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The French and Indian War Begins
War Timeline-Started in Ohio Valley, by George Washington
-Stemmed out into a world-wide conflict, known as the Seven Years War
-British reinforcements/generals sent to America
-France was successful at first, defending frontier forts
-Eventually great leadership/altered strategy allowed British to win war
-After they took Louisbourg (at mouth of St. Lawrence R.), the British defeated French forces at their two main settlements of Quebec and Montreal -
The French and Indian War Ends
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Proclamation of 1763
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-Prohibited settlement in the area beyond the Appalachians
-Was not designed to oppress colonists, but to work out the Indian problem fairly and prevent another bloody uprising -
Sugar Act
-1764: the first law ever passed by that body for raising tax revenue in the colonies for the crown
-It increased the duty on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies
-The duties were lowered substantially, after bitter protests from the colonists
-Secured by Prime Minister George Grenville
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<a href='http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.sonofthesouth.net/revolutionary-war/political/sugar-refinery.jpg -
Stamp Act
-To raise revenues to support the new military force
-Mandated the use of stamped paper or affixing of stamps, certifying payment of tax
-Stamps were required on bills of sale for about fifty trade items as well as on certain types of commercial and legal documents, including playing cards, pamphlets, newspapers, diplomas, bills of lading, and marriage licenses
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Quartering Act
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-1765: required certain colonists to provide food and quarters for British troops -
Stamp Act Congress
Document
-New York City: 27 delegates from 9 colonies
-Drew up a statement of their right and their grievances
-Asked the king and Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act
-Was ignored in England
-Was a step to colonial unity -
Declaratory Act
-Reaffirmed Parliament’s right “to bind” the colonies “in all cases whatsoever”
-The British government drew its line in the sand
-It defined the constitutional principle it would not yield: absolute and unqualified sovereignty over its North American colonies
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Townshend Acts
Click here-Named after Charles Townshend
-New regulations: included a light import duty on glass, white lead, paper, paint, and tea
-This tax was made an indirect customs duty payable at American ports
-Were created to pay the salaries of the royal governors and judges in America
-Colonists regarded this as another attempt to enchain them -
British troops occupy Boston
-British officials faced with a breakdown of law and order
-October 7, 1768: British officials landed two regiments of troops in Boston to enforce the Townshend duties
-Many soldiers were drunken and profane
-Their presence leads to street fights -
Boston Massacre
Eyewitness Accounts-Colonists did not take the new taxes seriously, found they could secure smuggled tea, and smugglers increased their activities, especially in Massachusetts
-1768: British officials landed two regiments of troops in Boston- soldiers were drunken and profane
-March 5, 1770: a crowd of 60 townspeople set upon a squad of 10 redcoats
-The troops opened fire without orders under provocation
-They killed or wounded 11 “innocent victims”
-Crispus Attucks: the first to die -
Townshend Acts repealed, except for tea tax
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-Lord North, giving in to pressure, persuaded Parliament to repeal the Townshend Acts
-The three-pence toll on tea remained because it still demonstrated that Parliament had the right to tax the colonists -
Boston Tea Party
Eyewitness
-1773: The Boston East India Company was burdened with 17 million pounds of tea- able to sell it very cheaply
-The tea-bearing ships were not welcomed- shipped to Boston and were order by Thomas Hutchinson not to leave until they emptied their cargo in the Boston harbor
-December 16, 1773: Bostonians, dressed as Indians, boarded the ships, dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston harbor -
"Intolerable Acts"
-Many of the chartered rights of colonial Massachusetts were swept away
-Restrictions were placed on the precious town meetings
-Enforcing officials who killed colonists in the line of duty could now be sent to Britain for trail
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First Continental Congress (Part I)
-Summoned in response to the “Intolerable Acts”
-Met in Philadelphia to consider ways of redressing colonial grievances
-Attended by 12/13 colonies- Georgia did not attend
-55 distinguished men- including Samuel Adams, John Adams, George Washington, and Patrick Henry
-Deliberated for 7 weeks, from September 5 to October 26, 1774
-Was a consultative body, rather than a legislative body—a convention, rather than a congress -
Quebec Act
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-1774: accompanied the Intolerable Acts
-Guaranteed to French subjects their Catholic religion
-Permitted to retain many of their old customs and institutions, which did not include a representative assembly or a trial by jury
-The old boundaries of the Quebec province were extended southward all the way to the Ohio River
-Was not approved by the French-Canadians or the colonists -
First Continental Congress (II)
John Adams: swayed his colleagues to a revolutionary course , defeating a proposal by the moderates for an American home rule under British direction
-The Congress drew up several dignified papers, including the Declaration of Rights, as well as solemn appeals to other British American colonies, to the king, and to the British people
-Also drew up The Association, calling for a complete boycott of British goods: nonimportation, nonexportation, and nonconsumption -
First Continental Congress (III)
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-The delegates were not yet calling for independence
-They sought to repeal the offensive legislation and return to the happy days before parliamentary taxation
-Would meet again in May 1775 if colonial grievances were redressed, well and good -
Battle of Concord
-April 1775: the British commander in Boston sent General Thomas Gage and his troops to Concord to seize stores of colonial gunpowder and “bag” rebel leaders, Samuel Adams and John Hancock
-The British troops were forced to retreat by 400 ready minutemen crouched behind thick stone walls
-The British had 300 casualties, with 70 killed
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Battle of Lexington
Eyewitness-Sent General Thomas Cage and his detachment of troops to nearby Lexington and Concord
-They were to seize stores of colonial gunpowder and also “bag” rebel leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock
-The colonial Minute Men refused to disperse rapidly enough
-Shots were fired that killed 8 Americans and wounded several
-More so the “Lexington Massacre” than a battle
In Depth Information -
Second Continental Congress
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-Gradually edged toward a clean break
-It was adopted that the colonies should be free and independent states in July 2, 1776
-The declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, was formally approved by the Congress on July 4, 1776 -
Battle of Bunker Hill
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-June 1775: colonists seized Bunker Hill (Breed’s Hill)-they menaced the enemy in Boston
-British launched a frontal attack with 3,000 men
-Colonists shot them from the top- ran out of ammunition and forced to retreat
-British lost 1,054 men, but won the battle
-A moral victory for the colonists -
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
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-The publication of Common Sense: a very influential pamphlet
-Written by radical Thomas Paine
-Became a best-seller and totaled 120,000 copies
-Questioned why the tiny island of Britain should control the vast continent of America when no where in the universe did the smaller body control the larger one
-The king was “the Royal Brute of Great Britain”
