The Road to Revolution

1. The Road to Revolution 1754-1776

2. The Albany Plan of Union, 1754 • Benjamin Franklin recognized the need for greater colonial cooperation • Plan called for a united colonial defense against French and Native American threats to frontier settlements • Proposed the formation of a Grand Council of elected delegates to oversee common defense, western expansion, and Indian relations • Franklin’s famous “Join, or Die” cartoon called for unity • The plan failed because colonial assemblies did not want to give up their autonomy

3. The French and Indian War, 1754-1763 • What happened? • The F&I War culminated the long struggle between G.B. and France for control of North America • France lost because its absolute government • G.B. won because its colonies were far more populous than those of New France (1754, Britain’s colonies=1.2 million people, New France=75,000 people) • The Algonquian supported the French and the Iroquois supported the British • What caused the French and Indian War? • It began as a struggle for control of the upper Ohio River valley • It was part of a wider struggle between G.B. and France (Seven Years’ War)

5. The French and Indian War, 1754-1763 • Why should you remember the French and Indian War? • G.B. emerged as the world’s foremost naval power • The Peace of Paris of 1763 ended French power in North America – Britain took title to Canada, Spanish Florida, and all the French lands east of the Mississippi River • The F&I War left Britain with a large debt – must tax colonies • The F&I War awakened the colonists’ sense of separate identity

6. The Proclamation of 1763 • Now that the French were gone, American fur traders and land speculators looked forward to all the new lands • The British wanted to prevent land-hungry settlers from provoking hostilities with the Indians • The Proclamation of 1763 forbade settlers from crossing the crest of the Appalachian Mountains • Hardy settlers soon defied the prohibition as they pushed over the Appalachian ridges into Kentucky and Tennessee

7. The Stamp Act Crisis, 1765 • What happened? • The F&I War doubled Britain’s national debt • In addition, Britain needed more money to support 10,000 in the colonies for defense against Indians and the French • George Grenville, the new first prime minister and first lord of the Treasury, persuaded Parliament colonists did not pay their fair share of imperial expenses • Parliament passed the Stamp Act on February 13, 1765 • It required colonists to affix stamps to over 50 items including newspapers, legal documents, almanacs, college diplomas, and playing cards

8. The Stamp Act Crisis, 1765 • What happened? • Led by the Sons and Daughters of Liberty, outraged colonists used the threat of violence to “persuade” almost every stamp agent to resign • The Stamp Act Congress rejected Parliament’s right to tax the colonists and called for a boycott of British goods • The boycott was successful • British merchants hurt by the loss of trade persuaded Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act • However, Parliament also passed the Declaratory Act reaffirming its right to “make laws and statues…to bind the colonies…in all cases whatsoever.”

9. The Stamp Act Crisis, 1765 • What caused the Stamp Act crisis? • The S.A. ended Britain’s policy of salutary neglect • It directly affected lawyers, newspaper publishers, merchants, and planters – these articulate and influential colonists denounced the S.A. • It provoked debate over Parliament’s constitutional right to tax the colonies • British argued “virtual representation” – members of Parliament represented the interests of all Englishmen, including the colonists • The colonists adamantly rejected “virtual representation” – they argued that as Englishmen they could only be taxed by their own elected representatives • The principle of “no taxation without representation” was a cherished right of British subjects – giving it up would lead to tyranny

10. The Stamp Act Crisis, 1765 • Why should you remember the Stamp Act crisis? • The S.A. crisis marked the first major event that provoked colonial resistance to British rule • The S.A. crisis intensified the colonists’ commitment to republican values • Republicanism is the belief that government should be based on the consent of the governed • Republican values inspired the Virginia Resolves and Patrick Henry’s famous “Give me liberty or give me death” speech

11. The Boston Massacre, 1770 • British authorities viewed Boston as a hotbed of discontent • They dispatched troops to Boston to protect Customs Commissioners and tension soon escalated • On the night of March 5, 1770 a rowdy group of hecklers taunted a squad of British soldiers outside the Boston Customs house • A provoked soldier fired into the crowd and when the smoke cleared, five townspeople lay on the ground dead or dying • Led by Samuel Adams, enraged patriots promptly branded the incident the “Boston Massacre”

12. The Boston Massacre, 1770 • Paul Revere’s highly partisan engraving of the Boston Massacre further inflamed colonial opinion against the British

13. Boston Tea Party, 1773 • On December 16, 1773 a group of Boston patriots disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded three British ships and threw 342 chests of tea into the harbor • The Boston Tea Party infuriated British authorities • Parliament promptly passed the Coercive Acts to punish Boston for the wanton destruction of private property

14. The Coercive Acts, 1774 • Known in America as the Intolerable Acts the legislation closed the port of Boston, sharply reduced town meetings, and authorized the army to quarter troops wherever they were needed • Parliament’s attempt to limit political autonomy in Massachusetts seemed to confirm the colonists’ fear that Britain intended to restrict each colony’s right to self-government • The British strategy of isolating Boston failed • In September 1774, fifty-five elected representatives met in Philadelphia to decide the response to the Coercive Acts • This meeting was called the First Continental Congress and called for a complete boycott of British goods and for each colony to organize a militia

15. The Second Continental Congress, 1775 • The S.C.C. met in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775 and took on the role of a de facto America government • The S.C.C. issued the “Declaration of Causes of Taking up Arms” – declared that the colonists could either submit to tyranny or fight • The S.C.C. authorized an army and appointed George Washington its Commander-in-Chief • Washington demonstrated a rare combination of soldier and statesman

16. Commitment to Republican Values • A belief in republican values inspired the American revolutionaries who defied British authority • Republicanism is the belief that government should be based upon the consent of the governed • As they developed the habits of self-government (House of Burgesses and town hall meetings), colonial leaders developed a firm sense of their rights • The Stamp Act Congress and the First and Second Continental Congresses further underscored the colonists’ commitment to republican values and determination to assert and defend their rights

17. Common Sense, 1776 • In 1776, equal factions called for independence and loyalty to the crown • In January, Thomas Paine published a pamphlet called Common Sense – within three months more than 150,000 copies of the pamphlet circulated throughout the colonies • Paine rejected monarchy as a form of government • He attacked George III as a “royal brute” and a “hardened Pharaoh” who callously permitted his troops to “slaughter” innocent colonists • He urged Americans to reject British sovereignty and create an independent nation based upon the republican principles

18. The Declaration of Independence, 1776 • Jefferson opened the D.o.I. with a concise and compelling statement of principles and “self-evident” truths • Inspired by John Locke’s philosophy of natural rights– “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” • Jefferson appealed to universal “laws of Nature and Nature’s God” • The D.o.I. also listed specific grievances against King George III • It was these grievances that forced the colonists to declare independence • The D.o.I. did not call for the abolition of the slave trade which directly contradicted Jefferson’s statements

19. The Declaration of Independence, 1776