HISTORY 1301-10

1756-1763

1765 QUARTERING ACT

• The British government built up British troop strength in colonial North America to protect the colonies against threats posed by remaining Frenchmen and Indians.

• In March 1765, Parliament passed the Quartering Act to address the practical concerns of such a troop deployment. Under the terms of this legislation, each colonial assembly was directed to provide for the basic needs of soldiers stationed within its borders. Specified items included bedding, cooking utensils, firewood, beer or cider and candles. This law was expanded in 1766 and required the assemblies to billet soldiers in taverns and unoccupied houses.

Why?

• Some real concern about colonial safety, and why not let the colonists pay for their own defense?

• British Veterans of French and Indian war could be left in America and colonists would pay the cost both of their pensions and on going pay.

Effect of Quartering Act?

• Resistance was strongest in New York. In January 1766, the assembly there refused to fund the full amount requested by the Crown. The New Yorkers reasoned that it was unfair to expect them to pay the full cost of Thomas Gage’s growing army. Bickering between the assembly and British officials continued into the fall, when the legislature voted to not fund at all. In October 1767, the New York assembly was suspended until the soldiers' needs were fully funded. This crisis later passed, but an immense amount of bitterness remained and many colonists became suspicious about British intentions. The Quartering Act was amended in 1774 when it would again ignite the fears of many Americans.

• HOW ABOUT THE REST OF THE DEBT?

The Sugar Act-The American Revenue Act of 1764

• A modified version of the Sugar and Molasses Act (1733), which was about to expire.

• Act was actually less tax than prior act, but would be collected!

• Taxes levied on sugar by the British collected at the ports when sugar was imported by the colonies. The act also listed more foreign goods to be taxed including certain wines, coffee, pimiento, cambric and printed calico, and further, regulated the export of lumber and iron.

RESULTS

• Reduced Rum production

• Reduced trade, which lessened the amount of currency.

• Indirect tax. Not felt directly by many. Many were unaware that it existed, but surely felt its effects.

• Set the stage for later protests and revolt as legislation increased.

The Currency Act of 1764

• Balance of trade with Great Britain already contributed to a shortage of currency in the colonies.

• Colonies had printed their own money. Value differed from colony to colony. Debt repayment was an issue.

• The Currency Act prohibited the colonies from issuing paper money in any form. This Act offset the economy of the colonies and was widely opposed. It hurt trade by removing the circulating medium and went a considerable way in creating the dissatisfaction in the Colonies that eventually led to the American Revolution.

• Was this the true cause of the Revolution?

STAMP ACT OF 1765

• Ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed.

• The money collected by the Stamp Act was to be used to help pay the costs of defending and protecting the American frontier near the Appalachian Mountains (10,000 troops were to be stationed on the American frontier for this purpose).

• A DIRECT TAX THAT ANGERED MANY.

RESULT OF THE STAMP ACT

• The actual cost of the Stamp Act was relatively small. What made the law so offensive to the colonists was not so much its immediate cost but the standard it seemed to set. In the past, taxes and duties on colonial trade had always been viewed as measures to regulate commerce, not to raise money. The Stamp Act, however, was viewed as a direct attempt by England to raise money in the colonies without the approval of the colonial legislatures. If this new tax were allowed to pass without resistance, the colonists reasoned, the door would be open for far more troublesome taxation in the future.

Colonial Reaction-1764-1765• Few colonists believed that they could do anything more

than grumble and buy the stamps until the Virginia House of Burgesses adopted Patrick Henry's Stamp Act Resolves.

• These resolves declared that Americans possessed the same rights as the English, especially the right to be taxed only by their own representatives; that Virginians should pay no taxes except those voted by the Virginia House of Burgesses; and that anyone supporting the right of Parliament to tax Virginians should be considered an enemy of the colony. The House of Burgesses defeated the most extreme of Henry's resolutions, but four of the resolutions were adopted.

PATRICK HENRY

FROM VIRGINIA, MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF BURGESSES. INSPIRATIONAL ORATOR WHO MOTIVATED COLONISTS TOWARD THE REVOLUTION.

GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH!

STAMP ACT CONGRESS OCT.1765

• ATTENDED BY REPRESENTATIVES OF NINE COLONIES IN NEW YORK

• FORMULATED 12 RESTRAINED RESOLUTIONS THAT ACCEPTED PARLIAMENT’S RIGHT TO LEGISLATE FOR THE COLONIES BUT NEDINED ITS RIGHT TO TAX THEM DIRECTLY.

