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The Road to Independence. 1754-1783. The French and Indian War. Causes. Rivalry Between the French and the British British built their settlements on the coast founded towns poor relations with Native Americans French settled further inland established forts
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The Road to Independence 1754-1783
Causes • Rivalry Between the French and the British • British • built their settlements on the coast • founded towns • poor relations with Native Americans • French • settled further inland • established forts • good relations with Native Americans
Britain and France both claimed the Ohio River Valley. • 1754 A small force of British colonists built Fort Necessity in western Pennsylvania. • French forces surrounded the fort and forced a surrender. • The French and Indian War had begun.
The Course of the War • The colonies provided militia men and also made attempts at unity, such as the Albany plan of Union • Initially the British did poorly in the war losing because the French and Indians used guerrilla warfare.
William Pitt • Became British Prime Minister in 1757 • Believed the war would determine the future of the empire • Persuaded Parliament to raise taxes and borrow money to fight the war. • His efforts will pay off.
British forces begin to turn the tide: • Seize Louisbourg • Capture Fort Duquesne in Pennsylvania • 1759 General James Wolfe laid siege to Quebec (capital of New France) and captured it. • 1759 seized Montreal • 1761 All of Canada was under British Control
Treaty of Paris 1763 • Ended the war • France turned over Canada to Britain and surrendered all land claims east of the Mississippi River except New Orleans. • Britain returned Cuba to Spain in return for Florida.
Effect on the Colonies • British thought the colonies did not provide enough support for the war. • Colonists were shocked by the weakness of British military tactics. • Colonists began to believe that the British did not share the same values or treat them with respect
British Policy Changes • The Proclamation of 1763 • Tensions between the British and the Indians rose as colonists began to settle more land. • Pontiac’s Rebellion • Ottawa, Huron, Potawatomi, and other Indians rebelled destroying every British fort west of the Appalachians except Ft. Detroit and Fort Pitt • King George declared the region west of the Appalachians closed to settlement.
Financial Policy • The cost of fighting wars to maintain the empire was high. • The British people were among the most highly taxed in the world. • The colonists were not heavily taxed and many like finance minister George Grenville believed they should share more of the burden.
The Sugar and Quartering Acts • Sugar Act • Cut the tax on molasses to discourage smuggling. • Enforced by Royal Navy ships and violators were tried by a judge in a British court, not a jury in a colonial court. • Quartering Act • Required colonies to provide housing and supplies for British troops.
Stamp Act Crisis • March 1765 Parliament passed the Stamp Act placing a tax on printed materials in the colonies. • The first time that Parliament had taxed the colonists for the clear purpose of raising money. • The law touched everyone, especially printers, merchants, and lawyers.
Stamp Act Congress • 1765 Representatives of 7 of the colonies met in New York • James Otis said, “No taxation without representation.” • Issued a series of resolutions claiming that colonists should have the same rights and liberties that the people of Great Britain had.
The Sons of Liberty • Merchants and others organized a boycott of British goods. • The Sons of Liberty groups were organized to enforce boycotts and resist the British. • Boston Sons of Liberty • Most famous • Samuel Adams was one of the founders • Warned the stamp tax collector that unless he resigned, “his House would be immediately Destroyed and his life in Continual Danger.” • By Nov 1765, when the act took effect most of the tax collectors had resigned or fled. • March 1766 Parliament repealed the Stamp Act
Colonial Tensions Rise • Declaratory Act • 1767 Parliament declared it did have the authority to pass laws that applied to the colonists. • Townshend Acts • Colonists were angered at being taxed without their consent. • The boycotts were renewed.
Boston Massacre • Fearing a rebellion, Britain had sent troops to Boston. • March 5, 1770, a crowd or unruly colonists threatened a group of British soldiers. • Fearfully the soldiers fired shots killed five Bostonians. • The soldiers were arrested and later tried in a colonial court. • Parliament canceled the Townshend taxes.
The Boston Tea Party • May 1773, Parliament passes the Tea Act to help the British East India Company. • This threatened colonial tea merchants. • December 16, 1773, a group of colonists disguised as Indians boarded three tea ships in Boston and threw all the tea onboard into the harbor.
The Intolerable Acts • Passed by Parliament as the Coercive Acts in 1774 to punish Boston and all of Massachusetts. • Closed Boston Harbor until the tea was paid for • Eliminated self-government in Massachusetts and appointed Thomas Gage as governor. • Stripped Massachusetts of its claims to western lands.
First Continental Congress • Sept. 5, 1774, fifty-six delegates from the colonies (except Georgia) met in Philadelphia. • Leading figures--Georgia Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, and Samuel Adams. • The Congress: • Renewed boycotts • Called on the colonists to form militias • Made a direct appeal to the King stating their grievances • George III responded by saying, “The New England colonies are in a state of rebellion, blows must decide.”
The Battles of Lexington and Concord • Massachusetts Patriots had stored a large stockpile of weapons at Concord. • April 18, 1775, 700 British troops left Boston late at night to take the arsenal. • Paul Revere and others rode all night to warn the Patriots. • At Lexington, on April 19, 70 minutemen blocked the British advance.
During the standoff someone fired a shot. • The minutemen were defeated and the British marched on to Concord and burnt the arsenal. • On the route back, some 4,000 Patriots shot at the British from behind trees all along the road home. • The British took heavy losses. • The Revolutionary War had begun
Common Sense • January 1776 • Written by Thomas Paine • 47 Page pamphlet designed to convince colonists that a break with Great Britain was the only answer to the problems they faced • “The period of debate is closed. Arms as the last resource decide the contest. . . . Every thing that is right or reasonable pleads for separation . The blood of the slain, the weeping voice of nature Cries, ‘TIS TIME TO PART.’ ” —Common Sense
Declaring Independence • First Continental Congress • 1775 Met in Philadelphia after the fighting of Lexington and Concord • Drafted the Olive Branch Petition which expressed loyalty to the King and asked for peace. • 1776 Second Continental Congress • After a year of war began to debate declaring independence • June 1776 the Congress appointed a 5 man committee to draft a declaration.
Writing the Declaration • Committee Members: Thomas Jefferson (primary author), John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Benjamin Franklin. • Heavily influenced by Enlightenment Thinkers: • John Locke • Two Treatise of Government • Natural Rights • Thomas Hobbes • Leviathon • Social Contract Theory • Jean Jacques Rousseau • Tabula Rasa / Natural Rights
