HIST 1301 - The American Revolution

Long Term Causes of the American Revolution

• Britain's Hands-Off Approach:
  • Britain did not define relationship between metropolis and colony.
  • Colonists continued to rule and administer their own colonies.
  • Britain was constantly at war from 1701 to 1763, which was expensive and time-consuming.
  • Different visions of empire existed within British political parties (Whigs and Tories).
  • Authoritarian perspective: Empire created by conquering territory and extracting resources.
  • Radical perspective: Focus on trade and manufacturing.
  • Colonists felt a sense of kinship with Britain and believed they had a special place within the empire.

Political Institutions Developed by the Colonies

• Colonial Assembly:
  • Specific to each colony and created at the point of settlement.
  • Colonies considered themselves politically separate from Britain.
  • Assembly legislated taxes, managed tax revenue, and paid royal officials.
  • Overlapped jurisdiction with Parliament in England.
  • Britain did not help define legal prerogatives when asked by the colonies.
  • Colonists thought their governments were legitimate and supported by Britain.

Political Participation

• Land ownership was a determinant for political participation in both Britain and the colonies.
  • More land in the colonies meant more landowners and more political participants.
  • The potential for expansion meant the expansion of people participating in politics.
  • Larger group of political participants led to the ideology that political participants needed to be invested in the public good rather than their own personal interests.
  • People involved in politics needed to be wary of the corruptible nature of power.
  • There was a collective nature of political participation due to the increased proportion of political participants in colonial politics.

Influence of John Locke

• Enlightenment philosopher who pioneered the concept of tabula rasa (blank slate).
  • Believed in the impact of the environment on the formation of individuals.
  • Advocated for rational education and creating critical thinkers, questioning authority and the status quo.
  • Human betterment comes from the application of reason, which can solve social, political, and economic problems.
  • Colonists saw the British government acting in ways that didn't make sense rationally.

Revivalism

• Evangelical Protestantism in direct opposition to the enlightenment's focus on rationality.
  • Reverend George Whitefield, an itinerant Calvinist preacher, advocated for the experience of conversion and a one-to-one relationship with God.
  • Questioning of church hierarchies and administrations.
  • Advocated for emotions in direct contradiction to Locke's emphasis on rationalism.
  • Challenging authority was a common thread between revivalism and enlightenment thinking.

Economics and Culture

• Anglicization: Colonists became culturally similar to the British.
  • Cultural similarities had economic impacts, as colonists attempted to mimic British culture and purchased British goods, especially luxury goods.
  • Colonies were a huge market for British exports.
  • Colonists felt they should enjoy the same liberties as the British.

Short Term Causes of the American Revolution

• Seven Years' War led to the British monarch attempting to reform his oversight in North America.
  • King George III took an authoritarian approach to the empire.
  • Royal Proclamation of 1763: Moratorium on settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains to reduce conflicts with indigenous Americans.
    • Colonists felt their rights were being impinged, the same rights as the British.
  • Sugar Act of 1764: Cut the tax on molasses in half due to rampant smuggling.
  • Currency Act of 1764: Restricted the colonies from making paper money, making trade more difficult.
  • These acts further restricted liberty and increased taxation.

Stamp Act of 1765

• Established a system of direct taxation.
  • Taxes on goods designed to regulate trade are indirect taxation.
  • The Stamp Act impacted anything that required paper.
  • Documents without the stamp were void.
  • Resistance occurred at all levels of society.
  • Elite classes created the Virginia Resolves, stating that the colonists had the same rights as their British counterparts.
  • Merchant classes launched economic resistance with non-importation agreements, refusing to purchase British goods.
  • Commoners engaged in popular protests, rioting, burning the property of stamp distributors, and causing people to resign.

Repeal of the Stamp Act and Declaratory Act

• The Stamp Act was repealed in 1766 and replaced by the Declaratory Act in 1766.
  • The Declaratory Act meant that Parliament had full power to make all the laws.

Townshend Acts

• New taxes were imposed on commonly used items like lead, paint, glass, and tea.
  • Courts were created to try smugglers, with British officials incentivized to convict smugglers.
  • Increased government presence and reductions in colonial authority.
  • Taxes were increasingly seen as a slippery slope of domination.
  • Collective resistance to the Townshend Acts crossed class lines.
  • Non-importation agreements and non-consumption agreements required cooperation from all members of all classes.
  • The colonists had to cease import of all British luxury goods.
  • Home-produced goods made a return, and local production was spurred.
  • Subscription lists and canvassing for signatures were created.
  • There was a lot of political activism and performative patriotism.
  • Unity led to the generation and consolidation of a collective identity.

Boston Massacre

• Britain sent soldiers to Boston to keep the peace and enforce the Townshend Acts.
  • British soldiers fired on Bostonians outside the custom house, killing five people.
  • The image of five coffins symbolized the protest.
  • The immediate impact was sympathy for Boston from the other colonies and hatred for Britain.
  • Parliament repealed all duties except those on tea.
  • American resistance became more coordinated and unified.

