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CHAPTER FIVE:
THE ROAD TO REVOLUTION
A. INTRODUCTION
IMPERIAL WARFARE
DAY ONE: pp. 127 through 135
a. EMPHASIS: The Seven Years War
1. KING GEORGE’S WAR
(The French and Indian War)
2. A FRAGILE PEACE
3. THE SEVEN YEARS WAR IN AMERICA
B. IMPERIAL REORGANIZATION
5. FRICTION AMONG ALLIES
6. THE WRITS OF ASSISTANCE
DAY TWO: pp. 135 - 143
7. THE SUGAR ACT
a. EMPHASIS: The Stamp Act and
the
THE STAMP ACT
resistance to the act
8.THE COLONIAL PERSPECTIVE
9. RESISTING THE STAMP ACT
10. IDEOLOGY, RELIGION AND RESISTANCE
C. ANGLO-AMERICAN CRISIS
DAY THREE: pp. 143 - 152
1. THE QUARTERING ACT
a. EMPHASIS: Customs
Racketeering
2. THE TOWNSHEND DUTIES
b. EMPHASIS: The Boston
Massacre
3. THE COLONISTS’ REACTION
and the Committees of
4. “WILKES AND LIBERTY”
Correspondence
5. WOMEN AND COLONIAL RESISTANCE
6. CUSTOMS RACKETEERING
7. REPEAL OF THE TOWNSHEND DUTIES
8. THE BOSTON MASSACRE
9. THE COMMITTEES OF CORRESPONDENCE DAY FOUR: pp. 152 - 158
10. FRONTIER TENSIONS
a. EMPHASIS: The Tea
Party and the
TOWARD INDEPENDENCE
Coercive Acts
1. THE TEA ACT
b. EMPHASIS: Lexington and
Concord
2. THE COERCIVE ACTS
c. EMPHASIS: Declaration
of Independence
3. THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
4. THE FIGHTING BEGINS
5. THE FAILURE OF RECONCILIATION
6. CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS
7.
INDEPENDENCE AT LAST
ADVANCED PLACEMENT ESSAY QUESTIONS FOR THIS
CHAPTER
AP ESSAY QUESTION: The American Revolution should really be called the “The British Revolution”
because marked changes in British colonial policy were more responsible for the final political division than
were American actions. Assess the validity of this statement for the period 1763 – 1776. (1982 EXAM)
AP ESSAY QUESTION: “Despite the view of some historians that the
conflict between Great Britain and its thirteen North American colonies
was economic in origin, in fact the American Revolution had its roots in
politics and other areas of American life.”
Assess the validity of this
statement. (1986 EXAM)
AP ESSAY QUESTION: “Britain’s wars for empire, far more than its
mercantilist policies, dictated the economic fortunes of Britain’s North
American colonies in the eighteenth century.” Assess the validity of this
statement. (1987 EXAM)
AP ESSAY QUESTION: “This history of the present King of Great Britain is
a history of repeated injuries and usurpation, all having, in direct object,
the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these States.” Evaluate this
accusation made against George III in the Declaration of Independence.
(1988 Exam)
AP ESSAY QUESTION: “In the two decades before the outbreak of the
American Revolutionary War, a profound shift occurred in the way many
Americans thought and felt about the British government and their
colonial governments.” Assess the validity of this statement in view of
the political and constitutional debates of these decades. (1989 EXAM)
AP ESSAY QUESTION: Evaluate the relative importance of the following as
factors prompting Americans to rebel in 1776: (1992 EXAM)
Parliamentary taxation
Restriction of civil liberties
British military measures
The legacy of colonial religious and political ideas
AP ESSAY QUESTION: Analyze the extent to which the American Revolution represented a radical
alteration in American political ideas and institutions. (1997 EXAM)
AP DBQ ESSAY QUESTION: To what extent had the colonists developed a sense of their identity and unity
as Americans by the eve of the Revolution. Use documents to answer the question. (1999 EXAM)
CHAPTER FIVE:
THE ROAD TO REVOLUTION
1.
INTRODUCTION (p. 127)
a. BEN FRANKLIN, Agent to England
b. British efforts to centralize the colonies
DAY ONE
c. Reactions by the colonists
d. Americans move from loyal subjects to
Rebellion
e. Britain attempts to move from salutary neglect
to more control
2. IMPERIAL WARFARE (p. 128)
a. Wars between France and England
between England
FOCUS: Early Wars
And France
AREA OF INTEREST: PREVIOUS WARS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND FRANCE:
JENKINS’S EAR
1. One of these wars between England and France was the War of Jenkins’s Ear.
When Captain Jenkins was detained by Spanish authorities (allies of the French),
an officer cut off his ear with his sword. The Spanish commander’s comment was,
“Carry this home to the King, your master, whom, if he were present, I would
serve in like fashion.” Can you picture Jenkins standing there in the well of the
House of Commons describing in great detail his harrowing experience and
showing the ministers his withered ear. No wonder there was a war.
3. KING GEORGE’S WAR: (1740 to 1748)
a. Few large battles -- raids and counterraids
b. American colonists take fort at Louisbourg
(1) captured cannons from the French used
to attack the fort
c. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
(1) Louisbourg exchanged
AREA OF FOCUS: Can you imagine how angry the colonists must have been
when they had worked so hard to gain control of the Louisbourg fortress, and
then have the British give it back to the French in exchange for something in
India. The colonists were beginning to believe that the British did not care
about them. You might want to show how attitudes were changing… how
American colonists were moving from loyal British subjects to rebels. One of
the key areas was the rebellion of the mind. That had to happen before there
was a revolution.
4. A FRAGILE PEACE
a. STRUGGLE OVER THE OHIO VALLEY
(1) Refugee Native Americans move into the area
FOCUS:
Events that led to the French
(2) The Native Americans sought to balance the English
and War…
and France against each other
a.
Washington: Diplomat and
(3) Competing French and English claims
soldier…
(a) The French build a chain of forts
b. Albany
Plan of Union
(b) George Washington sent to demand the
c. General
Braddock’s defeat
French abandon their forts – refused
d. French victories
b. WASHINGTON LEADS FORCES TO OHIO AREA
e. William
Pitt – Prime Minister
(1) French were constructing Fort Duquesne
f.
