The Coming of Independence and The American Revolution

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The Coming of Independence and The American
Revolution
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No Taxation without Representation

• Colonists believed they enjoyed the same rights
  as Britons at home
• British government believed the American view was
  dangerous
• Many colonists believed that Britain had no right
  to tax them because the colonies were
  unrepresented in the British Parliament

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• Virginias House of Burgesses approved four
  resolutions regarding No Taxation without
  Representation
• Leader is Patrick Henry
• Insisted the colonies enjoyed the same
  liberties, privileges, franchises, and
  immunities as residents in Britain
• Actual vs. Virtual Representation
• Colonies couldnt be taxed because they were not
  represented in Parliament

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Stamp Act Congress

• Formed in October 1765
• 27 delegates from nine states met in New York and
  endorsed Virginias position
• Swore their allegiance to the Crown and their
  subordination to Parliament
• However, they insisted the right to consent to
  taxation was essential to the freedom of a
  people
• Would boycott British goods until Stamp Act was
  repealed.
• American colonies were now united

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Tea Act (1773)

• Tea drinking was a status of the wealthy
• Becomes popular with all classes in Englands
  colonies
• Trouble with Britains East India Company stock
  caused the British government to sell and market
  Chinese tea in the colonies
• East Company is able to sell low priced in the
  colonies
• Tax from the tea sales helped to defray the costs
  of colonial government. This threatened the
  assemblies control over finance

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• Tax on tea was not new
• Colonists believed that paying this tea tax would
  acknowledge Britains right to tax the colonies
• 12/16/1773-Boston Tea Party-300 chests of tea
  thrown into Boston Harbor

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The Intolerable Acts (1774)

• IA were the British governments response to the
  Boston Tea Party
• Port of Boston was closed until the tea was paid
  for
• Stopped town meetings, authorized governor to
  appoint previously elected council members, and
  allowed soldiers to live in private homes
• United colonists
• Seen as a direct threat to their political freedom

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Resistance to the Acts

• Boycott
• Public Meetings/Debate
• Pamphlets
• Demonstrations
• Homespun
• Homespun clothing
• Daughters of Liberty

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Sons of Liberty

• Started in 1765 in response to Stamp Act
• Merchants who opposed any limitation on trade
  and tax on it
• Lead the boycott of British goods

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Boston Massacre

• March 5, 1770
• Fight between snow throwing Bostonians and the
  British Army
• Armed conflict
• 5 Bostonians dead
• Commanding British officer and eight soldiers put
  on trial
• Soldiers defended by John Adams
• Seven found not guilty/Two convicted of
  manslaughter

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The Continental Congress

• Started in Response to Intolerable Acts
• September 1774, delegates from several
  Massachusetts towns pass resolutions urging
  Americans to not obey new laws, withhold taxes,
  and prepare for war (Suffolk Resolves)
• Later that month, CC convenes in Philadelphia
• Most famous leaders from 12 colonies come to
  Philadelphia (Georgia did not send delegates)

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• Convention lasted until the end of October
• Endorsed Suffolk Resolves
• Adopted Continental Association-an almost
  complete halt to trade with Great Britain and
  West Indies
• Domestic manufacturing
• Committee of Safety
• COS also began process of transferring political
  power from governments appointed by the Crown to
  grassroots bodies
• CC would meet again in May if demands were not met

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The Shot Heard Around the World

• April 19, 1775
• British forces marched from Boston to Concord to
  seize arms stockpiled there
• Paul Revere rides to warn local leaders the
  British were coming
• Skirmish between both sides also occurs at
  Lexington and again at Concord
• 49 Americans/73 British soldiers killed
• Phrase coined by Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Second Continental Congress

• May 1775
• Authorized raising of army, money to pay for it,
  and appointed George Washington as commander of
  the forces
• In response, Britain
• Declared colonies in a state of rebellion
• Dispatched thousands of troops
• Closed all colonial ports

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Olive Branch Petition

• July 1775
• Written by the Continental Congress to King
  George III
• Reaffirmed American loyalty to the crown
• Hoped to reconcile with the king
• Rejected by the king
• British government declares colonies in rebellion
• Thomas Paine

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Independence? Whose side are you on?
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Independence? Whose side are you on?

• Many colonists still uncertain about the idea
• Patriots
• Largest groups were from Virginia and
  Massachusetts
• Comprised of local militias
• GW never had more than 20,000 troops under his
  command at one time
• Problems faced by troops included low supplies,
  poorly equipped and rarely paid

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• Loyalists or Tories
• 60,000 American Tories
• Largest group of Tories were in New York, New
  Jersey, and Georgia
• After the war, many flee to Canada or Britain

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• Native Americans
• Many Native Americans supported the British
• British promised to limit colonial settlement in
  the West
• African Americans
• Initially rejected by Washington to fight on the
  Patriots side
• When Britain promised freedom if AA fought with
  them, Patriots changed their mind

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The Battle of New York (1776-1777)
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Washingtons Crossing
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• Thomas Paines The Crisis
• December 25, 1776
• Noreaster
• Washingtons troop cross the Delaware River into
  Trenton, NJ
• Troops attack some bands of Hessian troops
  stationed at garrisons in Trenton
• British troops are in NYC for the winter
• No colonial troops died
• Victory is a morale booster
• Needed support for Washington-both moral and
  needed resources from Congress

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Retreat at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

• Winter 1777-June 1778
• Continental army lost Battle of Philadelphia
• NYC and Philadelphia now in British control
• Retreat to Valley Forge
• Miserable winter
• Supplies from Congress are slow to arrive
• In June 1778, British leave Philadelphia for New
  York
• Continental army resumes fighting
• Bravery of those who survived
• War starts to change in favor of the colonists

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Important Battles of the War

• Battle of Saratoga (October 1777)
• American forces surround British army
• Key victory for Americans
• France recognizes US
• France and Spain respond with military assistance

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• In January 1781, American forces win key battles
  in North and South Carolina
• Battle of Yorktown (October 1781)- American and
  French forces control key land and sea areas at
  Yorktown, Virginia
• After defeat, British General Lord Cornwallis
  surrendered
• British support for the war at home ends
• Peace negotiations begin
• Treaty of Paris (1783)

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The Treaty of Paris (1783)

• An important accomplishment under the Articles of
  Confederation
• Treaty of Paris
• Britain recognized United States as an
  independent nation
• Mississippi River-Western boundary of U.S., Great
  Lakes as the Northern boundary, Florida-Southern
  boundary
• Americans would have fishing rights off the coast
  of Canada
• Americans would pay debts owed to British
  merchants and honor Loyalist claims for property
  confiscation during the war
• Allow British troops to leave/Loyalists to stay
• U.S. would have access to Mississippi River