The Origins of the American Revolution

• Britain had largely failed to have a coherent relationship with the colonies

  • They were constantly at war (expensive)

  • There were competing visions of the empire (Old Whigs/Tories vs. Radical Whigs)

Causes of the American Revolution

• Attempts to reform the British Empire after the Seven Years’ War was not received well

  • Royal Proclamation (1764)

    • It formally ended the Seven Years’ War and forbade all British settlements west of a line drawn along the Appalachians because the territory was given to the French

  • Sugar and Currency Act (1764)

    • An act passed to raise revenue by stopping the smuggling trade of sugar and molasses

  • Stamp Act (1756)

    • An act that imposed a direct tax on colonists and required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper made in Britain

    • Resistance took three forms: legislative, economic, and popular protest

  • Townshend Act (1767)

    • An act that introduced a series of taxes and regulations to fund the administration of the British colonies in America

• There were new forms of resistance that were united despite class

  • Non-importation and non-consumption

  • Committees of correspondence

Independence and the War

• The Revolutionary War began in 1775 and ended in 1781

• The British initially had the upper hand and believed the threat of war would quell the rebellion

• A few key victories (Battles of Trenton and Saratoga) turned the tide of the Continental Army

  • Convinced the French to sign the Treaty of Amity and Commerce (which made it a global war of sorts)

• Eventually, the British turned to the South with the belief that they had friends there, but they did not have the manpower to hold it

  • The costly war began to lose support in Britain, especially since they were also fighting Holland, Spain, and France

• War ended with the Battle of Yorktown (1781)

Consequences of the Revolution

• The Revolution unleashed powerful political, social, and economic forces that would transform the new nation’s politics and society

  • States drafted constitutions

  • Political participation increased

  • Mercantilism ended, opening new markets and trade relationships

  • Slavery remained