American Revolution P1 Flashcards
colonies founded or ruled by royal charter
VA, NY, NH, MA, NJ, NC, SC, Georgia
colonies owned by a family or individual
PN, DE, ML
colonies governed under charters
RH, CT
albany conference
- albany plan of union
- benjamin franklin
- discussed plans to defeat the french-seeds of union
- proposed that colonies unite to forma. federal government
albany plan of union federal government structrue
- president general: to be appointed and supported by the crown
- grand council: chosen by reps; makes laws; raises taxes; defends the colonies
- representatives from each colonies
pro of albany plan of union
stronger line of defense
con of albany plan of union
colonies lose power
unity in the colonies
- despite what many people expected, after the f&I war, the new british policies angered colonists
- despite differences, they began to unite
clashes with native americans
- wnglish colonists traveled west to claim native land
- in 1762, british sent a lord to make peace
- natives rebelled, chose pontiac (ottawa chief) and fought on the french side
pontiac’s war
- pontiac attacked british troops at fort detroit
treaty of paris 1763 impact on natives
- indians could no longer hope for french aid
- british controlled the frontier
proclamation of 1763
- convinced british officials to stop settlement beyond western frontier
- proc of 1763 drew an imaginary line across the appalachians
- colonists were forbidden to settle west of line
- those who lived there before were forced to move
problems of proclamation of 1763
- enforcement: british sent 10,000 troops
- angered the colonists
> they were forced to pay for british troops
> many had already claimed land in the west
> many settlers even ignored the proclamation
what pushed the colonists to the edge?
- the enlightenment: new meaning of light, questioning authority
- influx of immigrants from other parts of europe
- liberalism
- imposing taxes
tea act
- passed 1773
- eliminates taxes on british east india company in england
- colonists still paid taxes on british tea
- companies can sell tea for lower in american than smuggled dutch tea
> however most colonies will buy british tea through fear of getting arrested/fined
> tea act would thus lead to a monopoly
problem explodes (TL)
1770: boston massacre
1773: boston tea party
1774: intolerable acts
- first continental congress
- lexington and concord
boston massacre
- killing of 5 colonists by british regulars
- results of tensions in the american colonies against british
- tensions began when royal troops arrived in MA, 1768
- troops arrived to enforce the heavy tax burdens imposed by the townshend acts
boston tea party
- occurred december 16, 1773
- patriot group sons of liberty protested the monopoly on american tea importation granted by parliament
intolerable acts
- colonies were pressed with greater taxes without representation in britain
- taxes were to pay for the f&i war
- lead to tensions growing in colonies and feelings of anger/resentment
- tensions grew into active retaliation to the British acts aimed at bringing the colonies back into submission of the king
writs of assistance
- general search warrant issued by superior provincial courts to assist the british government in enforcing trade/navigation laws
- allows customs officials to enter any ship or building that they suspected for any reason might hold smuggled goods
british sought greater control over the NA empire via
- imperialism
- mercantilism
- navigation acts
- french and indian war: british vector > british debt from war > british thought colonies should pay for part of the war
new taxes
- f&I left Britain in deep debt
- george greenville claimed that colonists had gained so much from the war they should share the tax burden
sugar act 1764
- tax on sugar and molasses imported from foreign countries (hurt trade)
stamp act 1765
- first direct tax imposed by britain on its american colonies
- taxes all printed matierlas
quartering act 1765
- required colonies to house british soldiers in barracks provided by the colonies
currency act 1766
- parliament assuming control of colonial currency system
- “hard currency” system based off the pound sterling
townshend act 1766
- indirect taxes on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea
- eventually exempted all exempt for tea
colonial reactions to “the acts!”
