APUSH Lecture 1D(c0vers Ch. 4)

Ms. Kraysome slides taken from Susan

Pojer

What were some of the reasons for the differences between colonial Americans and the British government?

What effects did the French and Indian War have on the American colonists and on the status of the colonies within Britain?

Explain the importance of the series of crises from the Sugar Act through the Coercive Acts, and how each crisis changed colonial attitudes toward Britain.

Weakened imperial

control over the

colonies

Administrative weakness in

London

Salutary Neglect

Corrupt royal officials

• Glorious Revolution of 1688– Parliament became the real ruler of Britain– Less interested in keeping tight control over colonies than

kings were• Decentralized and Inefficient Colonial Administrations

– No one in Britain was clearly in charge of handling day-to-day operations in the colonies

– Corrupt and incompetent royal officials sent to the colonies– Royal governor’s salary paid by colonial legislatures (power of

the purse)• A Tradition of Self-Government

– b/c of salutary neglect, the colonies had developed powerful colonial legislatures• Claimed many of the same rights as the British Parliament (right to

tax, pass laws, etc.)• Became centers of colonial resistance to imperial control

• Britain and France competing on a global scale for colonial possessions and control of world commerce– Fought a series of wars during

the 18th c

• 1754: The First Clash– French building a chain of forts

in the Ohio Valley (disputed territory)

– British send colonial militia under command of George Washington to investigate• Militia attacked French fort

• Plan developed by Ben Franklin• Designed to protect colonists from Indian attacks

– Indians had sided w/French– Provided for an inter-colonial government and system for recruiting

troops and collecting taxes• Never took effect

– But set a precedent for later revolutionary Congresses

• War goes badly for British

• 1755: Gen. Braddock routed by French at Ft. Duquesne– France’s Algonquin allies ravaged the western frontier– British invasion of Canada fails

• Growing tensions between Americans colonists and British

. Colonials British

Method of Fighting

Indian-style guerilla tactics

March in formation

(bayonet charge)

Military Organization

Militias served under own captains

Br. officers wanted to take

charge

Military Discipline

No mil. deference or protocols

observed

Drills and tough discipline

Finances Resistance to rising taxes

Colonists should pay for their

defense

Demeanor Casual/Not professional

Formal – officers w/servants & tea

sets

►1760 – Parliament granted writs of assistance to prevent smuggling (a writ is a search warrant).►writ of assistance cases

(1761) Colonists challenge writs

►James Otis was lead attorney. Argued a citizen’s property must be held in higher regard than a Parliamentary statue. He lost.

►Understood colonial concerns impressments, seizure of

colonial supplies & equipment, quartering troops w/o compensations

1757 riot in NYC►Offered colonists a

compromise Col. Loyalty + Mil.

Cooperation = Br. reimbursement to colonial assemblies for their costs

►Results: Colonial morale increased by 1758

* By 1761, Spain has become an

ally of France

FRANCELost . . . Her Canadian

possessions Most of her

lands in India And claims to

lands east of the Mississippi

SPAIN Got all French

lands west of the Mississippi River, including New Orleans

Lost Florida to England

ENGLAND Got all French

lands in Canada

Exclusive rights to Caribbean slave trade

Commercial dominance in IndiaBr. victory = disaster for Native Americans.

Even our Iroquois allies suffered – passivity during war seen as evidence of duplicity.

COLONIESUnited them against

a common enemy for the first time

Created a socializing experience for all who participated

British contempt created bitter feelings towards the British that would only intensify

ENGLAND Increased her colonial

Empire in the AmericasGreatly enlarged debtBritain did not trust

colonists to take care of their own affairs

Reorganization of the American Empire was needed (commerical vs. territorial imperialists)

Salutary Neglect is over!

1st major test of new Br. Policy

Western forts & settlements from NY to VA attacked

Br. sent regulars instead of colonial militia

Designed to stabilize the frontier & prevent future hostilities w/natives

Prohibited colonists from settling west of the Appalachians

Colonists react w/anger and defiance!

BRITISHSalutary Neglect is

overPassed new acts to

force colonists to help pay war debt

Don’t trust colonists to take care of themselves – means more Br. regulars needed in colonies

COLONISTSMet regulations with

anger, resentment, & sometimes open resistance.

See British actions as a plot to subvert their liberties and long established practice of representative gov’t.

►Sugar Act – 1764 Designed to eliminated illegal sugar

trade between colonies & West Indies

►Currency Act – 1764 Required colonies to stop issuing paper

money►Quartering Act (Mutiny Act) - 1765

Colonists required to assist in provisioning and maintaining the army

Ships of the Br. navy were assigned to patrol American waters and search for smugglers

►Stamp Act – 1765 Imposed a tax on most printed documents

• Grenville’s program violated colonial tradition of self-government

• At first, colonists diverted by tensions between internal divisions: eastern elites vs. western farmers– 1763: Paxton Boys in Pennsylvania

• Western farmers wanted relief from colonial taxation and money to fight Indians. Gov’t made concessions

– 1771: Regulator Movement in N. Carolina• Mini-civil war. Western farmers under-represented in colonial

assemblies, angered by colonial taxation. Resisted with force

• Over time, these new British policies began to create common grievances that outweighed these internal divisions

► Stamp Act raised 2 issues: Does Parliament have the right to tax

colonies? Can Parliament truly reflect colonial

interests? Parliament says yes virtual representation Colonists say no Patrick Henry’s Virginia

Resolves (American possess same rights as Englishmen thus no taxation without representation)

► Stamp Act Congress 1765 Organized by James Otis Only elected representatives had authority

to approve taxes It wasn’t the tax the colonists disliked, it

was the precedent the tax set

► Boycotts**

Sons of Liberty – secret society organized to intimidate tax agents.

