Chapter Seven Notes

The Deep Roots of revolution By the mid 18th century there were two prevailing ideas in the minds of the colonists: o Republicanism: A society in which all the citi ens willingly acted for the good of the many and lay aside their self interest! "n it social and political order and authority was dependant on the citi ens and their capacity for selflessness! o Radical #higs: The notion that the aristocracy of $ngland was corrupt an accepted %ic%bac%s and bribes! The only colony to be formally formed by the British government was &eorgia' other colonies were formed hapha ardly by trading companies and individual proprietors! $ngland(s method for controlling the colonies was simple! The branch of government that oversaw the colonies was by 1)*)+ the Board of Trade! The theory that shaped British America the most was Mercantilism! Mercantilism is the idea that colonies e,ist to help the mother nation meet the goals of self sufficiency! Thus the colonists were regarded more as tenants than British citi ens! o To benefit the mother nation -&reat Britain. the colonies would demurely grow tobacco and other products o They would also furnish Britain(s fleet of ships o They would also favour the British over any of the other consumers and would buy their goods mostly from British merchants To enforce the Mercantilist system the British /arliament passed a number of measures: o The 0avigation 1aws of 1)23 that were aimed at stopping Dutch merchants from entering the mar%et o 4ettlers were forbidden from manufacturing woolen cloth and beaver hats for the British fear of competition with the colonies! o Also Americans had a trade deficit with $ngland which had to be made up with cash+ which became increasingly rare in America until $ngland had to intervene and declare ban%ruptcy!

The Theory of Mercantilism

Mercantilist Trammels on Trade

The Merits and Menaces of Mercantilism

5ntil the enforcement of the 0avigation 1aws in 17)8 there was no intolerable burden upon the Americans! o $nterprising entrepreneurs had fund ways to evade the restriction Americans actually also reaped direct benefit from the system o The Americans were also better off than most Britishers because they had the undiluted rights of being a British citi en and the opportunity for self government o They also had the support of the most powerful military in the world even though they did not directly contribute to it 9owever+ the system did burden the colonists with liabilities o The 0ew $nglanders resented being treated as unwanted colonies because they did not grow non $nglish products! Due to the 6rench and "ndian #ar Britain had a very large debt! "n 17)8 /rime Minister &eorge &renville ordered the navy to actually begin imposing the 0avigation 1aws which until that time had been imposed very la,ly! 9e also passed the 4ugar Act of 17): the first law passed by /arliament to raise the ta, revenue brought in from the colonies+ it increased the duty on foreign sugar imported from the #est "ndies! 9e then passed the ;uartering Act of 17)2 which re<uired certain colonies to provide for British garrisons! Then in 17)2+ &renville imposed a stamp ta, on the colonies to raise revenues in order to support the new military force! o This ta, also %nown as the 4tamp Act mandated the use of stamped paper or stamps to certify payment of ta,! "n 17)2 the 4tamp Act =ongress was held in 0ew >or%+ 0ew >or%! "t brought together ?7 delegates from * colonies! The members drew up a statement of their rights and grievances and re<uested the %ing and /arliament to repeal the legislation! The meeting began to erode suspicions between the colonies for it had brought together leaders from

The 4tamp Ta, 5proar

/arliament 6orced to Repeal the 4tamp Act

the different and rival colonies! "t was a step towards intercolonial unity!

The Tea ta, and the Boston Massacre

0onimportation agreements -agreements made to not import British goods. were agreed upon o The 4ons of 1iberty and Daughters of 1iberty started enforcing nonimportation agreements The 4tamp Act was repealed by /arliament in 17))' however /arliament passed the Declaratory Act+ asserting its right to bind the colonies in all instances! "n 17)7+ /arliament passed the Townshend Acts! This placed a slight import ta, on glass+ white lead+ paper+ paint+ and tea! British officials landed ? regiments of troops in the colonies in 17)8+ to control the colonists o @n March 2+ 1773+ a crowd of )3 civilians attac%ed 13 soldiers and the soldiers opened fired on the civilians+ %illingAwounding 11 of them! The massacre was %nown as the Boston Massacre! 1ord 0orth was forced to persuade /arliament to repeal the Townshend revenue duties! 4amuel AdamsB master propagandist and engineer of rebellion' formed the first local committee of correspondence in Massachusetts in 177? -4ons of 1iberty.! o =ommittees of =orrespondance were created in order to maintain communication with one another! They were organi ed when communication between the colonies became essential! o "n March of 1778+ the Cirginia 9ouse of Burgesses proposed that each colonial legislature appoint a standing committee for intercolonial correspondance! "n 1778+ the British $ast "ndia =ompany was overstoc%ed with 17 million pounds of unsold tea! "f the company collapsed+ the 1ondon government would lose much money! Therefore+ the 1ondon government gave the company a full monopoly of the tea sell in America!

The =ommittees of =orrespondence

Boston Tea /arty

Americans reDected the tea! #hen the ships arrived in the Boston harbour+ the governor+ Thomas 9utchinson+ forced the citi ens to allow the ships to unpac%! @n December 1)+ 1778+ a band of Bostonians boarded the ships and threw the tea into the sea! "n 177:+ /arliament punished the people of Massachusetts for their actions in the Boston Tea /arty! /arliament passed laws+ %nown as the "ntolerable Acts+ which restricted colonistsE rights! o The laws made restrictions on town meetings+ and stated that enforcing officials who %illed colonists in the line of duty would be sent to Britain for trial! The ;uebec Act was imposed in 177:' however wasn(t a part of the "ntolerable Acts! "t gave =atholic 6rench =anadians religious freedom and restored the 6rench form of civil law' o This law disappointed many of the #estern colonists and their plans for speculation by e,tending the boundaries of ;uebec to the @hio River on the south and to the Mississippi River on the west! "n 177:+ the 1st =ontinental =ongress met in /hiladelphia in order to adress colonial grievances over the "ntolerable Acts! The 18 colonies+ minus &eorgia+ sent 22 men to the convention o After 7 wee%s+ the 1st =ontinental =ongress drew up several papers! The papers included a Declaration of Rights The formation of The Association an important outcome of the =ongress! "t called for a complete boycott of British goods!

"ntolerable Acts

The 6irst =ontinental =ongress

British 4trength and #ea%nesses

"n April 1772+ the British commander in Boston sent troops to 1e,ington to capture the FrebelF ringleaders+ 4amuel Adams and Gohn 9ancoc%! At 1e,ington+ 8 Americans were %illed! o This incident was named the F1e,ington Massacre!F #hen the British came to =oncord+ they were met with resistance and caused 833 casualties and 73 deaths! Because of this+ the British were dealing with a war and not a rebellion The population of Britain was over 8 times that of America! o Thus it had much more wealth and naval power! 5nfortunately for the British+ they were forced to divert much of their military power and concentration away from the Americas due to "reland and 6rance The British army in America had to function under many difficulties! Mar<uis de 1afayetteB A maDor general in the colonial army' his services were important in securing aid from 6rance! The Articles of =onfederation were adopted in 1781! o The first written constitution adopted by colonists! At Calley 6orge+ /enn! =olonists went hungry for 8 days during the winter of 1777B1778! Baron von 4teubenB &erman who vigorously trained the American soldiers! 1ord DunmoreB British governor of Cirginia! "n 1772+ he promised freedom for any blac% slave in Cirginia who Doined the British!

American /ros and =ons

9eroes