The Road to Revolution 1754-1776

The Albany Plan of Union, 1754 Benjamin Franklin recognized the need for greater colonial cooperation. His Albany Plan called for a united colonial defense against French and Native American threats to frontier settlements. It proposed the formation of a Grand Council of elected delegates to oversee common defense, western expansion, and Indian relations. Franklin’s famous “Join, or Die” cartoon dramatically illustrated the need for greater colonial unity. The Albany Plan failed because colonial assemblies did not want to give up their autonomy. At the same time, the British government feared that colonial unity would undermine their authority.

The French and Indian War, 1754-1763 What happened? The French and Indian War culminated the long struggle between Great Britain and France for control of the North American continent. France lost because its absolute government impeded the development of New France by imposing burdensome economic and immigration restrictions. Great Britain won because its colonies were far more populous than those of New France. In 1754, Britain’s mainland colonies contained 1.2 million people compared to just 75,000 inhabitants of New France. During the French and Indian War, the Algonquian supported the French and the Iroquois supported the British. What caused the French and Indian War? The French and Indian War began as a struggle for control of the upper Ohio River valley. The French and Indian War was part of a wider struggle between Great Britain and France known in Europe as the Seven Years’ War.

The French and Indian War, 1754-1763 Why should you remember the French and Indian War? Great Britain emerged as the world’s foremost naval power. The Peace of Paris of 1763 ended French power in North America. Britain took title to Canada, Spanish Florida, and all the French lands east of the Mississippi River. The French and Indian War left Britain with a large debt. As a result, British leaders planned to impose revenue taxes on their American colonies. The French and Indian War awakened the colonists’ sense of separate identity.

The Proclamation of 1763 Now that the French threat had been removed, American fur traders and land speculators looked forward to exploiting the vast new lands west of the Appalachian Mountains. While the colonists wanted to expand into the new territories, the British wanted to prevent land-hungry settlers from provoking hostilities with the Indians. The Proclamation of 1763 forbade settlers from crossing the crest of the Appalachian Mountains. Hardy settlers soon defied the prohibition as they pushed over the Appalachian ridges into Kentucky and Tennessee.

The Stamp Act Crisis, 1765 What happened? Britain’s national debt doubled as a result of the French and Indian War. In addition, Britain needed to raise funds to support 10,000 troops stationed in North America for defense against Indian troubles and a possible resurgence of French agitation. George Grenville, the new first prime minister and first lord of the Treasury, persuaded Parliament that the prosperous and lightly taxed colonists did not pay their fair share of imperial expenses. Parliament passed the Stamp Act on February 13, 1765. It required colonists to affix stamps to over 50 items including newspapers, legal documents, almanacs, college diplomas, and playing cards. Led by the Sons and Daughters of Liberty, outraged colonists used the threat of violence to “persuade” almost every stamp agent to resign. The Stamp Act Congress rejected Parliament’s right to tax the colonists and called for a boycott of British goods. The boycott proved to be a success. British merchants hurt by the loss of trade persuaded Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act. However, Parliament also passed the Declaratory Act reaffirming its right to “make laws and statues…to bind the colonies…in all cases whatsoever.”

What caused the Stamp Act crisis? The Stamp Act marked the end of Britain’s policy of salutary neglect. The Stamp Act directly affected lawyers, newspaper publishers, merchants, and planters. These articulate and influential colonists denounced the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act provoked contentious (argumentative) debate over Parliament’s constitutional right to tax its American colonies. The British argued that Parliament was based upon a system of “virtual representation” that represented the interests of all Englishmen, including the colonists. For example, a member of parliament from London represented the interests of Great Britain and the entire empire. As a result, Philadelphia had as much representation in Parliament as London. The colonists adamantly rejected “virtual representation.” They argued that as Englishmen they could only be taxed by their own elected representatives. The principle of “no taxation without representation” was a cherished right of British subjects. Giving up this privilege would lead to tyranny.

Why should you remember the Stamp Act crisis? The Stamp Act crisis marked the first major event that provoked colonial resistance to British rule. The Stamp Act crisis intensified the colonists’ commitment to republican values. Republicanism is the belief that government should be based on the consent of the governed. Republican values inspired the Virginia Resolved and Patrick Henry’s famous “Give me liberty or give me death” speech.

