1. From Empire to Independence, 1750-1776
Chapter Six
From Empire to Independence,

2. Part One
Introduction

3. Chapter Focus Questions
What was the final struggle among Great Britain, France, and American Indian tribes for control of eastern North America?
How did the aftermath of the French and Indian War influence American nationalism?
What were Great Britain's changing policies toward its North American colonies?
What were the political assumptions of American republicanism?
How did the colonists try to achieve unity in their confrontation with Great Britain?

4. The First Continental Congress Shapes a National Political Community
Part Two
The First Continental Congress Shapes a National Political Community

5. The First Continental Congress
In 1774, delegates from 12 colonies met for seven weeks in Philadelphia at the First Continental Congress forging a community of national leaders.
The Congress took the first step toward creating a national political community.
Twelve distinct colonies with different traditions and concerns joined together in an attempt to create a unified political community.
With repressive actions,Great Britain had forced the colonists to recognize a community of interests distinct from that of the mother country.

6. The Seven Years' War in America
Part Three
The Seven Years' War in America

7. The Albany Congress of 1754
The Albany Congress included delegates from New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the Iroquois Confederacy.
The agenda included:
considering a collective colonial response to the conflict with New France and the Indians of the interior.
negotiation of a settlement with the Iroquois Confederacy, who had become unhappy with colonial land-grabbing.
The Conference resulted in:
The Iroquois leaving without an agreement.
adoption of Benjamin Franklin’s Plan of Union, though this was rejected by colonial assemblies.

8. Colonial Aims and Indian Interests
The three principal flash points of conflict in North America were:
1. The northern Atlantic coast where British Nova Scotia and French Louisburg faced each other.
2. The border region between New France and New York from Niagara Falls to Lake George where competition for the Indian trade was fierce.
3. The Ohio country was the primary focus of British and French attention due to competition over land.
The impending war involved Indian peoples of the interior.
The Iroquois Confederacy and Creeks successfully played the European powers off one another.

9. MAP 6.1 The War for Empire in North America, 1754–1763 The Seven Years’ War in America (also known as the French and Indian War) was fought in three principal areas: Nova Scotia and what was then Acadia, the frontier between New France and New York, and the upper Ohio River—gateway to the Old Northwest.

10. Frontier Warfare
The defeat of General Braddock in 1755 was followed by the outbreak of war between Britain and France in 1756.
The French achieved early victories in New York.
The British harshly treated French-speaking farmers of Acadia by expelling them from their homes. Many moved to Louisiana where they became known as “Cajuns.”

11. The Conquest of Canada
William Pitt became British Prime Minister promising to win the war.
Pitt’s plan called for the conquest of Canada and the elimination of all French competition from North America.
The British gained Iroquois Confederacy and Ohio Indians and committed over 50,000 British and colonial troops to the Canada campaign.
British forces captured Louisburg, the French forts on the New York border, Quebec, and, lastly, Montreal in 1760.
Refer to photo of The Death of General Wolfe, p. 150

12. The death of General James Wolfe, at the conclusion of the battle in which the British captured Quebec in 1759, became the subject of American artist Benjamin West’s most famous painting, which was exhibited to tremendous acclaim in London in 1770.
SOURCE:Benjamin West (1738 –1820),The Death of General Wolfe, 1770.Oil on canvas,152.6 •214.5 cm.Transfer from the Canadian War Memorials,1921.(Gift of the 2nd Duke of Westminster,Eaton Hall,Cheshire,1918.) National Gallery of Canada,Ottawa,Ontario.

14. The Removal of the French from North America
In the Treaty of Paris of 1763, the French lost all its North American mainland possessions.

15. MAP 6.2 European Claims in North America, 1750 and 1763 As a result of the British victory in the Seven Years’ War, the map of colonial claims in North America was fundamentally transformed.

