Research question: How did the Committees of correspondence influence property rights, taxation, and democracy for the American colonists against the English crown in the 1775 to 1780’s
Sub Question: What did the committee of correspondence do that ultimately led to the peace treaty being signed in 1782?
How did the Townshend act and Stamp Act in 1765 influence the colonists in colonial America?
Sub Question: How did the declaration of independence in 1785’s define property rights, taxation, and democracy for America?
When the 7 years war ended in 1763, the victor was british, including british subjects who lived in america, who now had more land and therefore more money
1765: British stamp act, where fancy stamp on documents/newspapers/cards/etc in return you give us money.
The colonists were not keen on this, not much because of high tax but because they had no direct representation in the parliament that had levied the tax.
They were also angry of keeping high no of british troops in the colony even after the end of the war. The british backed down and repealed the stamp act. The repeal inspired a line of commemorative teapots.
However the british ended up putting new taxes called townshend acts, this lead to further protests, boycotts, and organization of the colonists.
Protest escalated, 1770: Saw the boston massacre: Sum total 5 deaths.
1773: Bunch of colonists dumped around a million dollars worth of tea into Boston Harbor as protests.
The British continued to fight 1781 or 1783 until the peace treaty was signed.
The colonists formed democracy
Two ideas central to the revolution: Property rights and equality
The articles of confederation gave the government no power to tax, hence people with property could keep it without having to pay, Most signers of declaration of independence were men with property.
Thomas jefferson: We hold theses truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal.
30% of american population were slaves of african descent who were held as property and not treated equally to whites, women couldn’t vote, neither could men with less property, and thomas jefferson had slaves himself.
The english crown in colonial america greatly benefited from the import of consumer goods to the american colonies. Hence one way colonists would protest taxation without representation was by boycotting british products.
In order to enforce boycotts, Protesters created Committees of Correspondence which spread information about who was and was not observing the boycotts.
They could also coerce non compilers to comply.
The maryland committee of correspondence, first continental congress which convened to co ordinate a response to the fighting that started in 1775.
Continental congress most famous for drafting and approving the declaration of independence.
By the time the british started shooting. Most of the colonists were already self governing and had developed a sens of themselves as something separate and different from the british.
Evidence as committees of correspondence, shadow governments that eventually reached out to foreign governments and establishing an espionage network, tarring and feathering loyalist and royal officials, very painful.
Even recruiting physicians to tell american men that drinking british tea would make them weak and effeminate