The Revolutionary War And The War Of 1812

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The Revolutionary War And The War Of 1812

• Chapter 2

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Colonialism and Restricted Trade

• Like other European nations, England hoped to
  benefit from the economic system of colonialism.
  Under this arrangement, colonies were supposed to
  supply England with raw materials. England would
  manufacture these materials and sell them back to
  the colonies as finished products. England wanted
  exclusive control over colonial markets, but in
  North America the Dutch violated Englands
  trading monopoly (a market in which there is only
  one supplier). Dutch traders took advantage of
  trading routes while England was engaged in a
  civil war (1640s). England wanted to regain
  control.

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• In an effort to stop Dutch trading with the
  English colonies, Parliament passed the first
  Navigation Act (1651), requiring that only
  English ships carry goods to and from the
  colonies. England passed other Navigation Acts
  over the next 50 years which further restricted
  colonial trade. The Navigation Act of 1696
  allowed customs officials to seize any unlawfully
  shipped goods and required that merchants accused
  of smuggling be tried without a jury because
  colonists on the jury would not usually convict
  the merchants goods.

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Restricted Rights

• The British colonies in North America had long
  enjoyed a great deal of independence in their
  dealings with Britain because the relationship
  was profitable for both. However, when George III
  (1738-1820) became king in 1760, he tried to gain
  more control over colonial trade. The British
  government issued writs of assistance, search
  warrants that gave customs officials the right to
  search anywhere for illegal goods ( goods that
  had been bought or sold without being taxed).
  James Otis (1725-1783), a lawyer representing
  Boston merchants who had their businesses
  searched under these writs, passionately defended
  the rights of the merchants and brought many
  important leaders into a larger discussion about
  personal liberties.

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• During the mid 1700s, both the British and the
  French began competing with each other to gain
  lands in North America and elsewhere in the
  world. Great Britain successfully colonized the
  eastern seaboard of the present-day United
  States, while France occupied the Mississippi
  River region and the St. Lawrence River region.
  The last and most decisive of these competitions
  for colonies happened between 1754 and 1763. This
  war was called the Seven Years War in Europe,
  and, in the United States, it is known as the
  French and Indian War. During this, war Great
  Britain and France fought each other for control
  of North America and the Indian Subcontinent. In
  North America, the British colonies and soldiers
  fought the French and their Native American
  allies, the Algonquins and the Hurons. The
  British also formed an alliance with the Iroquois
  nations, who were long-standing enemies of the
  Algonquins. Both in North America and in India,
  the British were victorious. As a result, France
  had to withdraw all claims to land east of the
  Mississippi River.

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• With the end of the French and Indian War in
  1763, Great Britain had won claim to lands west
  of the Appalachians from the French. However, in
  the Proclamation of 1763, the British informed
  settlers that they could not move west because
  the colonies had to respect the rights of the
  Native American nation. This proclamation
  infuriated settlers who wanted to move further
  west. To enforce this proclamation, Great Britain
  sent 10,000 troops to the colonies to uphold the
  law. These soldiers tended to stay in the cities.
  The British government also used these soldiers
  to enforce new taxes that Great Britain placed on
  the colonists to pay for its expenses during the
  French and Indian War.

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Taxation Without Representation

• The colonists were not allowed to have
  representatives in the British Parliament, so
  each tax became law without their consent. This
  policy of taxation without representation
  angered the colonists and generated strong
  responses from the British government and the
  colonists.
• The Sugar Act (1764) - Previous to this time, the
  British taxed molasses at a high rate but did not
  enforce the law, so traders usually smuggled
  molasses into the colonies This new act lowered
  the tax on molasses, but this time British troops
  strictly enforced the law.
• The Stamp Act (1765) This act created a tax on
  all paper items. Colonists had to pay a tax on
  their legal documents, newspapers, playing cards,
  etc. Because this was the first tax placed
  directly on the colonists, not just on trade, it
  led to riots in many colonies. A secret group of
  colonists called the Sons of Liberty came
  together to organize a boycott, refusing to buy
  British goods. The Daughters of Liberty did their
  part by weaving their own cloth, so they would
  not have to but it from Britain. The British
  policy of taxation without representation began
  to unify the colonists in opposition to the
  British government. Due to colonial opposition,
  the Stamp Act was repealed in 1766.

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• The Townshend Acts (1767) Though Parliament
  repealed the controversial Stamp Act, it
  established a tax on all imported glass, paper,
  lead, and tea sold in the colonies. With the
  authority of writs of assistance, British
  soldiers searched any home, building, or ship to
  see whether anyone had bought or sold goods
  without paying this tax. In response, mobs
  attacked British customs officials, and the
  colonists organized another boycott.

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Other Events Leading to Colonial Separation

• The colonists in Boston regularly insulted the
  British troops who enforced the Townshend Acts.
  On March 5, 1770, things came to a head when
  colonists shouted insults at the troops at the
  Boston Customs House. For some reason, a soldier
  heard the word Fire! and began firing on the
  colonists standing there. In all, the soldiers
  killed five people, including Crispus Attucks
  (1723-1770), a free black sailor who was active
  in the Sons of Liberty. Infuriated at this
  action, the colonists held the soldiers
  responsible and called this event the Boston
  Massacre.

