1

UNIT II -- 1763-1800
I. Subtle Changes Within Colonial
Society After a Century of Salutary
Neglect
A. Navigation Acts
Some friction had resulted from these trade acts,
although they were laxly enforced so that they
presented no real burdens for the colonists.
These acts did stifle economic initiative and left the
colonists with annoying liabilities.

B. View of the Role of Parliament

The Glorious Revolution 1689 resulted in the
strongest guarantee of parliamentary rights, but the
debate over who had the right to rule continued

Views over who had the authority

included:
Popular Sovereignty
The final right to rule is
retained by the people
themselves;

b. Tories - the crown

should not be subject to the
1
 2
will of the people for any reason;

c. Whigs - Parliament
controlled and the crown
ruled in cooperation with
them.

“The Model of an American Whig”

by Harold B. Gill Jr.
The public or political character of the Virginians,
corresponds with their private one: they are haughty
and jealous of their liberties, impatient of restraint,
and can scarcely bear the thought of being controuled
by any superior. Many of them consider the colonies
as independent states, not connected with Great
Britain, otherwise than by having the same common
king, and being bound to her with natural affection.
So wrote the Vicar of Greenwich, the Reverend
Andrew Burnaby, of a visit from England to the Old
2
 3
Dominion in 1759.
When Parliament began to insist on its supremacy
over all other bodies, including colonial legislatures,
friction increased until the Revolutionary War.
C. End of Salutary
Neglect or Benign
Neglect
The last major war had
originated over a struggle in
the Ohio Valley between
French claims and the influx of English settlers,
leaving the British government with a large postwar
debt.

Taxation without representation

By 1763, Great Britain possessed
vast holdings in North America.
In addition to the thirteen colonies,
twenty-two smaller colonies were
ruled directly by royal governors.
Victory in the Seven Years' War had
given Great Britain New France
(Canada), Spanish Florida, and the
Native American lands east of the
Mississippi River.

3
 4
In North America there were six Colonies that
remained loyal to Britain.
The colonies included: Province of
Quebec, Province of Nova Scotia,
Colony of Bermuda, Province of
West Florida and the Province of
East Florida. In 1765 however, the
colonists still considered
themselves loyal subjects of the
British Crown, with the same
historic rights and obligations as
subjects in Britain.[15]
The British did not expect the colonies to contribute
to the interest or the retirement of debt incurred
during the French and Indian War, but they did expect
a portion of the expenses for colonial defense to be
paid by the Americans.
Estimating the expenses of defending the continental
colonies and the West Indies to be approximately
£200,000 annually, the British goal after the end of this
war was that the colonies would be taxed for £78,000
of this needed amount.[16]
The issues with the colonists were both that the taxes
were high and that the colonies had no representation
in the Parliament which passed the taxes.

Lord North in 1775 argued for the

4
 5

British position that Englishmen

paid on average twenty-five
shillings annually in taxes whereas
Americans paid only sixpence
(the average
Englishman,
however, also
earned quite a bit
more while
receiving more
services directly
from the government).[17]
Colonists, however, as early as 1764, with respect to
the Sugar Act, indicated that “the margin of profit in
rum was so small that
molasses could bear no
duty whatever.”[18]
No taxation without
representation
The phrase "No

5
 6
taxation without representation" became popular in
many
American circles.

Virtual Representation
London argued that the Americans were represented
"virtually"; but most Americans rejected the theory
that men in London, who knew nothing about their
needs and conditions, could represent them.[19]

As debate in Parliament over the 1764 budget

occurred, George Grenville, the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, proposed an American Revenue Act,

Sugar Act 1764

This was the first
Parliamentary act designed to
raise revenue from the
colonies for the crown, rather
than just regulate trade.
It extended Molasses Act
(1733), reducing the tax on
foreign molasses but
increased it on refined sugar;
b. It also placed new or
higher import duties on non-British textiles, coffee
6
 7
and indigo, and wines imported directly from the
Atlantic Island groups;
c. It doubled the duty on foreign goods re-shipped in
England to the colonies
d. It forbade the importation
of French wines, and rum
and spirits from foreign
sources into the continental
colonies;
e. It placed on the
enumerated list hides and
skins, pot and pearl ashes,
iron and lumber for Europe,
whale fins and raw silk.

Restructure of the Colonial Customs Service

a. Previously customs
from America
recovered only one-
fourth the
administrative costs of
the colonies
b. Grenville was determined to enforce trade
7
 8
laws and make customs service profitable.
He established a vice-
admiralty court at Halifax
with jurisdiction over the
American colonies, with
suits brought there rather
than in colonial courts;

(2) An individual accused

lost the right to sue for
illegal seizure;
(3) An accused had the
burden of proof and an
obligation to post bond for
trial costs
(4) Stricter registration and
bonding procedures were
established for ships
carrying enumerated and non-enumerated items;
(5) U.S. customs officials lost the privilege to live in
England and delegate duties to trusted deputies

II. Continued Unrest In the American

8
 9

Colonies -- Justifying a Continued

Military Presence
Pontiac's Rebellion May-November 1763
-- after Detroit surrendered to the
English
The Indians demanded a
lowering of prices on trade
goods and to be furnished
with ammunition

After the
demands were not met, a Delaware
Prophet and visionary from the upper
Ohio and his disciple, Pontiac (1720-69),
chief of the Ottawa.

Delaware Prophet
Chief Pontiac
A betrayed plan
9
 10

to take Detroit pushed Pontiac into open

warfare, resulting in the rapid
destruction of every British post west of
Niagara by June except Detroit and Fort
Pitt.
A plan to distribute blankets
laden with small pox germs
among the disaffected tribes
was abandoned, because of the
danger of exposure to British
troops.

A retaliatory sortie against

Pontiac was repulsed at Bloody
Ridge in July, but the Indians
were routed at Bushy Run near
Ft Pitt.

Several Indian tribes signed

treaties with the British
before Pontiac finally
submitted at Oswego and
signed a peace treaty (July
1766).

10
 11
Although Pontiac remained loyal to the British after
his surrender, he was murdered in 1769 by a
Kaskaskia Indian, who had been bribed by an English
trader.

B. Parson's Cause
Anglican ministers in
Virginia were paid in
tobacco.
Because of a crop
failure (1755), the
legislature agreed to
pay in currency, but the Privy Council
disallowed this action after complaints were
made by the Virginia clergy.
The clergy then sued for
their back pay.
In one case involving Rev.
James Maury in Hanover
County Court, the jury was
swayed by young Patrick
Henry who argued that by nullifying the act, the king
had broken the compact between the governed and
the ruler and thus had "forfeited all rights to his
subjects' obedience."
11
 12
Patrick Henry argued that
there exists a
contract/compact between
the king and his subjects or
the government and the
governed.
He claimed that the King
had granted the colony of
Virginia the authority to create an Assembly to make
laws and to govern itself on local matters.
Patrick Henry
argued that by
nullifying an act of
the Virginia
Assembly, the King
and his Privy
Counsel had violated
the Virginia Colonial
Charter/Contract.
His logic then follows that if when one party violates
the terms of a contract that the entire contract then
becomes null and void. If the Virginia Charter is null
and void, then the citizens of Virginia are no longer
legally required to be obedient to the King.
The General Court ruled against the clergy and was
backed by the Privy Council 1766.

12
 13
Paxton Boys in Frontier Pennsylvania
Insecurity in the
Pennsylvania frontier led to
a raid on Indians by men
from Paxton and Donegal
The Paxton Boys felt that
the government of colonial
Pennsylvania was negligent
in providing them with protection.
The Paxton Boys decided
to take matters into their
own hands. As the
nearest belligerent
Indians were some 200
miles west of Paxton, the
men turned their anger
towards the local
Conestoga (or Susquehannock) Indians—many of
them Christians—who lived peacefully in small
enclaves in the midst of white Pennsylvania
settlements.
(The Paxton Boys believed
or claimed to believe that
these Indians secretly
provided aid and
intelligence to the hostile
Indians.)
13
 14
On December 14, 1763 a group of more than fifty
Paxton Boys marched on an Indian village near
Millersville, PA, murdered the six Indians they found
there, and burned
the bloody cabin in
which the killings were
done.
Later, colonists looking
through the ashes of the
cabin, found a bag
containing the
Conestoga's 1701 treaty
signed by William Penn, which pledged that the
colonists and the Indians "shall forever
hereafter be as one Head & One Heart, &
live in true Friendship & Amity as one
People."
The Pennsylvania Assembly ordered the arrest of the
"Paxton Boys" who proceeded to march east toward
Philadelphia.
About two-hundred and fifty Paxton men then
marched on Philadelphia in January of 1764, where
only the presence of British troops and Philadelphia
militia prevented them from doing more violence.

14
 15
Benjamin Franklin
persuaded them to forgo
battle, allowed them to
issue a formal complaint
and obtained greater
representation for frontier
settlements in the
legislature.

