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Ray King
Mr. King's Social Studies
Friday, October 3, 2014
HUS I and US I 10-3-14
—New
Tensions Strain
Old Loyalties
Old Loyalties
—Unit
3
—1763
—Great
Britain had won over its rivals
—Great
Britain now could claim an empire that circled the globe
—Battered
units of the British army and navy were returning home to their families
—British
military personnel were being sent to far-flung outposts of the empire
—French
statesman Count Vergennes – “The American colonies stand no longer in need of
England’s protecting. She will call on them to help contribute
toward supporting the burden they have helped to bring on her, and they will answer by
striking off all dependence.”
—War
Debt
—British
had fought four costly wars between 1689 and 1763
—The
Seven Years War had seen British troops fighting in America, Europe, Asia, and
Africa
—All
of these years had left Great Britain heavily in debt
—British
government now needed even more money to maintain the military and naval
defenses of its expanding worldwide empire
—British
leaders expected the American colonies, who were also subjects of the king, to
help pay the war debts and the cost of their defense
—British
government now had to collect more taxes from their American colonists
—Florida
and Canada
—Governments
of Florida and Canada had to be reorganized
—Spaniards
and Frenchmen, long time enemies, were now British subjects
—British
subjects in name only
—How
could they be made loyal subjects?
—What
kind of government would work best in these newly acquired regions?
—Western
Lands
—Government
had to be organized for the wilderness beyond the Appalachian Mountains
—All
semblance of law and order had vanished since the defeat of the French
—1763
– Natives, fearful of British colonists crossing the Appalachians and
destroying their hunting grounds, rose up in revolt under the leadership of
Pontiac
—For
nearly a year, settlers fled eastward as flames of their burning cabin and war
whoops range all around them
—Claims
to the Western Lands
—How
to deal with western lands?
—1)
Led by the Hudson Bay Company who was only interested in the fur trade; thus,
urged the government to keep settlers from moving across the mountains
—2)
Colonists urged the government to do all it could to develop the western lands
as a farming region
—3)
several colonies claim to own the lands beyond the Appalachians; these claims
were based on the original charters with such phrases as “from sea to sea”
—Opposing
Views
—George
III, surrounded by yes men, viewed the colonies as only dependencies of Great
Britain
—British
pointed out that they had saved the colonists from the French and Indians; that
the British army and navy protected the colonies; therefore, the colonists
should help pay part of the cost for protecting them
—Colonists
– the war was now over and they simply wanted to be left alone to pursue their
own interests without being bothered with problems of holding the empire
together
—George
III
—Came
to the throne in 1760 at the death of George II
—Died
mentally insane in 1820
—Proclamation
of 1763
—Announced
by George III
—All
lands west of the Appalachian Mountains in the area formerly claimed by France
now belonged to the British Crown
—Ordered
all settlers to withdraw temporarily to the east of a line along the crest of
the Appalachian Mountains (Proclamation Line)
—This
would reduce tension between the colonists and the Natives
—Royal
control was extended over the fur trade of the entire western region, no trader
was permitted to cross the mountains without the permission of British
officials
—Average
Englishman saw this as reasonable
—Americans,
eager to settle this land, were filled with resentment of this Proclamation
—Proclamation
Line of 1763
—Sugar
Act of 1764
—Parliament
hoped to raise money toward the expenses of “protecting and securing” the
colonies against attack
—Duty
placed on molasses, sugar, and other products imported from palaces outside the
British Empire
—Naval
patrols began to inspect ships entering harbors
—Royal
inspectors started searching warehouse and even private residences for smuggled
goods
—Collectors
offered a share of the confiscated goods if they turned in their friends and
neighbors
—Interfered
with the business fo colonial merchants, ship owners, and distillers of rum –
all of whom had been earning profits on duty-free molasses from the French,
Dutch, and Spanish islands in the Caribbean
—Primarily
affected the New England colonies
—Currency
Act of 1764
—Forbid
the colonies from issuing paper money
—All
taxes must be paid in gold or silver coin
—“hard”
money had always been hard to come in the colonies
—Quartering
Act of 1765
—Parliament
enacted an act requested by General Tomas Gage, commander in chief of the
British forces in America, that required
colonial authorities to provide barracks and supplies for British troops stationed in America
—A
