Colonial Resistance and Rebellion

1
Colonial Resistance and Rebellion

• Objectives
• Summarize colonial resistance to British
  taxation.
• Trace the mounting tension in Massachusetts.
• Examine efforts made to avoid war between the
  colonies and the British.
• Summarize the historical background of the
  Declaration of Independence.

2
The Colonies Organize to Resist Britain

• Between 1763 and 1774 the British government
  carried out a number of acts that outraged
  colonists
• Proclamation of 1763 Sought to halt colonial
  expansion west of the Appalachian Mountains
• The Sugar Act
• As a result of the French and Indian War, Britain
  was in a financial crisis
• England had nearly doubled its national debt
• To lower the national debt, King George III
  tightened economic control on the colonies
• Sugar Act (1764) Did three things
• Halved the duty of foreign-made molasses in the
  hopes that colonists would pay a lower tax rather
  than risk arrest from smuggling
• Placed duties on certain imports that had not
  been taxed before
• Provided that colonists accused of violating the
  act would be tried by a single judge rather than
  a jury of sympathetic colonists
• Colonists argued that parliament had no right to
  tax the colonies because colonists had not
  elected representatives to the body

3
The Colonies Organize to Resist Britain

• The Stamp Act (1765)
• Imposed a tax on documents and printed items
• A stamp would be placed on the document to ensure
  the tax had been paid
• Unlike the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act was the first
  tax that affected the colonists directly because
  it was levied on goods and services
• Colonists united to defy the law
• Sons of Liberty Secret resistance group founded
  to protest the Stamp Act
• Merchants agreed to boycott British goods until
  the law was repealed
• In 1766 Parliament repealed the law
• The same day Parliament repealed the Stamp Act,
  it enacted the Declaratory Act
• Stated that the colonies are bound to the laws
  set forth by Parliament
• The Townshend Acts (1767) Taxed goods imported
  into the colony and tea
• In response, colonists once again boycotted
  British goods

4
Tension Mounts in Massachusetts

• Violence Erupts in Boston
• As hostilities between colonists and the British
  mounted, the atmosphere in Boston grew
  increasingly tense
• Boston Massacre (1770) Confrontation between
  colonists and British soldiers in which five
  colonists were killed
• The Boston Tea Party
• Tea Act (1773) Granted the British East India
  Company the right to sell tea to the colonies
  free from the taxes that colonial tea sellers had
  to pay
• This action would cut colonial tea merchants out
  of the tea trade
• American colonists protested
• Boston Tea Party (1773) Event in which
  colonists disguised as Native Americans boarded
  and dumped 18,000 pounds of the East India
  Companys tea into Boston Harbor

5
The Intolerable Acts (1774)

• A series of measures passed by Parliament in
  response to colonial disobedience
• Shut down Boston harbor
• Authorized British troops to quarter in private
  homes
• Boston was placed under martial law
• In response to the Intolerable Acts, the
  committees of correspondence held the First
  Continental Congress in 1774
• Drew up a declaration of colonial rights
• Defended the colonies right to run their own
  affairs

6
The Road to Revolution

• After the First Continental Congress met,
  colonists stepped up military preparations
• Minutemen
• Fighting at Lexington and Concord
• British troops moved to seize a weapons cache
  from colonists in Concord, Massachusetts
• Battle of Lexington
• First battle of the Revolutionary War
• After Lexington, the British marched on to
  Concord where they found an empty arsenal
• As they marched back to Boston, the British were
  attacked by Minutemen who fired from behind trees
  and stone walls

7
The Road to Revolution

• The Second Continental Congress
• In 1775, colonial leaders held the Second
  Continental Congress in Philadelphia
• It was agreed that the colonial militia would be
  recognized as the Continental Army
• George Washington was appointed as its commander
• The Battle of Bunker Hill
• British troops trapped in Boston, decide to
  attack nearby Breeds Hill
• On July 8, 1775 Congress sent King George the
  Olive Branch Petition hoping to return to the
  harmony that once existed between the colonies
  and England
• King George rejected the petition and urged
  parliament to order a naval blockade of the
  American coast

8
The Patriots Declare Independence

• The Ideas Behind the Revolution
• The Enlightenment
• John Locke English philosopher who stated that
  all people have the natural rights to life,
  liberty, and property
• Social Contract
• Thomas Paines Common Sense
• Common Sense Pamphlet written by Thomas Paine
  that attacked King George and the monarchy
• Stated American independence would give Americans
  the chance to create a better society
• Declaring Independence
• Congress appointed a committee to prepare a
  formal Declaration of Independence
• Thomas Jefferson was chosen to write up the
  declaration
• Jefferson drew upon Lockes ideas
• Declaration was approved on July 4th, 1776

9
The War for Independence

• Objectives
• Trace the war through the winter at Valley Forge.
• Examine civilian life during the Revolution.
• Trace the war in the South through the siege of
  Yorktown.
• Recognize the symbolic value of the Revolution.

10
The War Begins

• Loyalists and Patriots
• Loyalists Those who opposed independence and
  remained loyal to the British king
• African Americans
• Promised freedom
• Native Americans
• Saw colonists as a threat to their lands
• Patriots Supporters of independence
• Early Victories and Defeats
• As part of a plan to stop the rebellion by
  isolating New England, the British quickly seized
  New York City
• Desperate for a victory to hold his army
  together, Washington risked everything on one
  bold move
• December 25th, 1776 Washington launches a
  surprise attack across the Delaware at Trenton
• Victory or death
• Defeated a garrison of Hessian soldiers quartered
  there
• Hessians German mercenaries hired by the
  British

11
American Strengths and Weaknesses

• Strengths
• Familiarity of home ground
• Leadership of George Washington and other
  officers
• Inspiring cause of independence

• Weaknesses
• Most soldiers were untrained and undisciplined
• Shortage of food and ammunition
• Inferior navy
• No central government to enforce wartime policies

12
British Strengths and Weaknesses

• Strengths
• Strong, well trained army and navy
• Strong central government with available funds
• Support from colonial Loyalists and Native
  Americans

• Weaknesses
• Large distance separating Britain from
  battlefields
• Troops unfamiliar with terrain
• Weak military leaders
• Sympathy of certain British politicians for the
  American cause

13
The War Begins (cont.)

• Saratoga and Valley Forge
• Battle of Saratoga (1777) American troops
  surround and defeat British General John Burgoyne
• Turning point in the war
• Bolstered Frances belief that the Americans
  could win the war
• French sign an alliance with the Americans in
  1778
• Winter at Valley Forge

14
Life During the Revolution

• Impact of War on Civilians
• Women had to fill the roles held by men off at
  war
• Managed farms and businesses
• Some women traveled with their husbands where
  they assisted the army in noncombatant roles
• Molly Pitcher
• African Americans
• Many escaped to freedom during the chaos of the
  war
• Others served in the Continental Army

15
Winning the War

• During their winter at Valley Forge, the
  Continental Army underwent a radical
  transformation
• With the assistance of European military leaders,
  the Continental Army became a disciplined
  fighting force
• Friedrich von Steuben
• Marquis de Lafayette
• The British Surrender at Yorktown
• Treaty of Paris (1783) Confirmed US
  independence and set the boundaries of the new
  nation

16
The War Becomes a Symbol of Liberty

• During the war, social distinctions had begun to
  blur
• Egalitarianism A belief in the equality of all
  people
• Ability and virtue defined ones worth, not
  wealth or family background
• In reality, this new concept only applied to
  white males
• Women gained no new political rights
• Most African Americans remained enslaved
• Those who were free still faced discrimination