Chapter 4: Imperial Wars and Colonial Protest 1754-1774 Flashcards
French and Indian War
The French built various forts along the Ohio River Valley to halt the westward growth of the British. To counteract this, the governor of Virginia sent a militia to Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh) to gain control of the River Valley
~The militia was under the control of a young colonel, George Washington
~The British won and gained control of French Canada as well as Spanish Florida
Edward Braddock
Led an expedition (militia) from Virginia during the early stages of the French and Indian War
~A disastrous defeat with more than 2,000 British regulars routed by the smaller French Indian Army
Albany Plan of Union (1754)
A plan adopted by the colonies by Benjamin Franklin that helped to unite the colonies during the French and Indian War
~An intercontinental government and a system for recruiting troops and collecting taxes from the various colonies for their common defense
~Each colony was to jealous of its taxation powers
~Plan never took action
Peace of Paris (1763)
The treaty that ended the French and Indian War
~Gave Great Britain control of French Canada and Spanish Florida
~France ceded the Louisiana Territory and claims West of the Mississippi to compensate for Spain’s loss of Florida
Salutary neglect
The policy of how the British controlled their colonies prior to the French and Indian War
~The policy entailed little direct control over the colonies
~Allowed many of the Navigation Laws to go unenforced
~This policy was abandoned because the British saw the need to enact more forceful control of its colonies
Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763)
The test to British imperial policy by Chief Pontiac
~Native Americans angered by the growing expanse of European settlers and by British refusal to offer gifts like the French had done
~Destruction of forts and settlements from New York-Virginia
~British sent regular troops to deal with the rebellion
Proclamation of 1763
A further measure for stabilizing the Western frontier
~British government proclaimed that the colonists were prohibited from settling West of the Appalachians
~Was drawn in hope of preventing the conflicts between Indians and the colonists
~Colonists defied due to anger and resentment; thousands moved westward
Sugar Act (1764)
First part of a series of acts passed by the British government to seek control over the colonies
~AKA: Revenue Act of 1764, placed duties on foreign sugar and certain luxuries
~The point was to raise money for the crown
~A companion law also put strict enforcement on the Navigation Acts to stop smuggling
~If you were accused of smuggling you were tried in admiralty courts by crown-appointed judges without juries
Quartering Act (1765)
Required colonists to provide food and housing for British soldiers stationed in the colonies
Stamp Act (1765)
The first direct tax paid for by all colonists rather than just merchants
~Put into action to raise money for the military in the Americas
~Required that revenue stamps be placed on printed paper in the colonies; ie. legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, etc.
Stamp Act Congress
Resolved that only their own elected representatives had the authority to pass taxes
~Made up of representatives from nine colonies
Sons and Daughters of Liberty
A reaction to the Stamp Act induced fury
~A secret society made for intimidating tax agents
~Members sometimes tarred and feathered revenue officials and destroyed revenue stamps
Declaratory Act (1766)
An act made by the British to save face after the Stamp Act was repealed
~Asserted that Parliament had the right to tax and make laws for the colonies in “all cases whatsoever”
Townshend Acts (1767)
New duties to be collected on colonial imports of tea, glass, and paper
~Revenues raised be used to pay crown officials
~Provided for the search of private homes for smuggled goods without a judges warrant for only specific places, only a writ of assistance (general license to look anywhere)
~Suspended New York’s assembly for that colony’s defiance of the Quartering Act
“Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania”
A text written by John Dickinson opposing the Townshend Acts
~Agreed that Parliament could regulate commerce
~Argued that the duties were a form of taxation and couldn’t be levied without consent of the colony’s representative assemblies
~Argued that taxation without representation should not be practiced by the English
Massachusetts Circular Letter
Penned by James Otis and Samuel Adams; they sent a copy to every colonial legislature
~Urged colonies to petition to repeal the Townshend Acts
~British officials in Boston ordered the letter retracted
~In response: colonists boycotted British goods and merchants, increased smuggling activities
Boston Massacre
Started by the resentment of the colonists to British regulars stationed in Boston
~After being harassed by colonists, soldiers fired into the crowd, killing 5 people
~Soldiers defended by John Adams in court and acquitted
~Samuel Adams described the incident as a massacre
Committees of Correspondence
A means of spreading ideas about British officials conspiring against continental liberties, started by Samuel Adams
~Boston and other Massachusetts towns made it practice to organize committees that would regularly exchange letters about suspicious or potentially threatening British activities
~House of Burgess made this intercontinental
Gaspee Incident
A frequently discussed incident by the Committees of Correspondence
~A British customs ship successful in catching a number of smugglers
~The ship ran aground off the shore of Rhode Island and a group of colonists disguised as a group of Native Americans cleared the ship and set it afire
~The British ordered a commission to find the guilty individuals to be brought to trial
Tea Act (1773)
An attempt by the British government to help the British East India Company out of its financial woes
~Made the price of the company’s tea, with the tax included, less than the smuggled Dutch tea
~Colonists still smuggled Dutch tea because they didn’t want to support Britain’s ability to tax the colonies
Boston Tea Party
The colonist’s attempt to show the British that they opposed their tea and their regulations
~A shipment of the British East India Company’s tea arrived in Boston Harbor without buyers
~Before it could be brought ashore a group of Bostonians boarded the vessel disguised as Indians and dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor
~Some colonists applauded the effort while some condemned it as destruction of private property and to radical
Coercive Acts (1774)
Enacted to punish the Bostonians for their actions; AKA: the “Intolerable Acts”
- Port Act: closed the port of Boston prohibiting trade in the harbor until the tea (destroyed) was paid for
- Massachusetts Government Act: reduced the power of the Massachusetts legislature while increasing the power of the royal governor
- Administration of Justice Act: allowed royal officers accused of crimes to be tried in England as opposed to the colonies
- Expanded Quartering Act to be quartered in private homes in ALL colonies
Quebec Act (1774)
A law organizing Canadian lands. Accepted by Canadians but resented by Americans
~Established Roman Catholicism as the official religion, set up a government without a representative assembly, and extended Quebec’s boundary to the Ohio River
~American’s viewed this as a direct attack; it took away lands long claimed by the Americans
John Locke
A 17th century philosopher and theorist
~”Two Treatsies of Government” argued that while government is supreme, it still follows natural laws
~Natural laws were automatically there because they were human
~Citizens had a right to revolt against a government if it violated these rights
Deism
Believed God had established natural laws in creating the universe but the role of divine intervention in human affairs was minimal
