Unit 2 Causes of the American Revolution and Problems Facing the New Nation

The French & Indian War(1753-1763)

• the British v the French

• Native Americans caught in between and ally with France

• Treaty of Paris (1763) → truce

• British victory but a major financial cost to the empire

• British keeps some soldiers in the US at forts

• Colonists upset with British because they also lost money and men

Shift in population - population boom

• British in 1700 → 25,000

• Colonies in 1700 → 3,000

• British in 1770 → 125,000

• Colonies in 1770 → 125,000

  • African, german, irish, scottish, dutch,etc.

Identity Crisis: Colonists & the Crown (John Locke & Natural Rights)

• Divine Right of Kings

• It’s in their blood to rule

• King decided rights that people got and didn’t get

• Natural rights → rights that everyone has acess to no matter your social standing

The Divided Ground: The Proclomation of 1763

• white colonial settlers cannot move west past the Proclomation line

• colonists wonder why they helped to fight the war but don’t get more land

  • first economic rift

Changing of the Guard: Grenville;s Program

• the crown, the colonies, & economic policy

  • get money to quench debts and raise money for soldiers still in colonies

  • mercantilism

  • salatory neglect

• The Sugar Act(1764) → was already taxed but because of salitory neglect, both sides ignored the original tax

  • first tax of many

• Americans start to see themselves as Amercans and believe that they deserve more rights

• The Stamp Act

  • no taxation without representation

  • took aim at new england merchants

  • tax on any paper document, certificare, etc,

  • had to pay tax to get stamp to signify legitimacy

  • up roar in colonies as product is made in America

  • virtual representation → people are arguing for colonies but they aren’t from the colonies

  • November 1, 1765

• The Stamp Act: Colonial Response

  • words, wit, & wisdom

    • letter writing, editorials, pamphlet printing, sermons

  • claim that only colonial authority has the right to tax citizens

  • claimed that colonists were englishmen according to british law and that british were violating it

  • Intimidation & Violence

    • burn buildings and attack stamp collectors

    • tar and feathering

  • Samuel Adams and Sons of Liberty

    • try to write pamphlets and get colonists to understand

    • also pulling the strings

  • British pull the Stamp Act

  • resistence is seen as succesful

  • British pass the declaratory acts

    • parliament working on developing a new colonial taxation program

    • declare authority of colonies

  • The Townshend Acts(1767)

    • Internal (produced in and for colines) v External (exports and imports) taxation

    • Direct (directly payed at the time of purchase) v Indirect ( placed on an item at port) taxation

    • John Dickinson & ‘letters from a farmer in Pennsylvania’

      • collection of essays written over 10 weeks

      • signed essays as “the farmer”

      • argues that taxes are illegal because they want to raise revonue for British

      • published in a pamphlet

    • Adams leades organized recolts

    • loose-loose situation for Britian

    • more principle over economic

    • merchants jack up prices because of indirect taz

    • Benjamin Franklin misleads British

    • calls for banning and poycotting of goods

  • The Boston Massacre(1770)

    • Paul Revere, Smauel Adams, & Patriot Propaganda

    • colonists assemble and take to the streets

      • throw snowballs and insults at soldiers

    • soldier calls for backup

      • someone shoots and then soldiers shoot crows

      • 4 colonists die immediatley and 1 later

      • soldiers arrested

      • Sam Adams puts togeth a funeral procesion to recognize the lost

        • at least 60% of Boston shows up

      • Paul Revere - Silver smith, member of sons of liberty

        • creates template of what happens - calls it the bloody massacre

        • first big piece of propaganda

• The Tea Act(1773)

  • Boston tea party & the beginninf of irrepressible conflict

  • places monopoly on tea

  • this act undercut the profit of local sellers and stopped merchants

  • start refusing tea ships - ships can’t dock

  • 3 ships anchor in harbor

  • colonists won’t let them unload but they need to unload to return to britian

  • sons of liberty put together protest to destroy 342 chests of tea

    • dressed up as indians

  • extremley organized protest

  • pushes Britian to the brink

    • restricts town meetings to once a year - massachusets govoner act

    • royal govoner can move trials to england - administrationat justice act

    • british soldiers can live in homes

    • close boston harbor - boston port act

  • the first continental congress(1774)

    • 54 members

    • commitees of correspondence

    • non-importation

    • carpenters hall - 7 week meeting

    • suffolk resolves

      • took aim at massachusetts govoner act

      • outline strategy for resistance

    • Joseph Galloway’s Plan

      • wanted to reunite with British

      • recommended 1 man = to parliment

      • against suffolk resolves

    • in favor of ending any importation, consumption, and exporting of goods to/from british

  • 2nd Contintental Congress

    • never meets because of war

    • Lexington & Concord

    • doesn’t meet untill 1775

    • John Adams says that Washington shouldbe in command

    • Olive branch petition - last ditch effort to reconcile

      • rejected by King George III

    • a leap in the dark

      • thomas pain & common sense

        • publishes 47 page pamphlet

        • sathing critique on the british

        • also states that colonies should seperate

      • responsible for getting more people to join the revolution than enything else

      • The Lee Resolution

        • ought to be free and independent states

        • need someon to draft declaration of independant

      • Thomas efferson writes declaration of independance

        • borrows a lot from enlightenment writers

• Dividing Power & Polotics

  • the result of the war creates 13 new states

  • each state has their own constitution and state govornment

  • put together a confederation

    • loose allience of states

    • articles of confederation

  • states have mosst of the political power and withold it from the national govornment

  • Articles of Confederation

    • a legislature

  • national govonrment not given majority power because they just escaped a monarchy that had a strong central govornment

  • natioal govornment:

    • coudln’t raise or levy taxes

    • couldn’t draft taxes

    • no REGULATION OF TAXES

    • no exective branch

    • no court system

    • in order for a law to be passed, it required 9/13 votes

    • in order to change/ammend the articles, it required all 13 votes

  • Powers given to government:

    • make/establish treaties with other governments

    • raise an army

    • declare war

    • could create postal offices

• Economic

  • debts

    • war costs money

    • govornment couldn’t raise taxes

    • government asked and borrowed money from states

  • inflation

    • dramatic amounts as govonrment tries to escapte debt

  • states pass taxes to try and cover debt

  • Shays’s Rebellion

    • farmer and war veteran in Massachusetts

    • property tax passed which affects farmers

    • farmers and local militia march on state courthouse

    • fight between editors and debters

  • after this, some americans five up on popular government and wanted King of Prussia to come and be their King

  • states raised taxes to clear debt which in trn made citizens debters

  • national government created IOUs for states to recieve money

  • Bond speculators

    • buy IOUs from soldiers, states, etc. for 1.2 the value

    • beleive that bonds will eventually increase in value

  • out of all states, Virginia had the worst debt

• Representation

  • in congress or articles, each state had one vote

    • could send multiple people

• Diplomatic

  • has no army or navy to handel affairs around the world

  • states taxing each other

  • British signed peace treaty but British won’t leave America

  • British restricts trade

  • Spain controlls mississippi river

• Western Lands

  • does land belong to states or national government

  • states will break into war

  • states give up Northwestern region to government

  • land ordiances

    • government broke it up to squares and sold it

      • first form of revenue

      • sets up policy - 60,000 population limit

        • can have government and apply for statehood

        • no slavery in new land

• Slavery

  • some states like Vermont, new england, and massachusets ban slavery

  • middle states say that children of slaves will be free at 28 years old

  • southern states still hold on to slavery

  • manumission laws

    • owners can declar slaves to be free