Battle of Quebec
(2) Washington wins a small skirmish
g. Treaty of Paris
(3) Washington builds Fort Necessity
h. Results
of the War
(4) French attack defeating Washington –
He was allowed to return home
Historical irony – He surrenders to French on July 4, 1754
(5) After #2 in this list – the French commander was killed.
Washington said, “I heard the bullets
whistle and believe me there is something charming in the
sound.”
c. ALBANY PLAN OF UNION
(1) Ben Franklin – mutual defense
AP QST: The
purpose of the Albany
(2) A Grand Council – President General
Plan of Union?
(3) Could demand funds
(4) No colonial legislature would approve it
(5) “Join or Die” cartoon by B. Franklin
AREA OF EMPHASIS
1. GEORGE WASHINGTON GOES TO THE OHIO VALLEY
In 1752, Washington was sent to the Ohio Valley to discover what the French were doing in the region. Many
Virginians had speculated in lands in the region and information was needed. Washington discovered the
French building forts in the region. The twenty-one year old surveyor warned the French to leave the region.
The French politely declined.
In 1754, Washington returned with a detachment of Virginians. When they
encountered a small group of French soldiers, Washington’s troops fired and
killed the French commander. His troops, however, retreated and warned
the soldiers at Fort Duquesne of the invasion. Washington’s comment after
the battle was, “I heard the bullets whistle and believe me there is
something charming in the sound.” As the text stated… the charm ended
quickly.
Recognizing that the French would soon return with reinforcements,
Washington ordered the completion of a small defensive structure called
Fort Necessity. Washington’s forces were outnumbered and there were
questions about where he decided to defend. After ten hours, the result
would be defeat. Ironically, the date of this event was July 4th. The French
allowed him to march his troops back to Virginia with full honors of war.
2. THE ALBANY PLAN OF UNION
Delegates from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia met with the Iroquois at Albany, New
York. They wanted Iroquois aid against the French. The Iroquois politely
listened to the proposals and accepted the generous collection of gifts, but
they refused to make any promises of support to the Americans. They might
well have been still angry about the greed of American land speculators
pressuring for their lands.
When the Iroquois departed, Benjamin Franklin proposed the colonies unite
under a plan of union. He proposed that the Union government would
control western lands, provide joint defense and deal with the Native
Americans. They even talked of joint taxation policies.
This plan really had no chance of being accepted. No colony would give up
such powers as taxation, even on a limited scale. And, even if they had
accepted the plan, the British would have vetoed it. They had no desire to
see the colonies unite.
5. THE SEVEN YEARS WAR IN AMERICA
a. GENERAL EDWARD BRADDOCK
(1) Stubborn Braddock ambushed in Ohio
(2) British defeated – Braddock killed
(3) Washington organizes the retreat
(4) Washington later wrote – “When we came to the French fort,
we were attacked by a body of
French and Indians, who’s number…did not exceed 300 men.
Ours consisted of about 1300 well-armed troops, chiefly of
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
the English soldiers, who were struck with such a panic that
they…broke and ran as sheep pursued by dogs; and it was
impossible to rally them.”
The British of course were convinced it was the fault of
accompanying colonial militiamen who were ill-disciplined
and could “only fight behind trees”.
FRENCH VICTORIES FOLLOWED
(1) Nativ Americans join with the French
(2) British take Nova Scotia – drive Acadians
From their homes – dispersed… Many to
Louisiana
(3) French victories in America – Montcalm
Takes the offensive – threatens NY
AMERICANS BALK AT SUPPLYING MEN…
(1) Men sent with very little training
(2) British angry at the quality of these troops
TREATY AT EASTON
(1) Native Americans feared French successes and power—
Played the Balance of Power game –
(2) Signed the treaty with the British to
maintain the balance of power
WILLIAM PITT BECAME PRIME MINISTER
AP QST: Why did
the British
(1) Pitt saw himself as the man who could save Britain and
American colonists win the
(2) Pitt worked to mobilize American forces – he
French and
Indian War?
Promised that Parliament would bear the costs
(3) Unprecedented American response
FRENCH DEFEATS
(1) General Amherst defeated Fort Duquesne
and Louisbourg
(2) The Battle at Quebec
a. James Wolfe defeated Montcalm on the
Plains of Abraham at Quebec.
(3) Montreal surrendered in 1760
g. THE TREATY OF PARIS, 1763
AP QUESTION:
The French and
(1) France ceded all territories on the North American Indian War
was a pivotal point in
mainland (it kept some islands).
America’s
relationship to Great
a. Britain gained all lands east of the Mississippi
Britain because it led Britain to:
b. Spain gained lands west of the Mississippi as
a.
encourage colonial business
Well as New Orleans
b. impose
revenue taxes
c. restrict immigration
d. ignore the
colonies
e. grant selfgovernment
AREAS OF INTEREST:
1. GENERAL BRADDOCK’S DEFEAT AT FORT DUQUESNE
a.
Great Britain sent one of their ablest generals to take on the French. The haughty, stubborn Major General
Edward Braddock led 1400 men toward Fort Duquesne. Unable to gather more than a few Native American
guides and ignoring the advice of Washington, he dragged artillery and created a road into the wilderness.
Observers commented that he seemed to want to stop, hack down all the trees and put logs over the swamps
rather than go around them. Obviously, his forces would not surprise anyone. The French and Native
Americans prepared their own surprise.
b. A few miles from Fort Duquesne, the expedition was ambushed. Braddock had believed that the French
and Native Americans would not dare challenge his redcoats. He was so wrong. The British were not ready
for the withering fire coming from behind the trees. Braddock did all he could to rally his men, but he, too,
was shot dead. It was Washington who finally organized the retreat.
c. Do you have any idea how close we came to losing the “Father of our Country.” Washington had two
horses shot out from underneath him, had two bullet holes in his hat and four bullet holes in his coat.
Washington’s attitude about the British soldiers… he stated that “they ran as sheep pursued by dogs and it
was impossible to rally them.”
d. Braddock was buried in his road. The wagons destroyed all signs of where he was buried. Washington
wanted to hide the grave to prevent Indians from desecrating it.
