Chapter FourThe Empire Under Strain

King George III

The Albany Plan of Union

The French and Indian War

Effects of the War

• --Gave unchallenged supremacy in North America

• --dominant naval power in the world• --American colonies no longer face the threat

of attacks from the French, the Spanish or Indian allies

The British View

• Low opinion of colonial military effort—poorly trained, disorderly rabble—refusing to contribute money or troops to the war effort.

The Colonial View

• Proud of their military performance• Confident of their own defense• Not impressed with the British effort—badly

suited for American terrain• Still very proud to be British

2 Big Problems for the King

• A huge area to maintain• A huge war debt• The End of Salutary Neglect

Proclamation of 1763

• To deal with the problem of maintaining a large empire and stabilizing the western frontier and prevent hostilities between colonists and Native American.

• Colonists reaction: anger and defiance

• The Proclamation was a first in a series of actions and reactions—

• British: each act justified as proper method of protection and sharing the cost of burden

• Colonists: each act threatened their liberties and long established practice of representative government

New Revenues and Regulations

• Sugar Act: placed duties on foreign sugar, lower price of molasses, stricter enforcement of the Navigation act and established vice admiralty courts.

• Quartering Act: required the colonists to provide food and living quarters for British soldiers

• The Stamp Act—required revenue stamps on most printed paper—legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets etc-- antagonized and unified the colonist the most.

• Why? Not a tax on trade for commerce sake—it was a tax to raise money without the consent of the colonial assemblies. First direct tax.

• Patrick Henry• The Stamp Act Congress• Sons and Daughters of Liberty• Boycotts• Repealed having never collected one cent

To what extent did changes in British policies toward the

American colonies after 1763cause the American Revolution?

The Townshend Acts

• Tax on tea, glass, and paper—provided the authority to search private homes for smuggled goods.

• Reaction –boycott—repeal of the acts

“No Taxation without Representation”

• John Dickinson: Letters of a Pennsylvania Farmer– stated that taxes were legal to regulate trade only, not to raise $$

• “virtual representation vs actual representation”

The Boston Massacre1770

The Tea Excitement

• The Tea Act—to save the East India Tea company from going bankrupt—actually lowered the price of tea—so what was the problem??

The Boston Tea Party1773

Reaction From England

• The Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts)• --closed the Boston Harbor• --Put in a royal governor• --trials in England• --expanded the Quartering act to all colonies

Cooperation and War

• New Sources of Authority emerged as royal authority in the colonies crumbled.

• --Sons of Liberty—vigilante action and boycotts

• --Committees of Correspondence-• First Continental congress 1774—endorsed

grievances, recommended colonies prepare militarily and agreed to meet again next year

Lexington and ConcordApril 18, 1775