Chapter 2: The American Revolution

Section 1: The Colonies Fight for Their Rights

French and Indian War:• 1754-1763• France and England battled for supremacy in

Europe. Eventually the conflict spills to America.• 1740’s: Common interest in the Ohio River Valley.• Both England and France begin to build forts in

the territory.• France: Wanted to link New France with

Louisiana.• England: Looking to expand colonies westward.

Sides:• French and the Native Americans.• English and American Colonists.• 1756 to 1763: Seven Years War fought in

Europe. France vs. England. Fought during French and Indian War.

Fighting:• Spring 1754: George Washington was asked to

intervene for the British to expel the French from Fort Duquesne.

• After a brief battle, Washington and his troops will retreat and build Fort Necessity.

• French troops will attack Fort Necessity and defeat Washington. (He is only 22 at the time).

Albany Conference:• Held in Albany, June 1754.• Meeting between the British, representatives

from colonies, and Iroquois leaders.• Results: Iroquois agreed to remain neutral and

British planned to name a Commander of British troops in the colonies.

• Albany Plan of Union: This was the 1st time that it was suggested that the colonies should unite and form a government.

General Edward Braddock:

• Appointed British Commander in Chief, he will appoint Washington as his aide.

• His forces will be ambushed by the French near Fort Duquesne.

• He believes that his forces were unstoppable.• Braddock is shot and killed and Washington will

save the British troops.• 1755: Realizing the British were not unstoppable,

Indians begin attacking settlements on the frontier.

• Turning Point: September 12, 1759: Battle of Quebec: British troops were able to defeat the French at the capital of New France.

• 1763: Treaty of Paris officially ends the war.• Results:1. This will eliminate France as a colonial power in North

America.2. All lands east of the Mississippi River became British

territory.3. Many colonists (especially Washington) experience the

first taste of battle (Before American Revolution).

Colonies Grow Discontent:

• The British victory in the war caused a huge amount of debt (Wars cost $$$).

• Since it was fought in America, the British felt that the colonies should help pay off the debt.

• George Grenville: British Prime Minister and First Lord of Treasury who implements new tax policies in the colonies.

Policies Against Colonies:

• Royal Proclamation Act of 1763• Spring 1763: Pontiac, chief of the Ottawa tribe convinced

several Native tribes to go to war against the British (Attacked on frontier).

• Fearing another war, the British will pass this act to calm the natives who were angered with westward expansion.

• They will draw a line south down the Appalachian Mountains. This line was the furthest a settler could live without British permission.

• Angered colonial farmers and land speculators.

Custom Duties

• The British placed taxes on imports and exports which were ignored by the colonists.

• Prime Minister passed a law that sent smugglers to a new vice admiralty court in Nova Scotia.

• Colonists felt that this was a violation of their rights. They argued about a trial by jury, protection by British common law, and the right to a speedy trial.

Sugar Act:

• Officially called the Revenue Act of 1764.• Act changed taxes on raw sugar and molasses.• Merchants argued that the act hurt trade and

it violated traditional English rights.• Under the act: Smugglers were presumed

guilty, officials could seize cargo without due process, and improperly seized goods were not returned to owners.

Currency Act of 1764:

• Act banned the use of paper money in the colonies.• Angered the colonists who used paper money to

pay off debts.• Reactions by Colonists:• Pamphlets emerged in all major cities.• James Otis: Argued that because the colonists had

no representation in Parliament, the colonies could not be taxed to raise money for the government.

• NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!!!

Strict Regulations:

• The British continued to tax the colonies throughout the 1760’s.

• Stamp Act (1765): Parliament passes the act requiring a stamp being placed on most printed materials (Newspapers, pamphlets, posters, wills, mortgages, deeds, licenses, diplomas, dice, and cards).

• This was the 1st direct tax on the colonists.• Quartering Act (1765): American colonists had to provide

living quarters for British troops stationed in America.• Summer 1765: Colonists began meeting to discuss these

unfair taxes.

• Sons of Liberty: Colonial group that demonstrated and protested against British acts.

• They will use intimidation tactics against British officials (Tar and Feathered).

• Many colonial merchants began signing Non Importation Agreements. They stopped importing British goods.

• 1766: Stamp Act was repealed.• 1767: Townsend Acts Passed. Series of regulations and taxes

named after Charles Townsend, British Finance Minister.• Revenue Act of 1767: Placed new customs on British goods

and legalized search warrants called Writs of Assistance.• This allowed British officials to seize property without due

process.

Reactions:

• John Dickenson: Published a series of essays called Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer, which stressed that only assemblies elected by the colonists had the right to tax citizens.

• Virginia Resolves: The House of Burgesses passed a law stating that only the House could tax Virginians.

• Virginia along with many other colonies passed Non Importation Laws blocking British goods.

• Sons of Liberty encouraged colonial resistance.

Problems in Boston:

• Fall 1768: Violence in Boston against British custom officials.

• Results: England will send roughly 1000 troops to Boston to maintain order.

• Lobsterbacks (Red Coats): British troops.

Boston Massacre:

• March 5, 1770.• Around 9 PM a group of colonists were demonstrating in

front of the British custom officials house.• British troops were called to break up the disturbance.• Colonists would not leave (some threw snowballs).• British troops fired into the crowd of protesters.• 5 colonists were killed, 6 were wounded (Real Massacre?).• News of the event spread quickly and a revolution might

have started if the British didn’t repeal many of the Townsend Acts.