2. WILLIAM PITT: PRIME MINISTER
a. A superlative leader… tall, imposing, hawkfaced… He was known as the Great Commoner. The common
people were the source of his political power… when he rode his horse through the streets, people rushed to
kiss his horse… Pitt did not lack confidence. He was certain that he was the only man in England who
could win this war and save the country.
b. Pitt decided to spend whatever money necessary to win the war. He did not worry about the expanding
debt. He stopped begging for help from the colonial legislatures. He simply stated that England would pay
the expenses. He also decided to replace older, more senior officers with young officers with energy and
ideas. One of these officers included Jeffrey Amherst who, in order to defeat the Native American allies of
the French, gave them blankets contaminated with smallpox (is this the first example of germ warfare).
Amherst won a number of key victories. Pitt also appointed James Wolfe who would defeat the French at
Quebec in the key victory of the war.
3. THE PRACTICE OF SCALPING (Jeri Roberts)
a. Native Americans from western PA through NC raided western
settlements
once they got within 80 miles of Philadelphia
b. Things got so bad, the English began to offer bounties for Native
American scalps
$50 for a Native American woman’s scalp -- $130 for a
brave’s scalp
c. The scalps included the ears and the hair… believe it or not, there
were a few individuals who were
scalped and survived. They really were not pretty sights.
D. IMPERIAL REORGANIZATION (p. 132)
1. FRICTION AMONG ALLIES
a. BRITISH DISDAIN FOR AMERICAN SOLDIERS
1. The beginning of the reign of King George III
EMPHASIS: Results of the War
a. Determined, wished to have an effect
Attitudes towards the British
b. Prime Ministers Lord Bute, George Grenville
towards Colonists
Marquis Of Rockingham, William Pitt
a.
and
b. British National Debt
2. `British public opinion credited British soldiers with
c.
New territories to control
the victory – yet William Pitt had used colonial
(1)
Pontiac’s rebellion
troops in key positions
(2)
Proclamation
b. ANGER OVER LACK OF AMERICAN SUPPORT
of
1763
1. Unwillingness to provide food and shelter
2. Refusal to vote funds for the war
3. Pitt promised reimbursement to colonies
4. Americans who continued illicit trade with French
Islands during the war
c. BRITAIN’S ECONOMY DEPENDENT ON AMERICA
1. British national debt from the war doubled
2. Higher taxes in Great Britain – grumbled…
3. Higher prices for goods (in the colonies) Many
colonists went into debt – wanted to maintain
their lifestyle
4. Costs of maintaining troops in America
e. PONTIAC’S REBELLION
1. Native Americans fear British pressures on their lands – No
Longer were the French there
2. Delaware Prophet Neolin
Repudiation of white culture
3. Pontiac: attack on British forts
Shortages of food, smallpox (germ warfare by
the British – gave infected blankets to Native Americans s)
f. THE PROCLAMATION OF 1763
AP QUESTION: The
Proclamation of 1763 did what?
1. Temporary – Native Americans s to the west, settlers to the
east of the line in the Appalachian Mountains
3. The British decided to keep 10,000 troops in
The colonies – expense – ill –feelings
AREAS OF INTEREST:
A. PONTIAC’S REBELLION
a. Pontiac, war chief of the Ottawa, saw that only unity could stop the
white invasion of their lands. With the defeat of the French, he
expected the English to only increase their pressures. Using his
powers of persuasion, he organized the Huron, Chippewas,
Potawatomis, Delawares and Shawnee.
b. Surprising the English, the Native Americans laid siege to every fort in
the west. Taking all but three of the forts, they killed over 2000
colonists. The whites cruelly retaliated. One commander ordered
blankets infected with smallpox to be distributed. Conflict finally
ended when Pontiac broke off his siege of Detroit when most of the
Native Americans returned to their villages for the winter (a common
Native American custom was not to fight wars during the harsh
winters). A treaty ending the war was signed in 1766.
c. In Pennsylvania, some Scotch-Irish frontiersmen sought revenge
against the Native American raids. These Pennsylvanians from the
township of Paxton could not find any of the hostile Native
Americanss, so they instead attacked a peaceful band of Christian
converts killing twenty people.
B. THE PROCLAMATION OF 1763
a. Land hungry colonials burst into the Appalachian areas. When, out of
the clear blue sky, London issued a proclamation prohibiting further
settlements. The colonists were to stay on one side of the
Appalachians and the Native Americanss were to remain on the other
side.
b. This proclamation was not designed to oppress the colonies. They just
wanted time to work out the Native American problem fairly and to
prevent another Pontiac’s Rebellion. \
c. The colonists were dismayed. They saw the lands to the west as their
birthright. They believed that they had spilled blood in the 7 years war
to earn those lands. Needless to say, a paper document would not
keep them from those lands. The roads were clogged with settlers. An
estimated 1000 wagons rolled through Salisbury on their way west.
What happens when the laws of a nation are broken so easily? Is
rebellion far away?
2.
THE WRITS OF ASSISTANCE
----------------------------------------- DAY TWO
a. A general search warrant
1. Stop smuggling… unconstitutional
of Assistance
EMPHASIS: Writs
b. James Otis challenges the Writ
Vice Admiralty
courts
1. Effective tool to stop smuggling
2. Otis challenged their constitutionality
3. Otis lost the case, but made his point
Smuggling
c. The unwritten British Constitution
1. Do colonists have the rights of Englishmen?
2. Are there limits on Parliament
3.
THE SUGAR ACT
a. Britain passed the Sugar Act to raise revenue
1. $100,000 goal – 1/5th of expenses in the colonies
2. This was a revenue, not a regulatory act
3. Navigation Acts made little money
b. Amendment of the Old Molasses Act
1. Molasses act not a revenue act
2. Import French molasses ,,, bribes
c. Colonial objections to the Act
1. Other exports had to go through England
2. Forced to buy from Britain
d. Problems for shipping captains
1. Confusing documents
2. More trade regulated than ever before
e. Disregard of the right to a fair trial
1. Smuggling cases heard in Vice-Admiralty
Courts, not in colonial courts
2. Halifax, Canada… not in the colony
3. Defendant had to prove innocence
f. Grenville ordered the act enforced
1. Navy enforcement was vigorous
g. American smuggling continued
1. Britain tried to lower the tax to slow
Smuggling – less than the usual bribe
2. Massachusetts, New York, Penn. Hit
Hardest.