• BRANDED BY THE BRITISH AS A “DANGEROUS TENDENCY”

MORE REACTION TO THE STAMP ACT

• In Boston in early summer of 1765 a group of shopkeepers and artisans who called themselves The Loyal Nine, began preparing for agitation against the Stamp Act. As that group grew, it came to be known as the Sons of Liberty.

• These were not the leading men of Boston, but rather workers and tradesmen. Benjamin Edes, a printer, and John Gill of the Boston Gazette produced a steady stream of news and opinion. Within a very short time a group of some two thousand men had been organized under Ebenezer McIntosh, a South Boston shoemaker.

SONS OF LIBERTY

• LED A MAJOR REVOLT IN BOSTON. EFFIGY BURNING.

• By the end of that year the Sons of Liberty existed in every colony. Their most popular objective was to force Stamp Distributors throughout the colonies to resign.

POWER OF THE PRESS

• The success in undermining the Stamp Act cannot be attributed to violence alone.

• Their most effective work was performed in newsprint. A great many of the Sons were printers and publishers themselves and even those who were not, were sympathetic to the cause.

• It was they who would pay the most in duties, after all. Nearly every newspaper in the colonies carried daily reports of the activities of the Sons

REVOLT

• When the Stamp Act became effective on the 1st of November, 1765, nearly all of these papers went right on publishing without the required Stamp.

• The first successful efforts to unite the colonies were not undertaken by their respective legislatures, but by independent radical groups. The various Sons throughout the colonies began to correspond and develop a larger organization.

BOYCOTTS

• Another response was a Boycott. Colonists refused to buy British goods.

• This directly hurt British merchants who then put pressure on Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act.

Declaratory Act-March 1766

• Bowing to pressure and reality, and the testimony of Ben Franklin, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act.

• Passed the Declaratory Act which asserted Parliament’s power to enact laws for the colonies in ”all cases whatsoever.”

HOME RULE

• The colonists idea for self government.

• Many desired to remain a British colony, but without interference.

• We just want it the way it used to be…way back before the French and Indian War.

• Great Britain’s colonies most all sought home rule, most notably India.

Townsend Acts-1767

• Charles Townsend, known as “Champagne Charlie” to his friends, was the chancellor of the exchequer in the period following the repeal of the Stamp Act.

• The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet Minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters.

High Ambitions

• Hoping to enhance his political career, he tackled the pressing problem of imperial finance. Riots in England convinced him that tax relief was needed at home, but he hoped to reduce the national debt by imposing taxes in the colonies. This made sense to Townshend and others because the recent French and Indian War had been fought on behalf of the colonies and had contributed mightily to the indebtedness.

• The Townsend Acts (1767) were a relatively small tax on imports such as paper, glass, lead, painters’ colors and tea. Another indirect, or hidden, tax .

• Wow, these things cost more and we don’t know why.

But in Boston…• John Hancock, a successful merchant and

trader, first comes on the scene accused by the British of smuggling Madeira Wine without paying the proper tax resulting in revolt.

Actual/Virtual Representative

• Americans held to the view of actual representation, meaning that in order to be taxed by Parliament, the Americans rightly should have actual legislators seated and voting in London.

• The British, on the other hand, supported the concept of virtual representation, which was based on the belief that a Member of Parliament virtually represented every person in the empire and there was no need for a specific representative from Virginia or Massachusetts.

No taxation without representation.

• If taxes were necessary, then the Americans wanted their own assemblies to impose them. Further, the colonists wanted Parliamentary recognition of this perceived right. Essentially, "No taxation without representation" really meant, “If we have no representation in Parliament they should not be able to tax us and should let us run our own affairs."

Repeal of Townshend duties

• England’s colonial monetary policies were a disaster.

• March 5, 1770, Parliament repealed all the Townshend duties except the one on tea.

• But on that same evening in Boston, British troops fired on a crowd of heckling citizens, killing five.

Boston Massacre

PROPAGANDA? FACT OR FICTION?

• British soldiers under Captain Thomas Preston fired on an unruly Boston crowd, killing five and wounding six. In a subsequent trial, in which John Adams defended the soldiers, all but two of the soldiers were acquitted of murder.

• Did the soldier hear “Don’t Fire!”