16. The Struggle for the West
The removal of the French stimulated a revitalization movement among the Ohio Indians led by Neolin, the Delaware Prophet.
Pontiac, an Ottawa, forged a confederacy that achieved early success, was crippled by a disease epidemic, and then failed.
The British had earlier issued the Proclamation of 1763.
American colonists opposed the Proclamation of 1763 and the British could not stop westward migration.
The Indians were forced to make concessions.
Refer to photo of A treaty between the Delaware, Shawnee, Mingo, and British., p. 152.

17. A treaty between the Delaware, Shawnee, and Mingo (western Iroquois) Indians and Great Britain, July 13, 1765, at the conclusion of the Indian uprising. The Indian chiefs signed with pictographs symbolizing their clans, each notarized with an official wax seal.
SOURCE:Photo by Carmelo Guadagno.Photograph Courtesy of National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution.

18. The Imperial Crisis in British North America
Part Four
The Imperial Crisis in British North America

19. The Emergence of American Nationalism
The Seven Years War affected the American colonists by
making them proud to be members of the British empire.
noting important contrasts between themselves and the British.
strengthening a sense of identity among the colonists.
A nationalist perspective emerged.

20. The Press, Politics, and Republicanism
The weekly newspaper was an important means of intercolonial communication.
The colonial press expressed the political assumptions of informed colonists, often reprinting the writings of radical Whigs.
The notion of republicanism emerged from Whig warnings of government’s threats to liberty.
Refer to photo of The New-England Courant, p. 155.

21. James Franklin began publishing The New-England Courant in Boston in When Franklin criticized the government, he was jailed, and the paper continued under the editorship of his brother Benjamin. The Courant ceased publication in 1726, and the Franklin brothers went on to other papers—James to The Rhode Island State Gazette, Benjamin to The Pennsylvania Gazette in Philadelphia. Before the Zenger case in 1735, few editors dared to challenge the government. SOURCE:Massachusetts Historical Society.

22. The Sugar and Stamp Acts
The costs of the Seven Years War and the subsequent defense of the North American empire added to the huge government debt.
In 1764, Parliament passed the Sugar Act to raise revenue from the colonies.
Colonial protest arose in the cities, especially Boston where a nonimportation movement soon spread to other cities.
James Otis, Jr. developed the doctrine of no taxation without representation.
Prime Minister Grenville ignored American protests and passed the Stamp Act.

23. The Stamp Act Crisis
The Stamp Act precipitated an unprecedented crisis.
Colonial concerns included the long-term constitutional implications regarding representation of the colonists in the British government.
Several colonies passed resolutions denouncing the Stamp Act.
Massachusetts, especially Boston, emerged as a center of protest.
To counter the growing violence, the Sons of Liberty was formed.
Refer to photo of Samuel Adams, p. 157.

24. Samuel Adams, a second cousin of John Adams, was a leader of the Boston radicals and an organizer of the Sons of Liberty. The artist of this portrait, John Singleton Copley, was known for setting his subjects in the midst of everyday objects; here he portrays Adams in a middle-class suit with the charter guaranteeing the liberties of Boston’s freemen.
SOURCE:John Singleton Copley (1738 –1815),Samuel Adams ,1772.Oil on canvas,127 cm x cm.Deposited by the City of Boston.Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts,Boston.

25. Repeal of the Stamp Act
British merchants worried about the effects of the growing nonimportation movement petitioned Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act.
Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in March 1767 but passed the Declaratory Act.

26. MAP 6.3 Demonstrations against the Stamp Act, 1765 From Halifax in the North to Savannah in the South, popular demonstrations against the Stamp Act forced the resignation of British tax officials. The propaganda of 1765 even reached the breakfast table, emblazoned on teapots.

27. “Save Your Money and Save Your Country”
Part Five
“Save Your Money and Save Your Country”

28. The Townshend Revenue Acts
During the 1760s, there were rapid turnover of government leaders.
In 1767, Charles Townshend became prime minister.
Townshend proposed a new revenue measure that placed import duties on lead, glass, paint, paper, and tea.
In response, John Dickinson’s Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania stated that Parliament had no right to tax goods to raise revenue on America.
Townshend enacted several measures to enforce the new Acts.