4.
THE STAMP ACT
a. CONTINUED BRITISH FINANCIAL CRISIS
1. Debts continued to rise
EMPHASIS: THE
STAMP ACT
2. Taxes were higher in England than in America
A revenue
tax
(a) this was caused by American costs
Virtual
Representation
Resistance to the
Stamp Act
Patrick Henry’s
b. STAMP ACT – A REVENUE TAX
Protest
1. Stamps on newspapers, customs documents, licenses,
Loyal
Nine
Diplomas, deeds…
Oliver and
Hutchinson
2. Violators would be tried in Vice Admiralty courts
Sons
of Liberty
3. An internal tax (not on customs—but within the colony)
Stamp Act Congress
4. Designed simply to raise revenues
Boycott
c. COLONIES BENEFITTED FROM EMPIRE
Repeal of the
Stamp Act
1. A small price for the benefits of being in
Declaratory Act
the empire – protection, trade in the empire…
d. VIRTUAL AND ACTUAL REPRESENTATION
1. Americans complained that they lacked representation
AP QUESTION: The argument
in Parliament… therefore it should not tax them… they
between Great Britain and the
complained of their lack of actual representation
American colonies over “virtual
2. Britain responded that each minister in Parliament
representation” concerned what?
represented all of the empire… not just the area where
they were elected from – Virtual Representation
3. Britain did not accept local assemblies as anything
more than town councils… not real legislative bodies
AREAS OF EMPHASIS:
A. THE STAMP ACT
1. Can you imagine a tax that would cause more uproar than the Stamp
Act? Let see whom it was imposed on. It was placed on newspapers. Can
you imagine the next day’s editorials after that tax was levied? It was
placed on legal documents. I have not met a group of people who would
complain more vociferously than the lawyers. It was even placed on
playing cards. Can you imagine the conversations at the taverns after
this tax was imposed?
2. Grenville was not asking colonists to pay for the British national debt. He
believed they should simply pay for a share of the colonial defense. He
did not see this stamp act as oppressive. The British had had a stamp
tax far heavier than the colonial stamp act for over two generations.
3. The Stamp Act violators were to be tried in vice-admiralty courts where
only judges heard the cases and where you had to prove your innocence
(rather than having to be proven guilty). Also, judges were from England.
When the judges were from the colonies, they tended to acquit most
cases. Not so, these new judges.
5.
THE COLONIAL PERSPECTIVE
a. THE RIGHTS OF SELF-GOVERNMENT
AP QUESTION:
The Stamp Act
1. Colonists believed that few in Parliament shared
crisis
was important in the
the interests of the colonies – not represented
coming of the American
b. PARLIAMENT’S INDIFFERENCE NOTED
Revolution for
all of the following
1. The colony’s lobbying efforts were ignored when
reasons
except:
they opposed the bill – indifference
a. use of
violence by Americans…
c. COLONISTS DID GRANT THAT PARLIAMENT
b. British troops
garrisoned…
COULD PASS SOME LAWS FOR THE COLONIES
c. British
inflexibility
1. Standardize laws in the colonies…
d. British
deny independence
2. Accept that Britain should regulate foreign trade…
e.
Patriots denied birthrights
d. AMERICAN LOYALTY TO THE CROWN
1. Americans were loyal to the crown, but wanted
a loose federation to govern them… not the
strict rule of Britain
6.
RESISTING THE STAMP ACT
a. ALL RANKS OF SOCIETY RESISTED
were most hurt by the
1. artisans, workers, merchants, farmers, planters
2. blacks, whites, women and men
b. PATRICK HENRY’S PROTEST
1. Protested the Stamp Act – close to treason
did Patrick Henry’s
2. House of Burgesses official protest
What did he say?
c. LOYAL NINE REBELLION
AP QST: Who
Stamp Act?
AP QST: What
speech protest?
1. businessmen organized
2. go after the stamp collectors
Sons of Liberty form from them – both are little more than vigilante groups who “enforced” the boycotts,
ransacked stamp houses, etc.
d. BOSTON’S ECONOMIC DISTRESS
1. recession in Boston -- recover from a fire
e. ANDREW OLIVER
1. A stamp collector
2. Hanged in effigy – his building destroyed
3. Moved on his house… destroyed
f. DEMOLISHED HUTCHINSON’S HOME
1. Seen as a Chief Justice and a symbol of wealth
2. Ironically, he too opposed the Stamp Act
g. VIOLENCE IN RHODE ISLAND
1. Attacked the stamp collectors and also
the merchants…
h. SONS OF LIBERTY
AP QST: The role of
colonial violence in
1. More controlled mob – property… allow the
the events
leading to the Revolution?
Individual to escape…
2. Leaders coordinated and controlled assaults
No weapons… martyrs
i. STAMP ACT CONGRESS
1. remarkable sign of unity
2. protest Britain’s claim of authority in America
j. RESIGNATION OF STAMP COLLECTORS
1. refusal to collect the tax
2. threats to withhold their pay – normal
procedure began again
k. THE BOYCOTT
1. NY merchants boycott British goods
AP QST: The
effectiveness of the boycott?
2. Colonial leaders replace rabble as leaders
3. Boycott spread to other colonies
4. Colonies bought about 40% of Britain’s goods
She could not afford this boycott – panic
among British merchants
5. Women got involved by spinning and weaving their own cloth
(wool) rather than buying English
wool. Wearing “home-spun” was a sign of support for the
boycott even though it was generally more like gunnysacks than
the cloth from England. Americans at this time turn away from
eating lamb and mutton because it is important to keep the
sheep for shearing purposes.
