Download Chapter 7

Chapter 7
“The Road to Revolution”
Roots of the Revolution




The American
Revolution began when
the first colonists set
foot on America.
Distance Weakens
authority; great
distance weakens
authority greatly.
Sailing across the
Atlantic in took 6 to 8
weeks
Colonists felt physically
and spiritually
separated from Europe.
1607 First Voyage
. to Jamestown
The Mercantile Theory




A country’s economic wealth could be measured
by the amount of gold or silver in its treasury.
To amass gold and silver, a country had to
export more than it imported.
If the mother country lacked natural resources,
she must colonize in order to get them.
Colonies could supply natural resources and
provide a guaranteed market for exports
Navigation Acts




Passed to help enforce mercantilism
The Navigation Laws restricted
commerce to and from the colonies to
English vessels.
European goods consigned to America
had to land first in England, where
custom duties could be collected.
Gold and silver was constantly draining
out of America because they had no
currency
The Merits of Mercantilism





London Paid liberal bounties to those colonials
who produced ships’ parts and ships’ stores.
Tobacco planters could only ship to Britain but
they maintained a strong monopoly.
Enjoyed rights of an Englishman and unusual
opportunities of self-government.
They were protected by the strongest army and
navy in the world
Because of salutary neglect the Navigation Acts
were rarely enforced.
The Menace of Mercantilism
Britain began to enforce its mercantilist
policies vigorously after 1763. (end of
salutary neglect)
 Americans couldn’t buy, sell, ship, or
manufacture under the favorable
conditions to them.
 Colonist felt their economic initiative was
stifled.

Sugar Act


First law ever passed
by Parliament for
raising tax revenue in
the colonies.
1764 Act that put a
three-cent tax on
foreign refined sugar
and increased taxes
on coffee, indigo, and
certain kinds of wine.
It banned importation
of rum and French
wines.
Stamp Act




After the French and Indian War Great Britain
had a huge debt.
Planned to ask the colonist to defray one-third
the cost of maintaining a garrison of 10,000
redcoats in America.
The Stamp Act mandated the use of stamped
paper of the affixing of stamps, certifying
payment of tax.
Stamps were required on bills of sale for about
50 trade items as well as on certain types of
commercial and legal documents.
George Grenville

He became notorious as First Lord
of the Treasury when he
established colonial trade
regulations and taxation policies
which alienated the colonists. He
set up these policies through two
sets of legislation, the Revenue
Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act of
1765, as well as supplementary
reinforcement of regulations to
increase the effectiveness of
revenue collection. His view of
colonial taxation was in line with
government discussions from
1762, which indicated Britain's
belief that the colonists should
bear part of the expense for the
defense forces that would need to
be maintained in the Americas
after the French and Indian War.
George Grenville’s
Program, 1763-1765
1. Sugar Act - 1764
2. Currency Act - 1764
3. Quartering Act - 1765
4. Stamp Act - 1765
This engraving, Resistance to the
Stamp Act, depicts an angry
Boston crowd burning a pile of
stamps in resistance of the Stamp
Act of 1765. It is noteworthy that
the artist included women and an
African-American among the
protesters.
Uproar Created from Stamp Act
1.
2.
3.
4.
Anger because it was an internal tax –
tax on goods made within America
“No taxation without representation.”
Creation of the Sons and Daughters of
Liberty
Stamp Act Congress
“No Taxation without Representation”


Americans held to the view of actual
representation, meaning that in order to be taxed
by Parliament, the Americans rightly should have
actual legislators seated and voting in London.
The British, on the other hand, supported the
concept of virtual representation, which was
based on the belief that a Member of Parliament
virtually represented every person in the empire.
Sons and Daughters of Liberty


Samuel Adams and Paul Revere headed the Sons
of Liberty in Massachusetts. The Sons there also
organized demonstrations, enforced boycotts and
occasionally resorted to violence to advance their
agenda. Similar groups were later formed in the
Carolinas, Virginia and Georgia.
Membership in the Sons was largely middle class
with more upper-class representation than lower.
Stamp Act Congress





27 delegates from 9 different colonies attended a
meeting in New York.
First official colonial unity
The delegates approved a 14-point Declaration of
Rights and Grievances, formulated largely by
John Dickinson of Pennsylvania.
Organized boycotts and non-importation
agreements and hurt the British so much that
they repealed the Stamp Act.
Passed the Declaratory Act in its place
Declaratory Act

an act passed by the British Parliament
after repeal of the Stamp Act. The act
stated that the king and Parliament had
the right and power to make laws that
were binding on the colonies "in all cases
whatsoever," even though American
colonists were unrepresented in
Parliament.
Quartering Act


