Colonial Society on the Eve of Revolution

Political make up

Mingling races

Structure of Society

Economy, Trade, and Production

Roles in Society

Political make up• 1700= 300,000 (20,000 were black)• 1775= 2.5 million (1/2 million were black)• Immigrants= 400,000• Forced immigrants same• Doubled every 25 years• Population growth changed population

balance– 1700= Colonists to English subjects ratio 1:20– 1775= 1:3

Political make up

VAMAPANCMD

90 % Lived in rural areas

Mingling races

• PA: Germans (Deutsch) = 6% 150,000 by 1775

• Fleeing religious restriction and persecution, economic oppression and war

• Adopted Lutheran and other protestant faiths – Street signs in German and English– Clung to language and customs

Mingling races

• PA, NC, SC: Scots-Irish= 7% 175,000 by 1775• Scotish Lowlanders experienced turbulence,

transplanted to N Ireland= no prosperity• Scotish Presbetarians lashed with Irish-

Catholics: Resentment • English Government imposed economic

restrictions on linens and woolen exports• Pugnacious, individualistic• Most land taken by Germans

– “great wagon road” – Superb frontiersmen

Mingling races

• 5% were multiple nationalities • French Hugenouts, Welsh, Dutch, Swededs,

Jews, Irish, Swiss, Scotish Highlanders• Had little loyalty to the crown• Largest non-English group= Africans-20% in

1775– Heavily concentrated in the South

• Paxton Boys 1764: protested Quaker oligarchy’s lenient policy toward Natives

• Regulator Movement in NC: nasty insurrection vs. England’s dominance of colonial affairs

Structure of Society:Protesting Social Structure

• NE: Puritans (originally) least diverse• Middle Colonies: later immigrants caused

diversity• “What is this new American, this new man?”

– “Praying towns”– Blurred boundaries– Shiny new equality and opportunity (except slavery)– No divided social class

• Of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence: – 18 non-English, 8 not born in the colonies

Structure of Society“What then is this American, the new man?”

• A new place for the footloose former indentured servant

• Indentured servants eventually become prosperous

• “Jayle birds” • Oppressed slaves • Fear of black rebellion

Structure of SocietySocial Stratification

• Clergy• Physicians

• Fishing, whaling, shipbuilding• Land speculation • “Kill devil” rum• Fur trade• Iron forges • Etc

Roles in Society

Economy, Trade, and Production

• Population Increase caused dependence on British production

• Britain’s slow population growth caused saturation point

• Transportation of goods along the road

Colonial Society on the Eve of the Revolution

Education, Colonial Colleges as a Result

Freedoms and Rights Addressed

Establishing colonial governments

• 1730’s and 1740’s • Exploded like fire in prairie grass• Liberal ideas of enlightened thinking• Age of Reason• Spiritual conversion, not necessary for

membership

Great Awakening

• Mainly Anglican and Congregational• Anglican: official faiths in GA, NC, SC,

VA, MD, and part of NY – Attempted elsewhere unsuccessfully– Accepted more socially– Clergy needed training

• Congregational: New England Colonies (except RI)

• Crown supported churches through taxes

Religious Denominations

Road to the American Revolution 1754-1775 Relationship with Britain The French and Indian War The Imperial Crisis and Resistance to

Britain Philosophy of the American Revolution

WWhat ways did the French and Indian War alter the political, economic, and ideological between Britain and its American colonies?

French & Indian War

Broader SignificanceChanged ForeverBalance of power in No. AmericaRelationship between Indians & EuropeansRelationships between Britain & No. American colonies

Causes History of Anglo-French conflicts

North America, the British and the French

Vie for Power over the Ohio River Valley

French Forts in Ohio Valley stop colonists from moving west.

Initially – alliances with Native American does tip the scales in favor of the French

1756 War is Declared!

1754 - ClashOhio River Valley

British French

Fort NecessityFort Duquesne

G. WashingtonDelaware & Shawnee

The Albany CongressJune 19 – July 11 – Daily meetings Seven Colonies –

David Lithgow, Painting – Mural. 1939

Albany Plan (1754)Reps. from N.E., NY, PA (Franklin), MD Albany Plan (Franklin)Iroquois threatened switch sidesColonial legislatures

Map of Crucial Battles

Key Events & Battles

Impact of the War

Tensions over:Organization & Discipline

Methods of fighting

Financing the War

Resulting British attitudes toward colonists

Resulting colonial attitudes toward British government

Effect on inter-colonial relationships?

