chapter 5 outline - The American Revolution

Question 1

What acts had been implemented prior to the Seven Years’ War to regulate the empire’s commerce?

Answer 1

The Seven Years’ War made clear to British rulers the significance of the empire to Britain’s well being and high international status
They started implementing new regulations to ensure the empires’ strength and prosperity, since Parliament’s prior attempts were frequently ignored by the colonists
The Wool Act of 1699, Hat Act of 1732, and Iron Act of 1750 forbade colonies from manufacturing these items
The Molasses Act sought to prevent trade between New England and the French Caribbean by instigating a tax on French-produced molasses
The Navigation Act channeled key American exports like tobacco through British ports

Question 2

What was British policy towards overseeing the colonies prior to the Seven Years’ War?

Answer 2

STATUTORY NEGLECT - The British government had previously been negligent in overseeing the colonies, although the Board of Trade (in charge of colonial affairs) made attempts to strengthen its imperial authority prior to the Seven Years war

Question 3

What did the British hope to accomplish with their new policies after the Seven Years’ War? How did they justify this against the colonies’ protests?

Answer 3

After the Seven Years’ War, Britain reverted back to seeing the colonies as subordinates with the main purpose of enriching the mother country, and began imposing regulations on the colonies in unprecedented ways

• They hoped to make the empire more efficient and raise some funds that would help pay off Britain’s great debt
• Most British political leaders supported the new laws that - enraged the colonists, believing that Americans should be grateful to the empire for defending them in the Seven Years’ War
• They also believed that Parliament was representative of the entire empire, partaking in the widely accepted theory of “virtual representation” in which each member supposedly represented the whole empire and not just the district

Question 4

How did the cycle of British taxation of the colonies develop?

Answer 4

When Americans complained that they weren’t represented in Parliament and therefore couldn’t be taxes, they had little support in the mother country
A pattern started in which British governments would be pressured to back down in the face of colonial resistance, only to return later with new regulations to centralize power, heightening colonial defiance

Question 5

What were writs of assistance written for, and how did they affect the colonies?

Answer 5

Colonists felt their liberty was already threatened by the British government issuing writs of assistance to combat smuggling, general search warrants that allowed customs officials to search for smuggled goods

Question 6

What was the Sugar Act, and how did the act affect the court system?

Answer 6

The Sugar Act reduced existing taxes on French-produced molasses from the West Indies, but also disencouraged colonial smuggling
To avoid colonial juries acquitting merchants accused of smuggling, the act also strengthened admiralty courts that allowed smugglers to be judged without a jury trial

Question 7

What were the Revenue and Currency Act?

Answer 7

Simultaneously, the Revenue Act put goods like wool and hides on the enumerated list, meaning they had to be shipped through England
The Currency Act was also put in practice, banning the use of paper money as compensation for debt to protect British merchants and creditors from being paid with depreciated colonial currency

Question 8

What was the Stamp Act?

Answer 8

While the Sugar and Revenue Act were attempts by the colonial government to strengthen the Navigation Acts and tax through trade, the Stamp Act was a direct tax on the colonists
It required all printed material produced in the colonies to carry a stamp purchased from authorities, and the revenues generated were meant to finance the operations of the empires, including stationing British troops in North America

Question 9

Why was the Stamp Act’s impact so significant and why did it anger the majority of colonists?

Answer 9

The Stamp Act effectively aggravated every free colonist, especially detested by citizens that published and read books and newspapers
By taxing without colonial consent, Parliament had also challenged the authority of colonial assemblies that had established their control over financial expenditures and taxing, and they were ready to defend their power

Question 10

What was the Quartering Act and what was its impact?

Answer 10

The Quartering Acts were two or more Acts of British Parliament requiring local governments of the American colonies to provide the British soldiers with housing and food - Angered lots of ordinary colonists and infringed on property rights

Question 11

Why was opposition to the Stamp Act so significant to the Revolutionary Era, and what did colonial leaders reference when they argued against it?