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• Because of colonial unrest and pressure from
  British merchants who were losing money from the
  colonist boycott, the British removed all taxes,
  except the tax on tea. The colonists boycotted
  the tea because it affirmed the British
  Parliaments right to tax the colonies. On
  December 16, 1773, Samuel Adams (1722-1803) and
  other Sons of Liberty dressed up as Native
  Americans and boarded ships carrying teas. They
  cut open the crates of tea with their tomahawks
  and threw the tea into Boston Harbor. This action
  became known as the Boston Tea Party.

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• Tensions rose as Parliament passed several
  measures to punish the people of Boston for this
  action. These measures included forcing citizens
  to house British soldiers in their homes,
  shutting down the port of Boston to shipping,
  restricting town meetings to once per year, and
  ordering that British high officers charged with
  major crimes should be tried in the courts of
  Great Britain. The Patriots (colonists who wanted
  independence from Britain) called these laws the
  Intolerable Acts. In response to these acts,
  colonial leaders organized the First Continental
  Congress (1774) in Philadelphia. At this
  congress, colonial leaders agreed to boycott all
  British goods and to stop exporting colonial
  goods to Great Britain until the acts were
  repealed.

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The Revolutionary War Begins

• Patrick Henry (1736-1799) was a prominent burgess
  (representative) in Virginia. His Give Me
  Liberty or Give Me Death! speech in Virginias
  House of Burgesses (March 1775) aroused colonial
  leaders to revolt against Great Britain and fight
  for freedom. Anticipating conflict with the
  British, colonists in Massachusetts strengthened
  their militia. The volunteer soldiers were called
  minutemen because they were ready to fight at a
  moments notice. The conflict soon came. Shortly
  before midnight on April 18, 1775, about 700
  British soldiers left Boston on their way to
  Concord, Massachusetts. They intended to
  confiscate the weapons stored there by the
  colonists. As soon as Paul Revere (1735-1818) saw
  the troops moving, he rode on horseback through
  the neighboring towns shouting, The British are
  coming! At this warning, the minutemen rushed to
  Lexington, a town between Boston and Concord.

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• The British forces met the minutemen at Lexington
  on the morning of April 19. Later sources do not
  agree on who fired the first shot, but with this
  battle, the Revolutionary War began. After
  killing eight colonists and wounding ten others,
  the British soldiers marched on to Concord, where
  they met hundreds of minutemen waiting on them.
  The intense fighting of the minutemen forced the
  British to retreat, suffering 73 casualties and
  200 wounded soldiers by the time they returned to
  Boston. A growing number of volunteers joined the
  Massachusetts militia, gathered around Boston,
  and surrounded the only British troops in North
  America.
• The conflict in Massachusetts was important news
  for the delegates who gathered in Philadelphia on
  May 10, 1775 for the Second Continental Congress.
  The moderate members of the Congress wanted to
  negotiate a compromise with Britain. The radical
  members, led by John Adams (1735-1826) and his
  cousin Samuel Adams, called for independence even
  if it meant war. Public support for independence
  was growing.

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• Two weeks after the Battle of Bunker Hill (June
  17, 1775), Massachusetts asked the Continental
  Congress to take control of the army that was
  forming around Boston. The Congress unanimously
  chose George Washington (1732-1799) as commander
  because he supported colonial independence, he
  was a strong leader, and as a Virginian, he would
  help unite the southern colonies with the
  rebellion in New England. On July 3, 1775, he
  arrived in Cambridge to take charge of the
  rag-tag band of militiamen.
• Even as war preparations continued, the Congress
  sent one last peace proposal to King George III
  on July 8, 1775. It came to be called the Olive
  Branch Petition. His response to the colonists
  offer of peaceful reconciliation was the
  Prohibitory Act (August 1775) which declared that
  the colonies were in a state of rebellion and
  empowered royal officers and loyal subject to
  bring the traitors to justice. Some Patriots
  considered the kings response a declaration of
  colonial independence on his part.

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Declaration of Independence

• By the spring of 1776, colonial legislatures were
  calling for independence. Eventually, the
  Continental Congress created a committee to draft
  a formal declaration of colonial independence
  from Britain. The Declaration of Independence had
  the following key features
• Became the foundation for a new American
  government that guaranteed life, liberty, and the
  pursuit of happiness.
• Principles
• All men are created equal.
• All people have certain unalienable (given at
  birth) rights.
• Government exists only by the consent of the
  governed.
• Government must be changed if it becomes unjust.
• Written by Thomas Jefferson and signed on July 4,
  1776.
• Inspired the colonists to fight for freedom from
  England.

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Summary of Factors Leading to Colonial Separation
from England

1. Colonialism England bought raw materials from
   the colonies at low prices and sold products made
   from these materials back to the colonies at high
   prices.
2. Navigation Acts(1650s) England required American
   colonies to ship products only on English ships
   and trade solely with England.
3. Writs of Assistance(1751) British officials
   could search any home, building, or ship without
   the owners permission.
4. The Stamp Act(1765) England placed tax on all
   printed material.
5. Boston Massacre(1770) British troops killed five
   American civilians.
6. Boston Tea Party(1773) Colonists protested the
   tax on tea by dumping a shipment of tea into
   Boston Harbor.
7. Intolerable Acts(1774) English Parliament passed
   laws that limited trade and self-government in
   the colonies.

