Revolution in America

1. Revolution in America Political and Economic Events and Issues prior to War Revolutionary Battles; Progression of War Life on the Homefront

2. French and Indian War • What was the impact of the French and Indian War on: • Interior Indian tribes • American colonists • Colonists’ relationship with Great Britain

3. French and Indian War • Decisive British victory • France and Spain lost territory • Interior Indians lost bargaining power – could not play one group of Europeans off another • British colonists no longer feared French and Spanish threats

4. French and Indian War • Decisive British victory was a costly and extremely expensive victory for the British • Debt from the war • First time decided to levy revenue-raising taxes on the colonies in addition to customs duties

5. French and Indian War • Shifts in political ideology and beliefs • Colonists realized their political ideas differed from English notions • First sought solution within the framework of the British empire, even as late as 1774

6. French and Indian War • World War • Major international battle • Britain, France, Spain, Native Americans, and Colonists

7. Treaty of Paris (1763) • France ceded its land to Britain • Spain gave Florida to Britain • British in control of fur trade • France no longer threat

8. Victory in French and Indian War • Americans, such as Ben Franklin, start to think of new possibilities for America • See new strength and bright future • Belief that colonists defeated major European powers • Economic growth and geographic expansion

9. Proclamation of 1763 • Britain realized that large territory from France would be difficult to govern • No experience managing vast territory, especially a large territory with French and Indian settlers not willing to easily acquiesce to British demands • Proclamation established western boundary for colonial settlement

11. Proclamation of 1763 • Why did this upset colonists? • What did this proclamation symbolize? • Two major groups opposed and protested against this proclamation • Those who already were squatters on land west of the line (many recent immigrants, including many Scots-Irish) • Land speculation companies from Pennsylvania and Virginia • Washington, Jefferson, Henry, Franklin

12. Land speculation companies • Negotiated directly with Iroquois • Iroquois agreed to allow further development west and south – Kentucky • Could not get support for this from Britain • Why not? • Coincidence that these business leaders were the leaders of the Revolution? • Economics v. political theory and beliefs – which more important???

13. Politics in England and Colonies • Prime minister in 1763 – Grenville • Grenville believed more control over colonies necessary • Colonists benefited from war, Grenville concluded that Anglo-Americans should pay larger share • Government had legitimate right to tax colonies

14. Political Ideas and theories of representation • England – Parliament • Parliament represented entire nation • Virtual Representation (theory of government) • Colonists virtually represented, not actually, represented in Parliament • Consent on acts of Parliament presumed • Colonists • Consent was more personal • Representation by men who lived nearby and for whom they or their property-owning neighbors had elected • Both were Representative views of government – not democracy • Did not conflict until the tax issue in the 1760s

15. Some political beliefs of colonists • Used to limited authority of central government • Little affect on daily lives • Good government left them alone • Saw dangers in powerful government (Real Whigs) • Republicanism – eliminate monarchs, power more directly with people • Need to preserve liberty – Linked liberty to personal property

16. Sugar and Currency Acts in 1764 • New duties on imports • Economy in depression after boom of French and Indian War • Low demand – no demand for foodstuff for military • Large drop in European tobacco market – greatly impacted Chesapeake farmers • Sailors to of work and artisans out of work • Colonists’ hostility toward idea of new taxes

17. Stamp Act (1765) • Required tax stamps on printed material • Affected nearly every colonist • Heaviest burden on merchants and colonial elite • Some protests – not a coordinated effort at this time • Patrick Henry in Virginia – Stamp Act Resolves

18. 1765-1774 • Increased protest • No full-scale calls for independence • Sought to fight for their rights as British citizens • As British citizens, fought for right to consent to taxation – “no taxation without representation” concept developed • Economy and life still heavily dependent on Great Britain • Colonial Groups had divergent objectives and goals – were not unified - this unification had to occur prior to the war for independence

19. Sons of Liberty • Attempts to create a unified struggle against “unfair” British policies • Resistance coordinated by intercolonial association • Merchants, lawyers and prosperous tradesmen (Paul Revere)

20. Townshend Acts (1767) • Taxes on trade goods like paper, glass and tea • Colonists had more experience with protest since the Stamp Act • Acted quickly – immediately protested taxes

21. Protests • Boycotts of products • Daughters of Liberty • Women as primary buyers of textiles and household goods • Essential role in non-consumption movement • Pledges not to buy or drink tea • Encouraged home manufacturing – end dependence on British cloth • Still divided opinions among colonists

22. Confrontations in Boston • What events or actions led to the Boston Massacre? • Was it truly a massacre? • What were the consequences of this massacre? • Any modern similarities?