10,000 man standing army was to be sent to keep the peace between the colonists
and Natives
—Affected
New England – particular Boston area
—Other
colonies saw it as not applying to them
—Stamp
Act of 1765
—Designed
to raise revenue for the defense of the colonies
—Named
as such because all documents or materials had to bear a stamp showing the tax
had been paid
—College
diplomas, playing cards, newspapers, advertisements, deeds, marriages, wills –
all fell under the Stamp Act
—George
Grenville, British prime minster, announced in 1764 that he intended to ask
Parliament to impose a stamp act; however, Parliament did not act until 1765
—This
gave the colonists a year to propose an alternative tax that was more agreeable
to them – they did not
—Parliament
was amazed at the outcry from the colonies because of the year and the fact
that Parliament argued that the colonists had always paid revenue to support
the empire
—Colonists
argued that the revenues raised before had been done by imposing indirect taxes
that were hidden in the price of the goods and only the people who purchased
the goods had to pay the tax
—Colonists
argued that this was a direct
tax which
individuals must pay directly to the government
—Up
until this time, any direct tax had been levied by the colonial assemblies and
were paid by the colonists because they had elected the assemblies; therefore,
they had a voice/representation
—The
colonies did not have representatives in Parliament; therefore, they had no
voice/representation in the Stamp Act
—The
watch words became “taxation without representation”
—The
British argument was that Parliament represented and spoke for all British
subjects
—One
Penny Stamp
showing that the tax had been paid
—The Stamp Act was passed in
Parliament
—Opposition
to the Stamp Act
—Colonial
assemblies produced resolutions condemning the Stamp Act
—Colonial
assemblies declared that all taxes were illegal except those levied by
representatives of the people in their own legislatures/assemblies
—Stamp
Act Congress, October, 1765
—Delegates
from 9 colonies met in New York
—They
first asserted their loyalty to the king and promised “all due subordination”
to Parliament
—Delegates
vowed resistance to all taxes levied without the consent of their own colonial
legislatures
—New
York City’s City Hall is where the Stamp Act Congress meet
—Nonimportation
Agreements
—Merchants
and leading citizens signed nonimportation agreements where in they promised
not to buy or import British goods
—Within
a few months products from Great Britain had almost vanished from store shelves
—Patrick
Henry, Virginia
—"Caesar,"
said he, "had his Brutus, Charles his Cromwell, and (pausing) George the
third (here a cry of treason, treason was heard, supposed to issue from the
chair, but with admirable presence of mind he proceeded) may profit by their
examples. Sir, if this be treason," continued he, "make the most of
it.“
—John
Burk, History of Virginia (1805)
—Patrick Henry was a member of the
Virginia House of Burgesses and opposed the Stamp Act
—He delivered his famous “Caesar and
Brutus Speech” during these debates
—Portrait
of Patrick Henry as Governor of Virginia
—Sons
of Liberty
—Organized
by townsmen as a secret society to demonstrate their dislike of the Stamp Act
by rioting in large towns, destroyed the offices of stamp tax collectors,
burned stamps in the streets, pillaged the house of royal official, and applied
tar and feather to citizens sympathetic to Great Britain
—They
argued they were battling for their rights as Englishmen
—Membership
was a guarded secret
—During a series of protests linked to the
Sons of Liberty, colonists burn and sack the house of the Massachusetts
lieutenant governor, Thomas Hutchinson.
—Protesting
against the Stamp Act
—Stamp
Act is Repealed
—Parliament
and George III were shocked that the colonies protested the Stamp Act
—British
merchants were also shocked, because the nonimportation agreements had brought
British-American trade almost to a standstill
—Merchants
faced with financial ruin demanded Parliament repeal the Stamp Act
—Influential
men who were sympathetic to the colonists called for a repeal as well
—Edmund
Burke , statesman and writer, expressed pride in the men who would thus oppose
an “illegal” measure
—William
Pitt, the Younger, future PM, declared, “I rejoice that America has resisted.”
—Under
this heavy pressure, Parliament backed down and repealed the Stamp Act in 1766
—Rejoicing
Colonists
—The
news was received with widespread joy and relief
—British
businessmen and American merchants were overjoyed with the news of the repeal
—Members
of Parliament turned upon George Grenville, the PM responsible for the Act, and
forced him to resign
—Declaratory
Act of 1766
—Most
missed this act passed by Parliament in conjunction with the repeal of the
Stamp Act
—Parliament
asserted its “full power and authority to make laws to bind the colonies and
people of American…in all cases whatsoever.”
