Pageant 12th Edition Chapter 7 Review Flashcards

Colonial Political Ideology and Imperial Economics

• Republicanism: By the mid-eighteenth century, American colonists developed a yearning for republicanism. Republicanism defines a just society as one in which all citizens willingly subordinate their private, selfish interests to the common good. The stability of a republic and the authority of government depend fundamentally on a virtuous citizenry.

• Radical Whigs: A group of British political commentators whose ideas deeply influenced American colonists. Radical Whigs feared the arbitrary power of the monarch and warned against the pervasive use of patronage and bribes by the king's ministers, which actively eroded liberty.

• Impact of Geographical Distance: The immense physical distance separating the American colonies from the British Crown weakened royal authority, creating a dynamic where lax oversight allowed colonial self-governance to flourish ("when the parents are away the kids will play").

• Mercantilism: The prevailing economic doctrine governing Britain's imperial policy. Mercantilism aimed to increase the mother country's wealth and military power by using the colonies to supply raw materials to Great Britain while providing a guaranteed, captive market for British exports.

• Navigation Acts: First implemented in the 1650s to restrict rival trading nations (notably the Dutch) from engaging in commerce with the American colonies:

  • Colonists were required to land ships in Britain first, where British customs duties could be collected.
  • Imperial regulations stipulated that American merchants were required to ship certain "enumerated" products, notably tobacco, exclusively to Great Britain.
  • When financial liquidity became severely constricted in the colonies, Parliament explicitly prohibited colonial legislatures from printing paper currency.
  • Parliament maintained the ultimate right to nullify any colonial legislation that interfered with or compromised the mercantilist system.

• Salutary Neglect: The official policy maintained by Great Britain prior to 1763, characterized by the loose, minimal enforcement of imperial trade laws and Navigation Acts.

• Historiographical and Contemporary Perspectives:

  • Theodore Roosevelt argued that revolution broke out in the colonies primarily because Great Britain failed to recognize an emerging, distinct nation.
  • British politician Edmund Burke warned Parliament regarding the explosive economic growth of the colonies: "Young man, there is America—which at this day serves for little more than to amuse you with stories of savage men and uncouth manners; yet shall, before you taste of death, show itself equal to the whole of that commerce which now attracts the envy of the world".
  • Benjamin Franklin critically described Great Britain in 1775 as: "an old mother that peevish is grown".

British Taxation Policies and Initial Colonial Resistance

• Post-War Financial Crisis: Following the conclusion of the French and Indian War, Great Britain faced a mounting national debt of approximately $140\text{ million}$ pounds.

• Sugar Act of 1764: Approved by British Exchequer George Grenville, the Sugar Act was the first direct tax levied on the American colonists by Parliament. Paradoxically, the legislation actually lowered the official duty on imported sugar while establishing strict enforcement measures. When colonial protest mounted, Parliament responded by lowering the tax duty.

• Quartering Act of 1765: Required colonial assemblies to provide room, food, and lodging for British military forces. Colonial resentment over this law directly inspired the later creation of the Third Amendment to the United States Constitution.

• Stamp Act of 1765: Also pushed by George Grenville, the Stamp Act mandated the use of stamped paper or stamps on certified legal documents, contracts, newspapers, and playing cards. This legislation represented a major escalation because it directly affected all socio-economic classes of colonists.

• Colonial Opposition and Admiralty Courts:

  • Colonists fiercely detested the Vice-Admiralty courts set up to try violators of tax acts because they operated without jury trials, placing the burden of proof squarely on the accused. This lack of popular judicial oversight became a primary grievance leading to the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
  • Major slogans emerged across the colonies: "No taxation without representation" became the central rallying cry from the Stamp Act Congress, while James Otis popularized the phrase "Taxation without representation is Tyranny".

• Doctrine of Virtual Representation: In response to colonial protests against taxation without parliamentary representation, Prime Minister George Grenville asserted the principle of "virtual representation." Grenville stated that every Member of Parliament represented all British subjects throughout the empire, including American colonists who had never cast a ballot for them.

• Organized Resistance and Repeal:

  • Stamp Act Congress (1765): Delegates from nine colonies convened in New York to draft petitions against the tax. The body served to erode sectional suspicions, bringing together leaders from rival colonies around the same table.
  • Non-Importation Agreements: Colonial merchants and consumers adopted non-importation agreements against British goods, inflicting severe economic hardship on British merchants and compelling Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act in 1766.
  • Sons of Liberty and Daughters of Liberty: Radical patriot organizations that enforced non-importation agreements under the slogan "Liberty, Property, and No Stamps".
  • Retaliatory Tactics against Stamp Collectors: Patriots tarred and feathered tax collectors, confiscated their money, and hung effigies of stamp agents on liberty poles and liberty trees. Samuel Adams, cousin of second U.S. President John Adams, served as a prominent leader of the Sons of Liberty in Massachusetts.

Escalation of Imperial Crisis and Repressive Legislation

• Declaratory Act (1766): Passed by Parliament immediately following the repeal of the Stamp Act, this act explicitly reasserted Parliament's absolute authority to legislate for and bind the American colonies "in all cases whatsoever".