British and colonial attitudes

Treaty of Paris 17631. France transferred Canada

& all land east of Mississippi River (Ohio Valley) to Britain

2. France ceded New Orleans & all claims west of Mississippi River to Spain (Spain cedes Florida to Britain

3. France granted some of Caribbean Islands & all interests in India to Britain

CrisisImperial Crisis1763-1775

Results of the War

Greatly larger colonial empire in No. America

Huge War Debt

Resentment toward colonists (military & financial role in war)

Reorganization of American Empire

George III (ruled 1760-1820)

Proclamation of 1763

All lands west of the Appalachians reserved for Indians

British Reason:• To stop conflict

between the Colonists and the Indians and save them $$$$

Colonial Reaction:• Frustrated and

thought this was an attempt to limit freedom

Discussion Question #1

Currency Act 1764Colonist forbidden to make

paper money legal tender

British Reason:• British merchants worried

about the loss of value of Virginia’s paper money. All taxes were to be paid in specie

Colonial Reaction:• Specie would leave the

colonies to pay the troops (form of taxes). Colonists would be left without money. They resorted to the barter system to bypass the law

Discussion Question #9

Sugar Act 1764Decreased duty on imported molasses in

an attempt to stop bribes; put new taxes on indigo, sugar, coffee, wine and textiles.

Violators tried in admiralty courts not local courts

British Reason:• Raise revenue “for defraying the

expenses of defending, protecting, and securing” -Grenville

Colonial Reaction:• FURIOUS! How dare they?

Discussion Question #7

Quartering Act 1765Colonists must supply British troops with

living quarters, bedding, food, beer, cider and rum.

British Reason:• Most soldiers quartered in public

buildings, but when away from cities would need to be in private homes.

Colonial Reaction:• Most refused to comply

Discussion Question #10

Stamp Act 1765

Required stamp tax on all legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, playing cards, dice, and all other printed material.

Violators tried by Admiralty Courts.

British Reason:• To raise revenueColonial Reaction:• Colonists burned tax

collectors in effigy and tarred and feathered them

Discussion Question #11

1770 Repeal of the Townshend Acts

Lord North, first lord of the Treasury urges Parliament to repeal all taxes except tax on tea

Colonial Reaction:• Colonists were still

resentful.• The tea tax was a

slap in the face

The Gaspee Incident (1772)• The Gaspee was a British Royal Navy ship assigned

to customs duty.• would regularly stop merchant ships to examine

their cargo looking for illegal goods• The Gaspee ran aground in Narragansett Bay, near

Providence. • a group of men boarded the Gaspee and set the ship

on fire.• No one came forward, and no one was ever charged

for the offence.

British Reaction:• The British began to directly pay the governors'

salary, rather than being paid by the colonies.

Colonial Reaction:• The colonies saw this as another step to put them

under British control, and to eliminate their freedoms.

The Boston Massacre (March 5,1770)

1770 Boston “Massacre”March 5, 1770 a group of colonists were

taunting and throwing snowballs at British soldiers. Shots were fired and 5 were killed, 6 wounded.

Colonial Reaction:• Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty fueled

the propaganda machine and proclaimed this a “Massacre”. The colonists were minding their own business and were fired upon. However the truth is much different

Discussion Question #22

The Gaspee Incident (1772)

Providence, RI coast

Committees of Correspondence

Purpose warn neighboring colonies about incidents with Br.

broaden the resistance movement.

Tea Act (1773)8 British East India Co.:

Monopoly on Br. tea imports.

Many members of Parl. held shares.

Permitted the Co. to sell tea directly to cols. without col. middlemen (cheaper tea!)

8 North expected the cols. to eagerly choose the cheaper tea.

Boston Tea Party (1773)

1773 Boston Tea Party•Colonists dressed as Indians,

boarded 3 ships in Boston Harbor and dumped the tea.

•This was the colonists reaction to the order that ships could not leave until the “cheap” tea was unloaded.

•Ever wonder why a country of “Englishmen” would become a country of coffee drinkers?

The Suffolk Resolves 17741. Denounced Intolerable Acts and ignored

punitive actions on Massachusetts after the Boston Tea Party

2. Encouraged making their own militia3. Encouraged the boycott of British goods4. Delivered to the First Continental Congress by

Paul Revere5. For the first time, ‘Americans must prepare for

war’, first time that three-letter word was used6. The militancy in Massachusetts in arming

citizen-soldiers against the British is solidified7. Massachusetts made an attempt at a militia,

which fought at Lexington and Concord

Hint: took up where the Virginia Resolves left off after the Stamp Act.

The Coercive or IntolerableActs (1774)

Lord North

1. Port Bill

2. Government Act

4. Administration of Justice Act

3. New Quartering Act

The Coercive or IntolerableActs (1774)

Lord North

1. Boston harbor closed until tea paid for2. Massachusetts constitution changed increasing governor’s power and banning town meetings

4. Administration of Justice Act – British soldiers and government officials will be tried in Britain

3. New Quartering Act – all troops will be quartered in town

The Quebec Act (1774)

America Secedes from the Empire• 1774- First Continental Congress

• 1775- Lexington and Concord• May 10, 1775- Second Continental Congress• May, 1775- Ticonderoga• June 17, 1775- Battle of Bunker Hill• July 1775- Olive Branch Petition• August, 1775- King formally proclaims colonists

are in rebellion and skirmishes are considered treasonous. Hessians are hired as mercenaries

• December 31, 1775- Assault on Quebec• January, 1776- British set fire to Norfolk, VA• March, 1776- British forced to evacuate Boston

Steps to Declaration of Independence• 1776- Common Sense

• June 7, 1776- Resolution made by Richard Henry Lee

• July 4th, 1776- DoI Approved by Congress

First Continental Congress (1774)55 delegates from 12

coloniesAgenda How to

respond to the Coercive Acts & the Quebec Act?