III.Other Legislation
Which Caused
Friction
A. Proclamation Line
of 1763
After the French began to
abandon their frontier forts
in the Ohio Valley, an influx
of new English settlers
began to create unrest with
western Indian
Pennsylvania agreed in the
Treaty of Easton not to settle west of the Alleghenies

15
 16
b. Indian Commissioners,
appointed by the crown,
forbade settlement west of
the mountains but it was
largely ignored.
William Petty, Lord
Shelburne , head of the
Board of Trade, formulated
a policy regarding the newly
acquired lands as a result
of the Treaty of Paris 1763,
in an effort to simplify
relations with the Indians
and to foster orderly colonial growth.
His recommendation was that the Appalachians be the
dividing line between English settlers and Indian
reservation.
b. A colonial settlement was
allowed in the upper Ohio
with Indians settling east of
the line.
c. Without infringing on
already existing colonies,
three new provinces would
be created - Quebec, West
Florida, East Florida.
The final form of this
16
 17
proclamation was shaped by the Earl of Hillsborough.
a. No Ohio valley settlement
was allowed, but the entire area
north of Spanish Florida and
South of Quebec as far as LA,
was under military jurisdiction
with troops stationed there
b. Settlers west of the
Appalachians were ordered "to
remove themselves."
c. Land purchases from Indians
east of the line were forbidden.
d. Attempts to control Indian
affairs through agents not directly responsible to
colonial legislatures further angered the colonists.
e. Trails westward were clogged in defiance.
B. Currency Act 1764 -- aimed mainly at
Virginia
This action forbade the
issuance of legal-tender paper
currency by all American
colonies.
It nullified all acts of colonial
assemblies which were contrary to its terms and fined
any governor who went along with such colonial
17
 18
actions.
The colonists soon
opposed this action.
a. Massachusetts led with a
town meeting in Boston in May,
denouncing taxation without
representation and called upon the colonies to unite
in opposition.
b. Boston merchants agreed to do without English
lace and ruffles while the town's mechanics agreed
not to wear any leather work clothes not of
Massachusetts make.

c. Non-importation soon spread to other

colonies, especially New York.
C. Stamp Act 1765
placed a tax on newspapers,
almanacs, pamphlets and
broadsides, all kinds of legal
documents, insurance policies,
ship's papers, licenses, dice and
playing cards.
The receipts were to be used for the defense of the
colonies.

18
 19

This first Parliamentary action aimed directed at the

American colonies, when combined with the taxes
from the Sugar Act, was supposed to raise one-third
of the annual cost of colonial military establishment.
Because of the sensitiveness of the colonists,
Grenville appointed Americans as stamp agents.

IV. Rise of Colonial

Opposition
A. Stamp Act Crisis
The colonists reacted
almost unanimously against
this act, because of the
novelty of direct taxation by
19
 20
Parliament, which they feared was the first
of many taxes to come.
Its all-inclusive character
transcended sectionalism.
Its affect on influential colonial
groups (lawyers, printers, tavern
owners, land speculators,
merchants, ship owners) broadened
the base of the opposition.
Because jurisdiction for cases of violations of this act
was given to vice-admiralty courts, fear was
heightened that the right to trial by jury was in
jeopardy.
Its imposition at a time of economic stagnation and
currency problems created a colonial mindset that
viewed the British policies as deliberately designed to
weaken the colonies.

B. New Political Theories--American

writers drew distinctions about the
Stamp Act's illegality
Daniel Delany, Considerations , a Maryland attorney,
recognized Parliament's right to regulate trade, even if
it produced a revenue externally, but denied its right
20
 21
to impose internal taxes on the colonies to raise
revenue, because American colonists were not
represented in Parliament.
Daniel Dulany
Virginia Resolutions (1765) asserted
that Virginia's right to govern its
internal affairs had always been
recognized by the Crown.
a. It claimed that its General
Assembly alone had authority to tax
Virginians.
b. During the debates over these seven resolutions,
the member of the House of Burgesses who proposed
them in May, Patrick Henry (1736-1799), made his
famous "treason" speech.
He warning George III to
remember the fates of
Julius Caesar and Charles I.
c. Patrick Henry said
Caesar had his Brutus--
Charles the first, his
Cromwell--and George the third--may profit by their
example. . . . If this be treason, make the most of it.
C. Sons of Liberty 1765
Organized to oppose the
21
 22
Stamp Act, secret organizations formed in many
towns, using violence to force stamp agents to resign
their posts and merchants to cancel orders for British
goods.
a. For example, in Boston
in August vice-admiralty
court records were burned,
the comptroller of the
currency's home was
ransacked, and the home
and library of Chief Justice
Thomas Hutchinson was
looted.
Chief Justice
Thomas
Hutchinson
b. Boston's stamp agent, Thomas Oliver
(Hutchinson's brother-in-law), was
forced by a mob to resign.
By November 1, the effective date of the
Stamp Act, all colonial stamp agents had resigned as
a result of colonial opposition.
D. Stamp Act Congress 7-25 October 1765
James Otis of Massachusetts
proposed an inter-colonial meeting to
seek relief of the Stamp Act, and the
22
 23
Massachusetts Assembly dispatched a circular letter
to each colonial assembly, suggesting New York City
as the meeting place.
South Carolina, the first to accept, RI, CN, PA, and MD
formally endorsed the proposal, while NJ, Delaware,
and NY sent delegates who were chosen informally
(27 delegates total).
John Dickinson, PA who was a moderate, proposed
fourteen resolutions, a
"Declaration of Rights and
Grievances," which claimed all
rights and liberties of the King's
subjects in Great Britain;
a. They stated that taxation without
the consent expressed personally or
by representatives was a violation of
basic English rights;
b. They pointed out that the colonists were not
represented in the House of Commons;
c. They concluded that no
taxes could be
constitutionally imposed
except by their own colonial
legislative bodies.
d. Specifically deplored was
the use of admiralty courts

23
 24
in which to try cases.

E. Additional Demands for Its Repeal

Expanded Use of Economic
Sanctions –
Nonimportation
In New York City,
leading citizens who
agreed not to
purchase European
goods until the
Stamp Act was
repealed and the
trade sanctions of 1764 were modified, were
soon joined by
200 New York, 400 Philadelphia and 250 Boston
merchants.
b. Business in the colonies
was generally suspended
when the Stamp Act went
into effect, because
everyone refused to use the
stamps.
c. Courts closed
24
 25
everywhere, rather than use the stamps (expect in
Rhode Island whose governor refused to execute the
law).
d. Business returned before
year's end without using the
stamps, directly violating
the law.
A movement in Britain
for its repeal was already
underway by November.
Greenville's ministry had been replaced by the
Marquis of Rockingham.
b. The decline in British
exports to the colonies
pushed merchants in
thirty towns in Britain to
petition Parliament to
repeal the Stamp Act,
citing several
bankruptcies.
(1) Because 1/4 of all
British exports went to
the American colonies,
and 1/2 of all shipping
was devoted to the American trade, these
25
 26
boycotts hurt British merchants.
(2) Many laborers in
Britain faced lay-offs
because of the
American boycotts.
F. Repeal of the
Stamp Act 1766
Debate in Parliament
centered on a push to
use the army to enforce it, led by Grenville, and a
push to repeal it, led by William Pitt.

William Pitt
Colonial agents
testified before
Parliament as a
committee of the
whole.
a. Agent Benjamin
Franklin reminded
Parliament that
colonial legislatures
also had incurred
26
 27
heavy expenditures during the French and
Indian War, faced continued expense from
Indian wars and lacked sufficient specie to
pay the tax for even 1 year
b. Franklin warned that the use of troops
could lead to open rebellion, endorsed
Dulany's distinction between internal
and external taxes, and called for the
act's repeal.
A bill for full repeal passed the House of Commons
272-167, and after pressure was brought by the
Crown, it passed the Lords in March, effective 1 May
1766.
Word reached New York on April 26, where non-
importation was immediately abandoned, and statues
in honor of King George and William Pitt were
authorized.
Repeal of the
Stamp Act. Picture
depicts a mock
funeral for the
Stamp Act

G.
27
 28

Modification of Trade Laws

The government also
retreated on the Sugar Act
by modifying duties on
molasses imported to the
colonies and by repealing
the export duties on British
West Indian sugar
But it required that all
colonial products shipped to northern Europe had to
clear through ports in Great Britain en route.

H. Declaratory Act
1766
Parliament also asserted its
authority over the American
colonies with a statement
enacted into law on the
same day that the Stamp
Act was repealed, which
declared that Parliament
had full authority to make laws binding the American
colonists in all cases whatsoever .
Because of the mounting opposition to the Stamp Act,
this action was overlooked.

V. Additional Sources of Friction

28
 29

A. Quartering Act 1765

(Not part of the Grenville Acts)
Requested by General
Thomas Gage, it required
civil authorities in the
colonies to provide
barracks and supplies for
British troops stationed in
North America.
A 2d act in 1766 provided for billeting in inns,
alehouses and unoccupied dwellings.

Quartering Act Crisis

After General Gage requested in December 1765 that
NY's Assembly supply and quarter his troops in
accordance with this act, the Assembly claimed that
the act was heaviest on them and refused full
compliance in January.
General Thomas Gage
Born: 1721; Firle, Sussex,
England
Died: April 2, 1787;
Portland, England
Commander-in-Chief of the
British Army in America:

29
 30
1763-177

General Gage
b. A clash between British soldiers and citizens in
August 1766 resulted in the wounding of Issac Sears,
a leader of the Sons of Liberty.
c. As a result the NY Assembly did not appropriate any
funds for Gage's troops for which Parliament
suspended its legislative powers, effective October
1767.
d. New York finally allocated limited funds in June
1767, although the Board of Trade upheld Parliament's
suspension of their Assembly.