Boston Massacre Monument

• The event in Boston helped to unite the colonies against Britain. What started as a “minor snowball fight” became a turning point in the beginnings of the American Revolution. The Boston Massacre helped spark the colonists' desire for American independence, while the dead rioters became martyrs for liberty.

• How did this happen? • Tune in tomorrow…

British Era

PROPAGANDA? FACT OR FICTION?

• British soldiers under Captain Thomas Preston fired on an unruly Boston crowd, killing five and wounding six. In a subsequent trial, in which John Adams defended the soldiers, all but two of the soldiers were acquitted of murder.

• Did the soldier hear “Don’t Fire!”

Boston Massacre Monument

• The event in Boston helped to unite the colonies against Britain. What started as a “minor snowball fight” became a turning point in the beginnings of the American Revolution. The Boston Massacre helped spark the colonists' desire for American independence, while the dead rioters became martyrs for liberty.

• How did this happen? • Tune in tomorrow…

No taxation without representation.

• If taxes were necessary, then the Americans wanted their own assemblies to impose them. Further, the colonists wanted Parliamentary recognition of this perceived right. Essentially, "No taxation without representation" really meant, “If we have no representation in Parliament they should not be able to tax us and should let us run our own affairs."

Repeal of Townshend duties

• England’s colonial monetary policies were a disaster.

• March 5, 1770, Parliament repealed all the Townshend duties except the one on tea.

• But on that same evening in Boston, British troops fired on a crowd of heckling citizens, killing five.

PROPAGANDA

• Rhetoric or other communication designed to incite, persuade, manipulate or influence people to take action.

• Patrick Henry caused people to want: 1) Representation in Parliament, then 2) Home rule 3) Independence

Propaganda

• Is as old as history and takes on many forms.

• In recent years it was fashionable to dismiss news from Russia as “Communist Propaganda”

• Perhaps the latest version of Propaganda is the political art we call “spin.”

Urban Legends-Today’s Propaganda

• The following is an untrue urban legend written about a supposed relative of politician Harry Reid. (Albert Gore)

• The unfortunate man about to meet his maker is outlaw Tom “Black Jack” Ketchum, a Texan.

• 'Remus Reid, horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1885, escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889.'

• 'Remus Reid was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed.'

1772-Gaspee runs aground while chasing a smuggler, boarded by

colonists and burned.

AFTER BOSTON MASSACRE, SECOND VIOLENT EVENT.

Remember the Boston Massacre?

• The British Soldiers fired on a Boston mob on Kings Street and created what we know as the Boston Massacre.

• It would probably have been a mere footnote to history, except for its direct impact on the men that were there, were it not for one other man, Samuel Adams.

Samuel Adams

• Adams was an effective speaker, particularly

against the royal governor. Adams

organized the protest against the Stamp Act

(1765) and was a founder of the Sons of

Liberty. He was the most influential member of the

lower house of the Massachusetts legislature

(1765-74), he drafted most of the major protest documents, including the

Circular Letter (1768) against the Townshend

Acts. He also wrote frequently for the press

in defense of colonial rights.

Samuel Adams• Samuel Adams was the son of a wealthy brewer. •(The brewery in Boston was started in 1985.)• A Master of Propaganda. Adams could see that revolution was on its way, and did whatever it took to incite people toward revolution. •He organized the Committees of Correspondence.

Tea Act of 1773

• Allowed the practically bankrupt East India Company to ship its tea directly from India* to North America with the colonists paying only a small tax. Americans could buy inexpensive tea, the crown would earn a modest revenue, and the East India Company would gain a new lease on life.

• Sounds just fine, right?

Well, no not really…

• Colonists reacted furiously since their smuggled Dutch tea would be undersold.

• Merchants denounced the monopoly and said they could not compete.

• Colonists saw the true object being to gain acceptance of Parliament’s taxing power.

• If you drink the tea you swallow the English right to tax you.

Boston Tea Party

• A showdown with Governor Thomas Hutchinson ensued. Send the ships back. Neither side backed down.

• A LARGE band of Bostonians, probably Sons of Liberty, dressed as Indians, boarded the tea ships and flung £10,000 ($1Million) worth of Tea into Boston Harbor.

Boston Tea Party, a Big Party• The Boston Tea Party was a well-organized

event that included representatives from all the social classes of the city, organizers and participants, something that had generally been untrue during previous mob actions.

