American History: A Survey Chapter 4: The Empire Under Strain

American History: A Survey Chapter 4: The Empire Under Strain

Battle for the Continent The Indians of the Ohio Valley recognized that the imperial rivalry of Britain and France posed both threat and opportunity. The Iroquois were masters of balance-of-power diplomacy. It was the Ohio Company s demand for French recognition of its land claims that inaugurated the Seven Years War (known in the colonies as the French and Indian War). This war, taking place between 1754-1763, permanently altered the global balance of power.

Albany Plan of Union (Albany Congress) The immediate objective for the colonists was to keep the Iroquois tribes loyal to Britain. The Albany Plan was not accepted, but it did create a foundation for future colonial cooperation (in the future war against Britain).

Peace of Paris (1763) Britain received all of French Canada and all territory south of Canada and east of the Mississippi River. Britain received Florida from Spain. Spain received from France its territory west of the Mississippi, including control of the port city of New Orleans, as compensation for its loss of Florida. Britain s victory fundamentally reshaped the world balance of power. France s 200-year-old North American empire had come to an end. The Seven Years War put strains on all the participants. The war s cost produced a financial crisis in France that almost three decades later would help to spark the French Revolution.

Consequences of the French and Indian War for the Colonists Some of Britain s colonists became more confident in their military strength, gaining valuable experience But the war also shattered the myth of British invincibility Colonial unity received some encouragement during the French and Indian War, when soldiers and statesmen, despite deepseated jealousy and suspicion, discovered that they were all fellow Americans who shared common ideals. The results of the French and Indian War left Indians more dependent than ever on the British and ushered in a period of confusion over land claims, control of the fur trade, and tribal relations in general.

Problems Inherited by Britain Following the War the British government had incurred a large debt during the course of the Seven Years War the newly won land must be governed revenue must be raised to help absorb the costs of controlling this vast territory and paying down the debt (citizens in Britain were already heavily taxed) American colonists were not accepting restrictions on their activities

Significance of 1763 While annoying to some Americans, British policy before the French and Indian War was not as irritating to them as what came next. 1763 can be seen as a turning point in relations between Britain and the colonies: The British attempted to end the policy of salutary neglect and tax the colonists for protection at the very moment the colonists felt the least need of assistance from the mother country. For Britain, the cost of empire started to outweigh the benefits. Allowing colonists to move farther west beyond British control would only aggravate difficulties in governing the colonies. Having to fight Native Americans (for example, Pontiac s Rebellion) would be further drain on Britain s financial and military resources. Out of all these concerns came the Proclamation of 1763.

Pontiac s Rebellion, 1763 This was a response to encroachments on what they considered to be their land. Pontiac s Rebellion had nearly overwhelmed Britain s frontier forts. The rebellion was eventually put down.

Proclamation of 1763 This prohibited colonial migration and settlement west of the Appalachian mountains. This did not prevent colonists from streaming across the Appalachian Mountains and the line. The colonists believed that the Proclamation had little to do with preventing colonial- Native American hostilities and almost everything to do with political, military, and economic control of them.

Evaluate the extent to which the colonists were justified in disobeying the Proclamation of 1763. Justified Not justified

Evaluate the extent to which the colonists were justified in disobeying the Proclamation of 1763. Thesis Example #1: Britain issued the Proclamation of 1763 after the French and Indian War in an attempt to limit conflicts with Native American tribes. However, colonists disobeyed the Proclamation of 1763 because they believed Britain was trying to limit westward expansion, reserve speculative opportunities for the English, and establish control of the fur trade. Therefore, the colonists were justified in disobeying the Proclamation of 1763.

Evaluate the extent to which the colonists were justified in disobeying the Proclamation of 1763. Thesis Example #2: American colonists justified the disobedience of the Proclamation of 1763 by their need for land, desire for self rule, and search for economic opportunities west of the Appalachian Mountains. However, legitimate British concerns regarding increased and continued conflict with Native Americans, staggering war debt, and maintaining British sovereignty over the colonies support the passage of the Proclamation. Therefore, the colonists were not justified in disobeying the Proclamation of 1763.

Britain s eventual loss of the American colonies paradoxically began with its imperialist victory in the French and Indian War. Concept Review Mercantilism: Mercantilists believed that wealth was power and that a country s economic wealth could be measured by the amount of gold or silver in its treasury. To amass gold or silver, a country needed to export more than it imported. Possessing colonies proved advantages, since colonies could both supply raw materials and provide a guaranteed market for exports.

The Merits and Menace of Mercantilism Merits Navigation Laws only loosely enforced (colonists smuggled anyhow) Americans reaped benefits (tobacco planters enjoyed a monopoly in the British market) Colonists benefited from protection of the world s mightiest navy and a strong army Menace Mercantilism stifled economic initiative and imposed a dependency on British creditors. Colonists felt used, kept in a state of perpetual economic adolescence

Pre-1760 British Policy in the Colonies Salutary Neglect (about 1650 to 1763): British mercantilist policies were generally not challenged by the colonists because they were difficult to implement and infrequently enforced. As long a competition from the Americans wasn t significant and Britain wasn t experiencing an economic crisis, there was little need to abandon the policy of salutary neglect. The Navigation Laws (1660): designed to promote English shipping and control colonial trade (goods had to be shipped exclusively in British ships). In order for the Americans to trade with other nations, these ships had to stop in Britain first. This would have been devastating on the American economy had this been enforced.

Major British Mercantilist Policies Pre-1760 The Wool (1699), Hat (1732), and Iron (1750) Acts: intended to subordinate American capital to British capital by preventing American businessmen from turning raw materials into finished commodities. The Molasses Act (1733): In an attempt to control the lucrative sale of sugar cane to the colonies, the British govt established regulations and restrictions (again, not really enforced). The colonists frequently ignored all these measures.