B. Townshend Acts
Charles Townshend became Chancellor of the
Exchequer in August 1766.
a. He attacked the American distinction between
internal and external taxes.
Charles Townshend
b. He unveiled new revenue plan
for America, necessitated in part
by a reduction in the British
land tax which reduced the
British government's home
revenue.
30
 31
He conformed to the American distinction, however,
by imposing only external taxes.
a. New import duties paid at American ports were
placed on glass, white lead, paints, paper and tea, to
pay for the defense of the colonies, defray costs of
administering justice and support civil gov't.
b. To efficiently collect the new duties, Townshend
also clearly affirmed the power of superior courts to
issue writs of assistance, established new vice-
admiralty courts, and set up an American Board of
Commissioners of the Custom to Boston, directly
responsible to the Treasury Board.
C. Colonial Reaction to the Townshend Acts
A Revival of
Nonimportation
a. Several towns drew up lists of
items which its citizens were
encouraged not to buy.
b. Plans were drawn up to
promote domestic industry and
employment

Farmer's Letters
November 1767

31
 32

Farmer's Letters
November 1767
John Dickinson wrote a
series of letters in the
Pennsylvania Chronicle
which was the most
significant statement of the
constitutional basis for
opposition.
b. These 14 essays were
widely distributed as
pamphlets in the colonies
and in Britain
(1) Again, Parliament's right to regulate trade was
conceded, but not its right to tax in order to raise
revenue in America.
(2) The Townshend Acts were declared
unconstitutional.
(3) The suspension of the New York Assembly was
hailed as a blow to the liberties of all American
colonies.
Massachusetts Circular
Letter February 1768

32
 33
a. The Massachusetts General Court denounced The
Townshend Acts in violation of the principle of no
taxation without representation, reasserted that
the colonies were not represented adequately in the
British Parliament and attacked the Crown's attempt
to make colonial governors and judges independent
from the people.
b. Samuel Adams drew up a letter to the other colonial
assemblies to inform them of the steps taken by the
Court and to seek advice on how to proceed

Samuel Adams
c. The Letter was attacked as
seditious by the Massachusetts
governor, Francis Bernard, who
then dissolved the General
Court.
d. Lord Hillsborough, Secretary
of State, denounced the letter in
a dispatch in April to all colonial
governors, ordering that their
respective assemblies be
prevented from endorsing it, by dissolution if
necessary, but this order was too late.
(1) NH, NJ and CN had
already commended
Massachusetts.
33
 34
(2) Virginia drafted its own circular letter in support of
Massachusetts.
e. When the Massachusetts House of Representatives
refused to rescind the letter, the General Court was
dissolved by Bernard in July, although 17 had voted
to rescind.
f. These 17 "Rescinders" came under heavy attack
from the Sons of Liberty and seven lost their seats in
the May 1769 Election.

D. British Reaction to Colonial Reaction

Seizure of the Liberty June 1768
Customs Commissioners in Boston requested an
armed force for protection when doing their duty and
the government dispatched the Romney to Boston.
b. When told that a customs
official had been locked up while
John Hancock's sloop unloaded
wine from Madeira without paying
the duty, the
Liberty was
seized.
c. An angry mob assaulted
customs officials on the dock,
34
 35
and demonstrated outside of their homes, before the
officials fled to an island in the harbor and called for
troops.
British Troops in Boston October
a. Under the pretense of an armed conflict with
France, a Boston town meeting called upon citizens to
arm themselves and upon the Governor to reconvene
the Court, but he refused.
b. Delegates from 96 towns met informally in
Provincial Convention in September but broke up
before British troops arrived.
c. Although the Sons of Liberty threatened armed
resistance, two infantry regiments landed in Boston
without incident and remained stationed there.

E. Mounting Colonial Opposition

Nonimportation was revived in Boston, following a
more stringent agreement already in place in New
York and debated in Philadelphia.
The Boston merchants
barred the importation of
items with the Townshend
duties and a list of other
items until the duties were
repealed and New York
merchants followed suit
35
 36
By the end of 1769, only New Hampshire was not
participating in some kind of ban on importation from
Britain.

Virginia Resolves May 1769 in the

House of Burgesses
a. George Mason's (1725-92) resolutions were adopted
unanimously.
George Mason
b. They again recognized only the right of
the Virginia governor and legislature to
tax Virginians, condemned the British
government for censuring the circular
letters, and condemned Parliament's
notion that malcontents be taken to
England for trial.

Virginia Association
Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee drew up an
address to King George III.
Later the Royal Governor
dissolved the Assembly,
after which the Assembly
met informally and formed
the Virginia Association, a
non-importation agreement
banning the importation of goods on which a duty had

36
 37
been paid, of slaves and of several types of European
luxuries.

b. The Association idea spread to Maryland in June,

South Carolina in July, Georgia in September, and
North Carolina in November.
Patrick Henry Richard Henry Lee
Delaware and
Connecticut
adopted non-
importation
pledges in the port
cities.
d. Rhode Island
communities
adopted a weak
measure, until threatened with a boycott from New
York and Philadelphia.
e. New Jersey endorsed the
sanctions of New York and
Philadelphia.

F. Effects of Non-
Importation
Losses of colonial imports were
significant, although partially offset
37
 38
by an expanding market for British goods in Europe.
The Board of Trade as early as May recommended
modifications to the Townshend duties be considered.

G. Continued Agitation in the Colonies

Battle of Golden Hill January 1770
a. Alexander McDougall,
New York Sons of Liberty
leader, blasted the
Assembly for appropriating
funds for the Quartering
Act, after earlier refusing.
b. This led to clashes
between citizens and
soldiers which finished with a riot on Golden Hill, in
which between 30 and 40 soldiers armed with
bayonets clashed with citizens armed with cutlasses
and clubs. (Several injuries, none fatal)
c. McDougall was arrested and imprisoned although
he never came to trial.

Boston Massacre
March 1770
a. After the troops arrived in
1768, minor clashes erupted
in Boston between soldiers
38
 39
and citizens, some of which were ended only when
soldiers fired shots into the air
b. A fist fight between a soldier and a worker escalated
into a small riot on 5 March.
c. When a swelling mob pressed upon a detachment
of soldiers, the troops fired into the crowd, killing 3
instantly and 2 more were wounded mortally
(including Crispus Attacks , black bystander)
d. Captain Preston and six
others were arrested, but
were defended by two
patriot lawyers, John
Adams and Josiah Quincy .
e. At the October trial,
Preston and four others
were acquitted and two
were found guilty of
manslaughter.

H. Repeal of the
Townshend Duties
April 1770
After the sudden death of
Townshend and Lord
Frederick North was Chancellor of the Exchequer in
January, the move to repeal the Townshend Acts
39
 40
gained momentum.

Lord Frederick North

Because North believed that a complete
repeal might be viewed as a sign of
weakness, he proposed that all duties be
rescinded except for the duty on tea,
pledging no new taxes on colonists
At the same time the Quartering Act expired without it
being renewed.
As a result of this, the non-importation agreements
collapsed; repeal being a condition for their
withdrawal, although Boston appealed for colonists to
hold the line even against the tea tax.

I. Additional Agitation
Although some attempts were made to exploit the
unrest in Boston, only compacts against the
importation of taxed tea remained as the sole
significant cause of conflict.

Battle of Almanace May 1771

a. North Carolina
Regulators, led by
Herman Husbands,
took the law into
40
 41
their own hands when protesting against the lack of
representation in the Assembly.
b. The Johnston Act made rioters guilty of treason.
c. Gov. William Tryon (1729-88) led 1,200 men against
the Regulators at Almanace Creek near Hillsboro.
d. Many leaders were executed + 6,500 Piedmont
settlers had to swear allegiance to the gov't.
Burning of the Customs
Schooner Gaspee June
1772
a. When it ran aground near
Providence, 8 boatloads of
men attacked and set the
ship afire.
b. A reward was offered for the capture of the culprits,
who would be tried in England but hostility in Rhode
Island prevented any tangible evidence from
emerging.
Crippling the Power of
the Purse
a. Colonists were alarmed
at the prospect of trying
the case of the Gaspee in
England.
b. More alarming was the
41
 42
proposal that the Massachusetts governor and judges
receive their salaries directly from the crown.
c. Such actions would remove any colonial control
over the executive or judiciary.
Committees of Correspondence November 1772
Committees of
Correspondence
a. New committees were
organized in Boston to
communicate with other
communities what action
Boston was going to take
against this new threat
b. James Otis headed a 21-
person committee.
c. These committees expanded to other towns so that
by February 1774, only NC and PA had not taken such
action.

Continuing Problems with Tea

Tea Act May 1773
a. To save the East India
Company from bankruptcy,
Parliament remitted all
export duties on tea to the
42
 43
American colonies, but retained the import tax into the
colonies.
The Company was also
permitted to sell directly to
agents or consignees in the
colonies, which enabled it
to undercut the price of tea
and undersell law-abiding
colonial merchants who had
previously purchased tea under the old system
American opposition
centered on the threat of
monopoly which the tea
company had given to a
select few merchants,
acting as consignees.
a. A meeting in Philadelphia
demanded the resignation
of Philadelphia consignees,
and a Boston town meeting following suit.
b. In New York City harbor pilots were warned against
bringing any tea ship into port

c. The Sons of Liberty branded tea

importers "enemies", and pledged a
boycott.
43
 44
Boston Tea Party
December 1773

a. The HMS Dartmouth

arrived in Boston on 27
November.
b. Two mass meetings
resolved that the tea be
returned to England without
any duty payment, an action
Governor Hutchinson would
not permit.
c. Hutchinson ordered that the ships proceed after
proof that payment had been made.
d. After 20 days, the tea
became subject to seizure
for non-payment of duties.
e. On the 16th, at a meeting
of 8,000 citizens, Sam
Adams, after being
informed of the governor's
refusal to budge on the issue, signaled a disciplined
group of men, disguised as Mohawk Indians, who
rushed to the harbor, boarded the ships, and dumped
342 chests of tea into Boston harbor, destroying no
other property.