• At the Tea Party itself, groups of 30 to 60 men boarded the three ships that were now in the Boston Harbor at Griffin 's Wharf and each custom officer was escorted off the ship. The only goal of the group was to dump the chests of tea into the water, 114 chests from the Dartmouth, 114 from the Eleanor, and 112 from the Beaver.

• The Boston Tea Party took less then 3 hours to finish. Government officials watched, but never gave an order to interfere.

How far will they go?

• The Boston Tea Party accomplished much for the patriot cause, as it symbolized just how far they were willing to go in order to oppose laws they felt were unfair. Yet it also disgusted those who supported Parliament 's decisions, by proving that the patriots were perfectly willing to destroy private property in the name of their goals.

And it was contagious

• Charleston, South Carolina, and Chester Town, Maryland, also held tea parties.

• Showed a unity among the colonists. Great Britain could not longer play off one colony against another.

• Although it has been over two centuries since the moonlit March night in 1770 when British soldiers killed five Bostonians on King Street, people still debate responsibility for the Boston Massacre.

• Does the blame rest with the crowd of Bostonians who hurled insults, snowballs, oysters shells, and other objects at the soldiers, or does the blame rest with an overreacting military that violated laws of the colony that prohibited firing at civilians?

• Whatever side one takes in the debate, all can agree that the Boston Massacre stands as a significant landmark on the road to the American Revolution.

British Reaction

• Great Britain now realized that the dispute was no longer about taxes but about whether England had any authority over the colonies.

• Well, let’s see if they still had any authority. Great Britain’s Parliament passed some new laws…

The Five Coercive Acts orThe Intolerable Acts

• Boston Port Act: The first of these closed the port of Boston until the East India Company was paid for the lost tea. This created a great hardship for the people of Boston whose livelihood depended on trade.

Massachusetts Government Act

• The second modified the Massachusetts Charter of 1691, taking away many of its rights of self-government. It was aimed at punishing Boston and forcing it out of resistance. Almost all positions in the colonial government were to be appointment by the governor or directly by the King. Activities of town meetings were limited. Massachusetts was very proud of its independence and was angry at this infringement on its rights.

Administration of Justice Act

• The third measure provided that British officials accused of committing crimes in a colony might be taken to England for trial. Because it would mean witnesses would be forced to travel, the practical effect was thought to be that the British officials would escape justice.

The Quartering Act

• The fourth measure allowed the British to quarter British soldiers in colonial buildings at the expense of the colonists, including colonists' homes, if there were insufficient space in other buildings.

The Quebec Act

• The fifth act extended the boundaries of the province of Quebec. Because Quebec did not have representative assemblies, many colonists thought this transfer of land from the colonies to unrepresented Quebec was another attempt to punish the colonies and solidify British control.

• As late as 1774, most colonists did not favor declaring independence from the British Crown. Far from rejecting monarchy, most Americans saw the king as their protector from oppressive acts of Parliament. The delegates to the First Continental Congress, which had assembled in Philadelphia in September 1774, hoped for reconciliation with Britain. They asked Massachusetts Bay colonists, who were the most radical in their opposition to British policies, to avoid involving "all America in the horrors of a civil war."

REMEMBER A THIRD…A THIRD….A THIRD

First Continental Congress

• 1774-The Intolerable Acts helped to unite the colonies in their resistance to the British as the other American colonies united in sympathy with Massachusetts. Virginia set aside a day of prayer and fasting and proposed that the colonies meet. This led to the calling of the First Continental Congress in September 1774.

• Delegates from every colony but Georgia met in secret at the Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia. Benjamin Franklin had proposed such a meeting a year earlier, but after the Port of Boston was closed the momentum for such a meeting grew rapidly. The goal of the Congress was to resolve the differences between England and the colonies.

• Though far from united, the Congress sent to Britain in October 14, 1774, a petition demanding the Intolerable Acts be repealed.

• They also agreed to a boycott of British goods and trade with Britain. They adopted the Continental Association, which established a total boycott by means of non-importation, non-exportation and non-consumption accords. These agreements were to be enforced by a group of committees in each community, which would publish the names of merchants defying the boycott, confiscate contraband and encourage public frugality.

• In England, many urged that the crown try to regain good relations with the colonies and avoid war, including Edmund Burke.

• When King George III heard of the colonists' demands, he answered: "The die is now cast. The colonies must either submit or triumph." The British refused to repeal the Intolerable Acts.

• At this Congress some began to think like Americans for the first time. In the words of Patrick Henry "I am not a Virginian, but an American." When he returned to the Virginia Convention, his voice rang throughout the colonies. "I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death."

