The Road to Independence

The Mercantilist System

• Assumed:– Colonies exist only for the benefit of the mother

country– British colonies beneficial• Ensured naval supremacy by providing ships, ships’

stores, sailors, and trade• Provided raw materials: tobacco, indigo, lumber, fish, etc.• Provided a large consumer market for British goods• Kept gold and silver in the empire by making Britain self-

sufficient

Navigation Laws (Acts)

• Purpose was to enforce mercantilist system• They ensured:– that restricted commerce to and from colonies to British or

American vessels only– That certain “enumerated” articles like tobacco can’t be

shipped to any other foreign market except England, despite higher prices in foreign markets

– All European goods going to America had to go through England first

– No manufacturing encouraged in colonies and certain products were prohibited from exportation

Negative Impact of Mercanilism• Colonial manufacturing hindered• Southern colonies suffered due to “enumeration”• New England resented favorable British policies toward

Southern colonies (who produced tobacco, sugar, and rice• Writs of Assistance

– Search warrants by British customs officers harassed colonial shipping

– Aimed to reduce colonial smuggling – 1761, young Boston lawyer James Otis demands repeal of acts

• Parliament refuses, but case becomes famous• Otis later penned phrase: ‘no taxation without representation’

Reasons for Colonial Alienation

• End of “salutary neglect• King George III• Proclamation of 1763• Currency Act (1764) – restriction on colonial

printing of money; taxes to be paid with specie only• Sugar Act, 1764 – aimed to replace earlier Molasses

Act and was first act ever passed specifically that raised revenue for the crown

• Quartering Act, 1765 – certain colonies required to provide food and quarters for British troops

Three Great Crises• Three great crises led to American Revolution: Stamp Act,

Townshend Acts, and Tea Act• Stamp Act, 1765: perhaps the single most important event

leading to revolution– Purpose was as a revenue-generator for Britain– Provisions:

• Official stamps on paper would serve as proof of payment• Tax applied to published materials and legal documents (pamphlets,

newspapers, diplomas, marriage/death certificates, mortgages, insurance policies, liquor licenses, and playing cards)

• Sugar/Stamp Act tried offenders in admiralty courts where juries not allowed

• British viewed this as fair because similar tax had been in effect for 50 years PLUS colonies should contribute toward the expense of their defense

Reactions

• VA Resolves (led by Patrick Henry)– VA leaders believed that Stamp Act attacked

colonists’ rights as Englishmen– 5 of Henry’s 7 resolutions adopted by House of

Burgesses including non-importation– Claimed that VA could only be taxed by Virginians

(“no taxation without representation”)– Assemblies of 8 other colonies passed resolutions

similar to that of VA

“Virtual Representation”

• Colonial views distinguished between “legislation” and “taxation”– Legislation, “external taxes,” the right of Parliament

regarding the empire; e.g. customs duties (tariffs)– Taxation, “internal taxes,” exclusive right of local

representational government• Many believed British taxation was robbery; attacking

the sacred rights of property• British held that the colonies WERE represented; that

even those who did not vote had their needs attended (Virtual Representation)

Stamp Act Congress (1765)• MA invited colonies who adopted VA Resolves to meet• 27 delegates from 9 colonies drew up a statement of their

rights and grievances and demanded that the king and Parliament rescind the Stamp Act

• Largely ignored in Britain; little consequence in the colonies• Significance: brought together representatives from

different and rival colonies and set precedent for future resistance to British rule (unity)

• Non-importation agreements against British goods (boycott)

Sons of Liberty • Led by Samuel Adams• group who violently enforced non-importation agreements

against violators (tarring and feathering was one painful tactic)

• Houses of pro-British officials vandalized, theft occurred, and the warehouse where stamps were stored was vandalized

• All stamp agents were forced to resign – none risked selling them

• Stamp Act was repealed in 1766 but issued Declaratory Act at the same time (partly to save face – it claimed that Parliament had the right to tax colonies in the future)

• Sugar Tax also lowered significantly

Townshend Acts (1767)

• Charles Townsend took control of Parliament and sought to punish colonies for the Stamp Act uprising

• Provisions: small import duty on glass, white lead, paper, paint, silk and tea

• Revenues gained from taxes used to pay the salaries of royal governors and judges

• Established a commission and vice-admiralty courts for enforcement– Royal judges would be allowed to grant “writs of

assistance” in private homes, shops or warehouses

Colonial reaction• Colonies angrily interpreted the act as an inappropriate

tax to raise revenue• John Dickinson, Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania

– Challenged distinction between “internal” and “external” taxes– Denied right to levy taxes for purpose of revenue– Prompted the Massachusetts Circular Letter