44
 45

Boston Tea Party

f. This was viewed by
Parliament, however, as a
violation of private property
rights.
Further Tea Disorders (March-December 1774)
Other tea was dumped in March by Sons of Liberty
(also disguised as Indians) after a private consignee
attempted to secretly land a cargo of tea in New York.
b. A tea cargo in
Annapolis and the ship
Peggy Stewart was
destroyed by fire in
October.
c. Tea from another tea
ship was stored in
Charleston's
warehouses until the
July 1776 when the
Revolutionary
government auctioned
it off to raise revenue.
d. A shipment of tea
temporarily stored in
Greenwich NJ was
destroyed by fire.
45
 46

VI. Final Steps to the Declaration of

Independence and the Revolutionary
War
A. Additional Acts by the British
Parliament
Coercive Acts (March-May 1774)
Resulted from the Crown's desire to punish
Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party in particular
and the whole history of colonial problems generally

1. Boston Port Bill

Prohibited the loading or
unloading of ships in any
part of Boston harbor,
except for properly cleared
military supplies and
shipments of food and fuel,
until customs was
compensated for the loss
caused by the Tea Party.

2. Administration of
Justice Act
Protected Crown officials in

46
 47
Massachusetts from major suits before hostile
provincial courts, by transferring the trials of officials
to London, if it appeared that a fair trial could occur in
Massachusetts;

3. Massachusetts Government Act

It annulled Massachusetts' colonial charter, allowing
the Council to be appointed by the Crown rather than
elected by the House of Representatives, permitting
the Governor to fill all judicial positions down to the
justices of the peace and banning all town meetings
except one annual election session without the prior
written consent of the Governor.

4. Quebec Act
(1) It provided a permanent,
highly centralized civil
government for 60,000
French-Canadians.
(2) Granted Catholics
religious toleration and civil
rights.
(3) Permitted only purely local taxation with all other
tax measures reserved
for the British
Parliament.
(4) Extended the
47
 48
boundaries of Quebec to the Ohio River, to include
territory claimed by Massachusetts, Virginia and
Connecticut.
5. A New Quartering Act in June applied to all
colonies and legalized the quartering of troops
also in occupied dwellings, which expanded the
earlier act.

B. Colonial Response –
First Continental Congress (5
48
 49

September - 26 October 1774)

On the same day that Gen.
Thomas Gage arrived in
Boston to back Gov.
Hutchinson, a town meeting
called for renewed
economic sanctions against
British goods until the
Coercive Acts were
repealed.
a. Instead of non-importation, Providence,
Philadelphia and New York City issued appeals for an
inter-colonial congress to frame common measures
for all colonies.
b. Massachusetts agreed to such a meeting in
Philadelphia, but proceeded with agreements against
the use of British products for its citizens.
12 colonies (56 delegates) to Carpenter's Hall in
Philadelphia -- Peyton Randolph (1721-75)
president
Carpenter's Hall in
Philadelphia
Delegates worked in secret
and voted as a provincial
unit, each unit having one
49
 50
vote.

The First Continental Congress passed the

Suffolk Resolves (by Joseph Warren of
Massachusetts) stating the following:
a. The Coercive Acts were
unconstitutional and should
not be obeyed;
b. The people of
Massachusetts should form
a government to collect
taxes, but withhold them
from the royal government
until the Coercive Acts were
repealed;
c. The people were advised to arm themselves and
form their own militia;
d. Stringent economic sanctions against Britain
should be followed.
On 28 September, Joseph Galloway (1731-1803), PA
conservative, proposed a union between Britain and
the Colonies whereby each colony would govern its
own internal affairs.
a. The general affairs of the American colonies would
be regulated by a central administration consisting of
50
 51
a crown-appointed president-general who could veto
the acts of a grand council composed of members
elected for three years by each assembly.
b. The president and council would be a distinct
branch of the British legislature, although inferior,
with the consent of both this body and the British
Parliament needed before a measure was law.
c. This plan was defeated by a vote of 6-5 and
removed from the records.

Declaration and Resolves 14 October

a. The Coercive and Quebec Acts were
denounced as unconstitutional, unjust,
cruel.
b. All revenue measures since 1763 were criticized.
c. Thirteen Parliamentary acts were attacked which
dissolved colonial assemblies, extended the
jurisdiction of vice-admiralty courts or kept a standing
peacetime army in the colonies.
d. 10 resolutions declared colonists' rights, including
the right to life, liberty and property, and the right of
only the provincial assemblies to tax the citizenry.
e. Economic sanctions were pledged until the acts
were repealed.
51
 52

Continental
Association 18
October –
a. Delegates pledged to
(1) cease all importation
from Britain effective 1
December;
(2) stop the slave trade
entirely;
(3) not consume any British
products or a number of
foreign luxury products;
(4) stop all exports to Britain, Ireland and the British
West Indies by 1 Sept 1775;
b. A committee was
formed in every
county, town or city
to execute the
Association.
(1) Violaters would
be punished with
publicity and
boycott;
(2) Any province
52
 53
which did not keep the Association was to be
boycotted.
c. By April 1775, all twelve colonies were participating
and Georgia adopted a modified version.
Congress adjourned 26 October after addressing a
letter to the King and the British and American
peoples, resolving to meet again 10 May 1775 if
grievances were unresolved.

C. Additional Colonial Responses

After the Continental Congress
Dominion Theory was expressed in
the constitutional viewpoints of three
men:

53
 54

James Wilson (1742-98) of Pennsylvania, whose

Considerations on the Nature and Extent of the
Legislative Authority of the British Parliament rejected
Parliament's authority over the colonies in favor of the
king alone;

James Wilson
b. Thomas Jefferson whose
Summary View of the Rights of
British America appealed to
George III to listen to "liberal and
expanded thought;"
Thomas Jefferson
Dominion Theory

King George III

Mass. NY NJ VA MD Penn GA NC SC DE
Assemb Parliam Assembl Assembl Assemb
ly Assembl Assembl Assembl ent Assembl Assembl y y ly Assembl
y y y y y y

Mass NY NJ VA England MD Penn. GA N SC DE

C

c. John Adams' Novanglus Letters (Dec 1774 - Apr

1775)
54
 55
Adams expressed the "dominion theory," contending
that the American colonies were not part of the British
realm and thus not subject to
Parliament, each colony being a
separate realm ruled over by the
sovereign.
John Adams
Preparations for War in New
England
a. When British troops stationed in
Boston marched to Charlestown and Cambridge to
seize cannon and powder belonging to the province,
thousands of militiamen flocked to Cambridge, but
hostilities did not break out.
b. On 7 October, the Massachusetts House in Salem
constituted itself a Provincial Congress and formed a
Committee of Safety, headed by John Hancock,
with power to call out the militia.
c. Special groups within
the militia (minutemen)
were to be ready for an
instant call.
British Response 1775
Lord North's
55
 56
Conciliation Plan (February)
a. When the petitions and declarations were presented
to Parliament, a request made by Lord North to
remove British troops from Boston was defeated 3-1.

Lord North
b. Parliament also rejected his plan of
conciliation which embraced
(1) the recognition of the Continental
Congress;
(2) a promise of no tax measures without the consent
of the provincial assemblies;
(3) American recognition of the "supreme legislative
authority" of Parliament;
(4) the Continental Congress voting a revenue for the
Crown.

Both
Houses of
British
Parliament
declared Massachusetts to be in
rebellion.
56
 57
d. Lord North managed to
get royal approval and
eventually Parliamentary
approval that promised to
levy only regulatory taxes
on any American colony
that taxed itself for the
common defense, and for
the cost its own judicial
and civil government.
New England Restraining Act (March)
a. Parliament forbad the
New England colonies from
trading with anyone except
Britain and the British West
Indies.
b. New Englanders were
barred from the North
Atlantic fisheries after 20
July.
c. The act later included New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina after it was
learned that they agreed to join the Continental
Association.
General Thomas Gage as
commander-in-chief of

57
 58
British troops in North America warned London that
the colonists disliked the presence of British troops,
requested that additional troops be sent for security
reasons and also advised the king to suspend the
Coercive Acts.