Send in the Military!

• In February 1775, Parliament declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion. This declaration permitted soldiers to shoot suspected rebels on sight. In April, British General Thomas Gage received secret orders to arrest the ringleaders of colonial unrest. To avoid arrest, colonial leaders fled Boston.

• Gage decided to seize and destroy arms that the patriots had stored at Concord, 20 miles northwest of Boston.

Spread the alarm, through every Middlesex, village and farm!

• When Joseph Warren, a Boston patriot, discovered that British troops were on the march, he sent Paul Revere and William Dawes to warn the people about the approaching forces.

• On the night of April 18, Paul Revere and William Dawes alerted patriots of the approach of British forces. Revere was seized and Dawes was turned back at Lexington, Mass., but the Concord militia moved or destroyed the supplies and prepared to defend their town.

SHOTS HEARD ‘ROUND THE WORLD

• On April 19, British redcoats arrived at Lexington and ordered 70 armed "Minutemen" to disperse. A shot rang out and drew fire from the British soldiers. Eight Americans were killed. The British moved on to Concord, destroyed the supplies they found, then returned to Boston, as American patriots fired from behind hedges and walls. British losses were 65 (70) dead, 173 wounded, and 26 missing. American casualties were 49 MINUTEMEN dead and 46 wounded or missing.

• 1775: In May, the second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia and appoints George Washington commander-in-chief.

• NEW FACES APPEARED…John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin

• Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys captured Fort Ticonderoga.

• Still, many hoped for reconciliation.

The line in the sand

• At the end of 1775 word arrived that the Olive Branch Petition had been rejected by the king along with his proclamation that the colonies were in ”Open and Avowed Rebellion.”

• Oh, yeah, he sent 20,000 additional British troops to quell the “insurrection.”

• Congress’s actions-treasonable and all who obeyed Congress were traitors.

THOMAS PAINE

Thomas Paine

• Denied the very legitimacy of monarchy.

• “Of more worth is one honest man to society than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived.”

• 25 Editions in 1776

• Best seller of its day

• Style was written for the common man.

And another thing…

• Paine pointed out that independence from Britain mean that the colonists would no longer have to fight in all the British wars.

• This was later re echoed by George Washington and later in the Monroe Doctrine.

In the rest of the world…

• Spain developed a policy of procrastination and delay, to regain her strength.

• France still wanted to be the major power in Europe.

• Portugal and the Netherlands faded into the background because of their weakness in Europe.

What about France?

• An alliance with the new America could be useful to France as a means of restoring her position in Europe.

• Machiavellian principles continued-a good object of the state justified the employment of any means.

Two European Ways to Success

• Maintain an army and navy as strong as possible, ready to take advantage of any opportunity.

• Watch sharply the life and affairs of other countries to take advantage of their necessities for a) allies or b) war.

• Assist, even stimulate, revolts and internal disorders within a kingdom.

• A full blown revolution always offers opportunities to break up a countries power.

• Historically, and even recently, this has been shown.

France sees an opportunity

• France watched with interest as Britain had trouble with her colonies.

• Meanwhile, the French sought to rebuild their army and navy and restore their depleted treasury.

• “It is difficult to hold back people spurred by pride or maddened by humiliation.” Not so much French people, but their leaders.

• 1776: On July 2, the Continental Congress approved a resolution that begins: "that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent."

• Keep an eye on Ben Franklin…

Earlier in National Treasure

• Just before he steals the Declaration of Independence, our hero is at a party where he proposes a toast…

From National Treasure…

• “A toast? Yeah. To high treason. That's what these men were committing when they signed the Declaration. Had we lost the war, they would have been hanged, beheaded, drawn and quartered, and-Oh! Oh, my personal favorite-and had their entrails cut out and ''burned''!

France

• Looking for revenge against Great Britain.• Saw the potential for a colonial revolt as a great

opportunity. (Louis XVI 1774-1792)• Key players became: Charles Gravier, the

Count de Vergennes (Ver zjene) who became the minister of foreign affairs (1774-1787). Pierre de Beaumarchais, (Bo mar shay) a literary genius who played at politics and was a French secret agent. He wrote the Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro and had great favor in the French Court.

Vergennes & de Beaumarchais

Arthur Lee-Colonial agent who represented Massachusetts

• 1775 met with de Beaumarchais in England, informed him of colonial intentions for independence and sought French assistance.