Answer 11

Resistance to the Stamp Act was the first major contention of the revolutionary period and caused the first major divide between colonists and Great Britain over the definition of freedom
Most colonial political leaders voiced their opposition to the act by invoking the rights of freeborn Englishmen that they claimed colonists should also enjoy
They usually referenced long standing British values like a community’s right to not be taxed except by its elected assemblies

Question 12

How did Americans view themselves in relation to Britain, within the empire? How did the British government’s view differ from that?

Answer 12

Americans believed the British empire to be composed of an association of equals, in which free settlers overseas enjoyed the same rights as British men at home
Colonists in other parts of the empire echoed their sentiments and everyone claimed the right to govern their own affairs in the name of liberty
The British government and its appointed officials in America disagreed and viewed the empire as a hierarchy in which everyone was under the authority of Parliament
Surrendering the right to tax the colonies would set a dangerous precedent for the entire empire, posing a threat to the supreme power of the government

Question 13

Why did colonists believe Parliament shouldn’t be taxing them? What resolutions were passed in Virginia in opposition to British taxation?

Answer 13

However, an increasing number of colonists were starting to believe that Britain shouldn’t have the power to tax them at all since Americans had no representation in the House of Commons
The popular rallying cry of “No Taxation without Representation” emerged
In Virginia, the House of Burgesses approved four resolutions proposed by passionate speaker Patrick Henry
Colonists enjoyed the same liberties and privileges as residents of the mother country and the right to consent to taxation was a foundation of British liberty

Question 14

How did the colonies protest the Stamp Act in unity?

Answer 14

Later, the Stamp Act Congress, composed of delegates from nine colonies, convened in New York to endorse Viriginia’s positions
Soon, merchants throughout the colonies conspired to boycott British goods until Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, the first act of cooperation between colonies
Cries for liberty and symbols of freedom were common during the colonial resistance to the Stamp Act
Colonial leaders succeeded in preventing the implementation of the new law
Colonies exchanged ideas and information about resistance
The movement was started by the colonial elite, but they were joined by a far broader range of Americans

Question 15

How did colonists organize mass resistance to the Stamp Act?

Answer 15

Stamp Act resistance extended beyond political debate
Before the law went into effect, crowds of angry colonists forced officials chosen to administer it to resign and destroyed stamp shipments
The Sons of Liberty, a group of young men that enriched themselves plundering French shipping as privateers during the Seven Years’ War, were instrumental to the resistance
In New York City, the Sons of Liberty organized processions of hundreds of residents to shout “liberty” and march through the streets on most nights
They also posted notices about the movement and lead others in enforcing the boycott of British goods
Their actions alarmed the aristocratic families that dominated New York politics

Question 16

How did the British appease protests of the Stamp Act and what act did they use to re-assert their authority?

Answer 16

The British government was forced to retreat after facing the intensity of American resistance and being pressured by London merchants and manufacturer that didn’t want to lose their American market
Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1766, but it was followed by the Declaratory Act that denied America’s claim that they could only be taxed through their elected representatives
This measure enabled Parliament to pass laws on the American colonies in any situation, ensuring future conflict

Question 17

What internal conflicts were going on within the colonies regarding land during the 1760s?

Answer 17

Colonies were also experiencing contentious internal divisions during the 1760s regarding land expansion
In rural areas, settlers and small farmers had a long tradition of defying the claims of land speculators and large proprietors
They also claimed they had the “liberty” to secure possession of land

Question 18

What did the weatlhy Regulators in South Carolina advocate for?

Answer 18

In the mid-1760s, a group of wealthy residents of the South Carolina backcountry, calling themselves the Regulators, protested the lack of representation of western settlements in the colony’s assembly
They complained about the legislature’s failure to establish local governments that could oversee land titles and prevent illegal land seizing

Question 19

What were the North Carolina regulators, comprising of small farmers, protesting? How did they protest, and how were they eventually suppressed?