E. American Colonial Preparations for

War
Crisis in New England
A second
Massachusetts
Provincial
Congress met
to prepare the
colony for war.
b. British
troops landed
at Salem to
seize military
supplies but were turned back without incidence.
In Virginia, Patrick Henry in his Liberty or Death
speech predicted that hostilities in New England could
be expected at any moment.
Patrick Henry
F. Beginning of the

58
 59
Revolutionary War - Lexington and Concord
Actions by General Gage - Pre-Revolutionary
Commander of British North American Troops
General Gage
On 14 April 1775, Gage was ordered
in a letter from Lord Dartmouth,
Secretary of State for the Colonies,
to execute the coercive acts, using
force if necessary and to strike at
once before the rebellious faction
had time to organize, even if it
meant bringing on
hostilities.

b. Gage moved quickly

to seize the colonial
militia's supply depot at
Concord, 21 miles from
Boston by road, secretly sending on 18 April, LTC
Francis Smith with 700 men to Concord with orders to
destroy the supplies there the next
day.
LTC Francis Smith
Colonial Reaction
The Boston Committee of
59
 60
Safety, learning of their destination, sent Paul Revere
and William Dawes (1745-99) to alert the countryside
that "the British were coming."
Revere reached Lexington
at midnight and warned
Samuel Adams and John
Hancock.
Joined by Dr. Samuel
Prescott, the three
proceeded to ride to
Concord but Dawes was
turned back and Revere was captured by British
troops.
Colonists at Lexington
a. When Smith arrived in
Lexington, he encountered
70 armed Minute Men under
CPT John Parker (1729-75)
on the Common, whom MAJ
John Pitcairn, leader of the
British advance, ordered to
drop their weapons and
leave the area.

As the colonists began to

60
 61
file away with their weapons, a shot from an
unidentified source resulted in a series of volleys from
the British.

c. The Americans
returned only a few
shots and suffered
8 dead and 10
wounded.
d. After destroying
some supplies in
Concord, Smith
reformed his men
to return to Boston,
but was met by steadily swelling American forces who
killed 14 soldiers.
e. Smith avoided
complete disaster
only with the help of
reinforcements at
Lexington, but
American snipers
continued to inflict
damage on
retreating British
troops until
Cambridge, where they were protected by the British
61
 62
men-of-war in the harbor.

Battle of
Lexington and
Concord
Total Casualties:
British - 73 killed,
174 wounded, 26
missing.
Of almost
4,000
Americans
who saw
action, 93
were dead,
wounded or
missing
g. The Massachusetts Provincial Army
laid siege to Boston.

62
 63
Washington Took Command
July 3, 1775

On June 15, 1775, General George

Washington was voted
commander-in-chief of the
Continental army by the American
Congress.
However, he did not arrive in Massachusetts
to assume his duties until July 3, 1775.
The army of 14,500, which Washington met
at Cambridge was largely an untrained and
undisciplined lot.
This army consisted mostly of local farmers,
63
 64
a few artisans, and skilled workers, they
basically knew little about military discipline
and the expectations of a real military leader
like Washington.
The soldiers lived in
tents and other
makeshift shelters.
Supplies came in
sporadically, but there
never seemed to be
enough guns,
ammunition, cloth,
food, or back pay.

Capture of Fort
Ticonderoga 10
May 1775
Fort Ticonderoga
In April the Massachusetts
Committee of Safety
authorized Benedict Arnold
(1741-1801) with 400 men to
attack a strategic post full
of artillery and other military supplies, Fort
Ticonderoga in western Massachusetts.

64
 65
He clashed with Ethan Allen
who also raised forces for
the same attack but without
command
Arnold and Allen with 83
men surprised the British
garrison who yielded.

H. Battle of Bunker Hill June 1775

65
 66

In May Britain sent three major generals to assist

Gage in Boston -- Sir William Howe, Sir Henry Clinton,
and John Burgoyne.
Gage declared martial law (12 June), and offered a

66
 67
pardon to any American returning their allegiance to
the Crown (except John Hancock and Samuel Adams),
else, any American in arms or anyone who aided them
would be considered a rebel and traitor.
The Committee of
Safety made a counter
move against Gage (15
June), taking the high
ground on Charlestown
peninsula overlooking
Boston, moving to
construct a redoubt on
Breed's Hill.
When the American
position was
discovered, they
immediately came
under fire from British ships in Boston harbor but
Gage had to wait for a favorable tide before landing.
Gen. Howe with
2,400 British troops
engaged the 1,600
Americans under
COL William
Prescott who twice
repelled the British
troops.

67
 68
Only when their supply of powder gave out did the
Americans retreat to Bunker Hill before being routed
by the British, who decided not to proceed to
Cambridge.
Although
technically a British
victory, they lost
1,054 casualties,
including many
officers, while the
Americans suffered
100 dead, 267
wounded and 30
taken prisoners.
The Battle of
Bunker Hill was a
Pyrrhic Victory for the British and it influenced the
way the British fought the American Revolutionary
War
A Pyrrhic victory is a victory with devastating cost to
the victor.
The phrase is named after King Pyrrhus of Epirus,
whose army suffered irreplaceable casualties in
defeating the Romans at Heraclea in 280 BC and
Asculum in 279 BC during the Pyrrhic War. After the
latter battle, Plutarch relates in a report by Dionysius

68
 69

I. Expedition Against
Quebec (28 August-
31 December 1775)
Upon hearing that Sir Guy
Carelton, British
commander in Canada,
planned to invade NY,
Congress authorized GEN
Philip Schuyler to seize any
points in Canada vital to
American security.
Schuyler advanced with
1000 men before turning
command over to BG
Richard Montgomery (1738-75) who forced Carleton to
withdraw to Quebec, enabling the Americans to
capture Montreal.
Arnold with 1,100 volunteers moved on Quebec
through Maine beginning 12 September and reached
Quebec with 650, joining with Montgomery's 300 men
(3 December).
The combined assault on 31 December met with
disaster when Montgomery was killed, Arnold
wounded, 100 casualties, 300 Americans taken
prisoner, leaving Arnold with only the ability to
69
 70
maintain a weak cordon around the city through the
winter.

J. Hostilities in the South December 1775

The Governor of Virginia, Dunmore, declared marital
law (7 November) , began recruiting a Loyalist Army
near a base at Norfolk, and raised a Negro regiment,
but lost the planter support by offering any slaves
their freedom who left their masters.
Dunmore was
defeated by a
combined force of 900
from Virginia and
North Carolina, forced
to evacuate Norfolk
(11 December).
Dunmore destroyed
much of Norfolk by
fire (1 January 1776)
before the Americans
reoccupied it in
February and
completed its
destruction as a base
of operations.

70
 71

K. The War Progresses

The South (February - June 1775)
a. Gen Henry Clinton landed at Cape Fear NC (March)
where he was to join with loyalists, but the loyalist
army had already been defeated at the Battle of
Moore's Creek Bridge in February.
b. Clinton's troops joined
with Gen. Corwallis to
attack Charleston, whose
defense was led by Gen
Charles Lee , but when the
British objective failed,
losing over 200 casualties,
active operations in this
theatre ended for over two
years.

Boston (March 1776)

a. After Gen Henry
Knox (1750-1806)
moved artillery from
Fort Ticonderoga
within range of Boston
Harbor Gen John Thomas and 2,000 men
71
 72
occupied Dorchester Heights near
Cambridge.
b. The British did not dislodge US forces
and Howe evacuated British troops+ 1,000
Loyalists
Dorchester Heights

Canada (April-July 1776)

a. In April Gen David
Wooster arrived to take
command from Arnold, but
Gen John Thomas had
already decided to abandon
Quebec after British reinforcements arrived to aid
Carleton.
b. The orderly American retreat was turned into a rout
because of the reinforcements.
c. An American counterattack at Three Rivers was not
successful.
d. The remaining American forces arrived at Fort
Ticonderoga in July.
e. The command of Lake Champlain seen as the key to
all strategy, both Arnold and Carleton began to collect
and build ships for a fleet.
72
 73

L. France
Aids the
American
Colonists
Count Vergennes,
French Foreign
Minister,
ascertained from
the Spanish
minister that Spain was receptive to jointly secretly
aiding the American colonies.
In May 1776 Louis XVI ordered 1
million livres' worth of
munitions be supplied to the US
via a fictitious company
(administered by Pierre de
Beaumarchais ) and Spain made
a like arrangement.
The Americans received over
80% of the gunpowder through
these sources (1776-77).
Before Congress knew of these arrangements, it
authorized Silas Deane (1737-89) to act as a munitions
agent in Europe.

73
 74
Congress opened US ports
to ships from all nations
except Britain (6 April).
M. Military Balance Sheet
American Forces
a. Strengths
(1) Widespread
acquaintance with firearms
(2) A superior rifle in range
and accuracy over the
smoothbore British
muskets

(3) A highly respected, experienced commander-in-

chief George Washington along with many officers
and men who had gained valuable experience against
France.
(4) Fighting in their own territory which was familiar to
them

74
 75

b. Weaknesses
(1) Conflicts with state
militias occurred.
(2) Short-term
enlistments
(3) A shortage of shelter
and supplies both
military and medical
(4) One-third of the
colonists were loyal to
Britain, especially in the
South
(5) Women accompanied
the soldiers, cooking and
washing, but also requiring food, shelter and
protection.
(6) No efficient navy

British Forces
a. Strengths
(1) Well equipped, well
trained well disciplined
fighting force
(2) A strong navy to land
75
 76
and transport troops, guard communication and
supply lines;
(3) A huge war chest which could be used to hire
foreign mercenaries;
(4) Many loyalists

b. Weaknesses
(1) The great distance between London and various
British units in North America.
(2) Unfamiliarity
with the North
American
geography which
was not like the
European
battlefields -- vast,
varied, and no clear
cut roads;
(3) Did not adapt to the activities of Americans who
used unconventional warfare, (like modern guerillas) -
behind trees, when normally troops were wintered,
etc.
(4) Unclear war aims kept them from mobilizing the
loyalists in the South and kept them fearful of
inflicting too much damage because this was British
fighting British
76
 77
(5) Poor recruiting was hampered because of low
unemployment, and because of uncertainty over why
the war was being fought, no outbursts of patriotism
occurred
(6) A low estimate of American forces, gained during
the French and Indian War, made the British
overconfident that their valuable experience from the
war with France would cause no difficulty in beating
an unskilled, poorly-disciplined Continental Army.

