Road to American Revolution

(1765-1783)
Questions from past papers
 The American Revolution was the child of Enlightenment.
Comment. (2003)
 Some American historians insist that the American Revolution was a
social upheaval as well as a political revolt. Discuss the social and
economic results of the Revolutionary years. (2005)
 The American War of Independence was a revolt against Mercantilism.”
Discuss. (2006)
 Describe the reasons that lead to the war of Independence. What part
did the dislike of mercantilism play in this war ? (2008)
 American revolution as child of enlightenment? (2015)
 Stamp Act (2018)
Causes of American Revolution

 French Indian War (1754-63)

Faught between The French and British colonies supported by the army
units of the respective parent country.
Over territorial disputes in Ohio River Valley.
British won, but suffered huge financial losses.
Seven Years war ongoing on world stage.
British, to make up for the losses, began to impose taxes on colonies.
Proclamation of 1763: The British set thr crest of appalachian mountains
as the western boundary of the British colonies and banned settlememt
beyond it. This engraged colonists.
 Lawrence Henry Gipson:

 Itmay be said as truly that the American

Revolution was an aftermath of the Anglo-French
conflict in the New World carried on between 1754
and 1763.
Mercantalism:
An economic policy based on a state monopoly over trade and an attempt to
transfer wealth, especially precious metals (gold and silver), from colonies
(America) to parent country (England)
Navigation acts (1660-1673)
 Regulated trade with colonies
 Goods to be carried on English or colonial ships
 Goods passed through English ports and taxed
 Specific goods could be sent only to England.
Positive impacts:
 Shipbuilding prospered in colonies
 Maryland and Virginia had monopoly over England’s tobacco
trade.
 Protection from England
Negative impacts:
 Low prices of raw materials bought from colonies; high price
for finished goods sold to the colonies
 Limited manufacturing
These acts were not enforced strictly (salutary neglect); rise in
smuggling
Colonists were developed a sense of autonomy as there was not
much interference from the Crown
Taxation
 British accumulated huge debt due to French Indian war
 Colonists began to complain
 New prime minister George Grenville
Four part plan:
1. Strict enforcement of navigation acts
2. Sugar act (1764)
3. Quartering act (1765)
4. Stamp act (1765)
Stamp act
 Revenue for new military force
 Required a stamp to be placed on all legal documents such as wills;
even on newspapers, playing cards, etc.
 First cries of “no taxation without representation”
 Harassment of tax collectors
 Sons of Libery was formed to protest against the act
Stamp act congress (Oct, 1765)
 9 colonies attended
 Americans cannot be taxed without consent
 Askef for the repeal of the act
 Showed the colonies could work together
 Most effective protest (nonimportation)
 British exports collapsed; Brtish manufacturers
demanded the repeal
 King George III dismissed Grenville
 Stamp Act repealed by Parliament in March, 1766
 But passed a Declaratory Act which said the parliament
still had the power to make laws for the colonies
 Sugar act: tax on sugar impirted from West Indies
 Quartering act: soldiers to be housed in private houses.
Townshend Duties

 In 1766 Charles Townshend becom P.M

 He bragged that he could tax the colonies without them even
knowing
 Passed Townshend duties
 British rationale: Internal (indirect) tax
 Colonials had moved beyond internal or external taxation
 John Dickinson wrote a pamphlet about it.
Mass Circular letter

 Feb 1768, Massachusetts legislature wrote a letter to other

colonies urging them to take stand.
 Crown sent troops, forebad Americans from reading letter
 Non importation began again
 March 1770 duties repealed except tax on tea
Boston Massacre

 March 1770
 Young boys harassing soldiers
 More people joined, snowballs and insults
 Soldiers open fire and kill five colonists
 Created anti British feelings
Gaspee Incident (1772)

 British anti smuggling ship came ashore at Rhode Island

 Sailors stole animals and cut trees
 8 boats rowed to the ship, injured captain, removed the crew and
burned the ship
 Investigation; “know nothing” attitude
Tea Act

 To salvage bankrupt East India Company act

passed in 1773 to give it monopoly over tea sale
and distribution
 Lowest price
 Royal Governors forced people to buy
 Colonists did not buy
Boston Tea Party

 16 Dec, 1773 50 colonists disguised as

mohawk indians boared a ship full of tea
at Boston port.
 Threw342 chests of tea worth 10,000 British
Pounds
 Crowd cheered
Intolerable Acts

 1774
 British called them coercive acts
 Boston harbour closed till losses are paid
 Closed Mass legislature and increased the powers of the
royal governor
 Expanded quartering act
 Allowed royal officials to be tried in England
First Continental Congress

 Sep, 1774 at Philadelphia

 12 colonies attended, not Georgia
 How should we react?
 No call for independence
 Suffolk resolves:
Called for repeal of intolerable acts
Encouraged colonists for military preparation
 Colonial rationale: petition to the king to restore colonial rights
 British ignored and sent 25000 troops.
Second Continental Congress

 May 10. 1775

 War was underway
 Gave Declaration of Causes
 Created continental army
 Failed olive branch petition
American Revolution a Child of
Enlightenment
 Not just taxes
 Also ideology
 Enlightenment princinples: natural laws, reason and liberty
 Thomas Paine “Common Sense”
 John Locke “Natural Rigjts”
 Baron de Montesquieu “Separation of powers”
 Thomas Hobbes: “men are created equal in ability and ambition...if
there is no state, life would be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short”