Transcript Chapter 6 - From Empire to Independence, 1750-1776

Out of Many
A History of the American People
Seventh Edition Brief Sixth Edition
Chapter
6
From Empire to
Independence
1750-1776
Out of Many: A History of the American People, Brief Sixth Edition
John Mack Faragher • Mari Jo Buhle • Daniel Czitrom • Susan H. Armitage
Copyright ©2012 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.
From Empire to Independence
1750-1776
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The Seven Years’ War in America
The Emergence of American Nationalism
“Save Your Money and Save Your Country”
From Resistance to Rebellion
Deciding for Independence
Conclusion
Chaplain Jacob Duché leading the first prayer in
the First Continental Congress at Carpenter's
Hall, Philadelphia, September 1774
Chapter Focus Questions
• What were the conflicts that led to the
Seven Years’ War, and what were the
outcomes for Great Britain, France, and
the American Indians?
• Why did American nationalism develop in
the aftermath of the French and Indian
War?
Chapter Focus Questions (cont’d)
• What was Great Britain’s changing policy
toward its North American colonies in the
1760s?
• What were the assumptions of American
republicanism?
• How did the colonies attempt to achieve
unity in their confrontation with Great
Britain?
North America and Philadelphia
The First Continental Congress Begins to
Shape a National Political Community
• 1774: Philadelphia, First Continental
Congress
 12 colonies met for seven weeks forging a
community of national leaders.
• Interests distinct from that of the mother
country.
• Patrick Henry: “I am not a Virginian but an
American.”
The Seven Years’ War in America
Woodcut cartoon, created by Benjamin Franklin
The Albany Congress of 1754
• The agenda included
 Consideration of a collective colonial
response to the conflict with New France and
the Indians of the interior;
 Negotiation of a settlement with the Iroquois
Confederacy.
The Albany Congress of 1754
(cont'd)
• The Conference resulted in
 The Iroquois leaving without an agreement;
 Adoption of Benjamin Franklin’s Plan of
Union, though this was rejected by colonial
assemblies.
France vs. Britain in America
• Three points of contention between
France and England for control of North
America:
• The North Atlantic Coast, guarded by the
fort at Louisbourg and the mouth of the St.
Lawrence
• The border region from Niagara Falls to
Lake Champlain, vital for the fur trade
France vs. Britain in America
(cont'd)
• The Ohio country, the valley bisected by
the Ohio River, and its Indian peoples
MAP 6.1 The War for Empire in North America,
1754–1763
Frontier Warfare
• 1756: war between Britain and France
• Early French victories in New York
• British expelled French-speaking farmers
of Acadia from their homes.
 Many moved to Louisiana where they
became known as “Cajuns.”
Frontier Warfare (cont'd)
• Anglo-French war also led to widespread
Indian attacks on frontier settlements,
killing thousands and throwing settlers into
a panic.
The Conquest of Canada
• Prime Minister William Pitt committed to
winning the war and eliminating all French
competition
• 1758 Easton Conference: Ohio Indians
promised their lands would be protected,
turning many frontier natives against the
French
• Over 50,000 British and colonial troops
The Conquest of Canada (cont'd)
• British forces captured Louisburg, the
French forts on the New York border,
Quebec, and lastly, Montreal.
The death of General James Wolfe
MAP 6.2 European Claims in North America,
1750 and 1763
The Conquest of Canada
• In the Treaty of Paris of 1763, the French
lost all its North American mainland
possessions.
A treaty between the Delaware, Shawnee, and
Mingo (western Iroquois) Indians and Great
Britain, July 13, 1765
The Struggle for the West
• British policies shocked and threatened
western Indians.
• Revitalization movement
 Ohio Indians and Neolin, the Delaware
Prophet
- Holy war to restore native lands and culture
• Pontiac, Ottawa confederacy
 Proclamation of 1763 confirmed promises of
the Easton Conference
The Struggle for the West (cont'd)
• Colonists opposed Proclamation /
westward migration continued
• Concessions—Native anger and
resentment
The Emergence of
American Nationalism
A protest against the Stamp
Act from newspaper editor
William Bradford
An American Identity
• The Seven Years War affected the
American colonists by
 making them proud to be members of the
British empire;
 noting important contrasts between
themselves and the British;
 strengthening a sense of identity among the
colonists.
• A nationalist perspective emerged.