VIII. Beginnings of Permanent

Government
A. Second Continental Congress
(May - July 1775) -- Twelve
colonies -- Georgia absent
Meeting three weeks after Lexington, a second
congress convened in Independence Hall in
Philadelphia, and became the government of the
colonies until 1789
After Randolph withdrew on 24 May, John Hancock
was elected president.
Congress put the colonies in a state of defense and
adopted an address to the citizens of Canada, inviting
77
 78
them to join with the twelve American colonies.
Congress also assumed two additional functions of an
independent government -- appointing commissioners
to negotiate peace treaties with the Indians and
establishing a Post Office with Benjamin Franklin as
Post Master General.

B. Creation of a Continental Army

George
Washington was
elected
unanimously as
commander-in-
chief;
a. He had a good reputation from the French and
Indian War, was well-known, present at Congress in
full dress uniform, had a reputation for
trustworthiness, and wealthy so that it was not
thought that he would use
the position for profit.

b. Selecting a Virginian
illustrated that this was not
an isolated struggle
involving the New England
colonies, but was a broad
78
 79
colonial struggle to keep colonial rights.
Six companies of riflemen from PA, MD and VA were
authorized to march to New England and $2 million in
bills of credit were issued to be repaid by the 12
"confederated colonies;"
Artemas Ward, Charles Lee, Philip Schuyler, and Israel
Putnam were appointed major generals.
C. Olive Branch Petition (5 July)
Congress adopted a series
of petitions written by
John Dickinson which
expressed colonial
affection for George III,
expressed hope for a
restoration of harmony,
and begged the king to
prevent further hostilities
until a reconciliation could
be found.

Congress also adopted

"Declaration of the Causes and
Necessities of Taking Up Arms"
by Jefferson and Dickinson which did not ask for
independence but stated that Americans would rather

79
 80
die than be enslaved, and hinted that foreign aid
would be sought in the struggle if needed.
The King (23 August) declared the American colonies
to be in open rebellion and widened the breach (23
December) by closing American colonies to all
commerce effective 1 March 1776.
D. Congress Reconvened
(September - December)
Georgia's presence on 12
Sept made this truly
representative of all thirteen
colonies.
Congress authorized a navy after Washington
authorized COL John Glover of Massachusetts to
convert fishing vessels into armed ships.
a. Congress resolved to raise two battalions of
marines, made plans to intercept British ships with
military stores aboard, and declared formally on 25
November that British vessels were open to capture in
retaliation for British raids on coastal towns.
In December
Congress
commissioned
officers for four
Continental ships
and named Eskel
80
 81
Hopkins from Rhode Island as commodore.
After being informed on 9 November that George III
had rejected the Petition they said they were not
denying the sovereignty of the Crown, but would not
obey Parliament.
In November Congress appointed a 5-man Committee
of Correspondence to seek aid from "our friends"
abroad and received word from a French agents that
France would welcome ships from America and might
even offer material aid to Congress.

IX. American Shift In Attitude Toward

Independence
A. Colonial
Reluctance to
Break with
Britain in
1775
Beliefs
Prevalent
Concerning a
True
81
 82

Government
a. Most Americans believed that true liberty
was only possible with a balanced
government like Britain's - Monarchy, House
of Lords (Nobility), House of Commons (the
people).
b. American colonists, fearing this loss of balance,
were reluctant to seek independence.
c. But in one year, they declared independence and
sought full freedom from Britain.
Reasons for the Colonial Change of Attitude (1775-76)
a. King's response to the Olive Branch Petition
(1) King George III had declared the colonists to
be in rebellion, but unfortunately he assumed
that the colonial trouble was the result of
"Boston" rabble;
(2) King George III
believed a simple
show of force
would cause New
Englanders to back
down, and the
"better" colonists
in the Middle and
82
 83
Southern colonies would back the Crown.
(3) George III hired 18,000 Hessian
mercenary soldiers who had a reputation as
ruthless plunderers, which made this more
than just a "family quarrel"
(4) His Prohibitory Act (December 1775)
barred trade in rebellious colonies.
b. Thomas Paine's Common Sense (January
1776)
Common Sense
Paine issued the first call for independence
in a pamphlet printed in Philadelphia
Thomas Paine
(2) He pointed out the
absurdity of having a
continent governed by
an island.
He attacked George III,
the "royal brute of
England" for troublesome
measures against the colonies.
Paine attacked the monarchical
system of government and
demonstrated that a balanced
government could be achieved
83
 84
without a king or a noble class, which America did not
have any way.
(3) His convincing arguments provided momentum for
the shift toward independence which led to the writing
of a document justifying a break with England.

B. Colonial Move Toward

Independence (April - July)
By the Spring of 1776 the move toward independence
was clearly on the rise when in April, NC instructed its
delegates to vote for independence, a move soon
followed by Virginia.
In June a resolution was offered by Richard
Henry Lee that “the United Colonies are, and of
right ought to be, free and independent States.“
A committee was appointed (Thomas Jefferson,
Benjamin Franklin, John Adams , Robert Livingston ,
Roger Sherman ) on June 11th to prepare the
Declaration of Independence

a The Declaration of
Independence.
a. The committee let
Jefferson write the draft of

84
 85
the Declaration.
b. Adams and Franklin made a few changes before
presenting it to Congress on 28 June.
c. Jefferson drew upon the prevailing current natural
rights philosophy.
C. Declaration of
Independence -- Addressed
to King George III
The document compiled a
long list of despotic abuses
and usurpations by the
king.
Parliament received no
direct mention.
It asserted the right and
duty of the American people
to dissolve their tie to Britain and declared the United
Colonies free and Independent states
Congress took a final vote for independence (2 July),
twelve for (New York abstained)
Congress debated the final form of the Declaration
making several changes before approving the final
version without dissent
(New York again abstained).
Copies were prepared for all
85
 86
the states and it was first publicly proclaimed on 8
July in Philadelphia and on the following day, the New
York Assembly voted to endorse it.
Having been engrossed on parchment, signatures
were affixed on 2 August.
a. Most of the 55 delegates signed it.
b. Matthew Thornton (NH), although not a member of
Congress when the Declaration was adopted, added
his name in November.
A Diplomatic Commission Appointed -- Congress
appointed three commissioners (Silas Deane, Franklin
and Arthur Lee Jefferson having declined) to
negotiate treaties of amity and commerce with foreign
nations (September) and with authority to borrow up
to $2 million.

X. Revolutionary War
A. Phase One of the War 1776-77.
Background
a. After evacuating Boston, Britain planned to use NY
City as a base of operations, amassing 32,000 men
including 9,000 German mercenaries on Staten Island
(August 1776)
b. Battle of Long Island (27 August) cost the

86
 87
Americans hundreds of casualties before Washington
skillfully withdrew his forces to Manhattan Island.

British Landing on Long Island

Battle of Long
Island
c. Both Gen.
Gage and
Admiral Howe
made peace
overtures,
offering pardons
to all who
returned to
crown
allegiance when
all extralegal
congresses and
conventions
were dissolved
d. A fruitless
peace
87
 88
conference was held on Staten Island on 11
September between Howe and congressional
appointees, Franklin, John Adams and Edmund
Rutledge
e. Howe permitted no negotiations until the
Declaration of Independence was revoked.
f. Washington abandoned Manhattan Island, rather
than risk being trapped, and the British occupied New
York City in mid-September.
(1) No assault on the American position was made,
causing a 3-week lull in activity
(2) A fire in New York City destroyed nearly 300
buildings.
(3) Nathan Hale (1755-76) was executed on 22
September as an American spy, stating I regret that I
have but one life to give to my country.

Nathan Hale
g. Washington again slipped
away after the Battle of White
Plains in October.
h. British troops captured Fort
Washington, taking 2,818
Americans prisoners.
i. American troops wintered in
88
 89
New Jersey (Greene) and Pennsylvania (Washington).
j. Howe's troops wintered in New York, but left
garrisons at Trenton, Princeton, Bordentown, Perth
Amboy and New Brunswick.
(1) Washington learned that
the Hessian garrison at
Trenton under COL Johann
Rall was unprepared for an
attack, crossing the ice-
choked Delaware on
Christmas.

89
 90

(3) After an hour of street fighting, Rall was mortally

wounded and 918 Hessians surrendered (Five US
casualties).
(2) He split his forces and caught the Hessians by
surprise.

90
 91

Washington occupied
Trenton by the end of
December.
k. Howe reacted to the
taking of Trenton and sent
Cornwallis to engage
Washington, but
Washington surprised
Corwallis and forced a withdrawal, leaving only
eastern-most New Jersey clear of the enemy and
restoring the shattered patriot morale.

