America before Independence

8/7/2019 America before Independence

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Colonial Turmoil

And the Path to Independence



Means of Political Interactions

Taverns

± On roads

± Social institutions



Means of Political Communication

John Peter Zenger

± New York Weekly Journal

± Freedom of press?

Not yet

Libel if true



Map of Europe, 1715



Legacy of Scientific Revolution

natural philosophers of S. Revolution

Key word of S. Revolution is reason

Could apply reason (and scientific ways of

thinking) to human nature and society



Isaac Newton and John Locke

Apply Newtons Laws of Reason to human

society

John Lockes t abula rosa (blank mind)

± Knowledge is from environment and reason

±

Changing the environment means changingsociety



Philosophes

Intellectuals of French Enlightenment

Power of human logic and rationality todiscover natural laws governing economy,

politics, society, and judicial system

Protestant Reformation focus study and

individual conscience paved way



Pierre Bayle

French Protestant

God is incomprehensible to man

Religious toleration presence of many

religions would benefit, not harm, the state



Travel Literature

Cultural relativism - The position that there

is no universal standard to measure cultures

by, and that all cultures are equally valid and

must be understood in their own terms.



Paris, capital of the Enlightenment



Evolution of Thought

Scientific lawscan discovernatural laws

NewtonNewton

Reason appliedto natural laws

LockeLocke Reason and

sense experiencecan create abetter world

PhilosophesPhilosophes



The Enlightenment The Phi losophes

± Baron de Montesquieu

(1689-1755) ± FrançoisMarie Arouet

Voltaire (1694-1778)

± Denis Diderot (1713-84)

± Jean-Jacques Rousseau(1712-78)



Montesquieu

Charles de Secondat,

baron de Montesquieu

1689-1755

T he Spi r it of the Laws

(1750)



Montesquieu, Spi r it of the Laws

an original classification of governments by

their manner of conducting policy

± argument for the separation of the legislative,

judicial, and executive powers

theory of the political influence of climate

profoundly influenced European and

American political thought

± relied on by the framers of the U.S. Constitution



Montesquieu, Spi r it of the Laws

applied in government

System of checks

and balances

Separation of

powers

British political system(and US Constitution)



François-Marie Arouet

(Voltaire)



Voltaire

believed reason and educating the illiterate

masses would lead to progress

C and i de (1759)

± common sense conclusion that we must "cultivate

our garden"



Voltaire

"écrasez l'infâme," or "crush the infamous

± refers to abuses to the people by royalty and the

clergy that Voltaire, and superstition and

intolerance

"Superstition sets the whole world in flames;

philosophy quenches them



DeismDeism

Philosophy of religionPhilosophy of religion

Reason and observation of natural

world

Reason and observation of natural

world

Set universe inmotion

Set universe inmotion

Does notintervene in

human affairs

Does notintervene in

human affairs

Supreme being

created universe

Supreme being

created universe

Does notinterfere withnatural laws

Does notinterfere withnatural laws



Deism

God is Supreme

Architect

God is Supreme

Architect

No revealed

religion, religious

authority or holy

books

No revealed

religion, religious

authority or holy

books

England, France,

United States and

Ireland

England, France,

United States and

Ireland



Famous Deists

John Adams

Ethan Allen

Benjamin Franklin

Alexander Hamilton

Thomas Jefferson

JamesMadison

GouverneurMorris

Thomas Paine



Deism vs. Protestantism

This faith alone, when based upon the sure

promises of God, must save us; as our text

clearly explains. ± Martin Luther



Thomas Jefferson

We are saved by our good works, which are

within our power, and not by our faith, which

is not in our power.



Denis Dierot, 1713-1784

Very critical of Christianity

All human behavior is

determined by heredity

Warned against blind

optimism of growth of

physical knowledge and belief

in automatic social and

human progress



Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Swiss, 1712-1778

Di scourse on the Or igi n and Foundati ons of Inequal it y (1754)

± the natural, moral state of man had beencorrupted by society

T he Soci al C ont ract (1762) ± famous opening line, "Man is born free; and

everywhere he is in chains."



Rousseau, Di scourse on Inequal it y

The first man who had fenced in a piece of land,said "This is mine," and found people naïve

enough to believe him, that man was the truefounder of civil society. From how many crimes,wars, and murders, from how many horrors and

misfortunes might not any one have savedmankind, by pulling up the stakes, or filling up the

ditch, and crying to his fellows: Beware of

listening to this impostor; you are undone if youonce forget that the fruits of the earth belong tous all, and the earth itself to nobody.