Answer 19

A concurrent movement in North Carolina enabled small farmers to refuse to pay taxes, kidnap local officials, assault the homes of land speculators, merchants and lawyers and disrupt court proceedings
Their issue was the corruption of county authorities, claiming that they were preventing inexpensive access to land through high taxes and court fees
The Regulators demanded the local government be democratized and criticized the colonial elite for using their political power to prosper at the expensive of the common farmers
The Regulators caused turmoil in the region until they were suppressed by the colony’s militia in 1771

Question 20

What was the Tenant Uprising of the mid-1760s?

Answer 20

Also in the mid-1760s, tenants in the New York colony region started an uprising by refusing to pay rent and seizing land
They were suppressed by British troops and local militia

Question 21

What were small farmers in the Green Mountains protesting in the 1760s?

Answer 21

At the same time, small farmers in the Green Mountains were arming themselves against New York landlords intruding on their land
The land was part of New York, but some of it had been granted to New England families and they insisted that the land belonged to the person who worked on it
The region later became the state of Vermont

Question 22

How did the riots succeeding the Stamp Acts affect the colonial elite’s opinions on British authority?

Answer 22

The Stamp Act riots had revealed greater social divisions and inspired many backcountry uprisings in the colonies, making the colonial elite less inclined to challenge British authority during the next imperial crisis

Question 23

What were the Townshend Acts? What did the revenue they generated pay for? How did resistance to these acts develop?

Answer 23

The government in London decided to impose a new set of taxes on Americans in 1767, since some colonists had implied they wouldn’t object to Britain raising funds by taxing trades during their protests of the Stamp Act
Charles Townshend, the chancellor of the Exchequer, proposed new taxes on goods imported into the colonies and the formation of a board of customs commissioners to collect them and prevent smuggling
The funds would pay the salary of American governors and judges, making them independent from colonial assemblies
Although resistance to the Townshend duties developed at a slower pace, leaders in several colonies eventually reinstated the ban on importing British goods

Question 24

What became a symbol of American resistance during boycotts in protest of the Townshend Acts?

Answer 24

The boycott started in Boston and spread to the southern colonies, leading to the development of homespun clothing, instead of imported finery, as a symbol of American resistance
It also represented a spirit of self-sacrifice to the colonists that contrasted the self-indulgence and luxury of the British
Women that spung fabrics at home were hailed Daughters of Liberty

Question 25

Which groups did non-importation benefit? Which groups was it harmful to?

Answer 25

Non-importation appealed to Chesapeake planters, who were in extreme debt to British merchants 
There was a temporary ban on slave importation, although planters in the Piedmont region ignored this restriction 
Urban artisans supported the boycott because they could avoid competition with British manufactured goods
Merchants in the middle colonies were wary of the protests since it endangered their livelihoods and raised the possibility of lower-class rioting, but they eventually agreed to go along

Question 26

How did the Boston Massacre develop? How did patriots twist the events to exacerbate hostilities towards the British?

Answer 26

Boston was the center of colonial resistance and conflict with the British
British troops were stationed there and they were increasingly unpopular amongst the residents since they competed for employment on Boston’s ports with the city’s laborers
On March 5, 1770, a snowball fight between Bostonians and British troops escalated into an armed conflict that killed 5 Bostonians
One victim was Crispus Attucks, who was later considered the first martyr of the American Revolution
The British troops involved were put on trial and expertly defended by John Adams, who believed lower-class crowd riots were a dangerous way to oppose British armies
Paul Revere helped to stir anger against the British army through inaccurately depicting a line of British soldiers firing into an unarmed crowd on a widely circulated print

Question 27

Why was the nonimportation movement losing support by the 1770s? How did the movement affect British imports and merchants? How was the Townshend Act repealed?