Road to Independence: The Tea Act

• Colonists wanted to end their non-importation agreement, and the British government wanted to impose their rule.
  • The British East India Company almost went bankrupt and had a huge surplus of tea.
  • Britain passed an act to try to sell tea by massively reducing the duties.
  • The American colonists resisted on principle, not wanting to acknowledge the British government's right to impose the tax on the tea.
  • The colonists did not allow the tea to be unloaded.

Tea Parties and Response

• In 1774, tea parties occurred; tea was either dumped or seized.
  • Women, who were typically in charge of household purchases, used their buying power for political reasons.
  • Britain responded by shutting down Boston with the Coercive Acts, cutting off trade, taking control of the government, dissolving the assembly, and restricting town meetings.
  • The Bostonians called these the Intolerable Acts.
  • Nearby colonies came to Boston's aid.

Continental Congress and Declaration of Rights and Grievances

• The Continental Congress convened on September 5, 1774, and created the Declaration of Rights and Grievances.
  • The colonists had all the rights of the native Britons, including the right to a trial by jury and the right to be taxed only by their elected representatives.
  • Attempts were made to reconcile with Britain.

Second Continental Congress and Conflict

• The Continental Congress convened again on April 19, 1775.
  • In Massachusetts, the British attempted to seize arms and gunpowder, and the local militia met them.
  • The Minutemen chased the British to Boston.
  • The Battle of Bunker Hill occurred, with the British claiming the hill but suffering severe losses.
  • More attempts at reconciliation were made, but it seemed clear that reconciliation was unlikely.

Independence

• Independence as a concept entered the conversation in 1776 to challenge the monarchy and the logic of empire.
  • The colonies had developed their own way of life, and the goals of Britain and the colonies were in opposition to each other.
  • The Continental Army was formed and headed by George Washington.
  • A final petition was sent to Britain, but George III rejected it.
  • Pro-independence propaganda was generated.
  • The British offered freedom to slaves who fought with Britain, a purely practical move.
  • The Declaration of Independence was created on July 2, 1776, outlining the grievances with the British Empire.
  • The Declaration of Independence was approved on July 4, 1776, and the American Revolution began.

The American Revolution

• Britain assumed it would be a short conflict.
  • War began in Massachusetts 1775, at Lexington And Concord and at the Battle of Breed's Hill.
    • In 1776, the theater moved to New York. The British seize control of the Hudson River and isolate New York.
    • In October, the British attack Brooklyn and Manhattan.
    • On December 25, 1776, George Washington launched a surprise attack on the Hessians at Trenton and won, boosting morale.
    • Colonists defeat Britain again at Saratoga in New York, 1777.
    • Washington develops new battle tactics, avoiding major engagements, skirmishes and guerrilla warfare.
    • On February 6, 1778, the treaty of Amity and Commerce signed.
    • French recognizes revolutionaries after Saratoga win.
  • Treaty with the French turn this into a global conflict or at least a a western conflict.
    • Benjamin Franklin, had been in Paris because he was trying to create an alliance with the French. The aren't convinced until the Colonists defeat at Saratoga convince them they have a chance.
    • Later in 1778, Britain moved its focus to the South as they thought they had more popular support.
    • A few years later, the war expands:
    • Britain is fighting on multiple global fronts.
    • In Europe, they're fighting Spain. They're fighting France. They're fighting The Netherlands.
    • The fighting on the European and North American Fronts loses all popular support at home because it is so expensive.
    • On September 3, 1783, the war ends following peace negotiations in Paris. The signing of the Treaty of Paris allows The United States or America to be an independent nation.
    • Capture of Charles Cornwallis' force at Yorktown leads to British surrender.

Cost of Victory

• Suffering was horrific due to battle deaths, disease, and exposure.
  • Women cared for households alone, doing both women's and men's work.
  • Slaves were offered freedom in exchange for fighting for the British.
  • 3,100,000 slaves deserted during the Revolution.
  • New governments had to be created, and the economy had to be rebuilt.

Implications of Revolution

• Political consequences (short term):

  • Congressional power had limits. States are now being asked to create written constitutions.
  • States created written constitutions with weak governors and strong legislatures to protect individual rights and limit the power of government.
  • Massachusetts created a three-branch government with a system of checks and balances.
  • Increased political participation with any free man able to vote.

• Socioeconomic consequences (long term):

  • Society became more egalitarian and based on meritocracy.
  • People who were still loyal to Britain left America.
  • There was increased religious tolerance.
  • Increased westward migration.
  • The mercantilist economy ended and became capitalist.
  • All free men were now able to vote.

Ideological Paradoxes

• The American Revolution fought for freedom, individualism, equality, and independence.
  • However, slavery, inequality, and the seizure of property still existed.
  • There was an encouragement of individualism, but also service to the public good.
  • There was an end to indigenous independence.