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Chapter 4 Frontiers of Empire Diversity U.S. reflects the diversity of its people Melting pot? Salad bowl? 17th and 18th centuries each nation seemed to be very different from the others. To us, Germans, Scots-Irish , British, & French are similar – all western Europeans In To colonists, all these people were very different Add to that Native Americans and Africans Colonists were afraid of what this diverse population would do to their colonies Ben Franklin had a few thoughts on this blending of peoples Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790) Born in Boston, Massachusetts Moved to Philadelphia in 1723 Had little formal education but was well-read and thoughtful Believed all problems could be solved through the use of reason He applied his reasoning to demography, the study of population According to his calculations, population of the British colonies doubled every 25 years Mostly from natural increase Also from immigration from Europe and Africa primarily American population was spreading out into the back country in Pennsylvania and in the Carolinas Many did not speak English The middle colonies seemed to be more diverse than those in New England And they were experiencing a growing stratification William Penn’s liberal offers of land and religious freedom attracted many non-English speakers like the Moravians and the Amish from Germany (Pennsylvania Dutch) Large groups of Scots-Irish arrived Scottish Presbyterians sent to Ireland by the British monarch in hopes that they would eventually outnumber the Catholics in Ireland The plan failed Scots-Irish in Ireland They were discriminated against by the Anglican Church They were taxed heavily when they traded with England They had bad harvests They decided to move to America and went to Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey Many came as indentured servants and provided manual labor for Philadelphia Others became farmers and obtained cheap land and produced corn, wheat, beef, and pork for export Eastern areas became crowded and so later settlers moved further west to the Appalachians and south to the Carolinas and Georgia They often competed against Native Americans for land Other non-English Europeans came to America French Huguenots Mediterranean Jews They became merchants in port cities selling foodstuffs and furs They also traded with the French and the Spanish By the mid-18th century immigration and natural increase had made Philadelphia and New York major cities In these cities wealth was in the hands of the few and the poor was more dependent on public assistance Some social conflict brought on by the mixed population Germans kept to themselves avoiding assimilation When Germans prospered, many feared their colony would be “Germanized” Other Ethnic and Economic Rivalries Scots-Irish vs. Delaware Indians Vs. the Quakers in 1763 Scots-Irish in western Pennsylvania asked the Quaker (pacifists) legislature for military help to fight the Delaware Indians Quakers hesitated, so the Scots-Irish rebels attacked, on their own, the peaceful Conestoga tribe and then marched on Philadelphia protesting their lack of representation in the legislature Ben Franklin stepped in and cooled the situation In New York’s Hudson Valley, the Dutch rented land to English tenant farmers. When the Dutch sent out eviction notices, armed rebellion was the result in 1760 It was crushed by the British military Economic Changes Colonial economy grew White Americans did well Farm goods increased Majority of American goods went to England, as per the Navigation Acts Periodically, the British tried to impose a tax on Americans or Sugar Act of 1733 – placed a heavy tax on molasses imported from foreign ports , ex.: France Hat and Felt Act, 1732 and the Iron Act , 1750 tried to limit production of colonial goods that competed with British exports Molasses For the most part, these acts weren’t enforced -- Salutary Neglect The British were making a lot of money off of the colonies Passing acts satisfied the British Not enforcing them kept Americans happy and kept money flowing into Britain Americans bought a lot of British goods Between 1740 and 1770, English exports to the colonies increased 360 The British offered Americans credit and many fell into debt Americans traded with other Americans They traded with the Spanish They traded with the Dutch They traded with the French The Great Awakening Jonathan Edwards led a brief religious reawakening in the 1730s in New England This revival died out within a decade What became known as the Great Awakening is usually associated with George Whitefield who arrived in America in 1739 By mid-18th century, fewer people were attending church services There was a growing religious indifference George Whitefield stressed that achieving worldly success without obtaining spiritual redemption was dangerous He asked his followers to experience a religious rebirth and to create a Christian community He used hellfire and brimstone to get his point across His followers were from all regions and from all classes, including slaves This movement promised spiritual equality which challenged the other religious teachings of the day These revivalists were called “New Light” disciples “Old Lights” and “New Lights” debated one another “Old Lights” questioned the revivals that appealed so much to the emotions New religions spread like the Methodists and the Baptists Baptists accepted African-American converts Colleges “New Light” colleges: College of New Jersey ( now Princeton) by Presbyterians King’s College (now Columbia) by Anglicans Brown by Baptists Queen’s College (now Rutgers) by the Dutch Reformed Church Religious Pluralism Religious rivals realized that no one group would dominate, so they grudgingly accepted this