Hist200 2/19/14Week 4: Origins of the American RevolutionKey Terms:- French and Indian War- Stamp Act- Virtual Representation- Continental Congress- Common senseI. Political and Economic Causes of the American RevolutionA. The French and Indian Wara. In 1753 i. Competing French and British claims west of Appalachian mountains escalated into warb. 1763i. Treaty of Paris ceded large amounts of land to BritishB. Significance of French and Indian Wara. Led to Proclamation of 1763b. Fostered a sense of colonial identityi. Colonists increasingly saw difference b/w themselves &Britishc. Linked the colonies togetheri. War linked colonies together more then existed beforeii. First time they left their home colony1. Ex. People from NY leave NYd. Heightened feelings of colonial independencee. Left Britain deeply in debti. Paying interest on war debts alone constituted 60% of budgetii. Many British resented fact they had spent so much money paying for a war that had been fought on the colonists behalfII. Increasing British involvementA. Revenue Act (1762)B. Sugar Act (1764)a. Lowers the duty on French molassesb. Strengthened enforcement in terms of cracking down on smugglersc. Viewed as a tax on American Libertiesi. Not tried on a jury in front of their peersii. Taxation without liberationC. Stamp Act (1765) – crucial turning pointa. Demanded colonists pay taxi. Legal documents, etc. b. Widespread boycott of British goodsc. Mob action & mass protests- Sons of libertyi. 3000 people marched through streets crying libertyii. Boston- sons of liberty 1. Attacked house of tax collector2. Attack on Thomas Hutchinson homed. Stamp Act Congress (NYC, Oct. 1765)i. Representatives from 9 colonies 1. Passed resolution against stamp act2. Called for trial by jury onlye. Stamp Act repealed (1766)f. Declaratory Act (1766)i. Affirmed Parliament’s full authority over coloniesSTAMP ACT MOST IMPORTANT B/C SIGNIFICANT VALUE ON THE NEW LAWSD. Quartering Act (1765)a. Mandated colonists house British troops in their homesi. Paid to do soE. What is representation?a. Big issue here was representationb. Stamp Act was something newi. A direct tax rather than trade regulationc. Colonists saw it as taxation w/o representation and rejected entirelyd. Britain responded colonists enjoyed virtual representation III. British representation/ involvementA. Townshend Duties (1757)a. Imposed duties on imported goodsi. Lead, glass, tea, paintii. To raise money for royal officialsb. Troops sent to Bostonc. Non-importation & homespuni. Wearing clothes/using textiles that were produced at home1. Rather than buying from Englandii. New political role for women1. Women were given a crucial political role 2. In what colonists saw as unwanted political intrusion d. Repealed 1770i. Except tax on teaB. Boston Massacre (1770)a. Unemployed residents & British troops competing for jobsi. Not well payii. Many found necessary to find other jobs to make up for little payb. In Marchi. Group of British soldiers fired into rowdy crowd of demonstrators1. Killing 5c. Patriots deemed it a massacred. Filled press w/ accusations British had planned killingC. The Tea Controversy a. Tea Act (1773)i. Gave loan to failing East India Co. ii. Canceled import duty on tea going to coloniesiii. Tea went straight from company to merchant to consumers1. Cutting out consumersb. Made British tea cheaper then Dutch teai. Saw cheaper tea as a bribe to accept incursions on their libertyc. Cut out colonial wholesalers & undercut smugglersd. Colonists saw it as a bribee. That December i. Boston residents dumped 45 tons of tea in the harbor1. Worth $900,000 in todays moneyD. Coercive acts (1774)a. Closed Boston harborb. Revoked Massachusetts charterc. New quartering act authorized housing troops in private homesd. Those facing trial for capital crimes could be transferred to other colonies for trialE. First Continental Congress (1776)a. Representatives from 12 colonies met in Philadelphiai. Demandes repeal of Coercive Actsii. Reupdiated Declartoy actiii. Non importation and non exportationa. stop importing Britishj goods: In response Parliament imposed naval blockades and ordered general Thomas gage to suppress dissentF. Lexington and Concorda. The Fighting Beginsi. Gage ordered raids on colonial amoriesii. Colonial militias movilized in preparationA. 20,000 coloniss joinedB. designed to protext colonial amoriesii. Paul rever and others notified them of upcoming raidiii. Militias met Gages tropps in Lexington and Concordiv. A skimish followed and British troops treated to Bostonb. Firghting has begunc. Independence still not givenG. Claiming Independencea. 2nd continental congress- May 1775b. Thomas Pain published Common sense- January 1776i. One of the more important calls to independenceii. Thomas pain was a very recent immigrant to coloniesiii. Common sense had gone through 25 editions and readby thousandsc. Declaration of Independence- July 1776d. All fighting intensified and began to spread, so did calls for independence H. Ideological Causes of the American Revolutiona. Colonists drew on three intellectual traditions:i. English common law, especially Magna Cartaa. All the individuals had natural rights- seperation of power ii. The Enlightenment- John Locke and natural rightsb. If we study it, we can figure out how the natural laws work c. Thought that economy was based off of natural laws i. Whig-Republicanism- too powerful governments and self-interest were dangerous a. stood in opposition of the crownb. believed in enlightenment , wanted revolutionc. Standing armies were dangerous- Boston Masacared. Participation in gov was needed to keep power in checke. Only people of civic virtue could participate in government I. A growing Nation Identitya. Victory in French and Indian Warb. Growth of print culture and public spherec. Great Awakening tied various evangelicals togetheri. many different religions throughout the coloniesii. gave a shared language, shared Angelical natured. Consumerism increased feelings of independence, belief that individual actions mattered i. created a shared national identityii. political choicee. People believed that public debate constituted public spiritedness i. people could debate governmentJ. Alavwey bore white colonists, and helps to share a colony based off