Ch 5: The Road to Revolution

Sec 1: The French & Indian War

Competing Empires

• Br & Fr ctrld empires which shared a border in N. Am. (1700s)– Wanted to own area– Feared ea other

• Nat. Am. lived on most of terr claimed by Fr– Few Fr settlers (not a threat to Nat Am)– Br. wanted farmland & pushed into Ohio R

Valley (claimed by Fr)

Ohio River Valley

• Claimed both by Fr. & Br.

• Fertile—good for farming

• Fur trade

French & Indian War

• 1753: Fr. built fts to back land claims btwn Lk Erie & Ohio R

• VA colony claimed same lands & VA governor ordered Fr to leave lands

• Gov sent soldiers led by G. Washington

• Militia: force of civilians trained as soldiers but not part of a regular army

• Fr rejected warning

• 1754 GW ordered to build ft where Allegheny & Monongahela R meet to form OH R

• Fr already there building Ft Duquesne

• GW built own ft—Ft Necessity

• GW’s trps attacked & defeated a sm Fr force but were later forced to give up Ft Necessity

• Start of war

Albany Congress• Br wanted col to help defeat Fr

• Invited Iroquois hoping to form an alliance (agreement btwn countries to help against other countries)

• Ben Franklin drew up Albany Plan of Union– Council of reps elected by col assemblies– Auth to deal w/ W settlements & Nat Am– Org armies & collect taxes

• Rejected by col assemblies

British Advantages• Strong economy• Best navy in the world• Large colonial

population

French Advantages• Strong central

government• Nat. Am alliances• Fts t/out N Am

Ft Duquesne• 1755: Br. Gen Braddock wanted to capture ft

• Used traditional fighting methods

• Didn’t want to listen to or respect col soldiers

• Br. red uniforms were targets

• @ ft, Br. ambushed by Fr & Nat Am

• ½+ Braddock’s forces were killed or wounded, incl Braddock

• Suffered other setbacks as well during 1st few years

• 1756 full blown war btwn Fr. & Br—7 Yrs War

Br. Turn the Tide

• 1757: Wm Pitt became PM of Br

• Chose generals w/ genuine military talent

• Sent needed supplies to N Am

• Encouraged col to support Br

• 1758—took Fr fts @ Louisburg & Duquesne (renamed Ft. Pitt)

• Led Iroquois to side w/ Br

Quebec

• Cap of New France

• Located on cliff overlooking St. Lawrence R

• Fr led by Gen Montcalm

• Br led by Gen Wolfe

• Br climbed cliffs @ night & defeated Fr on plains in front of city

• Key battle—Fr loss meant couldn’t defend rest of N Am territory

Treaty of Paris 1763

• Ended war• Fr ceded (surrendered) Fr Canada & all

other terr E of Miss R (except New Orleans) to Br

• Sp Florida given to Br• Sp received New Orleans & all Fr land W

of Miss R• Nat Am no longer could stop Br from

moving onto land

Sec 2: Br Increase Ctrl over Colonies

Conflict w/ Nat Am

• By 1763, Br ctrld almost all of N Am E of Miss R

• Led to fighting btwn Nat Am & Br settlers over land

Pontiac’s War

• Pontiac—ldr of Ottawa nation, formed alliance w/ other Nat Am

• 1763 attacked Br fts & settlements in W

• Destroyed about ½ doz fts & killed @ least 2K settlers

• Br responded by killing Nat Am even if they hadn’t attacked

• Pontiac’s forces defeated by fall 1764

Proclamation of 1763

• Banned col settlement W of Appalachian Mts

• Meant to prevent problems w/ Nat Am

• Angered col

• Ignored by col & difficult for Br to enforce

Br Rules Lead to Conflict

• 1763: col considered selves to be loyal Br. subjects

• Proud of contribution to Fr & Indian War

• Expected Br to be grateful

• Fr & Indian War left Br in debt

• Had to keep troops in N Am

• Felt col should pay part of debt

Sugar Act (1764)

• Placed duty (import tax) on sev products incl molasses

• Harsh punishment of smugglers

Quartering Act (1765)

• Purpose—save $

• Req col to quarter (house) Br trps & provide them w/ food & supplies

• Col felt this violated their rights

Stamp Act (1765)

• Had to buy stamps for newspapers, wills, licenses, insurance policies, land titles, contracts & other docs (even playing cards)

• Widely protested

• Col org boycott (refusal to buy certain products)

Stamp Act Congress

• Oct 1765

• Delegates from 9 col met

• Sent petition (written request to gov’t) demanding end of Sugar & Stamp Acts

• 1766 Stamp Act repealed

• Passed Declaratory Act stating Parl had total ctrl over col

Townshend Acts

• 1767• Taxed good brought into col (sugar, tea,

lead, paint, etc)• Writs of assistance used—ct orders

allowing officials to make searches w/o saying what they were looking for

• Angered col—violation of rights• Chas Townshend (in charge of Br Treas)

wanted to weaken col assemblies

• Suspened NY Assembly when it refused to supply $ for soldiers under Quartering Act