idea Religious toleration, not equality, emerged The Church of England continued to receive tax support, but dissenters started demanding the separation of Church and State Government In Britain: Had the appearance of 3 branches King House of Lords House of Commons Really only the aristocracy was represented In the Colonies: Many had royal governors and advisors appointed by the King Assemblies were more representative of the American public even though women and non-whites could not vote Royal governors soon learned that assemblies would reward them if they went along with their decisions rather than use the veto Assemblies paid the governors salaries If the assemblymen didn’t like some action of the governor, they would refuse to pay him More often than not, the assemblies got what they wanted War 1689 – 1763 – Britain and France fought one another in Europe and by extension in North America One war would end and then a little later a new one would start These wars would have one name in Europe and a different name in the colonies Some of the earlier wars made colonists proud to be British That changed when the British began regulating the colonies more For tax money to pay for the fighting By quartering soldiers in private homes By drafting colonists to fight Colonists began to resent British interference in their lives These wars pitted British colonists against French colonists with Native Americans choosing sides By the end of 1763, the British had pushed the French out of North America Native Americans moved further west More imperial regulations curbed the freedom of the American colonists King William’s War 1689 - 1697 William of Orange was the chief magistrate of Dutch Republic He was part of the League of Augsburg, an alliance fighting France to keep it from expanding its borders England had stayed out of that battle When William was made King of England during Glorious Revolution, he brought England into the fight against France By extension, this fight spread to America It was known as King William’s War in North America It was the War of the League of Augsburg in Europe Native Americans took sides French and Indian troops attacked New York, western Massachusetts, and along the Maine/New Hampshire border British troops were fighting in Europe, so Americans had to defend themselves Colonists struck out against Montreal and Quebec Border raids, really Many Native Americans killed in battle War ended in 1697 with the Treaty of Ryswick Returned all land in colonies to their status before the war Did not settle the dispute over the Hudson Bay area Queen Anne’s War Called the War of Spanish Succession in Europe Louis XIV of France wanted to place his grandson and heir on the Spanish throne Many thought that would give France too much power England allied itself with the Netherlands and the Holy Roman Empire to oppose this action They wanted Charles of Bavaria on the Spanish throne England had another bone to pick with France France was against putting Anne, William’s daughter, on the throne of England France wanted James II Catholic son to sit on the throne of England Anne was already on the throne of England and she quickly retaliated against the French for questioning her authority The Americans called this battle Queen Anne’s War In America, French and American colonists fought each other in northern New England & in Canada 1704 – Native Americans who sided with the French attacked British outposts in western Massachusetts and in Maine and destroyed many settlements This war showed Americans that their defenses were weak English troops seized the Hudson Bay area, Newfoundland, and Acadia However, the French remained Americans learned they should be loyal to their protestant monarch 1711 – Charles of Bavaria ascended the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, so England and its allies no longer backed him for the Spanish throne That would give him too much power The Treaty of Utrecht ended this war in1713 with no clear winner Philip of Anjou (heir to the French throne) was made King of Spain and gave up all claims to the French throne British were granted “asiento de negros” which was the right to sell captive slaves (Africans) in Spanish colonies like Cuba and Santo Domingo King George’s War 1744 - 1748 This war was about who would sit on the throne of the Holy Roman Empire Maria Theresa already sat on the throne of Austria, and she was next in line to take over the Holy Roman Empire Fearing this would give her too much power, the War of Austrian Succession broke out In the colonies it was known as King George’s War It boiled down to the French and Americans fighting once again in North America It centered on northern Atlantic coast, around the Great Lakes, and in the Ohio Valley New Englanders took the French fortress at Louisburg 1748 – the war ended and the fortress at Louisburg was returned to the French, according to the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle Colonists were furious and began to question the empire’s concern for the colonies The French and Indian War Known as The Seven Years’ War in Europe (see chart on page 122) This war began in North America and spread to Europe -- for a change Quest for territory in America by French and British Protection of territory already taken was all important By mid-eighteenth century the French had 3 major settlements in North America Montreal Quebec New Orleans They had no more than a total of 100,000 settlers British had more than a million settlers They had many, many more settlements than the French -- from Maine to Georgia & from the east coast far inland towards the Appalachians The French were so interested in settling their lands as they were using the land for trapping before 1754 They did wish to protect their interests and so set up a series of