1 vote per colony represented.

The British Are Coming . . .

Paul Revere & William Dawes make their midnight ride to warn the

Minutemen of approaching British soldiers.

The Shot Heard ’Round the World!

Lexington & Concord – April 18,1775

The Second Continental

Congress(1775)

Olive Branch Petition

Thomas Paine: Common Sense

1776

1776

Declaration of Independence

(1776)

Declaration of IndependenceSharply Separates

Loyalists and Patriots

Independence Hall

New National Symbols

Britain Americans

Advantages ? ?

Disadvantages ? ?

On the Eve of the Revolution ?

Loyalist

Strongholds

Washington’s Headaches

Only 1/3 of the colonists were in favor of a war for independence [the other third were Loyalists, and the final third were neutral].

State/colony loyalties.

Congress couldn’t tax to raise money for the Continental Army.

Poor training [until the arrival of Baron von Steuben.

Military Strategies

Attrition [the Brits had a long supply line].

Guerilla tactics [fight an insurgent war you don’t have to win a battle, just wear the British down]

Make an alliance with one of Britain’s enemies.

The American

s

The British

Break the colonies in half by getting between the No. & the So.

Blockade the ports to prevent the flow of goods and supplies from an ally.

“Divide and Conquer” use the Loyalists.

Phase I: The Northern Campaign[1775-1776]

Bunker Hill (June, 1775)

The British suffered over 40% casualties.

Phase II:

NY & PA[1777-1778]

New York City in Flames(1776)

Saratoga: “Turning Point” of the War?

A modern-day re-enactment

Phase III: The Southern Strategy [1780-1781]

Britain’s “Southern Strategy”

Britain thought that there were more Loyalists in the South.

Southern resources were more valuable/worth preserving.

The British win a number of small victories, but cannot pacify the countryside [similar to U. S. failures in Vietnam!]

Good US General:Nathanial Greene

The Battle of Yorktown (1781)

Count de Rochambeau

AdmiralDe Grasse

Cornwallis’ Surrender at Yorktown:

Painted by John Trumbull, 1797

“The World Turned Upside Down!”

North America After theTreaty of Paris, 1783

Federalists vs.

Anti-FederalistsEssential Questions:

1) What was the controversy surrounding the new Constitution?

2) Who were the Federalists and Anti-Federalists?

3) What were the Federalists Papers?4) How did the Federalist Papers

shape the debate surrounding ratification of the new Constitution?

1787• The Revolutionary War is

over• Now the question is how to

rule the country? • The state disagree about

what kind of government they want

• The framers disagree about what kind of government they want

• People are becoming frustrated and rebelling against current government

At the Constitutional Convention …

• Some framers thought the Constitution gave the government too much power

• They argued that states should have more power because they were closer to the people…what could a national government possibly know about state and city problems?

• Also, there was no Bill of Rights – nothing that said what people can and cannot do

• Those opposed set out to campaign against the Constitution, arguing that it would create a government with so much power, it would just be like having a king again.

Enter the Anti-Federalists

• The Federalists supported the Constitution as it was. After all, it was decided upon by representatives from each state

• The Constitution had a strong sense of CHECKS AND BALANCES, or a balance of power between the three branches of the national government and the local and state governments

• The Federalists wrote the “Federalist Papers” to encourage states to approve the Constitution

At the Constitutional Convention …

Enter the Federalists

Enter the “fight” • The Constitution needed 9 of 13 states to

approve it in order for it to become law• Both sides (the Federalists and the Anti-

Federalists) tried to convince people their side was correct

• After the great debate, the states finally ratified the Constitution …

• Only IF ….

Bill of Rightswas included.

The Federalistsdidn’t think it was really necessary …

The Anti- Federalistsinsisted on the Bill of Rights

Federalists agreed to add the Bill of Rights – keeping both sides happy

The rights would be added as amendments … meaning they were seen as “official changes, corrections, or additions”

The Bill of Rights were based upon the constitutions developed by the states

There were a total of ten amendments added .. And they became known as :

“The Bill of Rights”

W H O W A S R I G H T ?

1. W h i c h s i d e h a d t h e b e s t a r g u m e n t … t h e F e d e r a l i s t s o r t h e A n ti -F e d e r a l i s t s ?

2. E a c h s i d e p r e s e n t y o u r a r g u m e n t s

3. D o e s t h e C o n s ti t u ti o n r e a l l y n e e d a B i l l o f R i g h t s ?

4. W H Y o r W H Y N O T ?