A

    • Political

      1. The creation of an imperfect but solid form of government that would remain so up until the present.

      2. Adoption of the 3/5 Compromise

    • Cultural

      1. a

    • Economic

      1. Debt is able to be repaid now.

• Event Key Terms

  1. The Bill of Rights

  2. 3/5 Compromise

The Louisiana Purchase (1803)

• A purchase of the territory of Louisiana from Napoleon in 1803 during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency which was made possible due to French foreign conflicts, dating back to the Haitian Revolution of 1791. Thomas Jefferson was a strict constructionist, meaning he believed the U.S. Constitution should be followed as it is written. This belief, however, would shift as a result of the Louisiana Purchase.

  • Causes

    1. Haitian Revolution of 1791.

    2. The French Revolution conflicts.

  • Consequences

    • Social

      1. Conflicts with indigenous peoples already living in the Louisiana territory.

      2. Since slavery was allowed in this territory, it set precedent for future altercations between the north and south.

    • Political

      1. Since nowhere in the Constitution did it state that the President could buy new land for the country, Thomas Jefferson was hesitant to decide the outcome of the offer. Eventually, he was convinced by his cabinet that this was, indeed, the right course of action. He justified his actions using analogies to a parent buying their child a home, for their own good in the future. This led to an amendment of the Constitution, stating that it was allowed to admit new states into the country.

    • Cultural

      N/A

    • Economic

      1. Slavery would become the main form of labor in this territory.

  • Important Figures

    1. Thomas Jefferson

• Event Key Terms

  1. Strict constructionalist.