—The
basic questions remained unanswered:
—Did
the British Parliament have the right to make laws for the colonists and to tax
them when they had no elected representatives in Parliament?
—Townshend
Act, 1767
—Parliament
once again attempted to collect duties from the American colonies
—Charles
Townshend, a member of the House of Commons,
lead Parliament to pass this act which would once again collect
“indirect” taxes
—Parliament
hoped that this route would not cause the same issues as the Stamp Act
—Townshend
Act levied import duties on articles of everyday use in America –
wine, tea, paper, glass, lead, and painters colors
—The
act included Writs of Assistance
—Part
of the money was to be used to pay colonial governors and thus prevent the
colonial assemblies from withholding a governor’s salary
—Charles
Townshend
—Parliament
—Writs
of Assistance
—In
order to put teeth into the law - they
legalized writs of assistance
—Writs
of assistance were written statements giving government officials the legal
right to search a man’s ship, his business, or his home
—Writs
allowed these officials to ransack the place with the hope of finding smuggled
goods
—American
merchants had been arguing that the use of writs was illegal and an invasion of
their rights
as Englishmen
—Opposition
to the Townshend Act
—New
Yorkers refused to provide living quarters for British soldiers who enforced
the law – Parliament answered by dissolving the New York Assembly – depriving
New Yorkers of their rights to representative government
—Angry
pamphlets, resolutions, and petitions were drafted, published and sent to
Parliament and the king
—Massachusetts
legislature drafted a letter to the other colonies, urging them to unite for
resistance
—Assemblies
of Maryland, South Carolina, and Georgia endorsed the letter – again Parliament
dissolved the legislatures of these colonies
—Resolutions
of the Virginia House of Burgesses
—Introductory
statement by George Washington in which he referred to “our lordly masters in
Great Britain”
—Claimed,
once again, only colonial legislatures had the right to levy taxes on the
colonists
—These
resolutions summed up the entire colonial answer to the Townshend Act and the
Writs of Assistance
—Direct
Action and Violence
—Nonimportation
Agreements were signed again – they had worked with the Stamp Act
—Mobs
smashed up revenue cutters (armed ships used to enforce custom laws and to
arrest smugglers), attacked British customs officials, tar and feathered anyone
who dared to inform on smugglers
—Bostonians
taunted the soldiers by calling them “lobsters”, “redcoats”, and “bloody backs”
—Now
and then patrols were attacked with snow balls containing rocks
—Tensions
built, and then an incident finally occurred
—The
Boston Massacre – March 5, 1770
—a mob
started to gather and taunt a sentry at the Boston Custom House, then they
started throwing rocks and sticks
—Captain
Thomas
Preston came to the sentry’s rescue with 8 British soldiers
—Now the
mob had a small unit of British to yell at, the crowd grew as they called the
British all kinds of names and started throwing snowballs with rocks in them,
sticks, stones from the street
—The crowd
pushed in; the soldiers panicked and fired into the crowd
—Propaganda
—Five Americans
died and seven were wounded
—Sam Adams
and the Sons of Liberty used this as propaganda to advance their cause of
separation from England
—Sam Adams
called it the “Boston Massacre” and Paul Revere engraved a picture of the event
so it could be reproduced numerous times and sent to all the colonies
—Every
individual is entitled to a fair trial
—The soldiers
were tried and John Adams, a patriot, took the case to represent them
—Adams
argued
that the soldiers had only defended themselves against an angry mob
—The jury
found six of the soldiers not guilty; two were found guilty of manslaughter and
were branded on their thumbs
—Repeal
—1770
– Lord Frederick North became PM, he urged Parliament to repeal the Townshend
Act
—Lord
North pointed out that the nonimportation agreements were once again ruining
British merchants
—Parliament
repealed the Townshend Act and allowed the Quartering Act to expire; however,
the tax on tea remained
—Calm
Before the Storm
—1771 –
1773 was a period of relative peace in the colonies and between the colonies
and Great Britain
—Trade
reached
its highest peak at about L4 milli0n per year – all appeared to be going well
—1772 –
Massachusetts Assembly established a Committee of Correspondence to discover
the early movements of Parliament and then to spread that information to all
other colonies. Also a way for the
colonies to follow the same tactics in opposing British policy that was deemed
as “against” the colonies and to spread propaganda
—These
Committees
of Correspondence became the beginning of the American Union
—…and
then the calm was broken….