• Townshend Acts (1767): Authored by Charles Townshend, these acts imposed an indirect customs duty payable at American ports on imported goods including glass, white lead, paper, paint, and tea (distinguishing it from direct internal taxes like the Stamp Act). Revenues were specifically allocated to pay the salaries of royal governors and judges in America, removing them from colonial purse-string control.

• Boston Massacre (March 5, 1770):

  • Escalating hostilities between Boston civilians and British soldiers resulted in a lethal clash in which five colonists lost their lives.
  • Crispus Attucks, a sailor of mixed African and Native American ancestry, was the first colonist killed in the incident.
  • Silversmith Paul Revere created an engraving woodcut of the event that was used across the colonies as a powerful propaganda tool.
  • Future U.S. President John Adams served as the defense attorney for the British soldiers put on trial, successfully securing acquittals for most of them.

• Repeal of Townshend Duties and Committees of Correspondence:

  • In 1770, Parliament repealed all Townshend revenue duties except for the tax on tea, which was retained to maintain the principle of parliamentary taxation power.
  • In 1772, Samuel Adams established the first local Committee of Correspondence in Massachusetts. This initiative expanded into intercolonial Committees of Correspondence, using letter-writing campaigns to maintain intercolonial communication, build solidarity, and foster the spirit of resistance.

• Boston Tea Party (December 1773): In direct protest of the retained tea tax and the British East India Company's monopoly, colonial patriots disguised as Native Americans boarded British cargo ships in Boston Harbor and dumped hundreds of chests of tea into the ocean.

• Intolerable (Coercive) Acts (1774): Parliament retaliated against Massachusetts by enacting punitive measures designed to break colonial resistance:

  • Boston Port Act: Closed Boston Harbor to all commercial shipping until full financial damages were paid and public order was restored.
  • Charter Revocations: Swept away many of Massachusetts' long-standing colonial charter rights and severely restricted town meetings. Other colonies rallied to Massachusetts' defense, fearing that if Massachusetts' charter rights could be summarily revoked, all colonial charters were vulnerable.

• Quebec Act (1774):

  • Passed alongside the Intolerable Acts, it guaranteed the Catholic religion, extended Quebec's border south to the Ohio River, and permitted conquered French Canadians to retain their traditional customs and non-representative institutions (which lacked jury trials).
  • American colonists viewed the act as granting French Canadians more rights than English colonists while establishing a dangerous precedent against jury trials and popular representative assemblies.

• First Continental Congress (1774): Delegates from twelve colonies assembled in Philadelphia to formulate a unified response:

  • Adopted a formal Declaration of Rights.
  • Created The Continental Association, which called for a total boycott of Great Britain through complete non-importation, non-exportation, and non-consumption of British goods.

Outbreak of the Revolutionary War and Military Balance

• Chronological Sequence of Key Pre-Revolutionary Events:

  1. French and Indian War
  2. Sugar Act (1764)
  3. Stamp Act (1765)
  4. Boston Massacre (1770)
  5. Intolerable Acts (1774)
  6. Battles of Lexington and Concord (April 1775)

• Battles of Lexington and Concord (April 1775): Marked the official start of the American Revolution. Paul Revere and William Dawes made their famous ride to warn colonial militiamen that British troops were advancing ashore.

• British Military Advantages at the Outbreak of Hostilities:

  • Demographics: Population ratio of $3\text{ to }1$ in favor of Great Britain over the American colonies.
  • Financial & Naval Power: Vast monetary wealth and unmatched global naval dominance.
  • Military Personnel: A standing, professionally trained army supplemented by hired foreign mercenaries (Hessians).

• British Adversities and Operational Challenges:

  • The military objective required full conquest of the colonies and restoring the pre-1763 status quo.
  • Operating $3,000\text{ miles}$ away from home caused severe delays in receiving military supplies and strategic orders.
  • America possessed a vast geographical expanse with no single urban nerve center (unlike London or Paris) whose capture would force a surrender.
  • British forces were fighting an offensive war on unfamiliar terrain, whereas Americans fought a defensive war on home soil with a passionate political cause.

• Colonial Financial Vulnerability: Printing excessive quantities of unbacked paper currency led to rapid hyperinflation, rendering "Continental" money virtually worthless.

Second Continental Congress and Colonial Military Leadership

• Second Continental Congress (May 1775): The conservative movement in Congress initially favored continued fighting to force a redress of grievances, while resisting outright independence.

• Appointment of George Washington:

  • Washington implicitly signaled his willingness to serve by attending congressional meetings in his military dress uniform.
  • Although Washington had lost more battles than he had won in his prior military career, Congress unanimously selected him as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental forces.
  • Congress was won over by Washington's outstanding leadership abilities, immense strength of character, patient demeanor, personal courage, self-discipline, and deep sense of justice.

• Early Military Campaigns (1775):

  • Ticonderoga and Crown Point: In May 1775, Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold led a surprise raid that captured British garrisons at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, securing vital heavy artillery.
  • Battle of Bunker Hill (June 1775): Although a tactical colonial loss due to ammunition exhaustion, the battle inflicted heavy casualties on British forces, compelling British command to take colonial forces seriously and resort to foreign mercenaries.