Samuel Adams
The Press, Politics, and
Republicanism
• The 1735 libel trial of New York City editor
John Peter Zenger was a bold stroke for
freedom of the press.
• The weekly newspaper was an important
means of intercolonial communication.
• Newspapers became a lively means of
public discourse.
The Press, Politics, and
Republicanism (cont'd)
• The notion of republicanism emerged from
warnings of government’s threats to liberty.
The Sugar and Stamp Acts
• The costs of the Seven Years War and the
subsequent defense of the North American
empire added to the huge government
debt.
• In 1764, Parliament passed the Sugar Act
to raise revenue from the colonies.
• Colonial protest arose in the cities,
especially Boston where a nonimportation
movement soon spread to other cities.
The Sugar and Stamp Acts (cont'd)
• James Otis, Jr. developed the doctrine of
no taxation without representation.
The Stamp Act Crisis
• Colonial concerns included the long-term
constitutional implications regarding
representation of the colonists in the
British government.
• Beginning with Virginia, nine colonies
passed resolutions denouncing the Stamp
Act.
The Stamp Act Crisis (cont'd)
• Boston emerged as a center of protest
with attacks on offices and homes of
British officials.
• To counter the growing violence, the Sons
of Liberty was formed to encourage more
moderate forms of protest.
MAP 6.3 Demonstrations
against the Stamp Act, 1765
The Stamp Act Crisis
• British merchants worried about the effects
of the growing non-importation movement
petitioned Parliament to repeal the Stamp
Act.
• In 1766, Parliament repealed the Stamp
Act but passed the Declaratory Act,
asserting control over the colonies “in all
cases whatsoever.”
“Save Your Money and
Save Your Country”
British cartoon, “A Society of Patriotic Ladies,”
ridiculed
The Townshend Revenue Acts
• In 1767, Charles Townshend, Chancellor
of the Exchequer
 New revenue measure
- import duties on lead, glass, paint, paper, and tea
• Townshend believed Americans would not
oppose “external” import taxes.
• John Dickinson: Parliament had no right to
tax goods to raise revenue on America.
The Townshend Revenue Acts
(cont'd)
• Despite protests, very little sentiment for
independence existed in America.
An Early Political Boycott
• In 1767, the Boston town meeting revived
the tactic of nonimportation to oppose
Townshend’s taxes
• Other port cities responded with their own
nonimportation campaigns.
• Appeals to stimulate local industry had
strong appeal in small towns and rural
areas.
An Early Political Boycott (cont.)
• Colonial newspapers paid much attention
to women supporting the boycott.
• During 1769, all the colonies but New
Hampshire adopted nonimportation
legislation.
• These efforts reduced colonial imports
from Britain by 41 percent.
The Massachusetts Circular Letter
• Boston and Massachusetts were the
center of the agitation over the Townshend
Acts.
• Samuel Adams drafted a circular letter
denouncing the Revenue Acts and calling
for the colonies to “harmonize with each
other” in opposition.
The Massachusetts Circular Letter
(cont'd)
• British efforts to suppress the circular letter
failed and violence against British officials
continued.
• Rumors of mob rule and riots in Boston led
to the British army occupying the city.
The Boston Massacre
• The British troops stationed in the colonies
were a source of scorn and hostility.
• Confrontations arose in New York City and
Boston between colonists and British
soldiers.
• In Boston, competition between British
troops and townsmen over jobs was a
source of conflict.
The Boston Massacre (cont.)
• March 5, 1770
 Confrontation between British soldiers and a
crowd ended in the Boston Massacre that left
five dead
• Parliament had already repealed most of
the Revenue Acts, keeping the tea tax to
save face.
The Bostonians Paying the ExciseMan, or Tarring and Feathering
Paul Revere’s version of the Boston Massacre
From Resistance to Rebellion
Committees of Correspondence
• In the early seventies, several colonies
established committees of
correspondence to:
 share information;
 shape public opinion; and
 build cooperation among the colonies.
Committees of Correspondence
(cont'd)
• Statements and letters by Massachusetts
Governor Thomas Hutchinson calling for
“restraint of liberty” outraged colonists,
confirming conspiracy theories.
The Boston Tea Party
• Parliament passed a new tax on tea to
save the East India Company from failing.
• Colonial protests included:
 Mass meetings in Philadelphia and other
cities
 Boston Tea Party;
 Tea party in New York;
The Boston Tea Party (cont'd)
• Colonial protests included:
 Burning a ship loaded with tea in Annapolis;
and
 Burning a warehouse in New Jersey.