Which of the following actions best illustrates the policy of salutary neglect? A. Lack of enforcement of the Navigation Acts prior to 1763 B. Creation of royal colonies such as the Carolinas C. The practice of non-importation within the colonies after 1765 D. The use of vice admiralty courts to prosecute smugglers

The main purpose of the Albany Congress of 1754 was to A. Draw up a treaty with the Native Americans B. Protest restrictions on western settlements put in place by the British Parliament C. Develop common defensive measures against the Spanish after they acquired lands west of the Appalachian Mountains from France D. Create a confederation that could militarily challenge British control in the North American colonies

Discontent on the Frontier The Paxton Boys (1763): a band of western Pennsylvania frontiersmen who attacked Native Americans whom they believed had been part of Pontiac s rebellion. When the Native Americans took refuge in Philadelphia, the Paxton Boys demanded funding to support their defensive needs on the frontier. Regulator Movement (1766-1771): a group of Carolinians revolted against what they believed were unfair taxes and lack of representation in their state legislature. Disciplined mobs intimidated judges and closed courts. In 1771, Royal Governor William Tryon mobilized British troops to defeat the force. Not since Bacon s Rebellion (1675) had a colonial dispute caused so much political agitation.

Controversial Legislation Passed by British Parliament after 1763 Sugar Act (1764): an effort to strengthen the long-established (and long-evaded) Navigation Acts, the Sugar Act replaced the ineffective Molasses Act of 1733, actually reduced the duties on imported sugar, but Britain made a concerted effort to enforce the act and punish smugglers. Currency Act (1764): forbade colonists from printing their own currency, requiring them to use gold and silver, which was in short supply. All taxes had to paid in hard currency as well.

Controversial Legislation Passed by British Parliament after 1763 Stamp Act (1765): represented a new departure in imperial policy, taxed virtually all printed material in the colonies. Whereas the Sugar Act had mainly affected residents of colonial ports, the Stamp Act managed to offend virtually every free colonist rich and poor, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Quartering Act (1765): required Americans to provide food, barracks, and supplies to British troops stationed in the colonies.

The Stamp Act Crisis Opposition to the Stamp Act was the first great drama of the revolutionary era and the first major split between colonists and Great Britain over the meaning of freedom. no taxation without representation : Many colonists did not challenge Parliament s right to tax its citizens (and most Americans at this point believed themselves to be British citizens). What they wanted was no taxation without representation. There was some irony in the slogan, because the seaports and tidewater towns that were most wrathful against the Stamp Act had long denied full representation to their own backcountry pioneers.

The Stamp Act Crisis continued Stamp Act Congress (1765): the first major cooperative action among Britain s mainland colonies, called on colonists to boycott British goods. Sons of Liberty: enforced the boycott of British imports. The majority of Parliament was persuaded that the Stamp Act was cutting deeply into British exports and thus doing more harm than good. Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, but this concession was accompanied by the Declaratory Act.

The Declaratory Act Declaratory Act (1766): Britain professed the right to tax the colonists without challenge, even as it repealed the Stamp Act. Britain s response to the cry of no taxation without representation was that in fact the Americans possessed virtual representation. That is, members of Parliament were representatives of all British subjects wherever they lived.

Differing Viewpoints British Government Why can you not simply pay a fair share of the costs for their own defense through taxes that are already familiar in Britain? American Colonists Why was a British army needed at all in the colonies, now that the French were expelled from the continent? Could your real purpose be to whip rebellious colonists into line?

The Townshend Acts The Townshend Acts (or Duties) (1767): proposed that items produced in Britain and sold in America be taxed (thereby inflating the price of commodities). The colonial response was immediate: boycott. Nonimportation movement: Reliance on American rather than British goods, on homespun clothing rather than imported finery, became a symbol of American resistance. American colonists reduced their households consumption of imported goods and produced large quantities of homespun cloth, cutting imports of British manufactures in half. Parliament repealed the Townshend duties, but retained the tax on tea.

Boston Massacre

The Boston Tea Party and the British Response Committees of Correspondence (1772): organized by Sam Adams, set up to spread the spirit of resistance by exchanging letters and keep alive opposition to British policy. Tea Act (1773): provided financial relief for the East India Company by allowing it to boost revenue by exporting it to the American colonies. Boston Tea Party (1773):Disguised to look like Native Americans, Bostonians boarded tea ships and threw the cargo into Boston Harbor. How should Britain respond?

The Coercive (Intolerable) Acts and the Quebec Act The Coercive Acts (or Intolerable Acts) (1774) included: closed the port of Boston required that trials of royal officials accused of serious crimes in the colonies while carrying out their duties be held in Britain limited citizens rights to organize freely A new Quartering Act mandating new barracks Quebec Act (1774): allowed the practice of Roman Catholicism in Quebec, reigniting religious passions in New England.

The First Continental Congress Radicals: (such as Patrick Henry and Sam Adams) believed that the colonies relationship with Britain had already passed a point of no return. Moderates: (such as John Dickinson and George Washington) believed that the relationship between the colonies and Great Britain could be repaired Conservatives: (such as John Jay) were not prepared to make an aggressive response

Lexington and Concord

Non-importation is best illustrated by A. American colonists refusing to purchase goods from Britain after the Stamp Act B. The British Parliament limiting the sale of gunpowder to colonists under the Coercive Acts C. The 1807 law banning the importation of slaves from Africa D. The strict limits placed on the number of Catholics allowed into the Massachusetts Bay Colony