From Comfort to Discontent

1
From Comfort to Discontent
An overview of the changing relationship between
Great Britain and its American Colonies in the
years before and just after the French and Indian
War.
2
The French and Indian War

• As colonies grew, settlers began to dream of
  moving across the Appalachian Mts. And into the
  Ohio Valley.
  
• Both Britain and France claimed this area.
• In 1754, the French built a Fort (Duquesne)
  (doo-KANE) where the city of Pittsburgh stands
  today.
  
• News of the Ft. alarmed the governor of
  Virginia.
  

3

• The governor ordered a small force of Virginia
  militia to drive out the French.
  
• To head the militia, the governor chose a
  22-year-old volunteer named George Washington.
  
• Near the Fort, Washington and his 150 men came
  across a French scouting party camped in the
  woods. Washington ordered his men to open fire -
  It was an easy victory for the British. - This
  was the first battle of the war.

4

• The war began badly for Britain in the colonies
• In 1755 - a force of 800 troops led by General
  Braddock arrived in Virginia to drive the French
  out. His force and 600 militia men marched toward
  the fort.
• As the troops marched, Washington warned Braddock
  that the bright red uniforms would make them easy
  targets for the French and the Indians. He
  ignored the warning.
• As they neared the Fort - a shower of bullets
  rained on them and Braddock was killed. The
  British were defeated badly - lost two thirds of
  their men.

5

• The tide of battle shifted to Britain when James
  Wolfe was sent to lead the assault on Canada.
  
• In 1759 Wolfe arrived in America determined to
  cut up New France by the roots.
  
• Wolfe led the attack on Quebec. Britain and
  Wolfe defeated the French - Wolfe was killed.
  
• The fall of Quebec was just one of many British
  victories in 1759, a year the British called
  the wonderful year.
  
• The French and Indian war dragged on for three
  more years and ended with the Treaty of Paris in
  1763.

6
Road to a Revolution
7
Before the French and Indian War

• 1660 - King Charles II became King and enacted
  the Navigation Acts to control colonial trade.
  
• Navigation Acts said
• (1) Only export primary crops and raw materials
  to England,
  
• (2) Import all manufactured goods from England
  alone,
  
• (3) All goods flowing into or out of the
  colonies had be carried by English or colonial
  ships.
  
• By 1750 each of the 13 colonies had its own
  elected assembly which shared power with a
  governor (usually appointed by the King) many
  were incompetent.

8
Before the French and Indian War

• Over the years, colonial assemblies found that
  they could use their power to control most
  governors.
  
• By 1750, the colonists were so accustomed to
  running their own affairs that they looked on
  instructions from the King as guidelines set down
  for the governor.

9
After the French and Indian War

• The Treaty of Paris of 1763 officially ended the
  French and Indian War. France gave up its claim
  to both Canada and the Mississippi River Valley.
  
• King George III took control just as the war came
  to an end.
  
• Great Britain emerged as the most powerful nation
  in the world.
  
• Native Americans remained loyal to France and
  resented the colonist who they feared would
  trickle over the Appalachians into more of their
  land.

10
After the French and Indian War

• In 1763 an Ottawa chief named Pontiac organized
  an attack on the British fort of Detroit. At the
  same time several other tribes captured most of
  the British outposts in the Ohio Valley.
• The unrest in the Ohio valley forced Britain to
  issue a proclamation that set the area aside as
  an Indian reservation.
  
• The Proclamation of 1763 infuriated colonists.
• - Land-hungry settlers had helped fight the
  French who had for so long blocked their
  expansion westward.
  
• - After helping to win the war, they were now
  being denied the fruits of victory.

11

• In order to enforce the Proclamation of 1763
  George III decided to keep 10,000 soldiers in
  America.
  
• - How to pay for the cost of keeping the
  soldiers in America.
  
• - King George III had already raised taxes in
  Britain so high that taxpayers were rioting in
  protest.
  
• - The British were determined to exercise
  greater control over the colonists and force them
  to help pay the war debts.
  

12
The Colonists Object

• No such army had been maintained while the French
  occupied the territory.
  
• Some believed that Britain wanted troops in the
  colonies not for defense, but rather to cram
  unpopular acts of Parliament down their throats.
  
• Most of all, they objected because they expected
  they would be forced to pay for the troops
  support.
  
• As discontent grew in the colonies, the stage was
  set for yet another struggle for Britain. This
  time the conflict would not be with a rival
  nation, but with the colonists.

13

• The war with France had forced the British to
  loosen control over the colonies in order to gain
  their cooperation.
  
• With victory the British attempted to tighten
  their colonial rule.
  
• With a growing population, expanding economy, and
  freedom from French threat, the colonies
  increasingly resented British interference.
  
• The British viewed the colonies as inferior and
  dependent children, the Americans saw Britain as
  an overprotective parent. These differing views
  set the stage for future conflict.