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Major Battles in the Revolutionary War

• April 19, 1775The Battles of Lexington and
  Concord in Massachusetts began the War. Paul
  Revere and other Patriots rode from Concord
  warning that the British were coming.
• June 17, 1775At the Battle of Bunker Hill,
  Massachusetts, the British suffered heavy
  casualties even though the Patriots ran out of
  ammunition.
• Oct. 17, 1777-At the Battle of Saratoga, New
  York, the French decided to fight for the
  colonies independence from Britain.
• Winter 1777-78-George Washington trained his
  tired and poorly equipped troops at Valley Forge,
  Pennsylvania. With the help of other foreign
  generals, General Washington was able to instill
  discipline and lift morale during that winter.
• 1778-1781-Fighting shifted to the South.
  Nathanael Greene led forces in the South to
  victory against the British at the Battle of
  Cowpens(1781) in South Carolina. In the South,
  Patriots fought using guerilla war tactics. They
  would strike quickly and then disappear into the
  woods or swamps.
• Sept.-Oct., 1781-French naval and army forces
  joined General Washington and the Patriots in
  defeating the British troops at Yorktown,
  Virginia on October 18, 1781. This was the final
  blow to the British war effort.

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The Treaty of Paris

• After nearly two years of difficult negotiations,
  representatives of Great Britain and the United
  States signed the Treaty of Paris on September 3,
  1783. In this treaty, Britain recognized the
  independence of the United States, as well as the
  border of the new nation. The border extended to
  Canada in the north, to the Mississippi River in
  the west, to the northern border of Spanish
  Florida in the south, and to the Atlantic Ocean
  in the East.

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The War of 1812

• Events Leading to Another War with Great Britain
• The British and the French were fighting each
  other on the open seas. They would frequently
  take sailors from United States ships and force
  them to serve in the British or the French Navy.
  This activity is called impressment. As a result,
  the United States refused to ship goods to either
  nation.
• Napoleon, leader of France, agreed to stop
  conscripting sailors from the United States.
  After this announcement, the Unites States
  dropped its embargo(prohibiting entry or
  departure of ships) of French goods and opened
  trade with France.
• In Congress, war hawks from the South and the
  West pressed for war with Great Britain. These
  politicians were infuriated by the British not
  respecting the rights of United States sailors.
  They also felt that war with Britain could
  produce land gains for the United States in
  British Canada, as well as in Spanish Florida
  because Spain was a British ally at the time.

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• As settlers moved into the West, they would trick
  or force the Native Americans off their land,
  resulting in frequent fights. Two Native American
  Shawnee leaders, Tecumseh, and his brother, The
  Prophet, organized many native tribes and allies
  themselves with the British Canadians in case of
  war with the United States.
• After years of pursuing neutrality, President
  James Madison (1809-1817) decided that war with
  Britain was necessary for the good of the United
  States. New Englanders opposed any motion for a
  war because it would hurt their trade with Great
  Britain. However, on June 18, 1812, Congress
  agreed with Madison and declared war on Great
  Britain.

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Important Battles in the War of 1812

• Battle of Horseshoe Bend(March 27, 1814)- With
  the help of the Cherokee nation, Andrew
  Jackson(1767-1845) defeated the Creeks,
  Tecumsehs allies in the South. As a result, the
  Creeks had to give up much of their land to the
  United States.
• Battle of Fort McHenry(September 13, 1814)- The
  British gave up their attack on this
  well-defended fort. At a scene of this battle,
  Francis Scott Key wrote The Star Spangled
  Banner, which later became the national anthem
  of the United States.
• The Treaty of Ghent(December 24, 1814)- The
  United States and Great Britain negotiated to end
  the war with the Treaty of Ghent. The treaty did
  not address any of the reasons for which the
  countries went to war.
• Battle of New Orleans(January 8, 1815)- Andrew
  Jacksons troops suffered 71 casualties(soldiers
  wounded or killed) while the British suffered
  over 2,000. This victory gave people in the
  United States great people great pride in their
  country and made Andrew Jackson a hero.

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Consequences of the War

• The United States and Great Britain agreed to
  return their land boundaries to pre-war
  agreements. The war hawks hopes for land gains
  were dashed.
• Other European nations recognized the rights of
  the United States as a nation. Even though there
  was no clear winner in the war, the United States
  proved that it could defend itself.
• Feelings of nationalism(devotion to ones
  country) grew in the people of the Unites States.
  The people felt the need to protect and promote
  the interests of the United States.
• New England Federalists had been so angered by
  the war that they talked of seceding(withdrawing
  from the Union). The victory at New Orleans and
  the Treaty of Ghent embarrassed the angry
  Federalists and resulted in the end of their
  political party.
• The manufacturing industry grew in the United
  States. The lack of manufactured goods from
  Britain during the war pushed the United States
  to develop its own industries.

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