British authorities viewed Boston as a hotbed of discontent. The Boston Massacre, 1770 British authorities viewed Boston as a hotbed of discontent. London dispatched troops to Boston to protect nervous Customs Commissioners. Tension between the townspeople and the crimson- coated regulars soon escalated. On the night of March 5, 1770 a rowdy group of hecklers taunted a squad of British soldiers outside the Boston Customs house. A provoked soldier fired into the crowd and when the smoke cleared, five townspeople lay on the ground dead or dying. Led by Samuel Adams, enraged patriots promptly branded the incident the “Boston Massacre.” Paul Revere’s highly partisan engraving of the Boston Massacre further inflamed colonial opinion against the British.

The Boston Massacre, 1770

The Coercive Acts, 1774 On December 16, 1773 a group of Boston patriots disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded three British ships and threw 342 chests of tea into the harbor. The Boston Tea Party infuriated British authorities. Parliament promptly passed the Coercive Acts to punish Boston for the wanton destruction of private property. Known in America as the Intolerable Acts the legislation closed the port of Boston, sharply curtailed (reduced) town meetings, and authorized the army to quarter troops wherever they were needed. Parliament’s attempt to limit political autonomy in Massachusetts seemed to confirm the colonists’ fear that Britain intended to restrict each colony’s right to self-government The British strategy of isolating Boston failed. In September 1774, fifty-five elected representatives met in Philadelphia to reach a unified colonial response to the Coercive Acts. The First Continental Congress called for a complete boycott of British goods and urged the colonies to organize militia for defensive purposes.

Boston Tea Party

First Continental Congress, 1774

The Second Continental Congress, 1775 The Second Continental Congress began its deliberations in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775. As tensions mounted and fighting spread, it assumed more of the functions of a de facto America government. The Second Continental Congress issued the “Declaration of Causes of Taking up Arms.” This document declared that the colonists could either submit to tyranny or choose armed resistance. The Second Continental Congress authorized an army and appointed George Washington its Commander-in- Chief. As events unfolded, Washington demonstrated a rare combination of soldier and statesman.

Commitment to Republican Values A belief in republican values inspired the American revolutionaries who defied British authority. Republicanism is the belief that government should be based upon the consent of the governed. Republican values took root early in the American experience. For example, the New England town meetings and sessions of the Virginia House of Burgesses provided colonial leaders with valuable experience in the art of self-government. As they developed the habits of self- government, colonial leaders developed a firm sense of their rights. The Stamp Act Congress and the First and Second Continental Congresses further underscored the colonists’ commitment to republican values and determination to assert and defend their rights.

Common Sense, 1776 As 1776 opened, popular sentiment vacillated (wavered) between calls for independence and loyalty to the crown. In January, Thomas Paine published a pamphlet called Common Sense. Within three months more than 150,000 copies of the pamphlet circulated throughout the colonies. Paine rejected monarchy as a form of government. He attacked George III as a “royal brute” and a “hardened Pharaoh” who callously (without feeling) permitted his troops to “slaughter” innocent colonists. Paine urged Americans to reject British sovereignty and create an independent nation based upon the republican principle that government should be responsible to the will of the people.

The Declaration of Independence, 1776 Jefferson opened the Declaration of Independence with a concise and compelling statement of principles and “self-evident” truths. Inspired by John Locke’s philosophy of natural rights, Jefferson asserted that governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.” The governed are entitled to “alter or abolish” their ties to a government that denies them their “unalienable rights” to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Jefferson did not base his argument on the narrow “rights of Englishmen.” Instead, he left a lasting impact on the conscience of the world by appealing to universal “laws of Nature and Nature’s God.” The Declaration also contained a list of specific grievances against King George III. The King’s lengthy record of “repeated injuries and usurpations” forced the “good people of these colonies” to declare their independence from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence did not call for the abolition of the slave trade. The reality of slavery thus belied (contradicted) Jefferson’s eloquent statement of republican ideals.

The Declaration of Independence, 1776