Cortes & Montezuma, 1519

OUT OF MANY A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

Chapter 6 From Empire to Independence 1750 - 1776

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Part One

Introduction

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Chapter Focus Questions What were the conflicts that led to the Seven Years’ War, and what were the outcomes for Great Britain, France, and the American Indians? Why did American nationalism develop in the aftermath of the French and Indian War? What was Great Britain’s changing policy toward its North American colonies in the 1760s? What were the assumptions of American republicanism? How did the colonies attempt to achieve unity in their confrontation with Great Britain? © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Part Two

American Communities: The First Continental Congress Begins to Shape a National Political Community

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American Communities: The First Continental Congress Begins to Shape a National Political Community In 1774, delegates from 12 colonies met for seven weeks in Philadelphia at the First Continental Congress forging a community of national leaders. The Congress took the first step toward creating a national political community. With repressive actions, Great Britain had forced the colonists to recognize a community of interests distinct from that of the mother country.

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Part Three

The Seven Years’ War in America

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The Albany Congress of 1754 The agenda included: considering a collective colonial response to the conflict with New France and the Indians of the interior; negotiation of a settlement with the Iroquois Confederacy, who had become unhappy with colonial land-grabbing.

The Conference resulted in: The Iroquois leaving without an agreement; adoption of Benjamin Franklin’s Plan of Union, though this was rejected by colonial assemblies. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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This woodcut, cartoon, created by Benjamin Franklin, was published in his newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette, on May 9, 1754. It accompanied Franklin’s editorial about the “disunited state” of the colonies on the eve of the French and Indian War, and helped make his point about the need for unity. It plays on the superstition that a snake that had been cut into nine pieces would come back to life if the pieces were put back together before sunset. The cartoon was reprinted widely, and used again, more that twenty years later, during the Revolutionary War. Source: The Library Company of Philadelphia. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Frontier Warfare Map: The War for Empire in North America, 1754-1763 The defeat of General Braddock in 1755 was followed by the outbreak of war between Britain and France in 1756. The French achieved early victories in New York. The British harshly treated French-speaking farmers of Acadia by expelling them from their homes. Many moved to Louisiana where they became known as “Cajuns.” © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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MAP 6.1 The War for Empire in North America, 1754– 1763 The Seven Years’ War in America (also known as the French and Indian War) was fought in three principal areas: Nova Scotia and what was then Acadia, the frontier between New France and New York, and the upper Ohio River—gateway to the Old Northwest.

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The Conquest of Canada William Pitt became British Prime Minister promising to win the war. Pitt’s plan called for the conquest of Canada and the elimination of all French competition from North America. The British gained Iroquois Confederacy and Ohio Indians and committed over 50,000 British and colonial troops to the Canada campaign. British forces captured Louisburg, the French forts on the New York border, Quebec, and lastly, Montreal. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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The death of General James Wolfe, at the conclusion of the battle in which the British captured Quebec in 1759, became the subject of American artist Benjamin West’s most famous painting, which was exhibited to tremendous acclaim in London in 1770. SOURCE: Benjamin West (1738 –1820), “The Death of General Wolfe,” 1770. Oil on canvas,152.6 x 214.5 cm. Transfer from the Canadian War Memorials,1921(Gift of the 2nd Duke of Westminster, Eaton Hall,Cheshire,1918). National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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The Conquest of Canada Map: European Claims in North America, 1750 and 1763 In the Treaty of Paris of 1763, the French lost all its North American mainland possessions.

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MAP 6.2 European Claims in North America, 1750 and 1763 As a result of the British victory in the Seven Years’ War, the map of colonial claims in North America was fundamentally transformed. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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The Struggle for the West The removal of the French stimulated a revitalization movement among the Ohio Indians led by Neolin, the Delaware Prophet. Pontiac, an Ottawa, forged a confederacy that achieved early success. British colonists had expected French removal to allow more westward migration. American colonists opposed the Proclamation of 1763 and the British could not stop westward migration. The Indians were forced to make concessions. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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A treaty between the Delaware, Shawnee, and Mingo (western Iroquois) Indians and Great Britain, July 13, 1765, at the conclusion of the Indian uprising. The Indian chiefs signed with pictographs symbolizing their clans, each notarized with an official wax seal. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Part Four

The Emergence of American Nationalism

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The Emergence of American Nationalism The Seven Years War affected the American colonists by: making them proud to be members of the British empire; noting important contrasts between themselves and the British; strengthening a sense of identity among the colonists.

A nationalist perspective emerged. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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The Press, Politics, and Republicanism The weekly newspaper was an important means of intercolonial communication. Newspapers became a lively means of public discourse. The notion of republicanism emerged from warnings of government’s threats to liberty.