• MA supported Dickinson’s arguments and called for other colonies to pass petitions calling for Parliament to repeal the acts

• In response, British sent troops to Boston and threatened to dissolve MA legislature if letter not retracted

• Some colonies reenacted the boycott (Brit exports fall 40% in a few months)

• Several colonial legislatures dissolve as they supported MA: MD, VA, DE, SC

Boston Massacre• (peaceful) arrival of troops in Boston aroused American

resistance; colonials afraid of standing armies and believed Britain sought to suppress colonial liberties

• March 5, 1770: British soldiers (having been provoked) fired on a crowd

• 11 civilians are killed or wounded, including mulatto merchant seaman Crispus Attucks (“first casualty of the revolution”) who was allegedly leader of the unruly mob

• Colonial propaganda grossly exaggerated the event• The act is repealed in 1770, though a three-cent tax on tea

remained to demonstrate Parliament’s right to tax• Half the troops in Boston were removed

Committees of Correspondence

• Some colonial discontent continued as the British redoubled efforts to enforce Navigation Laws

• Sam Adams used propaganda to whip up colonial resentment

• Adams organized local committees of correspondence in MA whose function it was to spread propaganda and info by interchanging letters to keep opposition alive

• These intercolonial groups evolved directly into the first American congresses

Tea Act Crisis and First Continental Congress

• Brits grant British East India Tea Company a monopoly on American tea trade because it is nearly bankrupt

• Tea prices would be cheaper (even with tax), but Americans reacted angrily and saw Tea Act as a way to trick colonies into accepting the tax by lowering tea prices

• Boston Tea Party (12/16/1773): Sons of Liberty, dressed as Native Americans, boarded three ships, smashed 342 chests open, and dumped tea into harbor

Tea Act crisis, continued• “Intolerable Acts” (Coercive Acts), 1774: Parliament passes

the Coercive Acts to punish Boston• Boston Port Act: harbor remained closed until damages

were paid and law and order restored• MA charter is revoked and crown forbade town meetings

(except for election of town officials)• Enforcing officials who killed colonists could now be tried in

England instead of the colonies (thereby avoiding colonial justice)

• Quartering Act: provided for the quartering of troops once again in Boston

Quebec Act, 1774• Coincidentally accompanied Coercive Acts but was NOT

intended to punish colonies• French in Canada were guaranteed right to practice

Catholicism and Quebec territory extended down to OH River, next to NY and PA

• French allowed to keep old customs and institutions which did not include representative assemblies or trial by jury

• Colonial reaction: viewed this act as attempt to create a new French Canadian and Amerindian threat to OH Valley region and anti-Catholic sentiment roused

First Continental Congress, 1774

• In response to “Intolerable” acts, committees of correspondence urged colonies to act quickly

• Bostonians agreed to end all trade with Britain and urged others to join

• First Continental Congress deliberated fall of 1774– 12 of 13 colonies present (not GA)– Delegates included Sam Adams, Thomas Jefferson,

George Washington, Patrick Henry

FCC, 1774• Denounced Intolerable Acts • Urged colonies to organize militia for defensive purposes• Called on colonies to suspend all trade with rest of British

empire• Urged citizens to avoid paying taxes• Complete boycott of British goods• Petition (Declaration and Resolves) made to air grievances,

reiterate allegiance to King, and to demand right to assemble in order to seek redress

• King and Parliament do not respond, as this would have legitimized Congress and recognized its right as a legislative body

Lexington and Concord

• “Shot Heard Round the World” • Parliament now orders Gen. Gage (MA gov.) to arrest

leaders of rebellion and prepare for military action• April 1775, 700 British redcoats sent secretly to nearby

Lexington and Concord to seize gunpowder and arrest S. Adams and J. Hancock; Paul Revere and William Dawes warn the militia

• The battle begins when Minutemen refuse to disperse and shots are exchanged – later, at Concord, the British are forced to retreat

British Strengths and Weaknesses

• Strengths:– Population favored GB (7.5 million v 2.5 million colonials)– Superior monetary advantage and best navy in world– 20K slaves in Carolinas and GA joined Brits (slaves

promised freedom and many fled with Brits post-war)– Many Amerindians sided with Brits and attacked along

the frontier (saw Proc. Of 1763 as sole attempt to stem tide of settlement)

– Brits possess a 50K professional army and hired additional 30K “Hessians” as mercenaries

British Weaknesses• Enormous distance from GB to colonies• America too large for GB’s army to effectively occupy;

population too dispersed• Brit generals in America were poor leaders• Many British troops did not want to kill Americans, who they

saw as their countrymen• Provisions for army are poor• Americans would win with just a tie, whereas Britain would

have to win outright• France was waiting for an opportunity to exact revenge• British gov’t was ineffective and internal struggle between

