Chapter 11 - Revolutions Flashcards
1
Q
How was 18th century Britain, + therefore America, ruled?
A
- Constitutional Monarchy - had a king, burst had to share power with Westminster parliament
- King George became king in 1760, 3000 miles from 13 Colonies
- To do so appointed rep called Governor to rule each colony
- Each colony also had elected assembly like the English Parliament which advised the governor (like king advised by Westminster)
- Worked for a time, but as 18th century wore on many colonists became unhappy with British rule
2
Q
Describe the causes of the American Revolution (long)
A
- Mid-18th century was time of the Enlightenment - when many educated men + women began questioning traditional ideas
- one of these was the divine right of kings - the belief that kings were picked by God to rule on His behalf (began to be seen as outdated + ridiculous during Enlightenment) - In 1756, Britain + France went to war - took place all over Globe, including in N.A., French + Indian allies tried to defeat British + American colonists (French + Indian War)
- In 1763, war ended in visitors for British, Canada came under British control - many young Americans got first experience of warfare while fighting alongside British, gained confidence (incl. GW) - Immigration into America from countries like Germany + Holland reduced British identity of colonies, by 1760s most referred to themselves as American rather than British - shift in identity led to growing resentment + anger that colonies were being ruled from so far away by foreign
- Idea that Westminster Parliament was foreign reinforced by fact colonies weren’t allowed representation at Westminster - therefore had no say in decisions made about matters that affected their daily lives
- Thomas Jefferson, John Adams * Benjamin Franklin among those who began to see America could only be ruled fairly by Americans, independent from British (became leaders of American Revolution + War of Independence) - Parliament in Westminster viewed colonies as means of making money, so placed trade restrictions on colonies called the Navigation Acts - e.g. Americans only allowed sell tobacco to Britain at whatever low price they wanted to pay, forced to buy sugar from British plantations in West Indies rather than on open market
- made it clear Parliament in London didn’t respect colonists/view them as equal citizens - During 1760s, British parliament unwisely decided to introduce number of new taxes in colonies
- Quartering Act meant to make colonists pay costs of keeping British army in NA to defend them from Indian attacks
- Stamp Act put tax on all legal documents + caused uproar, especially as it increased costs of claiming legal title to new lands
- slogan of revolution became ‘No Taxation Without Representation’ - colonists no longer willing to pay money to faraway Britain while having no real say in how decisions were made - Boston Massacre - five protesters against Townshend Acts killed in March 1770
- Closure of port of Boston in 1774 following “Tea Party” rallied Americans to oppose British rule as never before
- ‘Common Sense’ by Thomas Paine called on Americans to unite against British rule in colonies, also spurred Americans to action
3
Q
List the causes of the American Revolution (short)
A
- The Enlightenment - divine right of kings seen as outdated + ridiculous
- French + Indian War (1756-1763) gave colonists experience
- Immigration reduced British identity - American rather than British by 1760s
- Colonies not allowed to have any representation at Westminster - no say in decisions about matters that affected daily lives
- The Navigation Acts - trade restrictions placed on colonies (e.g. sold tobacco to Britain, bought sugar from West Indies)
- New taxes in 1760s:
- Quartering Act: made the colonists pay the costs of keeping the British army in America to protect them from Indian attacks
- Stamp Act: put tax on all legal documents, caused uproar, especially bc increased cost of claiming legal title to new lands
- Townsend Acts: series of taxes on everyday items like tea + glass
Therefore slogan became ‘NTWR’
- Boston Massacre (March 1770)
- Closure of port of Boston in 1774 after Tea Party
- ‘Common Sense’ by Thomas Paine
4
Q
Describe the events leading up to the first fighting of the War of Independence
A
- Focus of the opposition to taxes + British rule in general was Boston
- In Boston in 1770 the British army shot 5 men who were protesting against the Townshend Acts dead
- Became known as the Boston Massacre, nearly sparked an all out rebellion
- British quickly repealed all of Townshend taxes but one on tea (wanted to make it clear they were still in charge)
- On December 16 1773, group of colonists dressed up as Native Americans boarded number of British ships in Boston harbour, then dumped valuable tea cargo into harbour - Boston Tea Party
- British saw it as act of open rebellion, closed down port + city of Boston with new laws to show colonists who was in charge
- These laws were called the Intolerable Acts, only increased the colonists appetites for rebellion
- Drift towards open warfare took significant step forwards in 1774 when reps of 13 colonies met in Philly to discuss recent events
- Meeting became known as the First Continental Congress - condemned the Intolerable Acts, called on each colony to train own militia in preparation for outbreak of war
5
Q
How, when, and where did the first fighting of the War of Independence take place?