l. ROCKINGHAM REPLACES GRENVILLE
1. Parliament furious at colonial defiance
2. William Pitt called for repeal – supporters
m. REPEAL – THEN THE DECLARATORY ACT
1. 1766—repeal of the Stamp Act – added the
Declaratory Act
2. general language – stated that Parliament had
the right to pass laws and to tax the colonies
n. COLONISTS EAGERLY ACCEPTED IT
1. Praised the King and Parliament
2. Sons of Liberty disband
AREAS OF INTEREST:
A. RESISTENCE TO THE STAMP ACT
1. The cry, “No taxation without representation” was heard throughout the land. A
little bit of irony since these same colonial towns had often denied settlers from
their frontier areas representation in their legislatures… although they had
little problem imposing taxes on them. (Bailey)
2. Our delegate to England, Ben Franklin, warned about this Stamp Act. He
argued that if Parliament did not change its policies, there would probably be
rebellion. He stated that Americans dearly loved their Mother England, but they
loved their liberties even more. (Boorstin)
3. Patrick Henry recalled that when he made his famous speech that he was
“young, inexperienced, unacquainted with the forms of the house and the
members that composed it.” He was also appalled by his fellow legislators’
unwillingness to oppose the Stamp Act. Without help, he wrote the Virginia
Stamp Act Resolves on a blank leaf of an old law book. (Norton)
4. There is no genuine account of Henry’s speech. There is little doubt that, when
Patrick Henry stated “Give me liberty or give me death,” the king might well
have given him death. Even though we have only hearsay about the speech,
there was an anonymous French traveler who wrote what happened after the
speech. The traveler spoke of the Speaker of the House of Burgesses calling this
speech treason, and that he regretted no one had risen to stop the young
delegate before he had gone so far. The traveler then spoke of Henry, rising,
apologizing to the body, declaring his loyalty to England, but also stating that
what he had said needed to be said. (Cayton)
5. Nicholas Cresswell, a Tory, observed that “The New Englanders by their canting,
whining, insinuating tricks have persuaded the rest of the Colonies that the
Government is going to make absolute slaves of them.” (Bailey)
7. IDEOLOGY, RELIGION AND RESISTANCE
a. DIVISION BETWEEN ENGLAND AND COLONIES
1. Sensing a sinister quality in England
b. JOHN LOCKE
1. Man originated in a state of nature
REBELLION IDEOLOGY
EMPHASIS:
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
2. Natural Rights: life, liberty and property
John
Locke
3. A social contract
Ministers role
4. Government protects those rights
5. If it does not… the right of revolution
OPPOSITIONISTS
1. called for the rights of the people—protested the
effort to use government resources for politicians
2. a conspiracy against liberty…
3. challenged the king’s party
ARTIFICIAL POWER AND NATURAL LIBERTIES
1. new thinking about politics
2. artificial power vs. natural liberty
3. avoid corruption, protest tyranny
FEARED A ROYAL CONSPIRACY
1. saw conspiracies in British actions in the colonies
2. denounced the efforts to “enslave” the colonists…
DRAW ON ANCIENTS FOR INSPIRATION
1. A Christian Sparta… linking religion and history
NEW ENGLAND CLERGYMENT ALSO PROTEST
1. stand up for God and liberty…
2. Only Anglican ministers supported the King
BLACK REGIMENT OF CLERGYMEN
1. Tremendous impact by these clergymen
EBBING OF STAMP CRISIS EASED TENSIONS
1. But still divided over the issues…
E. ANGLO-AMERICAN CRISIS
1. THE QUARTERING ACT -------------------------------------------------------------- DAY
THREE
a. William Pitt takes over as Prime Minister
1. Pitt could have compromised…
EMPHASIS: THE
QUARTERING ACT
2. His health collapsed
b. Charles Townshend takes over
1. Chancellor of the Exchequer
c. The Quartering Act and its impact
1. provide shelter for soldiers
2. not required to take them into homes
3. collected money from the legislature
not from the colonists themselves…
4. like the prior Quartering Act of 1765 colonists had to supply
British soldiers with not only quarters
but also fire (wood, charcoal, etc. to burn), candles, vinegar,
salt, bedding, beer, cider, and rum
d. New York’s resistance
1. anti-American feeling in Parliament
2. Townshend to punish NY
3. NY appropriated the funds
2.
THE TOWNSHEND DUTIES
a. British anger at the lack of colonial revenues
b. Townshend’s use of external taxes
c. Would the colonists accept the Townshend Acts
(1) a revenue tax … not a regulatory tax
d. Townshend wanted to use revenues to pay the
Colonial governor’s salary…
(1) loosen the control of colonial legislatures
e. The duties cost more to enforce than they
brought in revenue
CHARLES TOWNSHEND: Champagne Charley Townshend could deliver brilliant speeches to the House of
Commons in England even while intoxicated. He promised Parliament that he could pluck the feathers from the
colonial goose with a minimum of squawking. He was wrong. (Bailey)
3.
THE COLONISTS’ REACTION
a. The Act went into effect quickly to avoid reaction
b. John Dickinson “Letters from a Farmer in Penn.”
(1) Parliament could regulate trade through small
Taxes… not revenue taxes
c. Sam Adams: the circular letter
(1) go to the other Colonies
EMPHASIS: SAM
ADAMS AND THE
(2) Adams (Harvard educated…rabble rouser)
CIRCULAR
LETTER
d. Virginia’s circular letter
e. Massachusetts seen as almost in rebellion
Ordered to disown the letter…
1. widespread opposition
f. Nonimportation Agreements were effective
1. sometimes not effective unless merchants joined in
AREA OF INTEREST:
A. SAM ADAMS: Who was this man? A Bostonian, he earned a master’s degree
from Harvard where he studied Latin and Greek (two really pragmatic,
useful subjects). He went into his father’s brewery business (it has only
slight connections with Sam Adams beer of today… its name) where he lost
his father’s money. When he became a tax collector (oh the irony), he failed
to turn all of the money over to the government and got into trouble. He was
always in debt and many in Boston considered him to be a shady character.
Where he was remarkably talented was as a local agitator. He could smell
tyranny in the breeze. Every affront by the British would only lead to slavery
for the colonies. Incidents, tragic as they were, became massacres to Sam
Adams.
B. THE CIRCULAR LETTERS: These were brilliant propaganda tools that
operated to inform and unite the colonies. It is interesting to question what
role Sam Adams actually had in causing rebellion. The English certainly
were impressed by his efforts. (Boorstin)
4.