Whigs (more liberal) and conservative Tories weakened support

American Strengths

• Outstanding leadership (e.g. George Washington as military leader and Ben Franklin, diplomat)

• Economic aid from France at outset, later economic aid is decisive

• Defensive military tactics worked• Agriculturally self-sustaining• Colonials are good marksmen, better than Brits• Moral advantage from belief in a just cause

American Weaknesses• Badly organized for war and lacked real unity

from the beginning (Continental Congress was weak and fought entire war without producing constitution)

• Jealousy among colonies who each regarded themselves as sovereign and resisted Congressional weak power to lead

• Economic difficulties (little specie; little to pay soldiers; little money circulation)

• Militia unreliable and under-armed

Second Continental Congress

• Meets on May 10, 1775• All 13 colonies present, delegates still not interested

in independence but rather in redress of grievances• Most significant act was to go to war and to select G.

Washington as head of Continental Army• Drafted 2nd set of appeals to King and Brits to resolve

issues as well as the last-ditch effort to salvage relationship, Olive Branch Petition

• King refuses to acknowledge either

Declaration of Independence

• Most citizens did not want independence and were proud to be British citizens

• But hiring of Hessians, burning of Falmouth and Norfolk by British, as well as promising slaves freedom alienates colonials

• Thomas Paine’s Common Sense (1776) – King was “royal brute”– Argued that nowhere else in universe did a smaller body

control a larger one – why should tiny Britain control huge North America?

Declaration of Independence

• June 7, 1776, Philadelphia Congress: Richard Henry Lee proposed independence

• Motion adopted on July 2, 1776• Congress appointed a Committee on

Independence to prepare an appropriate statement shortly after Lee’s appeal – they choose T. Jefferson

• Declaration of Independence formally approved on July 4, 1776

Declaration of Independence

• 3 major parts: preamble, list of grievances and formal declaration of independence

• Preamble: states rights of colonists to break away if natural rights were violated: life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness (property)

• List of 27 grievances of the colonies: charges King with imposing taxes without consent, eliminating trial by jury, military dictatorship, maintaining standing armies in peacetime, cutting off trade, burning towns, hiring mercenaries, and inciting Amerindian violence

• Formal declaration: officially broke ties with England and United States now officially an independent country

Patriots and Loyalists

• John Adams claimed that 1/3 of colonists were Patriot, 1/3 were Loyalists, and 1/3 were neutral

• Loyalists: wanted to return to colonial rule and were mostly conservative, educated, and wealthy and especially feared “mob rule”; 80K flee colonies and their confiscated holdings are sold to help finance war

• Patriots: sometimes called “whigs” (after liberal British party) and were mostly rebels who fought both soldiers and Loyalists, mostly found in New England

Articles of Confederation (1777)

• Drafted by John Dickinson and set up by 2nd Continental Congress in order to create a lasting gov’t

• Did not go into effect until 1781 and was first constitution in U.S. history and lasted until 1789 when the Constitution was formally adopted

• Congress had power to: conduct war, handle foreign relations and secure loans as well as borrow money

• Congress DID NOT have power to: regulate trade, conscript troops, levy taxes

Peace• British ready to come to terms after both losing big in their

other conflicts abroad and when Tories are replaced by more sympathetic Whigs

• Treaty of Paris, 1783: Britain formally recognizes US independence– Grants US huge boundaries stretching to MS River in the west, the

Great Lakes in the north, and to Spanish FL in the south– Americans concede that Loyalists will not be further prosecuted,

that Congress will consider returning confiscated Loyalist holdings and that American states are bound to pay back debts to British creditors

– America does not comply with many of these concessions and it later becomes partial cause of War of 1812

– America alone gains from this war: France becomes bankrupt, Britain loses territory and face, Spain gains nothing

American Society During the War• Over 250K American soldiers fought: 10% died, the largest

% of any American war in history• War economy: all of society became involved in war effort• Poorest Americans do most of the fighting• African Americans fought on both sides of conflict• Natives fought on both sides as well• Women managed farms and businesses while men

served; many traveled with armies as laundresses, nurses and cooks; women were more politically active and expressed thoughts more freely

Memory Aid for Events Leading up to Revolution

• Pretty (Proc. Of 1763)• Silly (Stamp Act, 1765)• Tammy (Townshend Acts, 1767)• Baked (Boston Massacre, 1770)• Tea (Tea Act, 1773)• Cookies (Committees of Correspondence)• Inside (Intolerable Acts, 1774)• Freshly (First Continental Congress)• Layered (Lexington and Concord)• Spicy (Second Continental Congress)• Dough (Declaration of Independence)