23. Boston Massacre • Confrontation between soldiers and civilians – • March 5, 1770 • Death of 5 Americans • Repeated clashes between customs officers and people of Massachusetts • Members had been brawling in the streets • When repeatedly hit with snowballs, soldiers fired on the crowd • Resistance leaders idealized the dead rioters as martyrs or the cause of liberty • Similar actions in modern world?

24. Tea • Tea was highly valued in colonies • Tea served as a powerful symbol • Tea Act 1773 • What led to the Boston Tea Party? • Was patriot behavior justified? Or should it have been considered an act of lawlessness? • “Destruction of Tea” document – small group discussion

25. Coercive or Intolerable Acts • Port of Boston closed • Appointed council in Massachusetts instead of elected • Quartering Act allowed military officers to take over privately owned buildings to house troops • Colonists (Patriots) saw these acts as deliberate attempts by Parliament to oppress them

26. Ready for revolution • 1774 • Not yet committed to full-scale break from England • Still talks of reform

27. First Continental Congress • Philadelphia 1774 • Leading political figures • Samuel Adams, John Adams, John Jay, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, George Washington – had not met previously but soon became architects of new nation • Declaration of Rights and Grievances • Economic boycott of Britain • Systematic moves toward declaring independence • Subtle shifts in ideologies • Slowly unified and rallied colonies to Patriot cause

28. Compromise at Continental Congress • Obey Parliament because in everyone’s best interests • However, would resist all taxes in disguise • Compromise in 1774 that would have seemed radical in 1765 – remember hesitant steps to protest Sugar Act

29. Progression of War - Battles • Battle of Lexington – April 19, 1775 • British killed 8 colonists • Battle of Concord – thousands of militiamen from surrounding towns – first British killed in the war • End of the day, 272 British casualties, including 70 deaths • Patriots suffered only 93 casualties

31. General Washington Crosses the DelawareOn December 25, 1776, as the Hessians—a group of German mercenaries employed by the British—celebrated Christmas, General George Washington led a surprise attack on their forces at Trenton, New Jersey. Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River during the night and attacked at dawn. The American army defeated the British forces while suffering few losses. Washington is depicted here before the battle, watching his troops cross the Delaware River.

32. War • First year – long lull in fighting in Boston, both groups had chance to regroup, reorganize and plan strategies • British assumptions • Believed patriot soldiers could not withstand assaults of trained British soldiers • Treated war as comparable to conflicts in Europe – conventional strategies • Believed that military victory would ensure colonial allegiance • Why were assumptions flawed?

33. Second Continental Congress • May 10, 1775 – Philadelphia • Authorized printing of money • Strengthen militia • Supervise relations with foreign countries • Created the continental Army and appointed generals • Prepared nation for war • Washington appointed as leader of Continental Army • Why didn’t the congress want to appoint a New Englander as commander-in-chief? (p. 152)

34. Declaration of Independence • What role did Thomas Paine’s Common Sense play in the development of the Declaration? • “By late spring [1776] independence had become inevitable.” (p. 153) • June 7, resolution that United Colonies are to be free and independent states – vote delayed • Committee to draft Declaration – Jefferson, Adams, Franklin on committee • Officially voted for independence on July 2 • Adopted Declaration after debate and rewording on July 4, 1776 • Act of treason • “We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal” (what notion of equality among members of Congress?)

