Key Vocabulary for the Revolutionary Era (Lecture Notes)
Boston Massacre (March 1770)
Context: a British sentry on duty is harassed by a small group of colonists; a personal dispute over wages and resentment of British presence escalates into a broader confrontation.
Immediate sequence:
A colonial man’s employer had been owed money; he paid but late -> resentment used as pretext to harass the soldier.
A few friends join; crowd grows as more people from Boston arrive after bells ring (Collins rings a church bell).
The sentries form a line to guard the government building; crowd becomes increasingly violent: snow and large ice chunks thrown at the soldiers.
A member of the crowd strikes a soldier with a small club; the soldier is stunned and fires when he regains his senses, thinking he has been attacked.
The soldiers, fearing they will be killed, fire; three volleys follow, resulting in 11 hits.
Casualties and legal outcomes:
3 die instantly; 2 die later.
All five soldiers are arrested.
Public outrage in Boston leads to a legal defense by John Adams, a prominent lawyer.
Prosecutions: two soldiers are tried and dismissed; they are branded, which marks them for life and hinders future prospects.
Interpretive takeaways:
This event is not a massacre; it was provoked by colonists and amplified by crowd dynamics.
It highlights the presence of British troops in the colonies and the resentment this engenders, along with the tensions around self-defense and use of force by soldiers.
It foreshadows the legal and political contest over who bears responsibility amid colonial unrest.
Boston Tea Party (December 16, 1773)
Economic background: the East India Tea Company is the wealthiest company in the British Empire; tea is its leading luxury.
Company power and entanglements:
The company is deeply integrated into British government, with the ability to request military action and even conquer territory; many MPs hold stock.
It is treated as an arm of the state with strong political and military support, making it effectively too big to fail.
Financial rescue and price strategy:
The company is bailed out and exempted from taxes for the next few years via the Tea Act of 1773.
It then undercuts competitors and effectively creates a monopoly.
Colonial response:
Widespread colonial boycotts of tea in response to coercive economics—colonists resist forced sales and new contracts that benefitted the company.
The Boston Tea Party action:
On December 16, 3 men dressed as Mohawk Indians board East India Company ships in Boston Harbor and throw overboard 342 chests of tea, worth around £{90{,}000} in the period value (modern equivalents run into the millions).
Aftermath and significance:
The protest is viewed by many as a bold civil action, but it also signals that legal avenues for protest are narrowing.
It helps precipitate the Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts) in Parliament, as punishment and punishment-by-proxy for colonial defiance.
Coercive (Intolerable) Acts and Related Measures (1774)
Boston Port Act: closes Boston Harbor until the tea is paid for; port shutdown devastates Boston’s economy and signals royal punishment.
Massachusetts Government Act: royal governor gains control; sheriffs and jurors are appointed rather than elected; day-to-day colonial governance is curtailed.
Restrictions on public meetings: colonial meetings require royal consent; trial and legal processes centralized away from colonial authorities.
Quebec Act (also part of the broader package): Western territories granted to French Canadians; Catholics allowed to swear loyalty; seen by colonists as a threat to Protestant control and Western settlement plans; viewed as a strategic move to undermine colonial claims.
Immediate political impact:
Massachusetts rebels are labeled as in a state of rebellion; Massachusetts assembly and militia efforts intensify.
The Acts are perceived as punitive and coercive, driving colonial unity against royal authority.
Quebec Act (1774)
Territorial and religious dimensions:
Western lands previously fought over with Native peoples are given to French Canadians; Catholic oaths to loyalty are permitted.
This is seen as a rebuke to Protestant settlers and as a factor contributing to colonial resentment about Western land and governance.
Colonial optics:
The act is interpreted as favoring Catholics and opposing colonial interests; Maryland and other colonies note the difference in oaths for loyalty.
Long-term significance:
Feeds into a sense that Britain is making decisions for colonists without their consent, and that colonial and religious identities are being managed from London rather than from local assemblies.
First Continental Congress (1774)
Composition and scope:
55 delegates from 12 of the colonies gather to coordinate a response to the Intolerable Acts.
Key outcomes (Suffolk Resolves):
Call for a boycott of all British goods across the colonies.
Massachusetts Boston and Massachusetts in general should ignore the Boston Tea Party fine and royal enforcement.
Noncompliance with royal governor orders; colonies should rely on colonial assemblies rather than royal edicts until the intolerable acts are repealed.
Fund the growth of colonial militia for defense.
The Continental Association: a self-appointed militia network that enforces boycotts and political loyalty pledges; penalties for non-cooperation include property seizure and tar-and-feathering (a severe and brutal form of social punishment).
Declarations:
Declaration of American Rights asserts that Parliament had no right to legislate for the colonies lacking representation.
Declatory Act clarifies Parliament’s power but is met with resistance to centralized imperial authority.
Debates on taxation and representation:
Some argue that lack of representation was not the only grievance; taxation without representation remains central for many, but autonomy and local governance are also essential concerns.
Massachusetts and Continental Preparations; Military and Legal Realities
Local militias disrupt royal authority:
Militia actions aim to halt day-to-day political activity and disrupt tax collection and law enforcement.
Attacks on tax offices and records undermine royal authority and revenue collection.
British response and rebellion label:
Parliament and George III label Massachusetts as in rebellion, precipitating broader colonial coordination against imperial control.
George III and the political mood:
The king’s stance hardens; debate about the balance between loyalty and rights intensifies across colonies.
The Second Continental Congress and War Mobilization (1775)
Convening and scope:
By May 1775, representatives from all 13 colonies convene in Philadelphia as rebellion grows and prospects for war increase.
Creation of the Continental Army:
A new continental army is formed, with command assigned to General George Washington.