• Col boycotted Br. gds in response

Boston Massacre

• Boycott hurt Br merchants & manufacturers

• 1770 all of Townshend Acts except tea tax repealed

• Mar 1770 col surrounded grp of Br soldiers in Boston

• Threw snowballs & rocks• Soldiers fired into crowd, killing 5 &

wounding 6, incl Crispus Attucks, Afr Am sailor

• Soldiers put on trial

• John Adams defended them b/c he believed in right to a lawyer & fair trial

• Only 2 soldiers convicted

• Events of the Boston Massacre used by the colonists as propaganda (anything used to gain support for a cause) against the British

Committees of Correspondence

• Est by Samuel Adams

• Purpose: keep col informed of Br actions

• Dev in other col

• Wrote letters & pamphlets

• Helped unite col

Sec 3

Dispute over Tea • Issue w/ paying taxes: didn’t choose reps

for Parl

• Tea Act passed 1773

• Intended to help Br E India Co

• Boycott had hurt company

• Although Tea Act price of tea, it gave comp monopoly on selling Br tea in col

• Monopoly: total ctrl of a market for a certain product

• Hurt col merchants

Boston Tea Party

• Sons of Liberty: org in port cities to stop tea from being unloaded

• No tea unloaded in NY, Phil, or other ports• Boston—MA gov wanted tea unloaded• Dec 16, 1773: grp of men disguised as

Nat Am boarded ship & threw tea into harbor

• Destroyed 90K lbs of tea worth thousands of $

Methods of Col Protest

• Boycotts

• Petitions

• Committees of Correspondence

• Sons of Liberty

• Daughters of Liberty—helped support the boycotts by making supplies col needed

• Mercy Otis Warren wrote plays about what was happening in colonies

Intolerable Acts

• Passed by Parl to punish MA for tea party

• 1—closed port of Boston

• 2-- pwr of royal gov, abolished upper house of MA legislature, cut pwrs of twn mtgs

• 3—Br officials had to be tried in Britain

• 4—stronger Quartering Act

Quebec Act

• Set up gov’t for Fr Canada

• Claimed some land btwn Ohio & Miss R as part of Canada

• Took away land from sev col & blocked other col from moving W

Reaction in Other Col• Sent food & supplies to MA

• Committees of correspondence org mtgs

• 1st Continental Congress met in Phil in Sept 1774

• 12 col sent delegates– Demanded repeal (official end) to Intolerable Acts– Decl col had right to tax selves– Called for training of militias in col– New boycott– Would meet again in May 1775 if demands not met

Shot Heard Round the World

• Col began to org militias

• Minutemen: citizen soldiers who could be ready to fight @ a minute’s notice (MA)

• Apr 1775—MA Gov Gen Gage learned minutemen were storing weapons in Concord

• Apr 18—sent trps to seize them & capture important col leaders

• Patriots signaled warning—org by Revere & Dawes

• 77 men waiting in Lexington for Br

• Shot rang out (unknown who fired it)

• Start of Amer Rev—Apr 19, 1775

• Battle of Concord fought on same day

Sec 4

2nd Continental Congress• Col not looking for independence when

war began• Ready to use force to defend rights• May 1775—met in Phil

– Becomes col gov’t during war

• Divided about what to do @ 1st

• Made 3 decisions– Formed Continental Army– GW would be leader of army– Printed paper $

Patriots V Loyalists• Patriots favored independence• Loyalists remained loyal to Br• 1/3 took no side• Patriots took ctrl of local gov’t• Loyalists incl some of wealthiest families in col,

leading merchants, landowners, gov’t officials– Didn’t want a change in gov’t or to lose

property• Afr Am sided w/ Br hoping to win freedom• Nat Am sided w/ Br b/c didn’t want to lose land

to col

Olive Branch Petition

• Sent to George III

• Stated col were loyal to king

• Asked for end to fighting so disputes could be solved peacefully

• Not answered by George III

Ft Ticonderoga• May 1775 col made surprise attack on Ft

Ticonderoga in Northern NY@ S end of Lk Champlain

• Protected H2O route to Can• Col led by Ethan Allen & his followers

(Green Mt Boys)• Br surrendered almost immediately• Important

– Ft ctrld main rt btwn Can & Hudson R Valley– Held valuable weapons incl cannons

Battle of Bunker Hill

• Near Boston• Br Gen Howe decided to attack up the hill• Amer opened fire when Br were 150 ft

away• Killed or wounded hundreds of Br soldiers• 1st 2 Br attacks failed• 3rd succeeded b/c col ran out of ammo• Br won battle b/c col had to retreat

• Importance: Am proved they could fight & stand up to professional Br soldiers

• Boston was still surrounded by Amer forces

• GW arrived• Sent for cannons from Ft Ticonderoga• Placed cannons on high ground over

Boston, making it impossible for Br to defend city

• Br w/drew Mar 1776 & never returned to area

Br Advantages• Strongest navy in

world• Blockaded Am ports

– (blockade: shutting off ports to keep ppl or supplies from moving in or out)

• $ & supplies• Well-trained troops• Mercenaries—

soldiers who serve another country for $

Am Advantages• Knew territory

(fighting on homeland)

• Had goal worth fighting for

• Had support• Good leaders