Anglo-French Rivalry Leads to Conflict in the Colonies

In 1607, the Virginia Company of London founded Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America. During the rest of the 17 th century and the early 18 th century, England proceeded to establish a total of 13 colonies in North America

The French, meanwhile, in 1608, established a permanent settlement in Quebec in present-day Canada. Quebec became the heart of France’s fur-trading colonial empire in North America.

Rivalry developed in North America between England and France. The rivalry in North America between England and France led to the French and Indian War, which was fought from ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

In the French and Indian War, the British and the colonists fought together against the French and Indians. The British won the French and Indian war and drove the French out of Canada and their territories west of the Appalachian Mountains.

As a result of the French and Indian War, England took several actions that angered the American colonies and led to the American Revolution.

First, the British issued the Proclamation of 1763, which prohibited settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains – a region that was costly for the British to protect.

Furthermore, in order to win the war against France, the British government had gone greatly into debt. In addition, the British government had to pay the costs of the British troops stationed in North America to protect the American colonists. This led to new taxes on legal documents (the “Stamp Act”), tea, and sugar, in order to pay costs incurred during the French and Indian War and for British troops to protect colonists. Taxed

(Passed by Parliament in 1765, the Stamp Act required Americans to purchase and use specifically marked or stamped paper for newspapers, customs documents, wills, contracts, and other public legal documents. In short, the Stamp Act taxed all legal papers issued in the colonies.)

The Americans quickly opposed the Stamp Act. They argued that only a colony’s elected assembly could levy taxes on that colony. The phrase “no taxation without representation” became a popular slogan among Americans. Colonial resistance to the Stamp Act mounted to such an extent that the British repealed (did away with) the Stamp Act.

The Beginning of the American Revolution

In 1767, Parliament (the English lawmaking body) tried once again to raise revenue (tax money) in the American colonies by passing the Townshend Acts. These laws placed duties (tariffs) on glass, paper, lead, paint, and tea. Taxed

American leaders vigorously opposed these new taxes. They again claimed Parliament had no right to tax the colonists because Americans lacked representation in the English legislative (lawmaking) body. Parliament responded in 1770 by repealing all the Townshend duties (taxes) except the tax on tea. No Townshend Act, either!

At approximately the same time, the Boston Massacre took place when British troops fired on anti-British demonstrators. The Boston Massacre was a clash in 1770 between British troops and a group of Bostonians in which five colonists were killed and six wounded.

In 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act, by which it tried to give a monopoly (complete control) over the American tea trade to the financially struggling British East India Tea Company. The British hoped the increased tea sales in the American colonies would save the company from bankruptcy. However, the American tea merchants and other colonial leaders believed the Tea Act was a British attempt to trick the colonists into paying the remaining Townshend duty on tea. Taxed … … again

Colonial leaders who sympathized with Boston’s situation called for delegates from all the colonies to gather in Philadelphia. In September 1774, the First Continental Congress was called, to which all of the colonies except Georgia sent representatives. It was the first time most of the colonies had acted together.

As a result, the Boston Tea Party was staged in December In this action, a group of Bostonians disguised themselves as Indians, boarded vessels of the East India Tea Company, and threw the tea cargo into Boston Harbor. Parliament was furious at this deliberate destruction of private property and passed laws to punish the people of Boston and the colony of Massachusetts.

Resistance to British rule in the American colonies mounted, leading to war. In April 1775, the Revolutionary War began when the “Minutemen” in Massachusetts fought a brief skirmish with British troops at Lexington and Concord. Minutemen were members of New England’s militia.

A Growing Belief in Self Government

Thomas Paine was an English immigrant to America who in 1776 produced a pamphlet known as Common Sense that challenged the rule of the American colonies by the king of England. Common Sense was read and acclaimed by many American colonists during the mid-1700s and contributed to a growing sentiment for independence from England.

John Locke was an “Enlightenment” philosopher whose ideas, more than any other’s, influenced the American belief in self-government. (The “Enlightenment” was a period in Europe during the 17 th and 18 th centuries that saw the development of new ideas about the rights of people and their relationship to their rulers.)