—Tea
Act of 1773
—Tea Act
of 1773 – gave a monopoly in the tea trade to the East India Company – thus
making them the only company eligible to sell tea in the Colonies
—The
East India Company only had 17 million pounds of unsold tea
—The
tea could only be sold to British merchants – who would sale the tea cheaper
than it had been before
—Protests
broke
out, especially in the Boston area as the Sons of Liberty, a small, liberal
group of men aggravated the situation
—December,
1773 – The Boston Tea Party staged by the Sons of Liberty destroyed
342 chests of tea, which brought condemnation from Parliament and King
—Boston Tea Party courtesy of the Sons of
Liberty
—Why
Protest????
—By
now many colonists were opposed any taxes imposed by Parliament
—Granted
a monopoly to the East India Company
—If a
monopoly was granted to one British Company, was it not reasonable to expect
that other monopolies would soon be granted to other British companies????????
—Intolerable
Acts of 1774
—Parliament,
by overwhelming majority, passed four measures designed to discourage further
violence and to strengthen the power of British officials over the colonists
—Boston
Port
Bill or Coercive Acts 1774 – stated that Boston Port, the busiest in the
colonies, would be closed from all traffic entering or leaving the Port until
the tea that was destroyed was paid for
—Revoked
the Massachusetts Charter of 1691 and forbade the Massachusetts colonist from
holding town meetings
—New
Quartering Act – required colonist to provide food and housing for British
soldiers sent to American to enforce the laws
—British
officials in Massachusetts charged with crimes committed while enforcing
British laws could have their cased tried, not in that colony, but in England
—Quebec
Act of 1774
—Enlarged
the province of Quebec – southern boundary of Canada would be the Ohio River
and the western boundary would be the Mississippi River
—French
laws would continue and French Canadians who were Roman Catholics were granted
religious
freedom
—Colonists
were angered and viewed the Quebec Act as an attempt to punish them by
destroying the claims of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Virginia to the
western lands
—Map
after the Quebec Act
—Reaction
to the Intolerable Acts
—It
became clear that Great Britain intended to enforce the Intolerable Acts
—General
Gage, commander of British forces in North America, was named governor of
Massachusetts and sent reinforcements to uphold laws with physical force
—George
III declared that, “The New England governments are in a state of
rebellion. Blows must decide whether they are to be subject to this
country or independent.”
—“Give
me Liberty or give me Death”
—The
Virginia Convention met in Richmond at St. John’s Church to discuss the
blockading of Boston Harbor
—Patrick
Henry presented a resolution to arm the Virginia Militia – this could be seen
as treason
—Members
spoke against such a move
—Henry
decided he would have to defend his resolution with a speech – his most famous
one that ended with the historical phrase
—Virginia
Convention voted 60 to 61
—Give
me Liberty, or Give me Death!
—First
Continental Congress
—Peyton
Randolph
of Williamsburg, VA chosen president
—Convened
in
Philadelphia – September – October 1774
—Wanted
to
make a clear statement of colonial rights
—Wanted
to
place economic pressure on Parliament
—Wanted
to
develop a stronger colonial union with the term “United Colonies”
—Drew up a
Declaration of Rights and Grievances
—Petitioned
the
King for his support
—Adopted
the
Continental Association which was a complete non-importation, non-exportation,
non-consumption agreement; trade between England and her colonies dropped 97%
within a year
—Agrees
to
give a year for the Crown to make changes before they were scheduled to meet again
in the spring of 1775
—Peyton
Randolph of Williamsburg
—Some believe that had Peyton Randolph
lived, he would have been the first president of the United States instead of
George Washington
—Response
from both sides
—Parliament
refused to repeal the Intolerable Acts until the colonists paid for the tea
that had been destroyed
—Colonial
leaders refused to pay for anything until Great Britain repealed the
Intolerable Acts
—Few
were ready for independence, but they viewed their actions as preserving their rights as Englishmen
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