35. Battles • War in the North • British troop movements in Boston area • British evacuation to Nova Scotia • British invasion of New York and New Jersey • Washington crossing the Delaware – successful attack on Trenton on Dec. 26th • Philadelphia – Revolutionary Army gaining confidence in itself and its leaders, gaining strength, British captured Philly in Sept. 1777, but Continental Army gaining power • American victory at Saratoga drew France into conflict – avenge defeat in French and Indian War • Franco-American Alliance 1778 • 90% of gunpowder used by patriots during war’s first 2 years came from France • Franklin as diplomat • Sent troops to aid patriots • Britain had to fight France in Caribbean and elsewhere, not just mainland • Global War

36. End of War • Battles in the South – Victory in the South • After Saratoga, British shifted strategy and decided to move southward • British invasion of Georgia in 1778 • Battles in North and South Carolina • War went badly for patriots in 1780 in S.C. • General Greene – promised no punishment for loyalists or neutrals if they would join the patriot cause in S.C. and Greene pursued diplomacy with Indians • Surrender at Yorktown • Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781 • Treaty of Paris • Treaty of Versailles

38. Treaty of Paris • The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, established peace between Great Britain and the United States. That same day, at Versailles, Britain signed separate peace treaties with France and Spain, both of which had joined the war on the American side. • Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris, Britain formally recognized the independence of the United States. The treaty also defined the new nation's boundaries, giving the United States the land between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi River, bordered to the south by Spanish territory and to the north by the British territory of Canada. This new agreement nullified the Proclamation of 1763, under the terms of which Britain had forbidden colonists to settle past the Appalachian mountains. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles between Britain and Spain, Britain returned Florida to Spain. However, the treaty did not define the northern boundary of West Florida (now southern Mississippi and Alabama), an omission which led to years of dispute between Spain and the United States. • Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles between Britain and France, Britain returned the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, south of Newfoundland, to France. • At the time of the Treaty of Paris, the Pacific Northwest was the object of competing claims by Spain, England, and Russia. The United States would later join the struggle for this territory.

39. Victory • Was the war won by the Patriots or lost by the British generals? • What do you believe was the turning point of the war? • Was there a point that Patriot victory became inevitable?

40. What if? • What would have happened in the colonies if the outcome of the Revolution had been different? • How long would fighting have continued? • What other battles may have occurred? • Would British have ever given up? • Could Patriots have outlasted them?

41. War on the Homefront • Revolutionary War fought at home • No one was left untouched by the war • How does this alter experience of war? • How do average, non-military Americans experience war? • Compare Revolution to current war in Iraq

43. Loyalists, Patriots, Neutrals • American colonists who remained loyal to Britain during the Revolutionary War called themselves Loyalists; their opponents referred to them as Tories. Those supporting the revolution called themselves patriots, and were called rebels by the British. • Estimates of the number of Loyalists in the colonies during the war range from one-fifth to one-third of the population. Another estimated one-third were patriots; the rest were neutral or undecided. • Crown-appointed officeholders, wealthy merchants, and large landowners were likely to be Loyalists. Other groups represented among Loyalists included Quakers, who were strict pacifists, and enslaved African Americans, who were promised freedom by the British if they fought for the Crown. • New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and the Carolinas all had high Loyalist populations and saw bitter factional fighting during the war. Massachusetts and Virginia were centers of Patriot support.

44. Choices during Revolution • What dilemma did slaves face? • What were their choices? What were the consequences of their choices? • What factors impacted choices and choosing sides during Revolution?

46. Values of the Revolution • Portrait of Paul Revere – page 115 of text • What values are portrayed? • What does this portrait tell us about the revolutionary cause?

47. Values • Humility • Humble origins • Hard-work and make life for self and family • Self-made man • Intellectualism • No aristocracy • Fraternity • Equality???

48. War was fought at home • On our soil • British troops, American troops both living, hiding and fighting in communities • Devastating effect • Many homes and property destroyed

49. British Barracks in Trenton • The British government expected its mainland provinces to defend themselves, and garrisoned few troops in the thirteen colonies until after the Seven Years' War commenced. This 1936 photo shows the barracks that were built at Trenton, New Jersey, as quarters for a regiment (about 600 troops) in 1759. Officers occupied the two-story house on the right, while enlisted personnel were housed in the less-commodious bays forming a square horseshoe to the left.

50. Delaware Countryside • The landscape along the Atlantic seaboard was dramatically changed. Tree cover disappeared in much of the terrain by the 1780s, such as in this countryside scene sketched near Wilmington, Delaware.