Answer 27

By 1770, the nonimportation movement was losing steam as merchants lost their profits and members of the colonial elite found that they couldn’t do without British goods
The value of British imports to the colonies briefly declined during 1769
British merchants who wished to prevent future interruptions in trade pressed for the repeal of the Townshend duties
When the British ministry agreed, leaving only a tea tax and removing British troops from Boston, American merchants abandoned the boycott

Question 28

What was the scandal of John Wilkes in London? Who was John Wilkes? What rumors were spreading about the Anglican Church’s attempts to restrict religious freedom in the coloneis?

Answer 28

While immediate crises had been resolved, Americans were concluding that Britain was actively attempting to restrict the liberties of the colonies, spurred even more by the scandal of John Wilkes in London
Wilkes, a radical journalist that criticized the king and ministry, had been expelled from Parliament
- Additionally, rumors were spreading that the Anglican Church was going to send bishops to the colonies and potentially establish religious courts that would persecute dissenters
The colonists’ next acts of resistance rested on their belief that the British government was setting out to threaten the colonists’ freedoms

Question 29

How did mass marketing of tea, which spurred on the Tea Act, in the colonies begin?

Answer 29

The East India Company had a monopoly on recently acquired British possessions in India, and British merchants invested heavily in its stock
A speculative bubble ensued, in which the price of stock rose sharply and collapsed
To help out the company, the British government market its enormous holdings of Chinese tea in North America

Question 30

How did the Tea Act threaten colonial finances? How did colonists resist the Tea Act? What happened during the Boston Tea Party?

Answer 30

The funds raised through taxation of imported tea threatened the colonial control over finance
Colonists thought paying taxes on this new body of imports would be akin to acknowledging British’s right to tax the colonies, so resistance started developing in major ports
The Boston Tea Party occurred in 1773, during which a group of colonists disguised as Native Americans boarded ships in the Boston Harbor and threw the shipment of tea into the water

Question 31

What act did Britain pass in response to the Boston Tea Party? What did it entail?

Answer 31

In response to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the Coercive/Intolerable Acts

• Closed the Boston port for all trade until the tea was paid for
• Town meetings were prevented in Massachusetts, while the governor was authorized to appoint members of the council (previously decided by election)
• Military commanders were allowed to forcibly house soldiers in private homes

Question 32

What was the Quebec Act? What was its purpose? How did English colonists view the Quebec Act?

Answer 32

Simultaneously, Parliament passed the Quebec Act
Extended the Southern boundary of the Quebec province to the Ohio River and granted legal privileges for Catholics in Canada
The act was meant to win the allegiance of Quebec’s Catholic population by guaranteeing rights that were denied to their coreligionists in Britain, like holding office and practicing their faith freely
The act called into question Ohio country land claims and convinced colonists that Parliament was trying to strengthen Catholicism in its American empire, instilling fear of political and religious tyranny in many colonists’ minds

Question 33

How did the Intolerable Acts impact the coordination of colonial resistance? Who was Patrick Henry?

Answer 33

Colonists believed the legitimacy of the imperial government had been ruined by recent British actions
Opposition to the Intolerable Acts had expanded even more, inspiring smaller towns and rural areas to participate actively in protest
The Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia to coordinate opposition to the Intolerable Acts, bringing together political leaders from the twelve mainland colonies
Patrick Henry was a renowned orator from Virginia that participated in the Congress, and he was famous for his unique speaking style that combined moral appeals with blunt directness

Question 34

How did Congress respond to the Suffolk Resolves (and what were they)? What was the Continental Association and how did it protest Britain’s restrictive measures? What were Committees of Safety authorized to do by Congress?

Answer 34

• Congress endorsed the Suffolk Resolves (The declaration rejected the Massachusetts Government Act and resulted on a boycott of imported goods from Britain unless the Intolerable Acts were repealed) and adopted the Continental Association, which called for an almost complete halt to trade with Great Britain and the West Indies
• The Association also encouraged domestic manufacturing and denounced depravity and extravagance
• Congress authorized local Committees of Safety to administer the mandates and to prevent businesses from trying to take advantage of the scarcity of goods