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A protest against the Stamp Act from newspaper editor William Bradford, publisher of The Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser. Bradford decorated his masthead with skull and crossbones, reproduced a satiric version of “the fatal Stamp,” also with skull and crossbones, and included the note, “The TIMES are Dreadful, Dismal, Doleful, Dolorous, and Dollar-less.” The text is an open letter from Bradford to his readers.

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The Sugar and Stamp Acts The costs of the Seven Years War and the subsequent defense of the North American empire added to the huge government debt. In 1764, Parliament passed the Sugar Act to raise revenue from the colonies. Colonial protest arose in the cities, especially Boston where a nonimportation movement soon spread to other cities. James Otis, Jr. developed the doctrine of no taxation without representation.

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The Stamp Act Crisis The Stamp Act precipitated an unprecedented crisis. Colonial concerns included the long-term constitutional implications regarding representation of the colonists in the British government. Several colonies passed resolutions denouncing the Stamp Act. Boston emerged as a center of protest. To counter the growing violence, the Sons of Liberty was formed.

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Samuel Adams, a second cousin of John Adams, was a leader of the Boston radicals and an organizer of the Sons of Liberty. The artist of this portrait, John Singleton Copley, was known for setting his subjects in the midst of everyday objects; here he portrays Adams in a middle-class suit with the charter guaranteeing the liberties of Boston’s freemen. SOURCE: John Singleton Copley (1738 –1815), “Samuel Adams,” ca. 1772. Oil on canvas,49 ½ x 39 ½ in. (125.7 cm x 100.3 cm). Deposited by the City of Boston, 30.76c. Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Reproduced with permission. © 2000 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. All Rights Reserved.

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Repeal of the Stamp Act Map: Demonstrations against the Stamp Act, 1765 British merchants worried about the effects of the growing nonimportation movement petitioned Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act. Parliament repealed the Stamp Act but passed the Declaratory Act. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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MAP 6.3 Demonstrations against the Stamp Act, 1765 From Halifax in the North to Savannah in the South, popular demonstrations against the Stamp Act forced the resignation of British tax officials. The propaganda of 1765 even reached the breakfast table, emblazoned on teapots.

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Seeing History Bostonians Paying the Excise-Man, or Tarring and Feathering.

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Part Five

“Save Your Money and Save Your Country”

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The Townshend Revenue Acts Charles Townshend became prime minister. Townshend proposed a new revenue measure that placed import duties on lead, glass, paint, paper, and tea. In response, John Dickinson, posing as a humble farmer in Pennsylvania stated that Parliament had no right to tax goods to raise revenue on America. Townshend enacted several measures to enforce the new Acts.

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Nonimportation: An Early Political Boycott Associations of nonimportation and nonconsumption reformed to protest the Townshend Acts. Appeals to stimulate local industry had strong appeal in small towns and rural areas. Colonial newspapers paid much attention to women supporting the boycott. These efforts reduced British exports by 41 percent. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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This British cartoon, A Society of Patriotic Ladies, ridiculed the efforts of American women to support the Patriot cause by boycotting tea. The moderator of the meeting appears coarse and masculine, while an attractive scribe is swayed by the amorous attention of a gentleman. The activities under the table suggest that these women are neglecting their true duty.

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The Massachusetts Circular Letter Boston and Massachusetts were the center of the agitation over the Townshend Revenue Acts. Samuel Adams drafted a circular letter that led to British forcing the Massachusetts House of Representative to rescind the letter. Rumors of mob rule and riots in Boston led to the British army occupying the city. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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The Politics of Revolt and the Boston Massacre The British troops stationed in the colonies were a source of scorn and hostility. Confrontations arose in New York City and Boston between colonists and British soldiers. In Boston, competition between British troops and townsmen over jobs was a source of conflict. On March 5, 1770: a confrontation between British soldiers and a crowd ended in the Boston Massacre that left five dead. Parliament repealed most of the Revenue Acts. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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In Paul Revere’s version of the Boston Massacre, issued three weeks after the incident, the British fire an organized volley into a defenseless crowd. Revere’s print—which he plagiarized from another Boston engraver—may have been inaccurate, but it was enormously effective propaganda. It hung in so many Patriot homes that the judge hearing the murder trial of these British soldiers warned the jury not to be swayed by “the prints exhibited in our houses.”

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Part Six

From Resistance to Rebellion

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From Resistance to Rebellion In the early seventies, several colonies established committees of correspondence to: share information; shape public opinion; and build cooperation among the colonies.