“WILKES AND LIBERTY”
a. British merchants hurt by boycott
1. protests by the poorer classes
b. John Wilkes rebellion
1. A member of Parliament – arrested for sedition
2. Continued criticisms of Parliament
3. Massacre of St. George’s Fields
c. Wilkes cause applied to the American situation
1. correspondence with the Sons of Liberty
2. sharpened political thinking in England
3. Wilkes a rabble rouser…
5.
WOMEN AND COLONIAL RESISTANCE
a. Enlistment of women in the protest
b. Daughters of Liberty
c. A highly visible role
d. Spinning bees
e. Boycott of tea
6.
CUSTOMS RACKETEERING
a. Closer British control of trade
(1) American Board of Customs Commissioners
EMPHASIS:
CUSTOMS
(2) A coastal coast guard
RACKETEERING
(3) Widespread bribery
a. Board of
Customs
b. Rigged juries
b. British abuses
rd
(1) Informers got 1/3 if there was a conviction
c.
John Hancock and the Liberty
c. Technical violations
(1) Customs agents made charges on technicalities AP QUESTION:
The North American
(2) No way to be legal…
colonies took
advantage of Great Britains
d. The sailor’s chest
policy of salutary
neglect to:
(1) private property… excuse to seize the ship…
a. establish
religious freedom
e. “customs racketeering”
b. work trade
arrangements
(1) legalized piracy …
c. introduce slavery
(2) popular violence against informers
d. establish an
army
f. colonial hatred of the customs officers
e. make a
favorable territorial settlement
(1) victims of violence as well…
with the
French
(2) chances to get even…
g. John Hancock’s Liberty ship
(1) Customs claimed the ship – towed it
(2) Based on a perjured statement
(3) Triple charges…
(4) Endangered property rights
h. British began to reform their service
(1) Charges against Hancock were dropped
(2) Honest officials were sent…
(3) The damage was done
AREA OF INTEREST: The treatment of Wilkes in England was well known to
the colonists. The American patriots used the number 45 as a symbol. That
was from Wilkes’ essay entitled The North Briton No. 45, which led to his being
jailed. The silversmith, Paul Revere made a punchbowl that weighed 42
pounds. James Otis, John Adams and others drank 45 toasts from it. (was
anyone ever sober during these times…) In Charleston, tradesmen decorated a
tree with 45 lights and set off 45 rockets… Carrying 45 candles, they went to a
tavern that had 45 tables, 45 bowls of wine (was anyone ever sober…), 45
bowls of punch (whew… there was someone sober…), and 92 glasses. (Norton)
7.
REPEAL OF THE TOWNSHEND DUTIES
a. Lord North: new Prime Minister
b. Repeal of the Townshend Acts
c. The tax on tea remained in effect
d. Voluntary agreements to not drink tea
8. THE BOSTON MASSACRE
a. 1700 British troops land in Boston
b. The atmosphere of an occupied city
(1) Irish Catholic soldiers… blacks
MASSACRE
(2) Soldiers competed for jobs
Committees of Correspondence
c. Little trouble initially
d.
e.
f.
g.
EMPHASIS: BOSTON
The Gaspee
(1) ½ of the soldiers return to England
The shooting of a boy
AP QST: Impact of the
Boston Massacre
(1) unpopular customs informer shot him
on events
leading to the Revolution?
(2) horror of the child’s death
The army was the target of rage
(1) The army not involved… but they
were blamed…
Events of the “massacre”
(1) guards post – Crispus Attucks leads a mob
(2) rocks – one guard fired – others followed
(3) eleven hit, five killed (including Attucks)
Propaganda and reactions
(1) Governor Hutchinson promised justice
(2) John Adams served as their attorney
(3) Hatreds… propaganda
AREA OF INTEREST:
A. The role of Sam Adams: He managed to turn this tragic event into a
massacre with his propaganda… remember John Adams, his cousin and a
fellow “patriot”, was the defense attorney for the British soldiers. By the
time Sam Adams was done, blood was flowing in the streets of Boston…
B. Tensions: There had been considerable tensions building for months. Much
of this had to do with the competition between local laborers and poorly
paid redcoats who would work during their off-duty hours.
C. Insults: The colonist verbally assaulted the soldiers calling them “Bloody
Backs” and “Lobster Backs.” When the events occurred, the crowd hurled
firewood, snowballs, stones in the snowballs, oyster shells, etc. at the
soldiers.
D. Crispus Attucks – well known around the docks – some said he was a
runaway slave – others said he was from the West Indies. A friend stated
that “his very looks were enough to terrify any person.” Attucks was one of
those who grabbed a soldier and threw him down. The soldiers then fired
their muskets. The bodies of the men who were killed lied in state at
Faneuil Hall where town meetings were held.
9. THE COMMITTEES OF CORRESPONDENCE
a. The Gaspee Events
(1) British customs ship runs aground
b.
c.
d.
e.
(2) Burned to the waterline
(3) British commission – stonewalled…
Payment of the Governor’s salary
(1) effort to free governor’s from legislature
Correspondence committee letters
Sam Adams – instigator
(1) maintain close cooperation with other towns
(2) attacked Hutchinson’s comments
Virginia joined the Committees of Correspondence
AREA OF INTEREST:
A. THE GASPEE: The British customs schooner GASPEE – Rhode Island –
Sailors from the ship often went ashore where they stole pigs and chickens
and cut down their fruit trees for fire wood… they were hardly popular. –
When the ship ran aground, eight boatloads of men rowed out to the ship,
wounded the captain, removed its crew, and burned it to the waterline.
B. THE COMMISSION: Britain sent a commission to seek out the guilty. The
Rhode Islanders “knew nothing” and totally frustrated the commission
(Jordan)
10. FRONTIER TENSION ----------------------------------------------------------- DAY
FOUR
a. A sense of crisis among the Native Americans
(1) White penetration into Native Americanlands
b. The Treaty of Fort Stanwix
(1) British unable to stop violations
(2) The treaty took lands from the Native Americans and
Gave it to Pennsylvania and Virginia
c. Frontier Disputes
(1) Massachusetts settlers oppose NY landlords
(2) Green Mountain Boys in New Hampshire
d. The Regulator Movement
`
EMPHASIS: THE
REGULATOR
(1) North Carolina – frontiersmen underrepresented
MOVEMENT
(2) Battle of Alamance Creek
(3) Defeated by the Royal Governor
(4) Just one more example, along with Bacon’s Rebellion, Leisler’s
Rebellion, and the Paxton Boys –
all show that when the colonists were upset, they would take up
arms against the government and/or
establishment.
