Popa 1

The American Revolution: Economic Social and Political Origins

Eric Popa

American History 2010 APSU. Fall 2012 Semester, Class 25

Popa 2 American Revolution Professor M. Jochimsen November 19, 2012 The American Revolution was a turning point in colonial independence. Like many wars, the American Revolution had many influences and conflicts leading up to the confrontation. While there has always been tension between the colonists and the British government, these tensions were first magnified with the French and Indian War. The increasing national debt of England led them to start taxing the colonies heavily for profit. This led to hostile reactions from the colonies. These taxes and high tensions resulted in events such as the Boston Massacre, Gaspee Affair, and the Boston Tea Party, thus creating more tension; the British then retaliated towards the colonies with the Intolerable Acts. America then established the First Continental Congress where they adopted the Declaration and Resolves which included basic colonial rights and the request to repeal the Intolerable Acts. In response King George III said it would come down to war. Many of the events leading up to the Revolutionary War had political, economic, and social consequences. At the root of the Revolutionary War lie the French and Indian War. The French and Indian War was the beginning of conflict between England and France from tension that was building up in the Americas since 1689. Problems escalated when traders from Pennsylvania started to encroach in the Ohio Valley territory. The French then set up forts to protect their trading routes and to set up a western barrier of American expansion. Robert Dinwiddie, Royal Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, appointed George Washington to lead a military expedition to Fort Duquesne to chase the French away. In doing so, a skirmish broke out, and started the French and Indian War.

Popa 3 The British first thought was going to be swift decisive victories, ended up to be a high casualty and very expensive war. The Bloody Battle of Monongahela of 1775 is an ideal example of this. General Braddock, along with Washington, led 1400 troops with heavy artillery and plenty supplies to Fort Duquesne. Since there were not any roads leading to the fort, Braddock and his troops traveled through dense forest, where they were ambushed by 200 French soldiers and 500 Indians. British troops were overwhelmed by the attack and over half of Braddocks troops; died, were wounded or taken prisoner. Along with all of the casualties that came with the battle, there were also loses financially. The surviving troops were forced to abandon all of the heavy artillery, weapons, large quantities of ammunition, wagons, horses, 200 gallons of rum, and a chest filled with gold, money, and all of Braddocks official papers. In 1757, William Pitt became prime minister and brought much needed resources to the war. However, in doing so had to commit large amounts of funding as well. Once, more funding was committed to the war; the British were able to capture Forts Duquesne, Niagara, and Ticonderoga by 1759. The French and Indian War had political, social, and economic consequences. From a political stand point the British government focused their attention towards the colonist. After the war the British issued the Proclamation of 1763 which denied the westward expansion of the colonies past the Appalachian Mountains. The French and Indian war also had social consequences. Victory in the war created a sense of nationalism in Great Britain. Most important is the economic consequences from the French and Indian War. The amount of debt that accumulated put Britain in a bind to raise money. Britain then turned to the colonies as a way to raise revenue. The time period following the French and Indian War was crucial leading into the Revolutionary War. As stated previously, the French and Indian War had major economic

Popa 4 repercussions on the British. Since the British spent a lot of resources fighting the French, they needed more ways to produce revenue. The British did this by taxing the colonies. Between 1763 and 1775, the British passed a series of laws to regulate trade and taxes. These series of taxes caused significant tension between the colonists and imperial officers. For the first time, the British began taxing the colonist as a way to generate revenue. The British started this period of taxing with the Sugar Act. The Sugar Act cut taxes on goods such as sugar and molasses, however made collecting the taxes stricter. The British did this not only to make money off of the taxes, but also to promote trade between the colonies and England, which would lead to better relations. The British economic pressure infuriated the colonist; they were accustomed to very lenient tax laws so once England made stricter laws on taxes, the colonists were reluctant to pay. The Sugar Act affected the New England colonies the most because they needed sugar to make rum, which was a significant part of their economy. The British tried to increase the trade between the colonies and England; this also did not go over well with the colonists. If the colonists traded with England then they would not sell their goods for as much profit as they would to other countries. Formal letters of protest were then sent to parliament from New Yorks and Massachusettss colonial governments. The British were not only taxing for revenue, but they also wanted the colonist to pay in species. As a result, The British passed the Currency Act. This made it mandatory for the payment of species when paying taxes. The colonists protested vehemently against this tax. Since there was a lack of species and a deficit they owed the English, the colonist thought this tax would further hinder their economy. The colonists thought this violated their basic liberties. The British continued their taxing endeavors with the Stamp and Quartering Acts in 1765. Financial pressure by the British fueled the fire of hatred towards the English. The Stamp Act