91
 92

British Knock Out Plan

a. London, however, felt
that the trouble was in
New England, and
planned to cut New
England off from the
rest of the colonies to
end the rebellion
immediately.
(1) Gen Johnny
Burgoyne " was to
bring the main force
down from Canada
along the Lake
Champlain route to the
area near Albany NY.
(2) Gen William Howe
was to come up the
Hudson River to meet
Burgoyne.
(3) Gen Carleton was to come from the Great Lakes
and St. Lawrence area.

92
 93

b. This effort failed for many reasons:

(1) Carleton, hindered by Arnold and Indians, did not
arrive in time although he had in October 1776
destroyed the entire American fleet assembled by
Arnold at the Battle of Valcour Bay before withdrawing
to winter in November.
(2) Howe with 15,000 troops went to capture
Philadelphia first, expecting Tories in Pennsylvania to
rally to the Crown, and although he forced Congress
to flee on 19 September and occupied Philadelphia, he
did not to aid Burgoyne in time.

93
 94

(3) Burgoyne was

burdened by a heavy
baggage train carrying the
clothing of several
officer's wives and of
Burgoyne's mistress,
which bogged down by
the lack of adequate roads
which he had to chop out
of the forests.
c. As a
result
Washington's army emerged from
Valley Forge under the Prussian drill
master Baron Frederick William Von
Steuben
Burgoyne, feeling trapped by a force
three times the size of his own 7,000
men, and suffering many casualties,
surrendered at the Battle of Saratoga
17 October 1777.
a. His remaining 5,700 troops, laying
down their arms, were marched back to Boston

94
 95
If they promised not to
fight again in the war,
they victory gave
Americans a much
needed morale boost,
proved they could
withstand the best
England had to offer
and forced Britain to
seriously reflect on the war

B. Congress Reconvened (March 1777)

c. The Huntington, President.

Congress authorized various commissioners to offer
land and other compensation to any foreign
government that declared war against Britain.
Foreign Officers were commissioned, including

20-year-old Marquis
de Lafayette as a
major general,
volunteer without
pay.
b. The veteran "Baron"
Johann de Kalb also
95
 96
received a commission as Major Gen.
Congress resolved (14 June) that the US flag would be
thirteen stripes alternate red and white, that the Union
be thirteen stars white in a blue field.
Congress
was forced
to flee

Philadelphia in September with the arrival of Howe's

forces, going to Lancaster and then to York,
Pennsylvania.

Congress formally adopted

thirteen Articles of Confederation
(15 November), from a committee
report headed by John Dickinson,
but they were not ratified by every
state until 1 March 1781.
As Lord North planned a new offer of reconciliation
96
 97
and tried to talk with US agents in Paris, the
government of France, fearing that the US and Britain
might come to terms, recognized US independence on
17 December 1777.
C. Franco-American
Alliance February
1778
France tried but failed to
induce Spain to join a
tripartite pact against
Britain.
France entered into two
treaties with the US
a. A Treaty of Amity and Commerce granted
most-favored nation status to each other;
b. A treaty of alliance, to be effective if war broke out
between France and Britain.
(1) Article II stated as the aim of this treaty was to
"maintain effectually the liberty, Sovereignty, and
independence" of the US.
(2) The US was given a free hand to capture Canada
and Bermuda, while France could seize the British
West Indies;

97
 98
(3) Neither could conclude a truce or peace with
Britain without the other's consent
Lord North, to stop the ratification of this treaty,
offered terms to the US, including
a. repeal the Tea and Coercive Acts;
b. a pledge that Parliament would impose no revenue
taxes on the American colonies;
c. the appointment of a peace commission to
negotiate with Congress.
d. North was even willing to suspend all acts back to
1763 involving the colonies.
The US Congress replied that the only negotiations
would center on the withdrawal of all British troops
and the recognition of US independence.
a. One British commissioner tried to bribe three
members of Congress.
b. Two others appealed to the people over the heads
of Congress, threatening great destruction if
Americans did not abandon their French allies and
make peace with Britain.

D. Middle Phase of the War (1778-80)

Introduction
a. Neither side gained an advantage, but Washington
98
 99
forged a real army in the process
b. Britain was put on the defensive and decided to
take the war southward again, hoping to attract more
sympathy from Loyalist leaning colonists.

War at Sea
a. The US navy was no match for Britain's, but
individual ships run by American privateers did on
occasion successfully raid British possessions in the
Atlantic.
b. The revival of American exploits at sea in 1778 was
underscored by the actions of CPT John Paul Jones
who commanded the Ranger out of Portsmouth NH.
(1) Jones commanded
an old French vessel
which he refitted and
named the USS
Bonhomme Richard in
Franklin's honor;

99
 100
BONHOMME RICHARD and
HMS SERAPIS

(2) Jones met the

British ship Serapis
in September 1779
off the coast of
England;
(3) Although his
ship was sinking,
when ordered to
surrender, Jones
replied I have not
yet begun to fight
and linked his ship
to the British ship.

(4) After US
marksmen inflicted
heavy casualties, the
British surrendered.
War in the Middle
Colonies and the
West
a. Battle of
Monmouth (late
June) - Washington's
100
 101
advanced forces led by Gen Charles Lee at Monmouth
Court House, engaged Clinton, retreating from
Philadelphia.
b. Lee was forced to retreat when British
reinforcements arrived.
c. Washington arrived and withstood Clinton's
repeated attacks, his troops having been sufficiently
disciplined at Valley Forge, before Clinton stole away
at night.
d. The British planned a series of raids in NY and
through Pennsylvania's Wyoming Valley, terrorizing
many settlements and massacring many settlers who
had surrendered.
e. In the spring George Rogers Clark (1752-1818) with
175 men traveled to the Ohio River, occupying
Kaskaskia and other posts in the northwestern Ohio
Valley.

War in New England

a. French - US joint raid of a British garrison of 3000 at
Newport RI July-August 1778.
b. The arrival of the British fleet and a severe storm
forced an American withdrawal

War in the South

a. Clinton shifted British operations to the South,
101
 102
hoping for the aid of Loyalists.
(1) In November 1778, 3,500 men landed near
Savannah, Georgia.
(2) Gen Robert Howe and 1,000 Americans were
crushed before the British occupied the town in
December.
(3) The British overran Georgia in 1778-79.
b. Americans successfully defended Port Royal SC
and Col Andrew Pickens defeated a Loyalist army in
Georgia (winter 1779), but Charleston SC fell to the
British (May 1780).
c. Americans did not successfully recapture Augusta,
however, losing over 350, and failed to prevent the
British from recapturing Savannah GA in June.
d. Although Americans were successful in Tennessee,
the British captured and set fire to Portsmouth and
Norfolk VA.

e. Battle of Camden-The Worst Defeat

of the war for the Continental Army
(1) Andrew Pickens, Francis Marion and Thomas
Sumter prevented the British from consolidating their
strength in the South (August 1780).
(2) On the 16th US forces met 2,400 British troops at
102
 103
the Battle of Camden and suffered almost 900 dead
and 1,000 captured, although the tide was turned atop
King's Mountain, forcing Cornwalis to retreat back
into South Carolina.
f. The command was given to Nathaniel Green, the
fighting Quaker.
Nathaniel Green, the
fighting Quaker
Benedict Arnold
defected to the British
side Sept 1780
a. Why?
(1) Arnold sold information
as early as May 1779 to
British General Sir Henry
Clinton concerning US and
French troop movements
and the location of military supplies and also
identified French spies in the British camp.
(1) he was desperate for cash
(2) he was mistreated by the
Continental Congress in
Philadelphia, under fire for his
administration of Philadelphia;
(3) he was found guilty on two
103
 104
counts in a court-martial, for which he was officially
reprimanded by Washington;
(4) As a New England Protestant, he despised the US
alliance with Catholic France.
b. His treasonous activities
(2) Washington appointed Arnold as commander of
West Point on the Hudson, a position that he assumed
on 5 August;
(3) On September 21 Arnold negotiated with Maj John
Andre to turn over the strategic post to the British for
20,000 pounds;
(4) When this
information was
intercepted with
Andre's capture,
Arnold was given
information about
the capture, before
his involvement
was fully known;
(5) Arnold fled to a British post and later led Tory
attacks in VA and CN
(6) Arnold was commissioned a BG in the British
army, received 6,315 pounds in cash, an annual
pension of 500 pounds for his wife Peggy, army

104
 105
commissions for three sons from a previous marriage,
and after 1783 and annual 100 pound stipend for
Peggy's five children, but he was forced to live the
remainder of his life in England, shunned by family
and friends.

Spain Enters the War June 1779

105
 106
a. Although Spain feared the loss of its American
possessions and opposed US independence, when
Britain refused to cede Gibraltar as the price of
neutrality, Spain issued an ultimatum April 1779.
b. When it was turned down, France and Spain in April
at the secret Convention of Aranjuez gave Spain an
entrance into the American war.
c. France and Spain began joint operations in May and
on 21 June Spain formally declared war on England,
but refused to recognize US independence or to
pledge to fight for it until that independence was
secured.
d. Congress appointed John
Jay agent to Spain, although he
did not achieve recognition, an
alliance, or a loan while in
Madrid (January 1780 - May
1782).
John Jay agent to Spain
Russia Remains Neutral

February 1780
a. After Britain attempted to
blockade France and Spain
on the continent, Catherine
106
 107
II stated that the Russian navy would be used to
protect the neutral Russian trade, a blow to Britain
because Russia refused to recognize naval stores as
contraband.
b. Catherine led other neutral European states to join
a League of Armed Neutrality

Denmark and
Sweden joined
immediately.
Netherlands,
Prussia,
Portugal,
Austria and
Kingdom of
the Two
Sicilies joined
within 2 years
(3) England
declared war with the Netherlands in December 1780.
(4) Although the League did not aid the Dutch, it
hampered British naval efforts against the Allies.
c. Although the US sent a minister to Russia, Francis
Dana, he was not received.

