Losing The American Colonies

Question 1

Why did Britain decide to start enforcing taxation on the colonies?

Answer 1

1763 - end of 7 year war with France where national debt stood at 137 million.
Britain also wanted to keep an army of 10,000 troops stationed in North America to defend against possible revenge attacks.
To prevent further attacks and to decrease national debt, Britain wanted to enforce taxes so the colonists would be paying for their defence

Question 2

How much were Americans paying in taxes before Britain would enforce taxes ?

Answer 2

A sixpence a year !
Compared to the average Briton who paid 25 shillings

Americans paid 50 times less !!!!

Question 3

What tensions existed before 1770 with relations with native Americans ?

Answer 3

Britain stated that in 1763, there would be no further expansion of American colonies into the west.
Colonialist disagreed and wanted to expand their farms into the the frontier

Question 4

How were the colonists influenced by enlightenment philosophy?

Answer 4

The age of reason
Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke questioned the traditional authority such as the rule of the king and monarchy.
This directly inspired french and American revolutions.
This is evident in jefferson’s Declaration of Independence

Question 5

How was their tensions before 1770 with the colonists and their growing identity ?

Answer 5

Americans were allowed to form colonial assemblies to discuss local matters.
They started to form their own identity with the increasing taxes from the British as they would get together and complain creating the divide between Britain and colonies.

Question 6

When was the committes of correspondence set up ?

What was the significance of this ?

Answer 6

1771
Created by Sam Adams to communicate grieve because through all towns in Massachusetts then the 13 colonies

Significance -
Further form identity of colonists.
Organised opposition

Question 7

What was the sugar act ?

Answer 7

1764

• actually lowered duty on sugar posts but strengthened methods for its collection

Question 8

When was the stamp act ?

Answer 8

1765

Question 9

When was the tea act passed ?

What did this involve ?
Why significant ?

Answer 9

1773
Permitted British east India company to sell surplus tea. This would compete with smuggled tea .

Could be argued to be an example of British intransigence as they reversed all the other taxes from Townsend duties in 1770 apart from this one just to enforce that they were still in charge

Question 10

What was the reaction to the tea act ?

Why was this significant

Answer 10

60 sons of liberty boarded a ship and threw cargos with £10,000 worth of tea into the ocean.
342 chests sank

Significant as - direct rebellion against Britain with no turning back. Britain responded with the coercive acts which drove colonies to outright rebellion

Question 11

What were the Townshend duties ?

When were they enforced ?
When were they reversed ?

Answer 11

1767
Duties on imports of glass , wine , China, paper, tea
- could be argued that Britain was listening to the colonists like Franklin who said Britain had no right to tax internally
Repealed 1770 except for the tax on tea !

Question 12

How did the colonists react to the Townshend duties

Answer 12

Formal protests
‘No taxation without representation’
Boycotts and violent protests in Boston

Question 13

When were the sons of liberty formed?

Answer 13

1765

Question 14

What were the four main tensions between the colonists and the British by 1770?

Answer 14

War with France whereby British ended up with a large national debt 137 million which resulted in them wanted to enforce colonial taxing to pay for the army they wanted to put up there

Relations with native Americans
1763
London declared that there would be no more expansion of Native American land , Americans wanted to expand from frontier

The enlightenment
Anti - monarchist influence - john Locke

American colonists forming their own identity through colonial assemblies

Question 15

When and what was the Boston massacre ?

Answer 15

1770

British troops were attacked by snow balls and killed 5 Bostonians after violent protests and riots every Thursday

Question 16

Who defended the British troops in the boston massacre ?

Answer 16

John Adams

Got 6 out of 8 acquitted

Question 17

How many people attended the funerals of the Boston massacre dead ?

Why was this significant

Answer 17

Five thousand

Significant as they became large political demonstrations

Question 18

How was the Boston massacre depicted in propaganda?

Answer 18

Depicted as a massacre !
British troops open firing
Seemingly unprovoked at defenceless colonists

Paul Revere

Question 19

Outline the change of organised resistance from colonial assemblies to committees of correspondence

Answer 19

Colonial assemblies - allowed by the british. Ununified assemblies
However upon the sugar act of 1764 , these assemblies were used to voice concerns towards the British which formed the American identity

The committees of correspondence
Formed originally in Massachusetts then to the 13 colonies in 1771 by Sam Adams to form organised resistance. MORE STRENGTH

Question 20

What evidence was there for years of comparative calm between the colonists and the British (3)

Answer 20

• divisions between tidewater and backcountry
• 1771-1774, colonial imports from Britain doubled from 1768-1770
• lord north was moderate and willing to compromise

Question 21

What was the Gaspee incident ?

Why was this significant ?

Answer 21

The Gaspee boat which enforced navigation acts was burnt by American smugglers who were not prosecuted
1772

Significance - evidence of not comparative calm
First act of direct violence

Question 22

When was the first continental congress ?

Why was the significant.

Answer 22

1774

First time all the representatives form different colonies met in defiance of the British

Question 23

When and what was the Boston tea party ?

What was it a reaction to?

Answer 23

1773 - tea act. Allowed east India company to directly trade with colonists which would reduce illegal tea smuggling as it would be cheaper

Reaction - Boston 60 sons of liberty boarded a tea ship and threw £10,000 worth of tea into the ocean and 342 chests sank

OUTRIGHT REBELLION

Question 24

Which acts were a reaction to the Boston tea party.?