forts in what is now western Pennsylvania Virginia had also taken an interest in the area; they were looking for fresh soil for tobacco So Virginia sent out a 22-year old major named George Washington and 150 men to construct a fort at what is now Pittsburgh Washington and his men never made it that far because they learned that the French were already building a fort there, calling it Fort Duquesne And they encountered a small band of French soldiers and diplomats and killed the diplomat and others The French retaliated forcing Washington to build a crude defensive fort at what is today called Fort Necessity on Rte. 40 in Pennsylvania 4 July 1754, Washington was forced to surrender He was allowed to return to Virginia Many Native Americans backed the French and the war became known as The French and Indian War The Board of Trade in England wanted the colonies to defend themselves So they called the Albany Congress of 1754 Delegates form all colonies except Virginia and New Jersey met They hoped to organize a colonial militia It was written up as “The Plan of Union” by delegate Benjamin Franklin It wasn’t ratified so the colonies did not have a defensive force Many colonists volunteered but were not well-trained They left whenever needed at home 1755 – 2000 New Englanders seized 2 French forts near Nova Scotia The Acadians (French Canadians) refused to take up arms against France So the British expelled them to Maryland and Virginia for the most part But the Acadians kept right on moving until they got to Louisiana where they were known as Cajuns 1755 – the British sent in 2500 troops under the command of General William Braddock Braddock was to reverse Washington’s defeat, but he and his troops were defeated near Fort Duquesne 900 men including Braddock were killed Washington was with them and was wounded 4 times Sir Jeffrey Amherst, head of British forces in America, introduced a new tactic against Native Americans – Germ Warfare He sent blankets to the Indians that had been used by smallpox victims Many died from this exposure The French had 2 important victories in 1756 and in 1757 They took Fort Oswego on Lake Ontario and Fort William Henry on Lake George The French were ready to move in on New York, and things looked grim for the British Two developments turned the tide for the British: The Iroquois Confederacy withdrew their support from the French and became neutral 1757 – William Pitt was named Secretary of State in England and was put in charge of the British war effort William Pitt Was an efficient leader Had the full support of all the colonial governments Permitted the colonies to do their own recruiting and requisitioning of supplies Said if colonies raised men for the war, Britain would pay most of the costs of the war Pitt appointed General James Wolfe to join Amherst in the colonies Wolfe changed the course of the war when he attacked and won Quebec in 1759 With this victory in Quebec and then in Montreal in 1760, the war ended for Americans in 1760 It continued in Europe until 1763 The war ended with the Peace of Paris British got Canada from the French and Florida from the Spanish France had to hand over Louisiana to the Spanish to compensate them for the loss of Florida By 1763, the English saw themselves as strong Outcomes for the Native Americans The Treaty of Paris gave nothing to the Native Americans So after this war, the Native Americans were technically subjects King George III However, the Native Americans possessed the forests west of the Appalachians – not the British The British continued to blunder in their treatment of the Native Americans Sir Jeffrey Amherst told them that the British would no longer give them gifts: blankets, iron tools, guns, and liquor So tribes united under Pontiac of the Ottawa Indians, attacked Fort Detroit, and captured 10 of 14 British outposts They also raided Virginians and Pennsylvanians killing 2000 of them The British defeated them in 1764 and then restored the gift giving The British then drew an imaginary line along the Appalachian divide This was known as the Proclamation Line 1763 Proclamation Line No British subject was allowed to purchase land or settle west of this line It was done to end contact with Native Americans It didn’t work Over the next 10 years land was quietly bought up and settled by colonists Map, p. 124 Americans saw the Proclamation Line as an early effort by King George III to shackle their freedom Writs of Assistance British effort to try to stop Americans from smuggling in goods especially from French West Indies – result of the war These Writs allowed the British to conduct raids anywhere if they suspected smuggling -- no search warrants Those arrested were tried by a judge, not by a jury of one’s peers The Proclamation Line was another result of the French and Indian War for the Colonists Amherst asked the Crown for more British troops to protect colonists from Indian attack He asked for 5-6000 troops; he got 10,000costing England 200,000 pounds /year Then Britain instituted the Quartering Act of 1765 which charged the colonies for the troops room, board, and drink Soldiers would be sheltered in private homes Before this time, the colonies were not costing Britain The colonies were profitable Before it cost 70,000 pounds to run the colonies, and the colonies made 2 million pounds for Britain After the war, it cost 350,000 pounds to run the colonies In 1764, Britain had a national debt of 130 million pounds British landowners already paid 20% of their incomes in taxes Britain felt it was time for the colonies to pay for British protection To do this, Britain needed more control More control meant more rules from Britain Then the colonies could be taxed These changes were not welcomed by the American colonists A strained relationship between the two began