In March 1765, Parliament passed the Quartering
Act to address the practical concerns of such a
troop deployment. Under the terms of this
legislation, each colonial assembly was directed to
provide for the basic needs of soldiers stationed
within its borders. Specified items included
bedding, cooking utensils, firewood, beer or cider
and candles. This law was expanded in 1766 and
required the assemblies to billet soldiers in taverns
and unoccupied houses.
New York refused and Great Britain suspended their
colonial assembly
The Townshend Acts

Parliament passed a
tax law that was
clearly external in
nature, on paint,
paper, glass, lead and
tea imported into the
colonies.
Charles Townshend,
Chancellor of the
Exchequer
Currency Act

The Currency Act of 1764
was one of the many ways
in which the British
Parliament tried to control
the American colonies. This
act prohibited the colonies
from printing their own
currency bills, and required
them to use the system of
the pound sterling instead.
Boston Massacre


On the evening of March
5, 1770, a crowd of
about 60 townspeople in
Boston were harassing
some ten Redcoats
Without orders but
heavily provoked, they
opened fire, wounding or
killing eleven “innocent”
citizens, including
Crispus Attucks, the
“leader” of the mob.
Paul Revere’s Engraving

Paul Revere's famous
engraving of the
Boston Massacre.
Interestingly, Crispus
Attics, the black man
who provoked the riot,
is not portrayed.
Crispus Attucks
Tea Act





The Tea Act, passed by Parliament in May of
1773, would launch the final spark to the
revolutionary movement in Boston.
The act was not intended to raise revenue in the
American colonies, and in fact imposed no new
taxes
It was designed to prop up the East India
Company which was floundering financially and
burdened
This tea was to be shipped directly to the
colonies, and sold at a bargain price.
The direct sale of tea, via British agents, would
also have undercut the business of local
merchants.
Boston Tea Party

On the evening of December
16th,1773 thousands of
Bostonians and farmers from
the surrounding countryside
packed into the Old South
Meeting house to hear
Samuel Adams. Adams
denounced the Governor for
denying clearance for vessels
wishing to leave with tea still
on board. After his speech the
crowd headed for the
waterfront. From the crowd,
50 individuals emerged
dressed as Indians. They
boarded three vessels docked
in the harbor and threw
90,000 pounds of tea
overboard.
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party by Nathaniel Currier
Committees of Correspondence

The colonies, in
order to spread
propaganda and
keep the rebellious
moods, set up
committees of
correspondence; the
first was started by
Samuel Adams.
Samuel Adams
Intolerable Acts


1.
2.
3.
4.
Punishment for the Boston Tea Party
Known as the Coercive Acts in Great
Britain
The Boston Port Act
The charter of Massachusetts was
revoked
Restrictions put on town meetings
British officials accused of crimes would
be charged in Great Britain
The Quebec Act



The administrative
boundaries of Quebec were
extended south to the Ohio
and west to the Mississippi
river.
Recognition was also given
to the Roman Catholic
Church in Quebec
The Quebec Act was not
part of Lord North’s
punitive program, but
many Americans missed
the distinction and
regarded the law as simply
another "Intolerable Act."
1st Continental Congress



Most memorable response
to the Intolerable Acts
55 delegates from 12
colonies (all except
Georgia) attended a
meeting in Philadelphia to
consider ways of
redressing colonial
grievances.
Deliberated for seven
weeks, from September to
October of 1774
Accomplishments of 1st Continental
Congress
Drew up a
Declaration of Rights
and Grievances to
King George III
Created The
Association, a
complete boycott of
British goods
1.
2.
•
•
•
Non importation
Non exportation
Non consumption
Carpenter’s Hall, Philadelphia
Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia
Lexington and Concord


In April 1775, the British
commander in Boston
sent a detachment of
troops 16 miles to
nearby Lexington and
Concord to seize supplies
and to capture Sam
Adams and John
Hancock.
Word of the British
departure from Boston
was quickly spread by
Paul Revere in his
famous ride, and by the
time the British reached
the village green at
Lexington
“The Shot Heard Round the World”
At Lexington, the British found 70
Minutemen waiting for them under the
command of Capt. John Parker .
 A Shot was fired and the American
Revolution was begun. The British then
fired upon the Minutemen, killing 8 and
wounding 10. The British suffered 1
wounded.
 The British continued on to Concord and
were defeated by the Minutemen.

The Old North Bridge over the Concord River, where the
"shot was fired that was heard around the world."
Ready in a Minutes Notice
Minutemen
British Advantages
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Britain had a population advantage: 7.5
million people to America’s 2 million,
Superior naval power
Great wealth.
30,000 German mercenary soldiers
(Hessians)
America’s lack of unity
American Advantages






Need only hold off the British to win war
Home field advantage
Britain had to control a vast amount of
territory to win
Americans had great leaders like George
Washington and Ben Franklin.
French aid
The Americans enjoyed the moral
advantage in fighting for a just cause.