The Road to American Independence: Seven Years' War to the Revolution

1. Chapter 6: Toward the War for American Independence NATION OF NATIONS, SIXTH EDITION DAVIDSON • DELAY • HEYRMAN • LYTLE • STOFF

2. 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...”

3. The Highlights • The Seven Years’ War • The Imperial Crisis • Toward the Revolution

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

5. 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

6. 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 American colonies by both the English and the colonists

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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 “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…”

11. 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 in individual colonies • Repeal of the Stamp Act • Policy repealed by Parliament in 1766 • Continued angst over virtual versus actual representation

12. The Townshend Acts • In 1767, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, William Townshend, wanted to limit the power of colonial assemblies • Instituted new tariffs

13. The Resistance Organizes • Efforts by colonial leaders such as John Dickinson and John Adams helped colonies gradually to increase coordination of their resistance to Parliament • 1768: Liberty riot in Boston whipped up anti-government fervor • Widespread boycott of British-made goods • All of the Townshend duties eventually repealed except the tax on tea

15. 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: troops fire upon protesters in Boston, killing five

16. Resistance Revived • Gaspee incident provoked renewed tensions in 1772 • Samuel Adams engineered mode of communication: committees of correspondence • 1773: Boston Tea Party

17. The Empire Strikes Back • Coercive, or “Intolerable,” Acts passed by Parliament in response to Tea Party, 1774; port of Boston closed until debt for tea repaid • 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

18. “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.’”

19. 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

20. 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