29. Nonimportation: An Early Political Boycott
Associations of nonimportation and non-consumption reformed to protest the Townshend Acts.
Appeals to stimulate local industry had strong appeal in small towns and rural areas.
Colonial newspapers paid much attention to women supporting the boycott.
These efforts reduced British exports by 41 percent.
Refer to photo of A Society of Patriotic Ladies , p. 159.

30. This British cartoon, A Society of Patriotic Ladies, ridiculed the efforts of American women to support the Patriot cause by boycotting tea.
The moderator of the meeting appears coarse and masculine, while an attractive scribe is swayed by the amorous attention of a gentleman.
The activities under the table suggest that these women are neglecting their true duty.
SOURCE:Library of Congress.

31. The Massachusetts Circular Letter
Boston and Massachusetts were the center of the agitation over the Townshend Revenue Acts.
Samuel Adams drafted a circular letter that led to British forcing the Massachusetts House of Representative to rescind the letter.
Rumors of mob rule and riots in Boston led to the British army occupying the city.

32. The Politics of Revolt and the Boston Massacre
The British troops stationed in the colonies were a source of scorn and hostility.
Confrontations arose in New York City and Boston between colonists and British soldiers.
In Boston, competition between British troops and townsmen over jobs was a source of conflict.
On March 5, 1770:
a confrontation between British soldiers and a crowd ended in the Boston Massacre that left five dead.
the Townshend Act was repealed.
Refer to photo of The Boston Massacre, p. 161.

33. In Paul Revere’s version of the Boston Massacre, issued three weeks after the incident, the British fire an organized volley into a defenseless crowd. Revere’s print—which he plagiarized from another Boston engraver—may have been inaccurate, but it was enormously effective propaganda.
It hung in so many Patriot homes that the judge hearing the murder trial of these British soldiers warned the jury not to be swayed by “the prints exhibited in our houses.”
SOURCE:The Library of Congress.

34. From Resistance to Rebellion
Part Six
From Resistance to Rebellion

35. Inter-colonial Cooperation
In the early seventies, several colonies established committees of correspondence to:
share information;
shape public opinion; and
build cooperation among the colonies.
Statements and letters by Thomas Hutchinson outraged colonists.

36. The Boston Tea Party
Parliament passed a new tax on tea to save the East India Company from failing.
Colonial protests included:
the Boston Tea Party;
a tea party in New York;
burning a ship loaded with tea in Annapolis; and
burning a warehouse in New Jersey.
Refer to photo of British tax man, p. 162

37. A British tax man is tarred and feathered and forced to drink tea, while the Boston Tea Party takes place in the background, in this image of 1774.
SOURCE:Christie ’s Images,Inc.

38. British Acts that led to Revolution
The Coercive “Intolerable”Acts 1774
Prohibited loading and unloading of ships in Boston Harbor until the colonists paid for the tea
Annulled the colonial charter of Massachusetts
Terminated self-rule by colonial communities
Legalized housing of troops in private homes at public expense
Quebec Act
These acts were calculated to punish Massachusetts and strengthen the British.

39. MAP 6.4 The Quebec Act of 1774 With the Quebec Act, Britain created a centralized colonial government for Canada and extended that colony’s administrative control southwest to the Ohio River, invalidating the sea-to-sea boundaries of many colonial charters.

40. The First Continental Congress
The delegates to the First Continental Congress included the most important leaders of the American cause.
The delegates passed the Declaration and Resolves that:
asserted colonial rights
declared 13 acts of Parliament in violation of their rights
pledged sanctions until the 13 acts were repealed
To enforce the sanctions, the delegates urged formation of Committees of Observation and Safety to assume the functions of local government.
The Committees organized militia, called extralegal courts, and combined to form colonywide congresses or conventions.
Refer to photo of The First Continental Congress , p. 167.