TOWARD INDEPENDENCE
11. THE TEA ACT
a. The British East India Company
b.
c.
d.
e.
1. Colonial smuggling hurt the monopoly
EMPHASIS: THE
TEA ACT AND THE
2. Brink of bankruptcy
COERCIVE ACTS
3. Importance to England – in India
a. The East
India Tea Company
Parliament tries to aid the company
b.
Monopoly conditions
1. Eliminated the taxes on American tea
c.
Boston Tea Party
lowering its price below the price of
d. Coercive
Acts
smuggled tea.
e. The Quebec Act
The Tea Act angered Americans
f. Colonial
Reactions
1. Cheaper tea – but angered over the
menace to colonial representative
government – the ability to pay
royal governors with tea revenues
Colonial Resistance to the Tea Act
1. Company agents were told not to land the tea
a. Philadelphia “Committee on Tarring and
Feathering”
The Boston Tea Party
1. The tea ship did not have permission to depart
2. Gov. Hutchinson’s insistence of landing the tea
3. 50 men, disguised as Indians, tossed the tea
into the harbor
AREAS OF INTEREST:
A. They tossed 342 chests into the harbor
Most Americans felt this was wanton destruction until North and Parliament
enacted the Coercive Acts
B. John Adams wrote of the Tea Party – “The die is cast: The people have
passed the river and cut away the bridge…This is the grandest event which
has ever yet happened since the controversy with the British opened. (Jeri
Roberts)
C. There were incidents in other colonies besides Boston… In Annapolis, Marylanders burned both the cargo and
the vessel proclaiming liberty and Independence or “ death in pursuit of it.” (Bailey)
D. When Sam Adams stated that he knew nothing more that could be done… it
was almost like a signal. There were cries of “Boston harbor a tea-pot
tonight? The Mohawks are come!” – 60 men, badly disguised… everyone
knew it was Joe the tailor… there were five masons, eleven carpenters and
builders, three leatherworkers, a balcksmith, a hatter, three coopers, two
barbers, a coachmaker, a silversmith and 12 apprentices among the socalled Indians… there were also four farmers, ten merchants, two doctors, a
teacher (you always have to watch those teachers…) and a bookseller -three ships – a cargo worth 10,000 British pounds. (Norton)
12. THE COERCIVE ACTS
AP QST: The impact of
the Coercive
a. The British were outraged at the Boston Tea Party Acts – in leading
to the Revolution?
1. Edmund Burke argued vainly for the Americans
b. The Coercive Acts
1. Boston Port Bill: the port was closed until the tea
was paid for – economic distress for Boston
2. Massachusetts Government Act: revoked the Mass.
Charter – less democratic legislature – one town
meeting per year
3. Administration of Justice Act: persons charged with
murder in doing their duty will be tried in England
This was aimed at “protecting” British officials and the army
4. The New Quartering Act: requisition empty buildings
5. Thomas Gage appointed as military commander
c. The Quebec Act
1. Although separate from the Coercive Acts, it was
QST: THE QUEBEC ACT
associated with them
2. Catholicism declared the religion of Canada
3. Governor’s powers – no legislature
4. Territory south to the Ohio River…
d. Reaction to these Intolerable Acts by the colonies
1. Other colonies feared such laws might apply to them
2. Crushing political dissent in the colonies
3. Colonies pushed near rebellion
4. Virginia planters solidified against these acts
AP
13. THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
a. The First Continental Congress to convene in Philadelphia
1. 56 delegates – talented
2. Adams, Jay, Henry, Washington…
EMPHASIS: THE
COLONIES UNITE
b. The Suffolk Resolves
First Continental
Congress
1. Passive rebellion – Colonies owed no obedience
Suffolk
Resolves
2. Call for defensive measures against the crown
Association and boycott
c. The Boycott
Lexington and
Concord
1. Continental Association enforced the boycott
Olive
Branch Petition
d. The Congress was not united
Paine’s
Common Sense
1. Dickenson, Galloway and others opposed the
Lee’s
Motion for Independence
Radical measures…
Jefferson’s
Declaration of
e. Petition to the King
Independence
1. Attempt to compromise – George III ignored it
2. But Parliament sent 25,000 more troops to the colonies
AP QST: THE SUFFOLK
RESOLVES
AREA OF INTEREST:
A. Leaders Socialize: Very important at this time was the socializing that
went on between Sam Adams, John Adams, George Washington, and Patrick
Henry. When they met, they formed friendships and trust that was necessary
before the colonists could unite. Washington, over the 54 days, dined at his
own lodgings only nine times. (Bailey)
14. THE FIGHTING BEGINS
a. Friends split
b. Coercion of the Loyalists (Tories)
1. Continental Association – vigilante moves
2. Voluntary military companies
c. Lexington and Concord
1. General Gage to quell the “rude rabble”
2. William Dawes and Paul Revere – warnings
3. Lexington: skirmish – 8 colonists died
4. Concord: destroy arms and ammunition
5. Return to Boston – lost 273 Redcoats…
d. Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys
1. Fort Ticonderoga – captured cannon
e. Olive Branch Petition
AP QST: THE
OLIVE BRANCH
1. John Dickinson – compromise proposal
PETITION
2. Ignored by the King
f. Battle of Bunker Hill
1. Really fought on Breeds Hill in Boston
2. British suffered 1,154 casualties
Colonists lost 311
The British assaulted the hill 3 times – the first two, the
colonists turned them back. The 3rd time the colonists had run
out of ammunition so the British were able to overcome.
Considered a morale victory for the colonists.
AREA OF INTEREST: LEXINGTON AND CONCORD
A. THE MINUTEMEN: Special units of colonial militia training… stockpiled
weapons and ammunition. The British had a low opinion of colonial
military ability (Major General Grant claimed that he could march the length
of the colonies with only 5000 men). General Gage ordered to attack the
rebels in Lexington and Concord.
B. “THE BRITISH ARE COMING”: Paul Revere, William Dawes and Samuel
Prescott rode out to warn the minutemen that “The British are coming.”