107
 108

Congressional Peace Terms August

1779
a. Congress determined minimum demands before
peace could be obtained:
(1) Independence, certain minimum boundaries,
complete British evacuation of US territory, rights to
the fisheries, and free navigation of the Mississippi.
(2) The final form removed the demand about the
fisheries.
b. Congress named John Adams chief negotiator of
the peace treaty with Britain.

E. Final Phase of the War 1781-83

Congressional Actions
a. A department of Finance was created, and Robert
Morris became Superintendent of Finance in February
1781.
(1) US finances were near bankruptcy after 1779,
although France and Spain had provided subsidies
and loans of $9 million.
(2) The US Congress had issued paper currency for
several million dollars, known as "Continentals," but
without sufficient backing, the notes depreciated
rapidly.
108
 109
(3) Morris proposed a
national bank and the
Bank of North America
was chartered on 31
December 1781.
b. Articles of
Confederation were
ratified in March 1781.
(1) Their acceptance
was delayed by
Maryland, over the issue
of western lands.
(2) After Virginia ceded
its western lands to
Congress, Maryland
ratified them.
(3) The British-American
colonies were now
known as The United
States in Congress
Assembled and Samuel
Huntington continued as
president.
c. US Peace
Commission created
June 1781

109
 110
(1) On the advice of the French Foreign minister,
Congress placed peace negotiations in the hands of
five men, rather than Adams alone;
(2) Added were John Jay, Benjamin Franklin, Henry
Laurens, and Thomas Jefferson.
(3) Instructions were modified to stress that only US
independence and sovereignty were essential, leaving
all other matters at the discretion of the
commissioners.

War at Sea
a. US privateers reached a high of 449 in 1781
b. The US navy captured or destroyed 196 enemy
ships during the war.

War in the North

a. Washington met with the French commander,
Compte de Rochambeau, in Connecticut and planned
a joint French-US attack in New York.
b. Compte Francois de Grasse French naval
officer, was left to either operate in New York
or move against the British in Virginia.
c. Washington and Rochambeau, although
preserving the appearance of planning an

110
 111
attack on New York, moved their armies
across New Jersey toward Virginia.
War in the South
a. Conflicts against Cornwallis, led by the
forces of Greene, successfully pushed the
British into North Carolina.
b. Greene's forces were strengthened to
4,000 and he met Cornwallis at the Battle of
Guilford Courthouse, technically a British
victory, but with heavy casualties.
c. By the fall 1780, Britain only effectively
controlled Charleston SC and its nearby
vicinity
d. Cornwallis decided to destroy the
American training and supply bases in
Virginia, moving northward from Wilmington
in April with 1,500 men.
(1) Reinforcements brought the British troop
strength up to 7,500.
(2) Although failing to capture Jefferson and
the legislature at Charlottesville, Corwallis
111
 112
established a base at Yorktown in August, in
order to keep open communications by sea
between him and Clinton's forces in New
York.
Surrender at
Yorktown 17
October
1781
a. When De
Grasse
blockaded on
the York River
and engaged
the British
fleet,
Cornwallis was hemmed in on land by Layfayette's
and American forces, leaving the French in control of
the sea off Yorktown
b. The Allied army at Williamsburg swelled with 9,000
additional troops and 7,800 French troops, and the
seige of Yorktown began in late September;
c. When Corwallis realized he was doomed, having
lost three key points around Yorktown, he entered
negotiations to surrender on 17 October.

112
 113
d. Clinton's arrived
with 7,000 but,
learning of the
surrender, returned
to New York.
e. The Americans
suffered 262
casualties to the
British 552.
Lord North's
government
collapsed March
1782
a. As a result of this
second major
surrender of British
forces, dashing
British hopes for
victory, North's
government was
replaced by
Rockingham.
b. French victories in the West Indies in late 1781 -
early 1782 forced Britain to seek peace.
c. Sir Guy Carelton became commander-in-chief of
British North American forces.

113
 114
(1) With plans for continuing the was abandoned, he
concentrated all British forces on the seaboard at New
York.
(2) A skirmish at Combahee River SC was the last land
action on the seaboard.

F. The End of the War

Paris Peace Talks
a. Richard Oswald was named chief negotiator for the
British in April.
b. The Netherlands formally recognized American
independence on 19 April and promptly loaned the US
$2 million, followed by a treaty of commerce and
friendship in October.
c. As the US peace commissioners arrived in Paris,
formal negotiations opened on 27 September, after the
Earl of Shelbourne became head of the British
government.
d. Preliminary articles of peace were signed on 5
November without French approval, a violation of the
earlier US-French agreement, and without Franklin's
insistence that Canada be ceded to the US.

Terms of the Treaty of Paris 1783,

signed in September 1783
114
 115
a. British Concessions
(1) Recognition of US Independence
(2) Generous Boundaries
(a) The St. Croix River divided Maine and Nova Scotia,
the St. Lawrence-Atlantic watershed divide, the 45th
parallel, a line through the Great Lakes and their
connecting waterways, and a line from Lake Superior
to the Mississippi divided Canada from the US
(b) The Mississippi to the 31st parallel divided
Spanish LA from the US
(c) The 31st parallel and the Apalachicola and St
Mary's Rivers divided Florida which was given back to
Spain by Britain in the final peace treaty
(3) ceded rights to fish off Newfoundland and Nova
Scotia and liberty to dry and cure fish in unsettled
areas in Labrador, the Magdalen Islands and Nova
Scotia;
(4) End to hostilities and speedy evacuation of all
British land and sea forces

b. US Concessions to Britain
1) All debts owed to Britain subjects by US citizens
(would still be paid

115
 116
(2) A full restoration of rights and seized property
returned to all Loyalists by the states.
c. France, although miffed because they were not
included in the treaty negotiations, did approve the
terms of this agreement, so that this was not really a
separate treaty.
d. On 20 January 1783, Britain signed preliminary
articles of peace with France and then with Spain
before proclaiming a cessation of hostilities on 4
February.
e. Articles of Peace were ratified by the US Congress
on 15 April and the treaty was formally signed on 3
September.

Aftermath of the War in the US

a. Newburgh Addresses -- March
1783
(1) An army officer' delegation approached Congress
with a list of grievances.
(2) Maj John Armstrong at Washington's main camp
near Newburgh wrote an anonymous address to army
officers, which attacked Congressional "coldness,"
advised officers to resist moderating their demands,
and called for a meeting to draw up a reason to justify
defiance of Congress.

116
 117
(3) This letter had the backing of several civilian
leaders who hoped to force the states to cede more
power to Congress.
(4) George Washington, however, skillfully blunted the
movement on March 11, when he forbade the
unauthorized meeting called for in the address,
proposing a discussion of the grievances at the
regular officers' meeting instead.
(5) He spoke to the regular meeting, condemned the
defiant tone of the addresses, expressed confidence
that Congress would do the right thing, asked for
patience and advised that “no action be done to
lessen the glory won on the battlefield.”
(6) The officers then adopted resolutions which
affirmed their patriotism and confidence in Congress
and disavowed the "anonymous" addresses which
had circulated among them

b. Loyalists Left the US

(1) Over 100,000 Loyalists left the US for Canada or
Europe during the war.
(1a) Many states had passed test oaths, that required
a repudiation of loyalty to George III, and imposing
severe repressive measures.
(2) Many prominent Tories had been exiled, most

117
 118
Tories had been disenfranchised, and all had been
expelled from state offices and doubly taxed.
(3) A commission functioned until 1790 to recover lost
property or compensation for these.

Results of the Revolution

a. The 13 colonies became independent states, united
under the Confederation of the US
The 13 colonies became
independent states

b. The US obtained title

to a vast empire from
the seaboard
settlements along the
Atlantic to the
Mississippi.
c. Republican state
governments replaced
royal colonial
governments.
d. The overthrow of the
proprietary ruling class
allowed men of all social levels to participate in the
Revolution which broadened the popular base of
political life.
e. The confiscation of royal lands, proprietary estates,
118
 119
and Loyalist property produced a more democratic
redistribution of property.
f. All forms of rent previously collected by proprietary
and royal rights were abolished.
g. State legislatures between 1776-91 abolished
almost entirely entail and primogeniture, the pillars of
aristocratic land holding.
h. The Anglicans were disestablished in colonies
where it was tax-supported 1776-86.
i. Slavery as an Institution was seriously weakened in
the North
(1) The Quakers established the first anti-slavery
society in 1775;
(2) Pennsylvania was the first state to pass gradual
emancipation laws;
(3) The slave trade was prohibited or heavily taxed in
eleven states (1776-86);
(4) Slavery was abolished in Massachusetts
completely in 1783, and in NH in 1784;
(5) By 1800, gradual or complete emancipation of
slaves had occurred in the North, and was heading for
a similar fate in the South.
j. The reform of penal codes and prisons was
advanced.
119
 120
k.The secularization and democratization of education
occurred.

120