Massachusetts at war footing:
Colonial forces attempt to secure Boston and the surrounding hills; the British aim to capture Massachusetts’ stockpiles and disrupt supply lines.
Riders and mobilization:
Paul Revere, William Dawes, and later Samuel Prescott ride from Boston to Lexington then to Concord to rally militias and warn about British movements and to secure weapon stores in Concord.
Lexington and Concord: The First Armed Clash (April 1775)
Lexington Green:
A small group of colonial minutemen, led by Captain John Parker, confront British regulars under Captain John Pitcairn.
Ambiguity over who fired the first shot; after initial exchanges, Parker’s force retreats, leaving an open path for the British advance.
Concord and the North Bridge:
The British aim to seize military stores at Concord; the North Bridge serves as a critical choke point for defense.
Colonial militia hold the bridge; when British forces advance, fighting escalates dramatically.
After the first shot, combat is intense and casualties mount; colonial forces hold better ground and the British suffer higher losses than expected.
Tactical and morale outcomes:
The battle at Concords’ North Bridge is a tactical setback for Britain and a psychological boost for the colonists; the colonists’ resolve hardens, and colonists gain confidence in local militias and, for many, in the possibility of independence.
Breed’s Hill/Bunker Hill (June 1775)
Fortifications and strategic context:
Massachusetts forces fortify Breed’s Hill near Boston; the British mount three assaults to take the position.
Casualties and outcome:
British losses are substantial: over 200 killed and around 800 wounded in the three assaults; the colonial defenders, though ultimately driven from the hill, inflict heavy damage and gain morale-boosting proof that colonial fighting can succeed against regulars.
Strategic significance:
The engagement reframes British expectations and emphasizes the willingness of colonists to fight and sustain casualties for the revolutionary cause.
Continental Congresses and the Push Toward Independence
Aftermath of Massachusetts battles:
A second Continental Congress convenes in May 1775 with representatives from all 13 colonies.
It acts as the central coordinating body, though without formal legal authority; it is the only multicolonial political body at that time.
Olive Branch Petition (July 1775):
A final appeal to the Crown asking to restore peace, end hostilities, remove soldiers, grant representation, and restore colonial autonomy while preserving loyalty to the Crown.
The petition explicitly expresses loyalty but blames Britain for the rift, insisting on restoration of rights rather than independence.
Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (July 1775):
Explicit listing of grievances (taxation without representation, vice-admiralty courts, and abuses under the Intolerable Acts) and a justification for taking arms in defense of colonial rights.
King George III’s response:
Receipt of the Olive Branch Petition is treated as insincere by the Crown; he reportedly tears the petition apart and moves toward a hardLine stance.
He later declares all North American colonies to be in a state of rebellion and pressures Parliament to act.
The Prohibitory Act (late 1775–early 1776):
Parliament blocks colonial ports to prevent sea travel and trade; designed to economically strangle the rebelling colonies.
The shift toward independence:
For pro-independence factions, the British actions crystallize support for breaking away from Britain; the independence movement moves from minority to majority in many colonies, though not universally.
The shift toward full rebellion and revolution is reinforced by the coercive environment, the formation of a continental army, and moral suasion from leaders like Patrick Henry (famously invoking liberty and death).
Patrick Henry’s rhetoric:
Iconic moment in Massachusetts and broader colonial rhetoric: the dagger gesture and the line Give me liberty, or give me death signal the resolve of Massachusetts and its role in the push for independence.
The broader question of allegiance and rights:
The prevailing debate centers on how to balance loyalty to the Crown with protection of natural rights; the era’s movements far exceed simple taxation issues.
Ideological and Practical Implications; Real-World Relevance
Taxation, representation, autonomy, and rights:
The era reframes the core grievance as taxation without representation, but autonomy and local governance are recurrent themes throughout the protests.
The colonies seek to preserve natural rights within or apart from British sovereignty, with debates about autonomy versus independence continuing for years.
The role of violence and protest in political change:
The Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, tar-and-feathering, and the battles illustrate how violence and intimidation shape political outcomes and public opinion on both sides.
Economic leverage and political power:
The Tea Act and its coercive enforcement reveal how economic power is used to influence political outcomes and how colonies push back through consumer action and boycotts.
Legal institutions and political legitimacy:
The Acts and the responses highlight tensions between imperial legal authority and colonial self-government; the Continental Congress emerges as a legitimate political body for the colonies despite lacking formal sovereignty.
Ethical and philosophical dimensions:
The era foregrounds questions about tyranny, consent of the governed, and the moral duty to resist oppression; it also shows the dangers of political zeal and extralegal punishment (tar-and-feathering).
Real-world relevance and legacy:
The debates about taxation, representation, autonomy, and rights echo in modern debates about governance, constitutional design, and civil liberties; the Revolution also demonstrates how a political movement can transition from protest to organized military resistance.
Key quantitative references to remember:
322? (Note: no explicit figure; see the transcript for exact casualty counts per event:
Lexington-Concord casualties and the North Bridge battles show disproportionate British losses; the exact figures cited include: "over 200 killed" and about "800 wounded" at Breed’s Hill/Bunker Hill; these figures are repeatedly cited as part of the cost of early battles and their morale impact.)
Summary of major turning points:
Boston Massacre establishes the volatile atmosphere between colonists and British troops.
Boston Tea Party triggers the Coercive Acts and pushes colonies toward united action.
The Quebec Act and the intolerable acts reshape colonial governance and land rights, fueling a continental response.
The First and Second Continental Congresses formalize resistance, create a continental army, and escalate from protest to armed conflict.
Lexington, Concord, and Breed’s Hill mark the transition from political agitation to a full-scale revolutionary movement with rising independence sentiment.