The American Revolution

Unit OnePart Two

The American Revolution

Problems with the Stamp ActAdmiralty Courts

No juryBurden of proof—defendant

Finances occupying armyRadical Whigs? (Sniff sniff)

Legislation v. taxation“no taxation w/out representation”

Colonial legislatures“Virtual Representation”

Colonists Apply PressureStamp Act Congress of 1765

27 delegates/9 coloniesGrievances to the king

Eroded barriers between colonies

Non-Importation AgreementsBoycott—DIY ethic

PetitionsWomen—made homespun cloth

“Sons and Daughters of Liberty”Ransacked houses, confiscated

money, tarred and feathered

Repeal of the Stamp ActBureaucracy breaks down

British Agents resignBritish merchants and laborers hit hard

¼ exports, ½ shipping focused on coloniesEnglish want law repealed

Repealed in 1766Declaratory Act—British rule supreme

The Townshend Taxes: 1767Charles Townshend’s revenue scheme

Indirect tax on imported goodsGlass, paper, paint, lead, and tea.

Payable at portsTaxes would go to pay for British

Administration in coloniesLose check on royal governors

Boycotts less effectiveSmuggling—especially tea

Boston (1768)—two regiments of Redcoats

Repealed in 1770Tax on tea remainsLack of revenue

Murder in the ColoniesThe Battle of Golden Hill—NY

Labor grievances + competition “Liberty” poleViolence erupts—leaves one dead

Boston Massacre“Bloody Backs”

British presence resented Labor grievances + competition Taunting

05 March 1770Colonial crowd (60) harasses redcoats (10)

Snowballs, rocks, and swear wordsRedcoats open fire

Killed 5, wounded 6 Punishment—hand branding

Used as propaganda by colonistsPaul Revere

Committees of Correspondence Samuel Adams (1772)

Spread the spirit of resistance through lettersPropaganda

80 towns follow suitIntercolonial committees

Virginia—1773

The Tea ActRepeal of the Townshend Acts:

Does not include tea tax!The British East India Company

Approaching bankruptcyParliament wanted to salvage company

Tax revenueGranted monopoly in colonies

17 million lbs. of unsold tea—to the coloniesMade tea much cheaper despite the tea tax

Colonists cry foul!Baiting them to pay to protested tax.

Resistance Philadelphia and New York

Mass protesters sent ships homeAnnapolis

Burned vessel and cargoCharleston

Merchants refused to accept deliveryTea seized by officials

Boston (Tea Party)Thomas Hutchinson16 December 1773

100 Bostonians relieve vessels of 342 chests of tea

“The Massacre of American Liberty”The Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts): 1774

Response to destruction of propertyAimed at Boston, MA

Boston Port Act—closed the harborRestrictions on town meetingsBritish officers tried for crimes in BritainQuartering Act—soldiers in private homesMartial law

The Quebec Act (1774)Allowed French elements to retain

their traditions in Quebec:No trial by jury—assemblyRecognition of Catholicism

Response:Wide reaching suspicions (radical

whigs):No trial by juryNo representative gov’t.Expanded Quebec's bordersCatholic expansion

The First Continental Congress

Philadelphia: September-October, 1774 Consultative body

No consensusProduced papers

Declaration of RightsAppeals to:

Other British coloniesThe KingBritish citizens

The AssociationComplete boycott of British goods

Britain rejects all petitions!

…and Church Bells RangLexington and Concord

Paul RevereWarns colonists

Minutemen—Massachusetts militia Stockpiled muskets and powder at Concord

Lieutenant Colonel Francis SmithLeads 700 redcoats to seize munitionsApprehend Hancock and Adams

Confrontation at LexingtonEight colonists killed

ConcordMunitions gone!March to Boston—minutemen fire from behind rock walls

70 redcoats die

Lexington“The shot heard around the world”

The BritishAdvantages Disadvantages•Population•Wealth•Naval power•Professional army•Money for mercenaries• 30,000 Germans

•50,000 loyalists•Native alliance

•Irish problem•Looming French•Poor administration•American cousins•Whigs•Second rate generals•Soldiers were treated poorly•Food was horrible•“conquering” America•Geography• Supplies and orders

The PatriotsAdvantages Disadvantages•Outstanding leadership•Foreign aid• Outside leadership• Money• Troops

•Defensive war• Home turf

•Just cause

•Poor organization•Lacking in unity• Sectional differences

•Problems with government• Congress—debated more

than resolved issues•Money

Big PictureAs the struggle for colonial rights pressed on,

there still was not a clear consensus of what the goal of the struggle should be. As time passed however, the crown found itself less than conciliatory when it came to the colonists. With the erosion of the notion that a return to pre-1763 America was possible, the colonists embraced the conflict as a war for independence. The struggle that began at Lexington and Concord would ultimately end in the birth of a nation.

The Second Continental Congress10 May 1775—Philadelphia

No consensus on independence Adopted measures to raise money for defense:

Army and NavyNamed George Washington General of Army

Not a military geniusWas a moral force—trust Aristocrat—not an opportunistQuelled sectional tensions

Bunker HillEthan Allen and Benedict Arnold (Raj Patel)

Ticonderoga and Crown PointGun powder

Bunker Hill (Breed’s Hill)—July 17753000 Brits v 1500 PatsBritish launch frontal assault Colonists inflict heavy casualties

1,000 British casualties450 Patriot casualties

Colonists retreatRun out of ammo