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HIST 3480: The History of NYC THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA A view of "Representation du Feu terrible a Nouvelle Yorck." [The terrible fire in New York.]. This print purportedly shows the burning of New York as the British moved in behind the retreating Americans on September 19, 1776.

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THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA 2 KEY EVENTS OF THE PRE-REVOLUTIONARY ERA 1730s City slips into severe economic depression 1732 First theater opens in Manhattan 1735 Libel trial of John Peter Zenger 1740 Open-air religious meeting held by George Whitefield attracts 8,000 in NYC 1741 Negro Plot and trial presided over by Daniel Horsmanden 1754 Founding of Kings College (later Columbia) 1754 - 1763 French and Indian War/Seven Years War 1761 George III takes the throne. 1763 - Treaty of Paris concluded, greatly strengthening British presence in North America and globally

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THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA 3 THE PRE-REVOLUTIONARY ERA End of the Seven Years War: The New York economy was booming during the war years, but it slid into a terrible depression after the conclusion of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the worst since the 1730s; competition for working- class jobs became harsh and poor relief expenditures greatly burdened the City Corporation. Post-War Immigration: About 137,000 Europeans came to the thirteen colonies between 1760 and 1775, with 55,000 from Ireland. Disaffected British craftsmen and the Irish brought their antipathy toward the Crown with them.

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THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA 4 KEY EVENTS OF THE PRE-REVOLUTIONARY ERA 1764 Sugar Act imposed on colonies: brought stricter enforcement against smuggling, especially the ignored 1733 Molasses Act. 1765 The Stamp Act passed by Parliament; causes great consternation among colonists. 1765 A branch of the Sons of Liberty created in Manhattan: Isaac Sears, Alexander McDougall, and John Lamb are among the founders. Oct. 1765: Stamp Act Congress meets in New Yorks City Hall. 1766 Stamp Act repealed, but Parliament asserts its right to tax the colonies with the Declaratory Act. 1767 Townshend Acts imposed 1770: Battle of Golden Hill Sons of Liberty scuffle with British soldiers over a liberty poll erected in what is now City Hall Park. 1773 Tea Act imposed May 1774 Committee of Fifty-One formed in New York; responds to Intolerable Acts shutting down the Port of Boston by advocating inter-colonial meeting; First Continental Congress meets late summer in Philadelphia.

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THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA 5 THE PRE-REVOLUTIONARY ERA The role of taxation and Parliaments repressive legislation in firing up revolutionary fervor is well known. But how did the issue of religion fan the flames in the late 1760s and early 1770s in New York according to Burrows and Wallace? What do they mean by religious orthodoxy versus denominationalism? What was the Stamp Act and why was it so offensive? What tactics were used to protest it? What was the longer-term significance of these protests? The Stamp Act was repealed I 1766 to much celebration; the Sons of Liberty even temporarily disbanded when the news came. The Townshend Acts passed in 1767 were designed to replace that loss revenue in a way that would be less obnoxious to the colonists. Why did they fail on this score? What was the non-importation agreement and the Committee of Inspection? What was the Battle of Golden Hill that took place on Jan. 19, 1770? What was its larger significance? And why was tension between British soldiers and the citys working classes so high?

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THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA 6 Teapot made in England in 1766 for American market

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THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA 7 THE PRE-REVOLUTIONARY ERA Why were waterfront workers, mechanicks, and other craftsmen so important to the patriotic movement? When most of the Townshend Acts were repealed in 1770, the one tax that was left in place was on tea. What was the Tea Act of 1773 and what was the patriot response to it in New York? Why did it annoy the colonists so much? What were the Coercive Acts or Intolerable Acts of 1774? What effect did they have on New York? How did they energize the patriot movement? What was the Committee of Fifty-One formed in 1774? What was the key debate about its composition? How did it choose delegates to attend the convention in Philadelphia in September 1774? What did the conventions creation of the Continental Association entail in October 1774? What did homespun mean? What was its significance? Why do you think that loyalists were a relatively small percent of the population by 1773 or 1774 (some estimates say 15 percent)?

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THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA 8 THE PRE-REVOLUTIONARY ERA Why do you think that loyalists were a relatively small percent of the population by 1773 or 1774 (some estimates say 15 percent)? Why were Kings, Queens, and Richmond counties relatively cool to the patriot cause? James Rivingtons New-York Gazetteer was the single most important loyalist journal during this period. What were his and other Tories main arguments for rejecting revolution?

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THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA 9 REVOLUTIONARY NEW YORK Late April 1775 News of Lexington and Concord leads to the radical Committee of One-Hundred seizing power of the city on May 1 May 1775 Provisional Congress meets in New York and agrees to muster an army; but loyalist sentiment still strong among the citys conservative merchants. Governor Tryon evacuates troops to New York Harbor to avoid violence. Summer of 1775 Attempts at reconciliation made as both sides meet on Staten Island, but dont lead anywhere. Jan. 1776 Loyalists try to seize control but fail; city elections on Feb. 1 drives Loyalists from power. Loyalists begin to flee the city. March 1776 British forces evacuate from Boston to Canada; George Washington arrives in April and begins preparing to defend the city.

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THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA 10 REVOLUTIONARY NEW YORK July 2, 1776 Lord William Howes massive army lands (roughly 20,000) on Staten Island. July 9, 1776 Washington has the Declaration of Independence read to the troops; statue of King George III is pulled down. Aug. 22, 1776 Lord Howes army lands near roughly near what is now Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn Aug. 26, 1776 - Battle of Long Island commences as Howes forces advance north to face a far smaller contingent of Continental Army troops. Devastating loss for the patriots: 2,000 troops loss. But Howe does not press his advantage and allows Washington and the remnants of his army to escape across the East River by Aug. 30. Sept. 15, 1776 British troops land in Manhattan and start pushing patriot forces north, through northern Manhattan and into Westchester. New York becomes British headquarters for the rest of the war.

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THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA 12 The Prison Hulks: With the jails in the city full, British forces began keeping patriot prisoners in the hulks of old ships anchored in Wallabout Bay (the body of water next to the site of the Brooklyn Navy Yard). Mass Deaths: Roughly 11,000 patriot soldiers and prisoners died of diseases like smallpox, yellow fever, and dysentery. H.M.S. Jersey, known as Hell by those who were imprisoned on it. Monument to Prison Ship Martyrs in Fort Green Park

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THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA 13 Revolutionary soldier, poet, and sea captain Philip Freneau (1752-1832) wrote the following lines about his experience: Conveyed to York we found, at length, too late, That Death was better than the prisoner's fate There doomed to famine, shackles, and despair, Condemned to breathe a foul, infected air, In sickly hulks, devoted while we lay,-- Successive funerals gloomed each dismal day The various horrors of these hulks to tell-- These prison ships where Pain and Penance dwell, Where Death in ten-fold vengeance holds his reign, And injured ghosts, yet unavenged, complain: This be my task--ungenerous Britons, you Conspire to murder whom you can't subdue.