The Intolerable Acts
• The Coercive or “Intolerable” Acts 1774
 Prohibited loading and unloading of ships in
Boston Harbor until the colonists paid for the
tea
 Annulled the colonial charter of
Massachusetts
 Terminated self-rule by colonial communities
 Legalized housing of troops in private homes
at public expense
 Quebec Act
The Intolerable Acts (cont.)
• These acts were calculated to punish
Massachusetts and strengthen British
control.
• Many Americans saw them as proof of a
plot to destroy their liberty.
MAP 6.4 The Québec Act of 1774
The First Continental Congress
• The delegates to the First Continental
Congress in September 1774 included the
most important leaders of the American
cause.
The First Continental Congress
(cont'd)
• The delegates passed the Declaration and
Resolves that:
 asserted colonial rights;
 declared 13 acts of Parliament in violation of
their rights;
 pledged economic sanctions until the 13 acts
were repealed.
The First Continental Congress
(cont'd)
• To enforce the sanctions, the delegates
urged formation of Committees of
Observation and Safety to assume the
functions of local government.
• The Committees organized militia, called
extralegal courts, and combined to form
colony-wide congresses or conventions.
• People first began to refer to the colonies
as American “states.”
MAP 6.5 The First Engagements of the
Revolution
Lexington and Concord
• Early 1775: George III declared New
England to be “in a state of rebellion” and
order military action against the colonists.
• Patrick Henry in Virginia urged “give me
liberty or give me death!”
• Armed conflicts occurred at Lexington and
Concord.
Lexington and Concord (cont'd)
• A day of bloody fighting forecast Britain’s
problem of fighting an armed community
resisting outsiders.
British soldiers fire upon Massachusetts militia at
Lexington
Deciding for Independence
The Battle of Bunker Hill in 1785
The Second Continental Congress
• Meeting in May 1775, the Second
Continental Congress aimed to organize
the defense of the colonies.
• The Congress designated the militia forces
besieging Boston as the Continental Army
and made George Washington
commander-in-chief.
The Second Continental Congress
(cont'd)
• The Olive Branch Petition asked George II
to prevent further hostilities, while a
Declaration of the Causes of Taking Up
Arms was more defiant.
Canada and the Spanish Borderlands
• North America reactions to coming war:
 The French Canadians did not support the
rebellion.
 Several British Caribbean islands did support
the Continental Congress but the British navy
stopped any involvement.
 British forces also ensured Nova Scotia and
Florida remained in the empire
 Spain adopted a neutral position officially, but
secretly sought to help the Americans.
Fighting in the North and South
• Fighting continued throughout New
England.
• Ethan Allen captured Ticonderoga in May
1775, seizing artillery to be used in the
siege of Boston.
• In the Battle of Bunker Hill in June, a
bloody British victory strengthened resolve
on both sides.
Fighting in the North and South
(cont'd)
• King George III rejected the “Olive Branch
Petition” and issued a proclamation
declaring that the colonists were in open
rebellion.
Fighting in the North and South
(cont'd)
• American militia forces across the South
rose up against British authority.
• By March 1776 the British evacuated
Boston.
• Despite a failed invasion of Canada,
Americans proved themselves willing and
able to fight.
No Turning Back
• Spain and France opened trade with the
colonies.
• In Common Sense, Thomas Paine helped
cut Americans’ emotional ties to Britain
and the King.
• The “two ancient tyrannies” of aristocracy
and monarchy were not appropriate for
America.
No Turning Back (cont'd)
• North Carolina became the first state to
vote for a declaration of independence.
• Congress urged the adoption of state
constitutions, severing ties with Britain.
The Declaration of Independence
• Richard Henry Lee: “these United
Colonies are and of right ought to be free
and independent” led Congress to appoint
a committee led by Jefferson to draft a
declaration.
• Declaration of Independence approved
without dissent July 4, 1776
The Declaration of Independence
(cont'd)
• The writers blamed King George III for the
events leading up to the decision for
Independence.
 Could be condemned as traitors, sentenced
to death
Conclusion
From Empire to Independence, 17501776
• Britain emerged from the Seven Years
War dominant in America but,
underestimating American republicanism
and the colonists’ growing sense of
community, drove America from resistance
to revolution and helped to foster a new
American identity in independence.
Chronology