Statements and letters by Thomas Hutchinson outraged colonists. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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The Boston Tea Party Parliament passed a new tax on tea to save the East India Company from failing. Colonial protests included: the Boston Tea Party; a tea party in New York; burning a ship loaded with tea in Annapolis; and burning a warehouse in New Jersey. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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The Intolerable Acts Map: The Quebec Act of 1774 The Coercive “Intolerable”Acts 1774 Prohibited loading and unloading of ships in Boston Harbor until the colonists paid for the tea Annulled the colonial charter of Massachusetts Terminated self-rule by colonial communities Legalized housing of troops in private homes at public expense Quebec Act

These acts were calculated to punish Massachusetts and strengthen the British. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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MAP 6.4 The Quebec Act of 1774 With the Quebec Act, Britain created a centralized colonial government for Canada and extended that colony’s administrative control southwest to the Ohio River, invalidating the seato-sea boundaries of many colonial charters.

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The First Continental Congress The delegates to the First Continental Congress included the most important leaders of the American cause. The delegates passed the Declaration and Resolves that: asserted colonial rights; declared 13 acts of Parliament in violation of their rights; pledged sanctions until the 13 acts were repealed.

To enforce the sanctions, the delegates urged formation of Committees of Observation and Safety to assume the functions of local government. The Committees organized militia, called extralegal courts, and combined to form colony-wide congresses or conventions. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Ignoring the Olive Branch Petition from the Continental Congress, on August 23, 1775, King George III issued this Proclamation, declaring the colonies stood in open rebellion to his authority and were subject to severe penalty, as was any British subject who failed to report the knowledge of rebellion or conspiracy. This document literally transformed loyal subjects into traitorous rebels.

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Lexington and Concord Map: The First Engagements of the Revolution Despite a stalemate between the British and colonists in Massachusetts, the British government decided on military action. When British troops left Boston to capture American ammunition at Concord, armed conflicts occurred at Lexington and Concord.

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MAP 6.5 The First Engagements of the Revolution The first military engagements of the American Revolution took place in the spring of 1775 in the countryside surrounding Boston.

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British soldiers fire upon Massachusetts militia at Lexington, the first of four hand-colored engravings included in Amos Doolittle’s View of the Battle of Lexington and Concord (1775). It is the only contemporary pictorial record of the events of April 19, 1775, from an American point of view. Doolittle, a Connecticut silversmith, traveled to the site of the conflict in the weeks afterward, and his engravings are based on first-hand observation. Important buildings, individuals, or groups of people are keyed to a legend that explains what is happening. Doolittle intended his prints to be informative in the same sense as a photograph in a modern newspaper. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Part Seven

Deciding for Independence

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The Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress aimed to organize the defense of the colonies. The Congress designated the militia forces besieging Boston as the Continental Army and made George Washington commanderin-chief. The Olive Branch Petition was written to prevent further hostilities. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Canada, the Spanish Borderlands, and the Revolution The rest of colonial North America reacted in various ways to the coming war. The French Canadians did not support the rebellion. Several British Caribbean islands did support the Continental Congress but the British navy stopped any involvement. Spain adopted a neutral position officially, but secretly sought to help the Americans. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Fighting in the North and South Fighting continued throughout New England. An unsuccessful effort to take Canada ended in the spring of 1776. By March the British had been forced out of Boston. British efforts in the South had also failed. King George III rejected the “Olive Branch Petition” and issued a proclamation declaring that the colonists were in open rebellion.

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The Connecticut artist John Trumbull painted The Battle of Bunker Hill in 1785, the first of a series that earned him the informal title of “the Painter of the Revolution.” Trumbull was careful to research the details of his paintings, but composed them in the grand style of historical romance. In the early nineteenth century, he repainted this work and three other Revolutionary scenes for the rotunda of the Capitol in Washington, DC. © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

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No Turning Back Spain and France opened trade with the colonies. In Common Sense, Thomas Paine helped cut Americans’ emotional ties to Britain and the King. The “two ancient tyrannies” of aristocracy and monarchy were not appropriate for America. North Carolina became the first state to vote for a declaration of independence.

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The Declaration of Independence The text of the Declaration of Independence was approved without dissent on July 4, 1776. The writers blamed King George III for the events leading up to the decision for Independence. They could be condemned as traitors and sentenced to death but they chose to sign.

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The Manner in Which the American Colonies Declared Themselves INDEPENDENT of the King of ENGLAND, a 1783 English print. Understanding that the coming struggle would require the steady support of ordinary people, in the Declaration of Independence, the upper-class men of the Continental Congress asserted the right of popular revolution and the great principle of human equality.

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Part Eight

Conclusion

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