41. The engraving of the first session of the Continental Congress, published in France in 1782, is the only contemporary illustration of the meeting. Peyton Randolph of Virginia presides from the elevated chair, but otherwise there are no recognizable individuals. The Congress had to find a way to form a community among the leaders from each of the colonies without compromising their local identities.
SOURCE:Library of Congress.

42. Lexington and Concord
Despite a stalemate between the British and colonists in Massachusetts, the British government decided on military action.
When British troops left Boston to capture American ammunition at Concord, armed conflicts occurred at Lexington and Concord.
Refer to photo of Lexington and Concord, p. 168.

43. MAP 6.5 The First Engagements of the Revolution The first military engagements of the American Revolution took place in the spring of 1775 in the countryside surrounding Boston.

44. Deciding for Independence
Part Seven
Deciding for Independence

45. The Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress aimed to organize the defense of the colonies.
The Congress designated the militia forces besieging Boston as the Continental Army and made George Washington commander-in-chief.
The Olive Branch Petition was rejected by King George.

46. Canada, the Spanish Borderlands, and the Revolution
The rest of colonial North America reacted in various ways to the coming war.
The French Canadians did not support the rebellion.
Several British Caribbean islands did support the Continental Congress but the British navy stopped any involvement.
Spain adopted a neutral position officially, but secretly sought to help the Americans.

47. Fighting in the North and South
Fighting continued throughout New England.
An unsuccessful effort to take Canada ended in the spring of 1776.
By March the British had been forced out of Boston.
British efforts in the South had also failed.
On July 4, 1776, Congress announced the Declaration of Independence.
Refer to photo of The fighting at Bunker Hill, p. 170.

48. The Connecticut artist John Trumbull painted The Battle of Bunker Hill in 1785, the first of a series that earned him the informal title of “the Painter of the Revolution.” Trumbull was careful to research the details of his paintings, but composed them in the grand style of historical romance. In the early nineteenth century, he repainted this work and three other Revolutionary scenes for the rotunda of the Capitol in Washington, DC. SOURCE:The Granger Collection.

49. No Turning Back
King George III rejected the “Olive Branch Petition” and issued a proclamation declaring that the colonists were in open rebellion.
Colonist hopes for reconciliation died
Spain and France opened trade with the colonies.
In Common Sense, Thomas Paine helped cut Americans’ emotional ties to Britain and the King.
The “two ancient tyrannies” of aristocracy and monarchy were not appropriate for America.
Labeled King George as the “royal Brute”
North Carolina became the first state to vote for a declaration of independence.

50. The Manner in Which the American Colonies Declared Themselves INDEPENDENT of the King of ENGLAND, a 1783 English print. Understanding that the coming struggle would require the steady support of ordinary people, in the Declaration of Independence, the upper-class men of the Continental Congress asserted the right of popular revolution and the great principle of human equality. SOURCE:The Granger Collection.

51. On July 9, 1776, shortly after the Declaration of Independence was signed, General Washington gathered his troops at the present-day City Hall Park in Manhattan and had the document read to them. An unruly group of soldiers and townspeople then marched to the south end of Broadway and pulled down a large gilded lead statue of King George III. The head impaled upon a stake and the rest hauled to Connecticut to be melted down for bullets. The event became a favorite scene for historical painters of the nineteenth century.
SOURCE:William Walcutt,Pulling Down the Statue of George III at Bowling Green ,1857.Oil on canvas,51 5/8” X 77 5/8"Lafayette College Art Collection,Easton,Pennsylvania.

52. The Declaration of Independence
The text of the Declaration of Independence was approved without dissent on July 4, 1776.
The writers blamed King George III for the events leading up to the decision for Independence.
They could be condemned as traitors and sentenced to death but they chose to sign.

53. Part Eight
Conclusion