• Olive Branch Petition (July 1775): Congress sent a final appeal to King George III professing loyalty and seeking peace. Outraged by the high casualty rate at Bunker Hill, King George III rejected the petition outright and declared the colonies in full rebellion.

• Hessian Mercenaries: Colonists were deeply offended by Britain's decision to hire Hessian mercenaries from Germany, viewing the war as an internal family dispute that should not involve foreign mercenaries.

Revolutionary Ideology, the Declaration of Independence, and Political Factions

• Thomas Paine and Common Sense (January 1776):

  • Thomas Paine published Common Sense, which argued that it was contrary to common sense for a small island like Great Britain to govern the massive American continent.
  • Paine defined a republic as a political society where all power flows directly from the people themselves rather than a monarch.
  • To Patriots, republicanism implied an end to hereditary aristocracy, though it did not mean an end to all social hierarchy.

• Democratic Antecedents and Republican Motherhood:

  • Thomas Jefferson identified New England town meetings and annual local elections as the most pure examples of colonial democracy prior to the Revolution.
  • Republican Motherhood: The idea that women would fight for the colonies and do anything necessary to support the cause of freedom and independence.

• Drafting the Declaration of Independence:

  • Richard Henry Lee's Resolution: On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee presented the first formal declaration of independence to Congress.
  • Structure of the Declaration: Thomas Jefferson authored the Declaration of Independence (adopted July 4, 1776), which functioned as the "Explanation of Independence." Approximately two-thirds ($\frac{2}{3}$) of the document contained a detailed list of grievances against King George III.
  • Philosophical Influence: Jefferson utilized the natural rights philosophy of English philosopher John Locke.
  • Enduring Legacy: The statement that "all men are created equal" established a founding principle that would haunt American citizens for generations.

• Colonial Political Factions:

  • Loyalists (Tories): Colonists who remained loyal to the British Crown, representing roughly $16\%$ of the total population.
  • Composed largely of wealthy, highly educated individuals.
  • Loyalists were least numerous in New England, where democratic institutions were strongest and mercantilism was weak.
  • Great Britain failed to take full advantage of Loyalist loyalty during the war.
  • Benjamin Franklin disowned his eldest illegitimate son (William Franklin) for remaining a loyalist.
  • Patriots (Whigs): Colonists who actively fought for independence. Patriots referred to British soldiers by the derogatory nickname "Lobster Backs."

• Famous Patriot Declarations:

  • Patrick Henry: "Give me liberty, or give me death!"
  • Nathan Hale (spoken just prior to execution after capture by the British): "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country".
  • John Paul Jones (naval commander forced to abandon his ship): "I have not begun to fight".

Military Campaigns, Strategic Turning Points, and Foreign Alliances

• Campaigns in the Middle Colonies (1776–1777):

  • Battle of Long Island (1776): Facing potential annihilation, George Washington executed a controlled retreat, utilizing a favorable wind and dense fog to escape British capture.
  • Delaware Crossing and Battles of Trenton & Princeton (December 1776 – January 1777): Washington crossed the Delaware River on December 25, 1776 (a scene depicted with future President James Monroe in the same rowboat). Washington secured pivotal victories over Hessians at Trenton and British troops at Princeton.
  • Guerilla Warfare: Washington shifted away from traditional Old European Warfare to implement guerilla tactics—utilizing hit-and-run maneuvers.
  • Valley Forge, PA: After defeats at Brandywine and Germantown, Washington's forces endured a harsh winter encampment at Valley Forge in 1777.

• Battle of Saratoga (October 1777) and the French Alliance:

  • Turning Point: British General John Burgoyne was forced to surrender at Saratoga in October 1777.
  • Impact: Saratoga proved to be the decisive turning point of the war because it proved to France that the Americans were capable of defeating the British military.
  • French Motivation: France entered the war primarily to exact revenge against Britain for its defeat in the French and Indian War.
  • Uniqueness of Alliance: The military pact was unique because France was a hereditary foe and a Roman Catholic monarchy joining forces with Protestant rebels.

• Subsequent Battles, Treason, and Western Campaigns:

  • Battle of Monmouth (1778): Washington engaged the British in New Jersey before remaining in New York until the final campaign at Yorktown.
  • Benedict Arnold's Treason (1780): Colonial morale suffered a major blow when Benedict Arnold turned traitor by attempting to sell the military fort at West Point to the British.
  • Southern Campaign: Fighting Quaker General Nathanael Greene forced British troops on an exhausting, long pursuit across the Southern colonies, successfully clearing British forces from the region.
  • Treaty of Fort Stanwix: Signed with the Iroquois, this marked the first formal treaty between the United States and a Native American nation.
  • Western Frontier: Frontier leader George Rogers Clarke led successful campaigns against British garrisons, forcing Great Britain to cede the Ohio River region.

• Key Foreign Military Officers:

  • Marquis de Lafayette: A young French nobleman who offered his military service and donated $\$200,000$ of his private fortune to the Continental Army.
  • Baron von Steuben: A Prussian general who trained and disciplined Continental soldiers into an effective fighting force.