The struggle between France, Spain, and Britain for the North American continent:
1. King William's War (1689-1697)
2. Queen Anne's War (1702-1713)
3. King George's War (1744-1748)
4. French and Indian War/Seven Years' War (1754-1763) fought mainly in the colonies
-France built a series /chain of forts in the Ohio River Valley (to halt westward
expansion of the British colonies)
-Washington's Virginia militia surrendered at Fort Duquesne (July 1754)
-General Edward Braddock's 2,000-man British and colonial army also saw defeat at Fort Duquesne (1755)
-Another British attempt, which tried to invade French Canada, failed (1756-1757)
-In 1754, Britain called for colonial representatives to meet in Albany, NY
-Seven colonies adapted the Albany Plan of Union (established by Ben Franklin,
it provided for an inter-colonial government, a troop-recruiting system,
and a system for collecting taxes for common defense)
-William Pitt, the new British Prime Minister, concentrated his strategy on Canada, and Louisbourg (1758), Quebec (1759), and Montreal (1760) were taken
-The Peace of Paris (1763) ultimately ended in Britain receiving French-held Canada and
Spanish Florida. France was no longer a New World power any longer
Results of the French and Indian War:
-while Americans were proud of their military accomplishments (and not impressed by Britian's military styles), Britain saw the American militia as a poorly trained and undisciplined, and was unhappy that some colonies did not participate in the war effort.
-because the war was so costly, George III and the Whigs abandoned their policy of salutary neglect of the colonies, in hopes of gaining more control over them.
Events Leading Up to the Revolution:
1. Proclamation of 1763-denied colonists the opportunity to reap benefits of the newly accessible western
lands, angering the colonists. It forbade the colonists to settle west of the Appalachian mountains.
2. Sugar Act/Revenue Act (1764)-placed duties on foreign sugar and certain luxuries and called for stricter enforcement of the Navigation Acts. Smugglers would be tried in admiralty courts.
3. Quartering Act (1765)-required colonists to provide food/housing to British soldiers stationed in the
colonies.
4. Stamp Act (1765)-was the first direct tax (previously, taxes had been placed on the merchants). It
required revenue stamps to be placed on printed paper.
-Patrick Henry spoke of "No taxation without representation."
-James Otis requested that the colonial representatives meet in NY to form the Stamp Act
Congress and declared the tax null and void
-The Sons and Daughters of Liberty violently resisted taxation, and intimidated British tax agents
-After a boycott on British goods (1765-1766), the act was repealed in 1766
5. Declaratory Act (1766)-held that Parliament could tax and make laws for the colonies
6. Townshend Acts (1767)-called for duties on imported tea, glass, and paper. This revenue would be used to pay crown officials. It suspended a NY anti-Quartering Act assembly and also suspended the writ of assistance program for search and seizure. It was then repealed in 1770
-James Otis, Samuel Adams, and John Dickinson protested the acts be requesting the colonial
legislatures to urge for Britain to repeal the acts. Smuggling activities increased to avoid
the duties
-in 1770, guards stationed in Boston fired on and killed 5 colonists, including Crispus Attucks (a
black man). Samuel Adams referred to the incident as a "massacre"
-in 1772, Samuel Adams organized the Committees of Correspondence to spread feelings that
Britain was trying to suppress colonial liberties
7. Tea Act (1773)-made Britain tea cheaper than smuggled Dutch tea, in hopes of ending the boycotts.
Colonists dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor; in response, Britain passed the Intolerable
Acts, which included the Coercive Acts (1774)-Port Bill (Boston Harbor would be closed until tea was
paid for); Massachusetts Government Act (decreased the power of the Massachusetts legislature);
Administration of Justice Act (allowed royal officials on colonies to be tried in Britain); expanded the
Quartering Act, allowing British troops to be stationed in private homes; and the Quebec Act (1774),
which basically took from the colonies the land gained from the French and Indian War
The Revolution:
First Continental Congress (1774): delegates met in Philadelphia to discuss what action to take (in response to the Intolerable Acts)-up until now, most American colonists wanted reform, not independence
Results:
1. Suffolk Resolves: strong promotion of repealing of the Intolerable Acts
2. Declaration of Rights and grievances: urging the king to restore colonial rights and right the
previous wrongs
3. The Association: advocated the creation of committees in each town to enforce the Suffolk
Resolves
4. set a meeting date (May 1775) for a second Continental Congress if their rights were not
recognized
Britain's Response:
General Thomas Gage led a British troop regiment into Lexington and then to Concord, where military supplies were taken (1775). In June, Breed's Hill (next to the battle's namesake, Bunker Hill) was attacked by the British army-though they took the hill, the battle was very costly in lives
-The Second Continental Congress (May 1775)-some still supported a negotiated peace with Britain, others sought independence. The congress wrote up a Declaration of Causes and Necessities for Taking Up Arms and appointed George Washington to lead a colonial volunteer army to Boston, while Benedict Arnold was to lead raids on Quebec; by Fall, a navy/ marine corps. was organized. They sent the "Olive Branch Petition" to George III to request peace or protection, but received the Prohibitory Act (1775), which declared the Americans in rebellion; the American colonists then cut-off their trade with Britain
-Thomas Paine's Common Sense: instilled patriotic urges, and after more than a year, the Second Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence (accepted July 1, 1776); was written by Thomas Jefferson and conceived by Richard Henry Lee
-Patriots were largely from Virginia and New England and led by George Washington; their army was not well-supplied, well-trained, or well-paid. After the Americans declared their independence, the Indians sided with Britain
-Saratoga (1777): the turning point in the Revolutionary War; it led to an open alliance with France in 1778 (previously France had been secretly giving aid to America since 1775)
-The Treaty of Paris (1785):
1) Britain recognized America's independence
2) Mississippi river is established as the western boundary
3) America is granted fishing rights off the coast of Canada
4) Americans must pay their debts to British merchants and honor loyalist property seized
during the war
Articles of Confederation (1781)
-provided for a uni-cameral (one-House) Congress, with one
vote per state. It required 9/13 votes to pass important laws and 13/13 to make amendments. A Committee of States (13 members) could make minor decisions without the full congress.
-Powers granted to congress: could wage war, make treaties, send diplomats, and borrow money
-Powers denied to congress: could not regulate commerce, enforce laws, or levy taxes
-Accomplishments:
Land Ordinance (1785): set aside one section of land in each Western township for public
education
Northwest Ordinance (1787): prohibited slavery in the Northwestern territories and
outlined statehood procedures
Problems:
-(financial) the federal government was not able to raise tax money, and therefore, resorted to
issuing worthless currency
-(foreign) U.S. was not given respect because it could not pay off its debts or take effective action
in a crisis
-(domestic) Shay's Rebellion (1786-1787) to protest high state taxes in Massachusetts, the lack of
paper money, and debt imprisonment, Daniel Shays led a rebellion, closing the debtors'
courts and halted tax collecting. he failed to seize weapons from the Springfield armory
Constitution:
Annapolis Convention (1785): the delegates agreed to meet in Maryland the next year in hopes of revising the Articles of the Confederation
Constitution and its Compromises:
-Virginia Plan (favoured large states) vs. New Jersey Plan (favoured smaller states) resulted in the
Connecticut Plan (or, the Great Compromise)
-3/5 Compromise (taxation and representation)
slaves also could be imported for 20 years (until 1808), before Congress could use legislation to
restrict slavery
-Commercial Compromise:
Congress can regulate interstate/foreign commerce, but only with tariffs on imports
The Federalist Papers:
-written by John Jay, James, Madison, and Alexander Hamilton
-85 essays written about the Constitution, and supporting its ratification