Answer 24

Coercive acts

Question 25

What were the coercive acts ?

What did this effectively do ?

Answer 25

1774

• closure of Boston port until tea was paid for
• reversal of charter allowing governor to appoint / remove officials
• murder trials could be moved to England to avoid patriot bias
• more power given to American military commanders

Effectively put Massachusetts under Marshall law

Question 26

When did British consider Massachusetts to be in the state of open rebellion

Answer 26

1775

Question 27

When and who wrote the Declaration of Independence ?

Answer 27

Thomas Jefferson and continental congress

1776

Question 28

Which earl tried to prevent colonial war ?

What did he do ?

Answer 28

Earl of Chatham proposed removal of all American duties

This was rejected by the House of Lords 2-1

Question 29

What/ when was the first piece of military action in the war ?

What was this evidence of already ?

Answer 29

Lexington
General gage was sent on a mission with only 4000 troops to seize boston’s military store

Radicals were tipped off and first shots of war were fired
73 killed.

Evidence of poor British failures in terms of communication

Question 30

Describe the battle of bunker hill

Why was this significant?

Answer 30

17th June 1775
British full frontal assault
British won the battle
However British extensive loss of life meant that this should not be praised as a victory
2/5 of the 2500 soldiers died. Whilst Americans lost fewer than half of that number
1/8 officers died

Evidence of British unsuitable European tactics

Question 31

What did the battle of bunker hill result in ?

Answer 31

George 3 said all colonies were in a state of rebellion

Question 32

Describe the battle of Long Island

Significance.

Answer 32

1776
British won
Losses less than 400 compared to Americans 1200
British use experience to advantage

Washington loss
Washington secretly evacuates with troops without surrender so war continues

Significance - washington’s leadership

Question 33

Describe the battle of Trenton and Princeton ?

Answer 33

1776
Victory for Americans
Washington’s surprise attack on Boxing Day on Hessians
Trenton - only 2 Americans die
Princeton - use decoy of fires to distract Cornwallis to get there

Significance - massive moral boost for Americans.
Washington’s leadership

Question 34

Outline the battle of saratoga

Answer 34

1777
Burgoyne fails to meet British army from Canada
With his 30 vehicles for champagne
Guerilla tactics
Cut trees to create road blocks and trapped British who were only moving at one mile a day
Daniel Morgan - leader of sharp shooters - new weapons shot twice as far as British

Significance - British overconfidence - said war would be over by Christmas
American tactics to target officers

Question 35

What did the battle of Saratoga lead to ?

Answer 35

French enter war

Question 36

How did the french intervention in the war help the Americans to win ?

Answer 36

Navy - forced British to fight on land and sea
La Fayette influence - helped command army
Money

Question 37

How did Washington show great leadership at valley forge ? (3)

Answer 37

• stopped army deserting in half winter
• stops smallpox with inoculations
• Von Steuben brought order and writes Manuel for training enabling Americans to use European battle tactics and introduces the bayonet

Question 38

How did the British fail to win hearts and minds of the Americans

Answer 38

• couldn’t protect loyalists
• Terrible POW treatment with 9/10 dying on NY ships
• use of German mercenaries in Trenton and native Americans
• use of military rather than political tactics in the first insurgency war

Question 39

Describe the battle of Yorktown

Answer 39

1781
American victory
Cornwallis VS Washington
4000 men VS 16,000 men with french troops
Alexander Hamilton cuts off form of British escape with Lafayette
Laid siege to British for 3 weeks
British re-enforcements arrived 5 days too late

Evidence of structural
difficulties
Washington leadership

Question 40

What were the four main consequences for Britain after the war of independence.

Answer 40

Calls for reform
Economic effects
Ireland
Political instability

Question 41

How much money did the french invest in the war.

Answer 41

150 million

Question 42

What were the only two long term consequences for Britain from the war of independence

Answer 42

Do not get colonies back

Free trade with Ireland 1779 long term economic impact

Question 43

How was there minor political instability after the war of independence ?

Why was this short term ?

Answer 43

Lord North fell and

In 2 years there was 3 prime ministers between 1782-1783
Rockingham 
Shelburn 
Portland 
Shifting powers were unstable ! 

However in 1784, Pitt the younger wins and rules until 1801 reenforcing stability

Question 44

What was the consequence of the war of independence of calls for reform ?

Why was this only short term ?

Answer 44

Opposition were worried about power of the king.
They wanted less autocratic power and more parliament power.
- Westminster Committee called for universal male suffrage
- end of rottern boroughs

However this was only short term as the violent Gordon riots where 300 people were killed putting politicians (even whigs ) off campaigns for reform

Question 45

What was the consequence of the war for Britian’s economy ?

Why was this only short term ?

Answer 45

Initial short term economic problems
1783 - national debt at 232 million
Imports for oversees trade 1775-1778 fell by 26%
3000 merchants ships were captured

However textiles and naval building benefitted from the war
As well as unemployment
Also , by 1785 Britains trade with ex colonies reached pre war levels

Question 46

What happened to Ireland after the war of independence ?

Short term ?
Long term ?

Answer 46

Politically ,
Short term change 1782 recognises legislative independence of Ireland

However this was reversed 1801 with act of union
SHORT TERM

Economically ,
1779 - free trade !
Not reversed
Long term economic change