Toward American Independence

French & Indian War (1754-1763)• Part of the Seven Years’ War– War began by Virginians.– 1754, Virginia sent George Washington and a militia to the

Ohio River valley to expel the French.– 1754, Washington had to surrender at Fort Necessity

• 1755, Maj. Gen. Edward Braddock and Washington later defeated again while trying to capture Fort Duquesne– Ambushed by French and Indians.– British not prepared for frontier war– Iroquois and Spanish now allied with France

Seven Years’ War in North America

Pitt’s Victory

• William Pitt took control of British army during war.– Focused on fighting the French in America (Seven

Years’ War was a “world war”).• British gained control of St. Lawrence River in

July 1758.• British captured Quebec in 1759.• Treaty of Paris ends the war in 1763.– French surrender all major New World colonies to

Britain and Spain

British Nationalism

• Surge in British nationalism in America following war.– Britain had won a major victory, and American

colonists were British subjects.

• Celebrations took place all over the British Empire.

• Imperial oppression/Imperial reform begins in 1763.

Growth of Population to

1760

Pontiac’s Rebellion

• British troops stayed in America.– British could now

expand west since French are gone.

• Pontiac urges Indians to return to old ways.

• Pontiac’s Uprising.

Proclamation of 1763

• As a result of the trouble with Indians, Britain issued the Proclamation of 1763.– Prohibited white settlement past the Appalachian

Mountains.– Restricted westward movement in an attempt to

pacify natives.– Keep colonials confined to the seaboard.

Beginning of “Reform”

• Britain went into debt defending American colonies during Seven Years’ War.– Colonists should help pay the costs of the war.– Passage of several acts, or taxes, on consumer and

luxury commodities.• Who was responsible for taxation in British

America?– The people must consent to taxation through their

representatives.

The Acts

• Sugar Act of 1764—tax on sugar products such as table sugar and molasses.

• Currency Act of 1764—colonies could not make paper money (which had become popular).

• Stamp Act of 1765—tax on paper products (legal documents, newspapers, books, diplomas, playing cards, etc.)

The Result• Riots in the major

cities.• Denunciations by

colonial legislatures.• Sons of Liberty• Stamps destroyed and

tax officials burned in effigy, some tarred and feathered.

Stamp Act Repealed, But . . .

• Stamp Act repealed a year later in 1766.• Intolerable Acts had become a unifying agent to

most colonists.– “No taxation without representation.”

• Townshend Revenue Acts of 1767—tax on lead, paint, paper, glass, and tea—products imported from Britain.

• New York legislature suspended, followed by Massachusetts legislature for protests.

Samuel Adams• Massachusetts legislator

from Boston.• Had been a merchant

and tax collector.• Condemned the

Townshend Acts, encouraged other colonial legislatures to do the same.

• Incited Sons of Liberty further.

Crisis in Boston

• 4000 “redcoats” and 15,000 Bostonians– British troops in Boston now unwelcome.– British regulars competed with laborers for jobs when off

duty.– Pelted with stones, dirt, snowballs, horse excrement.

• Boston Massacre– March 5, 1770; crowd inspired by Sam Adams.– 6 rioters wounded, 5 killed by 7 soldiers– Crispus Attucks– John Adams

Tea Act of 1773

• Tea Act of 1773.– Designed to bail out bankrupt East India Company

• Boycott on tea as a result of Townsend Acts– Ships refused entry by Bostonians– Samuel Adams– 50 men dressed as Indians boarded three ships in

the wharf.– Threw 90,000 pounds of tea into Boston harbor

worth about £10,000

The Empire Strikes Back

• Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts)– Closed port of Boston until colonists pay East India

Company for losses.– All of Massachusetts government handed over to royal

officials.– Royal officials accused of crimes tried in England.– Quartering Act.– Quebec Act of 1774—no local assembly and Catholicism

made official religion.• Not intended as a punishment for Bostonians• Maintained loyalty of French Canadians• Control of Ohio Valley to Quebec

First Continental Congress

• Same organizers of Albany Congress called for another meeting of colonial representatives.

• Sought repeal of Coercive Acts– Many concerned about the radicalism in Boston

• First session met in September 1774 in Philadelphia; everyone showed up but Georgia.• Southern colonies unwilling to participate in what they saw as treason

• Adopted a Declaration of Rights and Grievances.• Attempt to end mercantilism– Nonimportation, nonexportation, nonconsumption of

British goods

Resistance Becomes Revolution

• Boston and Thomas Gage• Lexington and Concord• Second Continental Congress• Revolutions