Chapter 5: Toward the War for American Independence

1. Chapter 5: Toward the War for American Independence Preview:“Parliament passed the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, and other measures of the early 1760s in hopes of binding the American colonies more closely to the empire. Instead, once-loyal Americans became convinced that their constitutional rights were being violated….With the passage of the harsh Coercive Acts of 1774, a break with Britain was not long in coming.” The Highlights: The Seven Years’ War The Imperial Crisis Toward the Revolution

2. 5-2 The Seven Years’ War • The Years of Defeat • 1754: war started with George Washington’s surrender at Fort Necessity to the French • 1755: disastrous defeat of British regiments, led by General Braddock, at Fort Duquesne • Most Indian tribes allied with France McGraw-Hill

3. 5-3 • The Years of Victory • 1756-57: British fortunes worsened, but William Pitt began to take personal control over the war • By 1758, the tide began to shift in Britain’s favor • 1759-60: British capture Quebec and Montreal • Treaty of Paris (1763) ended the war, as well as the French presence in North America McGraw-Hill

4. 5-4 McGraw-Hill

5. 5-5 • Postwar Expectations • Britain’s victory stoked colonial pride and optimism among Americans • English resented American tightfistedness in supplying the armies • Very different expectations for postwar America by the English and the colonists McGraw-Hill

6. 5-6 The Imperial Crisis • New Troubles on the Frontier • Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763) west of Pittsburgh highlighted the problem of Britain’s large western frontier • Proclamation of 1763 prohibited settlement west of the Appalachians McGraw-Hill

7. 5-7 McGraw-Hill

8. 5-8 • George Grenville’s New Measures • Britain’s national debt doubled, 1754-64 • Colonial merchants had been evading the Molasses Act of 1733 • Grenville, the first lord of the treasury, advocated four policies to raise revenue from the colonies: • 1. Sugar Act (1764) • 2. Currency Act (1764) • 3. Quartering Act (1765) • 4. Stamp Act (1765) • Grenville’s policies prompted an incrementally negative reaction by colonials McGraw-Hill

9. 5-9 “The concern for protecting individual liberties was only one of the convictions shaping the colonies’ response to Britain’s new policies. Equally important was their deep suspicion of power itself, a preoccupation that colonials shared with a minority of radical English thinkers”(153). • The Beginnings of Colonial Resistance • Significance of John Locke’s beliefs that property ownership and liberty were intertwined • Opposition thinkers, while ignored in England, were revered by colonial leaders • Postwar recession aggravated political tensions caused by Grenville’s measures McGraw-Hill

10. 5-10 • Riots and Resolves • 1765: colonial assemblies passed resolves challenging Parliament’s power to tax the colonies for the sole purpose of raising revenue • Patrick Henry’s resolves in Virginia • Resistance groups, most notably the Sons of Liberty, sprang up across the colonies • Repeal of the Stamp Act • Policy repealed by Parliament in 1766 • Continued angst over virtual versus actual representation McGraw-Hill

11. 5-11 • The Townshend Acts • In 1767, the new minister, William Townshend, wanted to limit the power of colonial assemblies • Instituted new tariffs • The Resistance Organizes • Efforts by colonial leaders John Dickinson and John Adams helped colonies to unite • 1768: Liberty riot in Boston whipped up anti-government fervor • Widespread boycott of British-made goods McGraw-Hill

12. 5-12 • The International Sons of Liberty • Colonials follow struggle of Pascal Paoli in fighting for Corsican independence from Genoa • The Boston Massacre • Increasing tensions between colonists and British troops • March 5, 1770: situation exploded in Boston, with troops firing upon protesters and killing five • All of the Townshend duties repealed except the tax on tea McGraw-Hill

13. 5-13 McGraw-Hill

14. 5-14 • Resistance Revived • Repeal of Townshend duties reduced American resistance for two years • Constant tension among Penn, his council, the legislative assembly, and farmers • Gaspee incident provoked renewed tensions in 1772 • Samuel Adams engineered mode of communication: committees of correspondence • 1773: Boston Tea Party McGraw-Hill

15. 5-15 “The Boston Tea Party proved to British satisfaction that the colonies aimed at independence. Lord North’s assessment was grim: ‘We are now to dispute whether we have, or have not, any authority in that country’” (162). • The Empire Strikes Back • Coercive, or “Intolerable,” Acts passed by Parliament, 1774 • Colonists began to believe in a conspiracy theory that the British government wanted to reduce their liberties • Quebec Act (1774) • Call for First Continental Congress McGraw-Hill

16. 5-16 Toward the Revolution • The First Continental Congress • Delegates, while affirming natural rights, tried to stake out a moderate position • Joseph Galloway’s plan for cooperation with Parliament rejected • Decision to cease all trade with Britain until the Coercive Acts were repealed • Began to arm colonial militias McGraw-Hill

17. 5-17 • The Last Days of the British Empire in America • Governor of Massachusetts, Thomas Gage, tried to fortify Boston against the growing number of rebels • Royal authority collapsed, 1774-75 • The Fighting Begins • April 1775: first battles of the American Revolution, Lexington and Concord, Mass. • Common Sense • Thomas Paine: Americans’ destiny was to be republicans, not monarchists McGraw-Hill