Rousseau, T he Soci al C ont ract

Sovereignty

The power to makelaws

Sovereignty

The power to makelaws

In the hands of thepeople

In the hands of thepeople

opposed to idea peopleshould exercisesovereignty via

representative assembly

opposed to idea peopleshould exercisesovereignty via

representative assembly

ensures they obeythemselves because they

are the authors of thelaw

ensures they obeythemselves because they

are the authors of thelaw

The real sovereign is thelaw

The real sovereign is thelaw

the city state, e.g.Geneva, was a model

the city state, e.g.Geneva, was a model



The Scottish Enlightenment Adam Smith (1723-90)

± T he Weal th of Nati ons,

1776

± Attack on

merchantilism

± Advocate of free trade



Adam Smith and lai ssez-fai reMercantilism:

system of political economy

based on nationalpolicies of accumulating

bullion, establishing

colonies and a merchant

marine, and developing

industry and mining toattain a favorable

balance of trade through

government regulation

laissez-faire:

opposes governmentalregulation of orinterference in

commerce beyond theminimum necessary fora free-enterprise system

to operate according toits own economic laws

The Invisible Hand



What does this look like in the

geopolitical sphere?

Arguments against slavery

Punishment as deterrent

± E.g. prison over public executions

± rehabilitation



The Enlightenment in America Observation,

experiment,

reason, new

thinking

Ben Franklin



BenF

ranklin Franklin stove

Lightening rod

Founded a library

Fire company



The Thirty Years War (1618 1648)

A series of wars in central Europe beginning in1618 that stemmed from conflict betweenProtestants and Catholics and political strugglesbetween the Holy Roman Empire and other

powers

Conflict begins between Catholics (Habsburg) andCalvinists (Bohemia) ± Denmark, Sweden, France and Spain join in

Peace of Westphalia (1648) End of the Holy Roman Empire

± Social and Economic effects debated



The Thirty Years War



The Decline of Spain

Bankruptcies in 1596 and in 1607

Philip III (1598 1621)

Philip IV (1621 1665)

± Gaspar de Guzman and attempts at reform

The Thirty Years War

± Expensive military campaigns

± Civil War ± The Netherlands lost



England and the Emergence of

ConstitutionalMonarchy

Revolution and Civil War

James I (1603 1625) and the House of Stuart ± Divine Right of Kings

± Parliament and the power of the purse

± Religious policies

The Puritans



Charles I

Charles I (1625 1649)

± Petition of Right

1628) Petition sent by Parliament to King Charles I complaining of a series of breaches of law

sought recognition of four principles: ± no taxation without the consent of Parliament

± no imprisonment without cause

± no quartering of soldiers on subjects,

± no martial law in peacetime

» Charles was compelled to accept the petition, but he later ignored its

principles.

± Personal Rule (1629 1640): Parliament does not meet

± Religious policy angers Puritans



Civil War (1642 1648)

Oliver Cromwell

NewModel Army

Charles I executed (January 30, 1649) Parliament abolishes the monarchy

Cromwell dies (1658)



Restoration & a Glorious Revolution

Charles II (1660 1685) ± Declaration of Indulgence (1672)

we cannot but heartily wish, as it will easily be believed, that all the people of

our dominions were members of the Catholic Church.

Test Act (1673) Only Anglicans could hold military andcivil offices





William and Mary

Mary and William of Orange offered throne(1689) ± Bill of Rights

no catholics or wife or husband of a catholic could become

king or queen one restriction on royal power: ability of a monarch to

maintain an army in peace time

confirmed that parliamentary debate and elections shouldbe free; Parliament should meet regularly

condemned manipulation of juries affirmed the rights of law abiding citizens in face of royal

power

± The Toleration Act of 1689



Responses to the Revolution

Thomas Hobbes (1588 1679)

± Leviathan (1651)

± People form a commonwealth

±

People have no right to rebel John Locke (1632 1704)

± Two Treatises of Government

± Inalienable Rights: Life, Liberty and Property

±

People and Sovereign form a government ± If government does not fulfill its duties, people have the

right to revolt



Meanwhile, during the English Civil

War . . .

Dutch shipping companies taken over trade

with English colonies

± Oliver Cromwell persuaded Parliament to pass

Navigation Act (1651)

All goods imported by England or colonies arrive on

English ships

± Crewed by English



Meanwhile, during the English Civil

War . . .

Navigation Act of 1660

± Ship crews ¾ English

± Raw materials from

colonies shipped only to

England or other

colonies

Tobacco, cotton, sugar



Then . . .


± All ships carrying goods

from Europe to America

must dock in England, beoffloaded, pay a duty

before going to Americas



Then . . .


± Plantation Duty Act

± Every captain loading

raw materials in coloniespay a duty on them



Looking at all of this together . . .

Enlightenment and mans natural rights

Bill of Rights and Toleration Act limit

monarchys powers and some freedom of

worship

Overthrow of James II sets precedent for

monarchial overthrow

Locke when natural rights violated, right to

overthrow monarch and change government

Documents

America before Independence