The British Empire and the Colonial Crisis 1754- 1775
The Destruction of the Tea and the Coercive Acts, 1770-1774
The Sugar and Stamp Acts, 1763-1765
Domestic Insurrection, 1774-1775
The Seven Year's War, 1754- 1763 First 1/2 of the 18th Century, Britain at war with France or Spain.Americans: "French and Indian War".By 1756 encompassed Europe, the Caribbean, and even India.
Resistance Strategies and Crowd Politics News of the Stamp Act arrived in April 1765, seven months before it was to take effect giving it time to object.
French-British Rivalry in the Ohio Country* French traders form alliances with the Indian tribes in the Ohio Country, New France est. an exchange of profitable beaver furs.By 1740's, Pennsylvania traders began infringed French territory.
The War and its Consequences By 1755, General Edward Braddock's army toward Fort Duquesne in western Pennsylvania. British troops-Fort Niagra, between Lakes Erie and Ontario.William Johnson, a New Yorker superintendent of northern Indian affairs led north towards Lake Champlain, to defend border against the French in Canada.
Pontiac's Rebellion and The Proclamation Of 1763. Treaty of Paris: does not take into account Indians. Minavavana, an Ojibwa chief of the Great Lakes region declared war against Englishman, even when the Englishmen conquered the French. Fort Duquesne, renamed Fort Pitt , announcing it was no fur trading post.
The Albany Congress British imperial leaders hoped to prevent conflict in the Ohio Country from leading to a larger war., therefore strengthen old partnerships with Mohawks of New York's Iroquois Confederacy, since 1692 had joined w/ New York fur merchants in an alliance called the Covenant Chain.
Greenville's Sugar Act
Virginia's Assembly,t the House of Burgess-es was first. Patrick Henry a political newcomer, presented a series of resolutions on the Stamp Act debated and passed one by one.*Virginia Resolves. An opposition to the Stamp Act. 1. Virginians were British citizens 2. Enjoyed same rights and privileges as Britons 3. One being self- taxation 4. Virginians always taxed themselves, through their representatives in the House of Burgesses 5. Took a radical leap, Virginia assembly alone had the right to tax Virginians. 6. Denied legitimacy to any tax law originating outside Virginia and the seventh odly called anyone who disagreed with these propositions an enemy of Virginia.*
Liberty and Property* Sons of Liberty, Connecticut "Liberty and property!**First five Virginia Revolve, taxes were "free gifts of the people" subordinate to Parliament. 17th Century: "Life, Liberty, and Property.Group of planters headed by Richard Henry Lee, issued document called "Westmoreland Resolves" objective is to reduce people to state of abject and salvery. Declaratory Act: Parliament's right to legislate for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever".
The Townshend Acts and Economic Retaliation, 1767-1770
The townshend Duties
NonConsumption and the Daughters of Liberty
Military Occupation and "Massacre" in Boston
The Calm before the storm
Tea in Boston Harbor
The Coercive Acts
Beyond Boston: Rural New England
The First Continental Congress
Lexington and Concord
Rebelling against Slavery
America's Ohio Valley The land claimed by Virginians, Pennsylvanians, and the French- inhabited by more than a dozen Indian tribes.
Virginians: Brothers Lawrence and Augustine Washington formed the Ohio Company in 1747 and advanced in this same land. Hoping to profit in land speculation, fueled by American population expansion.
The French sent soldiers to build a series of military forts-secure their trade routes creating a western barrier to American expansion.In 1753, the royal government of Virginia, Robert Dinwiddie, a shareholder in the Ohio Company, warned the French that they were trespassing on Virginia land.
The royal Government- twenty one year old George Washington, half brother of the Ohio Company leaders. In spring 1754, Washington set out with 160 Virginians and small contingent of Mingo Indians> French Military presence in the Ohio Country. Mingo chief Tanaghrisson led a detachment of Washington's soldiers to small French encampment in the woods. 14 Frenchmen/ No Virginians wounded.Fearing retaliation Washington ordered his men throw a makeshift "Fort Necessity" Mingos also fled fearing retaliation.
Retaliation arrived : six hundred French soldiers aided by one hundred Shawnne and Delaware warriors, attacked Fort Necessity, killing or wounding a third of Washington's men .
< Land Speculators caused the Mohawks to doubt British friendship.London directed New York's royal government to assemble a colonial conference to repair trade relations and secure Indian's help- against looming French threat.
Albany in June and July 1754. All 6 tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy attended. Twenty-four delegates from seven colonies. An unprecedented pan-colony gathering. The elderly Mohawk chief Hendrick . "British neglect would reorient Indian trade relations to the French., urging the assembled colonist to prepare for defense against the French."
Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Thomas Hutchinson of Massachusetts, coauthored the Albany Plan of Union.a proposal for a unified but limited government to exercise sole authority over questions of war, peace trade with the Indians. Power of Taxation
The British Government never backed the Albany Plan; instead appointed two superintendents of Indian affairs,one for the northern and another for the southern colonies, each with exclusive powers to negotiate treaties, trade, and land sales with all tribes.
*Braddock's army: 2,000 British soldiers-west to Fort Duquesne, with 8 Oneida warriors as guides. Ambushed by 250 French soldiers, 640 Indian Warriors. ~1,000 British soldiers killed or wounded, including General Braddock.
The war turnaround was the rise to power in 1757 of William Pitt, Britain's prime minister, committed massive resources to fight France and Britain world wide British troops aided by the Americans capturedForts Duquesne, Niagara, and Ticonderoga. French cities of Quebec and Montreal from 1758-1760.
By 1761, war subsided in American but persisted globally, battles in Caribbean, Austria, Prussia, and India.The British captured the French sugar Islands Martinique and Guadalupe and invaded Spanish Cuba with an army of 4,000 soldiers from New York and New England. By the end of 1762, France and Spain surrendered, and the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763.
Cuba was returned to Spain and Martinique and Guadeloupe were returned to France.
By 1763, Britain had doubled its national debt, which posed a challenge for the next decade of leadership in Britain.
Gifts: To the Indians gifts symbolized social relationship, honor, and establishing obligation. To the Englishmen it symbolized tribute, or bribery.Major General Jefferey Amherst declared it was not in his intention to gain friendship with Indians by presents.
Over decades the French mastered the art of gift exchange, textiles, hats, calumets(ceremonial pipes). Englishmen regarded calumets as trinkets.
Pontiac's Rebellion named for Chief of the Ottawas. Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Huron warriors attacked Fort Detroit. Settlements were raided by tribes from western New York, the Ohio Valley and the Great Lakes region.Capturing every fort west of Detroit.1763 Paxton Boys, 50 Pennsylvania vigilantes murdered 20 Conestoga Indians. . . later this number turned to 500 vigilantes marched Philadelphia to capture and murder Christian Indians, but British troops prevented this although they escaped punishment for the murderous attack on the Conestoga Village
In early 1764, the uprising faded. The British government blamed general Amherst for the conflict mishandling and celebrated his departure. Thomas Gage, took command and started gifting profusely among the Indians.
The British government issued the Proclamation of 1763. to minimize violence,forbidding colonist to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains in order to protect Indian territory. not taking care to identify western land as belonging to the Indians- lands that "are reserved to [Indians], as their Hunting Grounds."
William Johnson the superintendent of northern Indian affairs advised in 1764, "Treat each nation separately".
In 1760, George III , 22-years old became king of England. A huge debt from war needed to served with the help of the colonist and British subjects to pay it off. To American colonist this violated their rights and liberties leading to a large scale street protest.Provocative revenue acts were of Sir George Grenville, prime minister from 1763-1765.
George Grenville scrutinized the customs service monitoring the shipping trade and collected all imports and export duties.The salaries of the customs officers were four times what was collected in revenue.Bribery and smuggling, insists on attention to paperwork ad strict accounting to collect duties. The most difficult duty to enforce the Molasses Act of 1733: tax of six pence per gallon on molasses imported to British colonies from no-British sources. Buying it cheaply from French Caribbean island since French scorned rum preferring wines and brandy.
Revenue Act dubbed the Sugar Act Lowered French molasses to three pence, more attractive to obey the law, and raising penalties fines for smuggling., with the intend to raise revenue.Smugglers would be prosecuted in a vice-admiralty court located in Nova Scotia, where crown judge presided.
The Stamp Act In February 1765, Grenville escalated his revenue program with the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act required imposed a tax on all official documents-newspapers, pamphlets, court documents, licenses, wills, ship's cargo lists-required an affixed stamp as proof that the tax had been paid.
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Virtual representation,meant that Parliament had in mind the interest of all the King's subjects, no matter where they resided.
Colonist willingly paid local and provincial taxed, levied by their town, country, and colonial assemblies, to fund government administrative expenses and shared necessities like local roads, schools, and poor relief.
Sons of Liberty opposed the Stamp Act Organized resistance to the Stamp Act began in Boston in August 1765. Leaders Samuel Adams, Harvard graduate, an organizer with political interest . John Hancock, Harvard graduate, inheritance uncle's shipping business one of the wealthiest men in Massachusetts and Ebenezer Mackintosh,shoemaker and highly experienced street vendor.
2,000-3,000 led by Mackintosh, After protesters mockingly executed hung an effigy of Oliver in a tree, paraded around town, beheaded and burn the effigy. The next day, Oliver resigned and gave a well publicized announcement.
On AUGUST 26, a second crowd visited the houses of three detested customs and court officials, breaking windows and raiding wine cellars.
Lieutenant governor Thomas Hutchinson chief justice of the colony''s highest court. destroying Hutchinston house.