- sons of liberty: intimidation
- stamp act congress:
- boycotts continue 1769
stamp act congress
appealing to the king
> first time in 150 years the colonies came together for common interest
> declaration of rights and grievances - only own reps can tax
boycotts of 1769
> colonial imports were 1/6 of what they had been in 1768
boycotts hurt workers and merchants in britain (1/3 of british exports went to america)
summary
- colonies protested and suffered a trade deficit with Great Britain in the first place
- argued that the shortage of hard capital would exacerbate the situation
- stamp act lead colonists to fear & resent the wealthy and powerful
- stamp distributors all from elite: seen as privileged servants of London
british response (to colonial reactions)
- british government repealed stamp act
- passed declaratory act/gave parliament the right to pass all laws including taxes
RESULT: parliament looked weak because of repealing and the effectiveness of the declaratory act was lessened
parliament was divided
- g greenville noted that a the colonist were too diivided to establish coordinated defense & feared colonial independence
- colonial tax plans: colonies could not agree
- britain still faced financial struggles, tried to tax wheat and england and got bread riots
britain decided to
punish the colonies with coercive acts
- close boston port to cripple economy and put pressure to pay for tea
- prevent town meetings
- require colonists in MA to have british soldiers sleep & eat in their homes
coercive acts became central issues between britain and colonies –> intolerable acts
boston massacre - details
- troops arrived to enforce the heavy tax burdens
- christopher seider killed first (11 years old)
- 4,000 soldiers for 15,000 colonists
- tragical scene or bloody massacre - debate?
lexington and concord
april 18th, 1775: hundreds of british troops marched boston -> concord to seize arms
- shots heard young the world - start of the revolutionary war
- paul reverse and other riders sounded the alarm - intercept the redcoat column
- a confrontation at lexington began fight
- british retreated - intense fire *admirable because british had one of the most powerful armies here
- colonies proved they stood a chance against britain
paul revere
- never shouted “the british are coming”
- operation was discreet
- colonial americans still considered themselves britsih
common sense
- thomas paine
- 26 page pamphlet
- used plain, simple language to express concerns over british control
objective: encouraged colonies to seek independence
olive branch petition
- july 5th, 1775
- final attempt to avoid war
- petition affirmed american loyalty to great Britain nd entreated the king to prevent conflict
- # rejected!
second contiental congress
- july 1776, 48 delegates met
- committee of five were responsible for drafting the document for independence
- not represented: AA< women, working class, loyalists, and native americans
- declaration of Independence was thus born!
parts of declaratoin
- preamble
- declaration of natural rights
- list of grievances (complaints)
- resolution of independence but he us
hobbes
- war is everyone against everyone
- the only way to escape civil war and to maintain a state of peace is to institute an impartial and absolute power that is the final authority on all political issues
locke
- all are equal, no one can/should harm another life, liberty, health, etc
- limited government: natural rights mean that government has obligations to the citizens and can ultimately be overthrown by citizens under certain circumstances
montesqieu
- there is no crueler tyranny than one done by a government hiding behind claims of law/justice
- the best form of government was where the legislative, executive, and judicial powers were separate and kept each other in check to prevent any branch from becoming too powerful
rousseau
- man born free, chained everywhere else
- a social contract between the government and its people: government should express the will of its people and allow for the people to possess individual freedoms
- the laws made are by the citizens’ will, so people follow their own will and in doing so are abiding the law
voltaire
- defend everyones right o speech, even if they disagree
thomas paine
- writer of the common sense pamphlet
george washington
- first american president
- commander of continental army
- president of the constitutional convention
abigail adams
- wife and closest advisor of John adams
- first to serve as 2nd lady, 2nd to serve as 1st lady
- over 1,100 letters about government: women rights w/ john adams
john andre
- major in the british army
- head of its intelligence operations
- assigned the task of negotiating benedict arnold’s secret offer to surrender the fort at west point
- executed as a spy
benedict arnold
- american born military officer who served
- rose with distinction for the continental army -> major general before defecting
- made secret overtures to British HQ
- informed british of a proposed american invasion of canada
- the hated the conteintnal congress and grew resentment towards other officers
treaty of paris 1763 - topic overview
- signed by us and British representatives to end the war of the american revolution
- agreement recognized us independence and granted us significant western territory
town hall meeting - topic overview
- for local and regional forcers to hear community views on public issues
- colonial towns called meetings to discuss what to do about the divisions between england and colonies
“common sense” vs “plain truth” - topic review
- thomas paine was a patriot who wrote common sense
- james chalmers was a loyalist who wrote plain truth
enlightenment & revolution - topic review
- enlightenment ideals of rationalism, intellectualism, and religious freedom pervaded the american colonial religious landscape
- these values were instrumental in the american revolution and the creation of a nation w/o established religion
committee of correspondence - topic review
- longstanding institutions that became a key communication
- promoted manufacturing in the 13 colonies and advised colonists to boycott britain’s imported goods
- informed voters of common threats their mother country offered
- established systems of communication, educated townspeople, rallied support to american independence