John Locke wrote that: 1. All people are free, equal, and have “natural rights” of life, liberty, and property that rulers cannot take away. We all have natural rights: life, freedom, and, umm, property

John Locke wrote that: 2. All original power resides in the people, and they consent to enter into a “social contract” among themselves to form a government to protect their rights. In return, the people promise to obey the laws and rules established by their government, establishing a system of “ordered liberty.” There’s a social contract – you know, agreement – between a government and its people

John Locke wrote that: 3. Government’s powers are limited to those the people have consented to give to it. Whenever government becomes a threat to the people’s natural rights, it breaks the social contract and the people have the right to alter or overthrow it. Government has only as much power as the people give it. A government that threatens your natural rights needs to change its ways or be done away with.

John Locke’s ideas about the sovereignty and rights of the people were radical and challenged the centuries-old practice throughout the world of dictatorial rule by kings, emperors, and tribal chieftains.

The ideas of the Enlightenment and the perceived unfairness of British policies provoked debate and resistance by the American colonists. Enlightenment Ideas Taxed

The Declaration of Independence

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. The final draft of the Declaration of Independence, authored by Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, reflected the ideas of not only Thomas Paine but also John Locke.

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote:

“We hold these truths to be self- evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” -Thomas Jefferson Declaration of Independence

“That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” -Thomas Jefferson Declaration of Independence

“That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government.” -Thomas Jefferson Declaration of Independence

In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson went on to detail many of the grievances against the king that Paine had earlier described in Common Sense.

These new political ideas about the relationship between people and their government helped to justify the Declaration of Independence.

The revolutionary generation formulated the political philosophy and laid the institutional foundations for the system of government under which we live today.

The American Revolution was inspired by ideas concerning natural rights and political authority, and its successful completion has affected people and governments throughout the world for many generations.

Key Principles of the Declaration of Independence

The ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence contradicted (went against) the realities of slavery and the undemocratic nature of political participation in the early decades of the new republic. Put another way, the “all men are created equal: statement clearly challenged the legality – and morality – of slavery as a legal institution, and the undemocratic nature of political participation in our republic’s early years also conflicted with the Declaration’s basic principle of equality among men.

The key principles of the Declaration of Independence increased the political, social, and economic participation in the American experience over a period of time and have become unifying ideas of American democracy.

In the area of political participation, the United States embarked in 1776 on a search for equality, as expressed through the democratic concept of extending the franchise (the right to vote). This search for equality has also resulted in the federal government upholding the due process of law rights of individual citizens. The search for equality has also resulted in all 50 states providing free public education to America’s children.

In the area of social participation, women and minority groups have, over time, enjoyed increased liberty. For example, abolishing slavery went from an idea in 1776 to reality in 1865, with the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment. Extending civil rights to women and other minority groups has also become a reality in the years since the Declaration.

In the area of economic participation, the “pursuit of happiness” meant the chance to benefit from the free- enterprise system. Economic participation has led, over time, to the national government protecting property rights, promoting economic opportunity, and regulating the free- enterprise system, so that all Americans possess a chance to achieve financial success through hard work.

Differences Among the Colonists

Despite Jefferson’s inspiring words in the Declaration of Independence, the American colonists remained divided throughout the American Revolution. Patriots Loyalists

Generally, the colonists were divided into three main camps during the Revolution: Patriots, Loyalists (or Tories), and Neutrals.

The Patriots: 1. believed in complete independence from England Patriots

The Patriots: 2. were inspired by the ideas of Locke and Paine, and the words of Virginian Patrick Henry, who said, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” Patriots Give me liberty, or give me death!

The Patriots: 3. provided the troops for the American Army, which was led by George Washington, also of Virginia Patriots

The Loyalists (Tories): 1. remained loyal to Britain, based on cultural and economic ties Loyalists

The Loyalists (Tories): 2. believed that taxation of the colonies was justified to pay for British troops to protect American settlers from Indian attacks Loyalists Colonist

Patriots Neutrals were the many colonists who tried to stay as uninvolved as possible in the war. Loyalists

Factors Leading to Colonial Victory

The American Revolution dragged on until Ultimately, the American rebels won their independence, as the British government grew tired of the struggle soon after the French agreed to help the Americans. Thus, both diplomatic and military factors contributed to colonial victory.

In 1778, the year following a major American victory over the British in the Battle of Saratoga, Benjamin Franklin negotiated a Treaty of Alliance with France. In the same year, France declared war on Great Britain.

George Washington, general of the American army, avoided any situation that threatened the destruction of destruction of his army. In addition, his leadership kept the army together when defeat seemed inevitable during the early years of the war.

After 1778, French assistance greatly helped the American cause. The Americans benefited from the presence of the French army and navy at the Battle of Yorktown, which ended the war with an American victory in October 1781.