Louis XVI-(1754-1793)

Directed that one million livres (about $200,000) worth of munitions be provided for the colonists from the royal arsenals. (The livre was established by Charlemagne as a unit of account equal to one pound of silver.)

Charles III of Spain

• Charles III of Spain, who was the royal uncle of the King of France, matched his nephew’s contribution with another million.

• French investors gave another million.

But How?

• How would the colonists get these arms?

• If Britain found out, it would be dire for France.

French Fear• The French were concerned with the prospect of Anglo-

American peace. If it happened, then Britain could turn its full attention toward the French. But the French could not enter into a military treaty with anyone without Spanish consent (they had a treaty in which they would arrange all military treaties together to include both of them).

• The Spanish supported the cause mostly because they did not like England, not because they wanted the Americans to come out victorious, for the Republican idea threatened Spanish control of the Americas.

• The French could not legally aid the Americans unless their Spanish allies agreed. The French proceeded to offend the Spanish by signing a treaty with the Americans anyway, without Spanish consent. Still, they wanted to help, without Britain finding out, but how?

Reenter de Beaumarchais

• Beaumarchais now transformed himself into a fictious commercial house with the state name of Rodrigue Hortalez Company. It was through him and his fictional company that these arms and munitions would reach the colonies.

Thus:

• Before the Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776, before any agent of the colonies ever set foot on French soil, the French Government had decided to pour oil on the flames of rebellion in America in order to Embarrass Great Britain and to seek the moment of revenge.

How?

• Beaumarchais' Plan was to set up Rodrigue Hortalez and Company, a fake company that existed mostly to provide military aid and munitions. It would secretly ship military aid through Spanish connections.

• The aid was massive, directly from the French arsenals. 90% of the gunpowder used in the first 2 years of the war came from the French and Spanish. This delivered aid to General Horatio Gates and led directly to the win at the crucial Battle of Saratoga.

From another source…(to repeat)

• In many cases the ships sailed directly from France and Spain to Portsmouth NH or other U.S. ports and returned without any trade goods.

• The first shipment of arms arrived at Portsmouth NH in mid-1777. It included some 200 cannon and equipment and clothing for 25,000 men.

• These supplies were critical to the American victory at Saratoga in 1777 October.

• Although Beaumarchais’ fleet probably never consisted of more than ten transports and one fighting ship, Fier Rodrigue, the military supplies provided important aid during a time of signigicant crisis, helping the Revolution avoid an early defeat..

Meanwhile, back in the colonies

• As early as November, 1775, Congress had formed a secret committee “for the sole purpose of Corresponding with our friends in Great Britain, Ireland and other parts of the world. The original members were John Dickinson, Ben Franklin, Benjamin Harrison, John Jay and Thomas Johnson. This became a committee on foreign affairs.

Communications

• The Secret Committee directed its first letters to Lee, still in London and now the agent at large of the revolutionary Continental Congress. The next year Lee would become one of the first diplomats to go to France.

Silas Deane

• In 1776, they also sent Silas Deane to negotiate the purchase of munitions. Deane was very paranoid. He was very paranoid about spies. Is it paranoia if what you’re paranoid about is true? He should have been concerned about his secretary.

Dr. Edward Bancroft

• Edward Bancroft was a highly regarded scientist and writer who was hired by Ben Franklin to spy on the British just before the Revolutionary War. Nearly 70 years after Bancroft's death, the British government released papers showing he had also been paid by the British to spy on the colonists. Bancroft spied for the French in 1789.

Brown Bess and ammo

• The British followed the old European traditions of war. Rapid volleys generally aimed by soldiers usually three deep.

• “Three shots a minute, 4 for veteran soldiers, that was the best fire rate they could achieve in those days. War was cleaner then, a game for gentlemen played with set rules and honour, to some extent at least.”

Real Warfare in the Revolution

• It reflected a class conscious society with the nobility viewing the battles from afar while the “common” soldiers fought the battles.

• Weapons were generally inaccurate.

• Generally, both British and colonists fought this way with notable exceptions.

General Sir Banastre Tarleton

• Is portrayed as a bloodthirsty soldier.

• Atrocities happen in war.

• His atrocities raise sentiments for the good guys.

Jason Isaacs

• Played the part of Col. William Tavington which is based loosely on Banastre Tarleton.

• Is a really good, bad guy. You know who he is?

Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter movies

• He set a new standard for evil, bad guys…

Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter movies