Popa 5 placed a tax on official documents and other paper products. Outraged colonists then rioted and destroyed the house of the stamp distributor. This act of violence towards Great Britain sparked a movement that would lead to the American Revolution. The Stamp Act also had political consequences against the British; the Stamp Act placed a tax on goods were usually used by merchants and lawyers, this conflict created a powerful, political, and well educated force against the British. The next significant tax placed on the colonist was the Townshend Duties. The Townshend Duties placed taxes on goods that the colonists could only buy from England such as tea, paper, and led. In response to the tax a lawyer named John Dickinson wrote Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania. In Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, Dickinson recognized that that parliament has the authority to regulate trade but not generate revenue. In addition to Dickinson, Samuel Adams and other radicals form Massachusetts drafted a circular letter rejecting the Townshend Duties. The letter was sent to all thirteen colonies encouraging merchants to boycott British goods. Both the Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania and the drafted circular letters also had political influences. These acts from the colonists signified unification against the British for the first time. After high tensions had been built up, there was only a matter of when violence would erupt. The violence started with the Boston Massacre. From 1768 to 1770, Great Britain began increasingly bringing more and more troops in to Boston. The increase in troops as well as the Townshend Duties did not sit well with the colonists. In early spring, about fifty patriot colonists began throwing snowballs, rocks, and sticks at a group of British soldiers. The British soldiers retaliated with open fire. They shot into the crowd of colonist killing five. The Boston Massacre was a pivotal moment leading into the American Revolution with both social and political

Popa 6 consequences. Socially the Boston Massacre infuriated the colonists and wanted the responsible officers brought to justice. Politically the Boston Massacre led directly to the Royal Governor evacuating the occupying army from Boston as well as England, in 1770, repealing four of the five taxes in the Townshend Duties, keeping only the tax on tea The next major conflict leading into the American Revolution was the Gaspee Affair. Around 1770 to 1773, British naval ships were increasingly detaining colonial ships and confiscating goods on board. In response, colonial radicals lured Lieutenant William Duddington and his ship to shallow waters at Gaspee Point. Here the radicals boarded the ship, looted the cargo, and set the ship on fire. Great Britain was appalled at the boldness of the colonies and demanded that the violator be brought to England and tried, but no arrest was ever made. The Gaspee Affair had economic consequences for the British and the colonists. The British lost a lot of money from the stolen and destroyed property. Since an infuriated England lost so much money, it contributed to the placement of the Coercive Acts. The Boston Tea Party was perhaps the final spark leading into the American Revolution. The Boston Tea started and revolves around the Tea Act that England instituted in 1773. Unlike recent taxes enforced by the British, the Tea Act was not created to generate revenue from the colonists but gave the East India Tea Company tax cuts. However, as previously stated, there was still a tax on tea from the Townshend Duties. Since the existing tax on tea from the Townshend Duties still in effect, the East India Tea Company was losing money because they could not compete with the tea being illegally smuggled into the colonies. England passed the Tea Act to help the struggling East India Tea Company increase sales, create a monopoly of imported tea to the colonies, and win over the tea consumers in America by driving down the market price of tea. However colonists already aggravated by previous laws and questioning

Popa 7 British motives overlooked this economic benefit and regarded the law as no taxation without representation. In 1773, colonists of Boston pressed to have a tea-bearing ship back to England. However the colonists were still required to pay they tax on the tea. On the Seventeenth of December, Bostons Governor Thomas Hutchinson vowed to have the tea unloaded and the tax paid on it. To stop this from happening, a group of sixty radical colonists on December 16th, dressed up as Mohawk Indians boarded the ship and dumped all 342 barrels of tea into the Boston Harbor the night before the deadline for the tax. The amount of money lost because of the Boston Tea Party is estimated to be around 700,000 dollars, which hurt England economically. There were also political consequences to the Boston Tea Party as well; England would not take the destruction of their property lightly and would retaliate with the Coercive Acts. On the brink of war, the British retaliated to the Boston Tea Party with the Coercive Acts. The Coercive Acts was a series of four laws designed primarily to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. The first action demanded from the Coercive Acts was the closure of the Port of Boston until colonists from Boston pay back the damages from the Boston Tea Party. The second part of the Coercive Acts is the Quartering Act. The Quartering Act required the colonists to house British soldiers, even in private homes. The Administration of Justice Act was the third law in the Coercive Acts, which required British soldiers to be tried in England or a different colony. The last law created by the Coercive Acts was the Massachusetts Reorganization Act, which would make Massachusetts a Royal Colony. In the minds of the colonists the Coercive Acts were overkill and reaffirmed their notions that England motives were to restrict the colonists liberties.