A
- 1775, near Boston (LEXINGTON + CONCORD)
- General Gage (British governor) attempted to seize militia weapons being kept in the small town of Concord
- British first attacked at Lexington, fought way through to Concord - from there forced to retreat to Boston
- 300 Redcoats killed in these battles
6
Q
How was George Washington appointed, and what position to?
A
- Americans needed to gather milia (volunteer forces) into army that could fight Redcoats
- 2nd Continental Congress took place in Philly in May 1775, appointed George (had fought alongside British in French + Indian War) as head of newly formed Continental Army
7
Q
Give a brief account of the background/early life of George Washington (up until the French + Indian War)
A
- Born in Virginia in 1732
- Father died when 11 so went to live with older brother, Lawrence
- Trained to be a surveyor as a young man, worked in wilderness, mapping course of Ohio River + Shenandoah Valley
- Lawrence died in 1752, George inherited huge Mount Vernon Plantation in Virginia (5 separate farms, 8000 acres) at only 20
8
Q
What role did Washington play in the French and Indian War? What was it?
A
- War broke out in the colonies in 1756 when French attempted to connect colonies Canada + Louisiana
- Washington fought in British army
- While serving with British General, Edward Braddock, narrowly escaped death when 4 bullets ripped through coat
- Also had 2 horses shot from under him when escaping from same incident
9
Q
Who did George marry, and what did it mean for him?
A
- Married Martha Dandridge in 1759 - widow who also owned a large plantation
- Made him one of largest landowners in Virginia, therefore also one of most important men in colony
10
Q
How was he involved in politics?
A
- Member of the Virginia Assembly, later attended 1st + 2nd CCs as one of Virginia’s reps
- V. critical of London government, convinced colonists were being subjected to unfair taxation
- Seen as patriot, agreed with Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson + John Adams that colonies should break away from Britain + form an independent American Republic
11
Q
What happened Washington when war broke out?
A
- He was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army
- Greatest difficulty was training the American volunteers to act like a pro European army which could challenge the British in battle
12
Q
How did the fight for independence progress up to the third Continental Congress
A
- By 1775, colonies ready for war that would break ties with Britain forever (back to 1606 + founding of Virginia)
- But many colonists didn’t really want to fight war for all out independence (even at this late stage when fighting had begun)
- Bc many still felt some loyalty to idea of being British, + in particular to George III
- Public opinion changed (still 1775) bc of ‘Common Sense’ - T.P. was Englishman who hated king + government, CS urged Americans to fight against British - v. popular, support for rebellion gained strength
13
Q
What happened at the 3rd Continental Congress?
A
- Summer of 1776, on July 4 independence from Britain officially declared (as the ‘13 United States of America’)
- Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson - ‘all men are created equal’, so new nation would have elected president rather than king (‘l, l, poh’)
14
Q
What happened in the war after independence was declared?
A
- As 13 colonies formed massive area of land, fighting that took place following Declaration was spread out, often took form of guerrilla fighting (poorly armed Americans used ambush tactics against better Redcoats)
- Americans defeated British at Boston in 1776, but British beat Americans at battle of NY few months later
- By September 1777 British had succeeded in capturing Philly, but this victory cancelled out by American victory at Saratoga in October that year
- Here the Americans (led by General Horatio Gates) proved capability of defeating Redcoats in full-scale battle - huge morale boost, talk of replacing George w/ Gates
15
Q
What was Valley Forge? What happened there?
A
- 18th century armies rarely fought in winter bc of muddy roads + weather, so in winter of 77-78 Washington brought army to rural Pennsylvania - V.F.
- This was turning point of war
- Experienced difficulties w/ disease + desertion, but used time there to train army into powerful fighting machine capable of taking on + defeating British regularly
- Greatly aided by Prussian officer: Frederick Von Steuben - organised + trained continental army
- By end of winter, were fighting force to match even best European armies
