APUSH Chapter 7: The Road to Revolution

Chapter Summary
Following the French and Indian War, the British crown needed money and figured the Americans could help pay for the war. Also, the economic policy of mercantilism dictated that England try to keep its hard money within the British Empire, therefore laws were passed to restrict American trade. The taxes and regulations that followed were not received well by the Americans, notably the Stamp Act. Conditions deteriorated and radical patriots brought matters to a head in events such as the Tea Party and Boston Massacre. Even though most Americans would be considered moderates at the time, the radical patriots were the ones making things happen. The culmination of the patriots’ activities came at Lexington and Concord, when the American Revolution began.

Chapter Outline

 * Before war even began to heat up, colonists started to feel fundamentally different from England and more independent, causing them to think of themselves as Americans, and that they were on the cutting edge of the British empire
 * Georgia was the only colony to be formall planted by the British government
 * The British embraced a theory that justified their control of the colonies called mercantilism
 * They believed that a country's economic wealth could be measured by the amount of gold or silver in its treasury, and in order to amass on gold and silver, they had to export more than they imported, therefore they just got all the materials they needed from America
 * This policy severely handcuffed American trade, the Navigation Laws being the most infamous laws to enforce it
 * It was first enacted in 1650, and was aimed at rival Dutch shippers
 * These laws restricted commerce to England and no one else
 * Some products (enumerated goods) could only be shipped to England
 * Settlers were restricted in what they could manufacture
 * Americans had no currency, but they were constantly buying things from Britain, draining them of gold and silver
 * Colonial laws could be voided by the Privy Council, though it was rarely used
 * Although the Navigation Laws were hated, they weren't enforced much until 1763, allowing smuggling (salutary neglect)
 * Tobacco planters still had a monopoly within the British market
 * American's lives really weren't bad at all, as they had opportunities for self-government, the mightiest army in the world (Britain's) was free to them, repressive laws weren't enforced much, and the average American benefited even more than the average Englishmen
 * Also, mercantilism wasn't unique to Americans, as France and Spain also embraced it, and they actually enforced it
 * The South came to be favored over the North, as they produced crops that couldn't be grown in England
 * After the French and Indian War, Britain was in debt, so it felt that Americans should pay off just a third of the cost, since Britain did protect them
 * Prime Minister George Grenville ordered that the Navigation Laws be enforced, which aroused American resentment
 * He also secured the Sugar Act of 1764, which increased duty on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies, however the duties were reduced after numerous protests
 * The Quartering Act of 1765 required certain colonies to provide food and quarters for British troops
 * In 1765, he also imposed a stamp tax to raise money for the new military force
 * The Stamp Act mandated the use of stamped paper, certifying payment of tax
 * Both the Stamp Act and the Sugar Act provided for offendors to be tried in court, where they would be guilty until proven innocent
 * Grenville felt that these taxes were a fair way of asking colonists to pay their share, especially since Englishmen paid a much heavier stamp tax; however, Americans felt that they were unfairly taxed for an unnecessary army, since they had already defeated their enemies, and so they lashed out violently
 * They denied the right of Parliament to tax Americans, since no Americans were seated in Parliament
 * Grenville pushed the idea of virtual representation, in which every Parliament member represented every British subject
 * In 1765, representatives from nine states met at the Stamp Act Congress to discuss the Stamp Tax
 * Although this congress was ignored in Britain, it was a step toward inter-colonial unity
 * Some colonists agreed to boycott supplies and make their own, so that they wouldn't have to buy British goods
 * Sons and Daughters of Liberty violently took the law into their own hands
 * In 1766, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act but passed the Declaratory Act, proclaiming that Parliament had the right to bind the colonies in all cases whatsoever
 * Charles Townshend got the Townshend Acts passed in 1767, placing light taxes on lead, paper, paint, and tea, all of which were later reapealed except for tea
 * In 1767, New York's legislature was suspended for failure to comply with the Quartering Act
 * When people started smuggling tea, Britain sent troops to America
 * On March 5, 1770, a crowd of Boston townspeople harrassed some redcoats until they finally opened fire, wounding or killing eleven innocent citizens, including Crispus Attucks, a former-slave that led the mob in the Boston Massacre
 * In order to spread propaganda and keep rebellious moods, the colonies set up Committees of Correspondence which was a network of letter-writers, the first committee being held by Samuel Adams
 * In 1773, the British East India Company was facing bankruptcy, so the British decided to sell it to the Americans, which raised suspicion, so on December 16, 1773, Samuel Adams and some whites disguised themselves as Indians and dumped all of their tea into the ocean, an event known as the Boston Tea Party
 * In 1774, Parliament passed a series of Repressive Acts (Intolerable Acts) to punish the colonies, namely Massachusetts
 * It resulted in the closing of the harbor in Boston (Boston Port Act), a limitation of self-government, and the revocation of the charter in Massachusetts
 * The Quebec Act guaranteed Catholicism to French-Canadians, permitted them to retain their old customs, and extended the old boundaries of Quebec all the way to the Ohio River
 * Americans saw their territory threatened and were shocked that Catholics were being given an area as large as their own, especially considering they were banned from the area
 * In 1774, the First Continental Congress met to discuss problems
 * Although they did not yet want independence, they did come up with a list of grievences (which were ignored by Parliament) and a Declaration of Rights
 * In Appril 1775, the British commander in Boston sent troops to Lexington and Concord to seize supplies and capture Sam Adams and John Hancock
 * Minutemen fought back at Concord and managed to push the Redcoats back
 * To Britain's advantage were its massive population, superior naval power, great wealth, and a massive army
 * To Britain's disadvantage were Ireland and France, just waiting to stab Britain in the back, the lack of a great leader like William Pitt, that many of its citizens had no desire to kill Americans, some even supporting America (English Whigs) because they feared that George III would become tyrannical if Britain won, its generals were mistreated, and that they would be fighting a war so far away in such an expansive country
 * To America's advantage were its great leaders (George Washington and Benjamin Franklin), French aid, a great asset in Marquis de Lafayette, that Americans would be fighting in a defensive, self-sustaining manner, they were better marksmen, and they enjoyed the moral advantage of fighting for a cause
 * To America's disadvantage were its lack of unity, jealousy of the power of the Continental Congress, sectional jealosy over the appointment of military leaders, little money, a nonexistent navy, lack of war supplies
 * Many soldiers had received poor training, but German Baron von Steuben whipped them into shape
 * African Americans fought and died in service, thought many colonies intially banned them from service
 * In 1775, Lord Dunmore (royal governor of Virginia) declared freedom to any enslaved black in Virginia who joined the British Army
 * Many people were apathetic towards the revolution, some even selling items to the British for gold, making it difficult to raise a large number of troops