Popa 8 Some historians include the Quebec Act with the Coercive Acts, but it was going through legislature before the Coercive Acts and was not in direct response to the Boston Tea Party. The Quebec Act would extend the Canadian border to include New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Also the colonists would no longer be protected by the Britishs old charters. The effects of this act made the colonies now susceptible to enemy nations. In response to the Coercive Acts, the colonists arranged the First Continental Congress in Pennsylvania on October 26, 1773. In a bold effort of unity against a world power of England, all colonies except Georgia sent representatives to the First Continental Congress. Although unified in their efforts, the Congress was far from organized. From a military aspect the colonies were completely unprepared for the British. However a few significant accomplishments were made at the First Continental Congress, the colonists created the Continental Association. The Continental Association was outlined with the Declaration of Right, which implemented the colonists basic liberties. It also encouraged the boycott of British goods such as wool, textiles, and tea. Another significant step in the Continental Association was the nullification of the Coercive Acts. The ramifications of the First Continental Congress would lead directly to the Revolutionary War. To fully understand a war, a person must look at the underlying causes and how those causes impacted people, their way of life, and the world. There was never a single incident that catapulted the colonists and the English into war, but rather an accumulated effort that over time could only led to war. With the Revolutionary war it started with the French and Indian War and the economic despair that came with it. The British then taxed the colonists for revenue increasingly creating more tension. With retaliation from the colonists there was always only one result that would ensue. The American Revolution seemed inevitable from the political

Popa 9 empowerment of England, to the economic pressures of generating revenue, and the social agitation from the colonists wanting basic liberties.

Popa 10 Works Cited "The Boston Massacre." The Boston Massacre. N.p., 4 July 1995. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. <http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/massacre.htm>. "Braddock's Defeat - and Another Close Call for George Washington." Braddock's Defeat. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. <http://www.offthebeatenpath.ws/Battlefields/Monongahela/index.html>. "The Coercive Acts." Coming of the American Revolution: The Coercive/Intolerable Acts. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. <http://www.masshist.org/revolution/coercive.php>. "The French & Indian War." The French & Indian War. N.p., 4 July 1995. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. <http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/frin.htm>. "The Gaspee Affair." The Gaspee Affair. N.p., 4 July 1995. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. <http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/gaspee.htm>. Hall, Mark F. "A Guide to the French and Indian War." : Library of Congress Bibliographies, Research Guides,and Finding Aids (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress). The Library of Congress, 17 Aug. 2010. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. <http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/frenchindian/>. "Milestones: 1750-1775/ Parliamentary Taxation of the Colonies." History.state.gov. Office of the Historian, n.d. Web. <http://history.state.gov/milestones/17501775/ParliamentaryTaxation>. "Quebec Act." Quebec Act. N.p., 4 July 1995. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. <http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/cqa.htm>. Schultz, Kevin M. "Chapter 5- Toward Revolution." Hist. Vol. 2. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2010. 86-87. Print.

Popa 11 Schultz, Kevin M. "Chapter 5- Toward Revolution." Hist. Vol. 3. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2010. 89-94. Print. "Significance of the Tea Act, 1773." Boston Tea Party Historical Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. <http://www.boston-tea-party.org/tea-act.html>. Smith, George H. "The Coercive Acts and Their Theoretical Significance." Libertarianism.org. N.p., 24 Jan. 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. <http://www.libertarianism.org/publications/essays/excursions/coercive-acts-theirtheoretical-significance>. "The Townshend Acts." Coming of the American Revolution:. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. <http://www.masshist.org/revolution/townshend.php>.