During protest they burn & sack the home of MA Lt. Gov. Thomas Hutchinson

►Stamp Act repealed but Parliament also issued face-saving Declaratory Act in 1766.

►1767 – British gov’t still needed revenue, new chancellor of the exchequer, Charles Townshend has an idea . . .

►Townshend Acts Indirect tax on tea, glass, & paper Money raised not used to pay war debt Instead used to pay crown officials in the colonies to

make them independent of the colonial assemblies To enforce acts, officials could use writs of assistance

to search homes Suspended NY’s assembly for defying Quartering Act

►At first the colonists do not react strongly

►1768 – John Dickinson wrote Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer (no taxation without rep.)►1768 – James

Otis & Samuel Adams wrote the

Massachusetts Circular Letter (urged repeal of

acts)

For the first time, many of the colonists who participated in the non-importation

activities began referring to

themselves as. . .

►1768 – 2nd Non-Importation Movement More boycotts Daughters of

Liberty Spinning Bees

►Riots against customs agents John Hancock’s ship, The LibertyColonial merchants leading the protests

4,000 British troops in Boston. . .

►5 people were killed, including Crispus Attucks

►Soldiers were acquitted John Adams was their

defense attorney

►Later used to inflame anti-British feeling

►Townshend Acts finally repealed April 2, 1770 Small tax on tea was

kept

• 1770-1772 - years of relative peace

• 1772 – Samuel Adams formed Committees of Correspondence– kept colonials informed about

suspicious or potentially threatening British activities

– Gaspee Incident much discussed• Example of colonial hatred of British

anti-smuggling measures

• 1773 - VA House of Burgesses made the committees inter-colonial in 1773

• Puritan influence– “city upon the hill”– Great Awakening’s

challenging of authority

• Whig Ideology from England– Whig Party = opposition party

in England– Framed powerful arguments

against their government which the colonists adopted

• Argued men inherently evil, gov’t there to protect individuals, feared concentration of power in gov’t led to abuse

• Enlightenment philosophies– New concept of what gov’t

should be (social contract)– Believed England’s balanced

constitution was the best system ever devised

• Some feared Constitution was in danger b/c king & ministers becoming too powerful

• Political experiences of the colonists– Salutary neglect, tradition of

self-government– Believed these things had

become rights

Q-> What was the extent of Parliament’s authority over the colonies?

Absolute?

OR Limited?

Q-> How could the colonies give or withhold consent for parliamentary legislation when they did not have representation in that body?

Virtual Representation?

►British East India Co. Had monopoly on British tea

imports Many members of Parliament

held shares On verge of bankruptcy

►Parliament permitted company to sell tea directly to colonies (no middle men) Meant their tea, even w/tax,

was cheaper than smuggled Dutch tea

►Lord North expected colonists to choose the cheaper tea

►Also known as the Intolerable Acts Designed to punish

Boston & MA Bring dissidents under

control►Port Act►Massachusetts

Government Act►Administration of

Justice Act►Quartering Act

►Passed at same time as Intolerable Acts

►Colonists viewed as a direct attack because Took away American

claims along the Ohio River

Colonists feared similar law would take away their representative assemblies

Also like anything that seemed to favor Catholics

Historical Dilemma: Was our break with the British evolution

or revolution?

55 delegates from 12 colonies

Agenda How to respond to the Coercive Acts & the Quebec Act?

1 vote per colony represented No desire for

independence

Conservatives Favored a mild statement of protest Members: John Jay & Joseph Galloway Galloway Plan missed passage by 1 vote

Moderates Members: George Washington &

John Dickinson

Radicals Demanded British concessions Members: Patrick Henry, Samuel

Adams, John Adams

1) Rejected the Galloway Plan

2) Issued Declaration of Rights & Grievances petition to king urging redress of grievances backed by moderates

3) Approved Suffolk Resolves Called for repeal of Intolerable Acts Urged resistance through boycotts & military

preparation

4) Continental Association formed to enforce the boycotts.

5) Agreed to meet again the following spring 2nd Continental Congress

• King George III dismissed the colonial petition – Declared MA to be in a

state of rebellion

• Gen. Thomas Gage sent a large force to seize colonial military supplies in a nearby town Gage was commander

of British troops in Boston

Paul Revere and William Dawes make their midnight ride to warn the Minutemen of

approaching British soldiers.

Lexington and Concord April 18, 1775

What were some of the reasons for the differences between colonial Americans and the British government?

What effects did the French and Indian War have on the American colonists and on the status of the colonies within Britain?

Explain the importance of the series of crises from the Sugar Act through the Coercive Acts, and how each crisis changed colonial attitudes toward Britain.