Revere was captured at a roadblock, but the others provided the warning.
Prearranged warnings – the church bells rang…
C. LEXINGTON: The British reached Lexington at dawn where they wanted to
arrest Sam Adams and John Hancock (who were hiding in a cornfield). 70
militia lined up on the green were warned to disperse. Lacking numbers,
the militia began to move. From somewhere, a shot was fired. The British
responded with a volley killing 8 minutemen and wounding 10 others.
D. CONCORD: The British troops continued on to Concord. They drove off a
small contingent of militia and moved to destroy weapons. The weapons and
ammunition had already been hidden in the forest. All the British found was
some flour, some digging tools and a few gun carriages. After burning the
flour, the British prepared for the march home. After a small skirmish on
the bridge (where the first British soldiers were killed), the British prepared
for harassing actions. They were never ready for what they encountered.
Ralph Waldo Emerson immortalized what happened on the bridge with
these words:
“By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.”
E. THE RETURN TO BOSTON: Thousands of Minutemen attacked the British
from behind trees and stones. The Redcoats fell by the dozens (272
casualties including 70 dead). Only reinforcements from Boston saved them
from a true disaster. When they returned, they were bloodied and
humiliated and bewildered. (Norton, Bailey, and Jordan)
AREA OF INTEREST: THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL
A. THE BRITISH MOVE TO DISLODGE AMERICANS FROM THE HEIGHTS:
The British generals decided to remove the threatening Americans from the
hills around Boston. Learning of their plans, the Americans moved to fortify
Breed’s Hill.
B. THE ATTACK ON BREED’S HILL: 2200 redcoats prepared to attack up the
hill. They could have flanked the hill and won the victory, or they could have
used the cover to avoid being shot. Not the British. They formed in
customary broad lines at the bottom of the hill and prepared for a frontal
assault. Climbing steadily, they stopped only occasionally to fire volleys
which fell harmlessly on the mounds of dirt that the Americans had dug.
The Americans held their fire until the last moment. When they finally
opened fire, the exposed redcoats were cut down. The British retreated to
reform at the base of the hill. Once again, they marched forward and, once
again, they were massacred. Still not done, they marched a third time to a
similar result. Finally, with the fourth assault, the Americans ran out of
ammunition and were forced to retreat. The British won the hill. However,
one more victory like that and they would not have many soldiers left.
C. RESULTS OF THE BATTLE: The British sustained more than 1000 casualties (800 wounded and 228
killed). Also killed or wounded were a number of officers. The battle had been fought on Breed’s Hill.
Journalists reported that it occurred on nearby Bunker Hill. The name stuck. (Norton and Jordan)
15. THE FAILURE OF RECONCILIATION
a. Most hoped for reconciliation
b. Believed that Parliament and not the King
were responsible for the problems
c. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
1. the “royal brute”
2. no economic need for the empire
3. 100,000 copies
16.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS
Alarm bell at Concord
Boycott pledge
Hid the guns and gunpowder in the woods
Fighting at the bridge
Burning of the courthouse
Harrassment as they returned to Boston
17. INDEPENDENCE AT LAST
a. Richard Henry Lee’s Motion for Independence
b. Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence
AP
QUESTION: The Declaration of
1. Natural rights – government role to defend those Independence
did all of the following
Rights – If it does not… the right of revolution except:
2. List of grievances against England
a. natural rights
3. Declaration of Independence
b. abolish
slavery
4. Signatures of the men who signed that document
c. appeal
for English people’s sympathy
d. criticize the Quebec Act
d. Accused George III of
tyranny
AREA OF INTEREST:
A. THOMAS PAINE AND THE PAMPHLET, “COMMON SENSE”
1. There were still many Americans who retained their loyalty to the King.
Even Washington’s officers toasted the king rather than the Congress. It
would take some harsh British atrocities and Thomas Paine’s pamphlet
to do that.
2. Paine was a poor corset-makers apprentice… His pamphlet sold 120,000
copies in a few months… it moved many from “on the fence” to patriots.
3. He branded the attitudes of the colonists as going against common
sense… no where does a smaller heavenly body control the larger body…
nor should smaller England control larger America.
4. Paine also attacked the King … he called him the Royal Brute of Great
Britain…
“O! ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose not only the tyranny
but the tyrant, stand forth! Every spot of the Old World is overrun
with oppression. Freedom hat been hunted round the globe. Asia
and Africa have long expelled her. Europe hat given her warning to
depart. O! receive the fugitive and prepare in time an asylum for
mankind.”
B. THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
1. Richard Henry Lee’s Resolution
 June 7, 1776: Lee’s motion:
“These United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and
independent states…”
 The resolution was adopted on July 2, 1776.
2. A committee to write the Declaration
 Ben Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman and
Robert Livington were chosen to write this document. The work fell to
the reputed writer, Thomas Jefferson.
 Although John Adams and Ben Franklin made some suggestions, it
was Jefferson’s ideas.
3. Natural Rights Theory
 Jefferson stated that all men have certain inalienable rights including
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…

John Locke, from whom Jefferson borrowed these ideas, had called for
life, liberty and property… Jefferson changed that.
4. The role of government and the right of revolution
 Government has the role of protecting those rights. If government
does not protect those rights, you have another right… the right to
revolution… the right to change that government and create a new
government.
5. Grievances against the King
 Jefferson then attacked the King stating that he had gone against the
rights of man… that he had become a tyrant
 Imposing taxes without consent, abusing trial by jury, maintaining
standing armies in the colonies, cutting off trade, etc.
6. Pledging their lives, fortunes and sacred honor
 At the end of the Declaration, Jefferson stated that the undersigned
pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. He meant it.
If the king caught these men, they were traitors and would have been
dealt with as such.
 Be n Franklin made the appropriate comment. He stated that the
signers must all hang together or they would surely hang separately.
7. And King George meant it
 In 1802, King George II approved the death sentence of some Irish
rebels. “you are to be hanged by the neck, but not until you are dead;
for while you are still living your bodies are to be taken down, you
bowels torn out, and your bodies divided each into four quarters, and
your heads and quarters to be then at the king’s disposal; and may
God have mercy on your souls.”