1. Chapter 5 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION From Elite Protest to Popular Revolt, 1763–1783

2. Colonial Products and Trade

3. Structure of Colonial Society
1760s an optimistic post-war period
Striking ethnic and racial diversity
60% of population under twenty-one years old
Relatively high per-capita GDP 2

4. Breakdown of Political Trust
1760—George III ascends throne
Despite limited ability, wants to take more active role in government
Parliamentary sovereignty
English officials assume that Parliament must have ultimate authority
Colonists try to reserve internal colonial authority for their own legislatures
Americans not represented at all in Parliament
Colonists insist only colonial assemblies should represent Americans 3

5. Eroding the Bonds of Empire
Large, expensive debt and army left in America from Seven Years’ War
Colonists doubt the army’s value
Pontiac’s War
Exposes the British army’s weakness
Colonists determined to settle trans-Appalachian West
Proclamation of 1763 bans settlement in trans-Appalachian West

6. Paying Off the National Debt
Prime Minister George Grenville attempts to reduce England’s war debt
Revenue Act of 1764 (the Sugar Act)
A series of other Acts will be passed that will lead to protest and all out war!!!!

8. Popular Protest
Sons of Liberty protest includes riots, mob violence, and boycotts
Boston Massacre
Boston Tea Party (response to the Coercive Acts) 7

9. Steps Toward Independence
Sept 1774—First Continental Congress in response to Coercive Acts
Congress commends urging forcible resistance
Lexington and Concord (April 1775)
“The Shot Heard Around the World” 17

10. Beginning “The World Over Again”
British colonial governments collapse
Second Continental Congress—action and inaction
June 1775—Organize the colonies for war (George Washington appointed commander in chief)
British action that makes compromise unlikely
British blockade colonists’ trade
January 1776—Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
Convinces ordinary colonists to sever ties with Britain
Jefferson writes Declaration of Independence
July 4—Declaration of Independence issued
“all men are created equal” and “king is the cause” 19

11. Fighting for Independence
British confident of victory
Larger population, more resources
Naval supremacy
British underestimate Americans’ commitment to their political ideology
Continental army to be a fighting force and symbol of the republican cause
Does not go well for Americans for the first two years 21

12. The French Alliance Effects of Saratoga (Oct 1777)
Convinces France that colonists are serious enough to become formal allies
British sue for peace to prevent Franco-American alliance but it is too late 25

13. The American Revolution, 1775–1781

14. Loyalist Strongholds

15. The Loyalist Dilemma
More than 100,000 Loyalists leave U.S. at war’s end
Loyalists share basic ideology with Patriots
Loyalists see rebellion as endangering “life, liberty, and property”
Loyalists treated poorly by both sides
British never fully trust Loyalists
Patriots seize property, imprison, execute some 27

16. Winning the Peace
American negotiators are John Jay, Ben Franklin, and John Adams
Peace Treaty of 1783
U.S. independence recognized
U.S. gets all territory east of Mississippi River, between Canada and Florida
U.S. secures fishing rights in North Atlantic
U.S. will help British merchants and Loyalists collect debts 28

17. Preserving Independence
The American Revolution begins construction of new form of government
Question remains: a government of the elite or a government of the people? 29