Period 3: Essential Question 2 Flashcards
How did the desire of many colonists to assert ideals of self-government in the face of renewed British imperial efforts lead to a colonial independence movement and war with Britain?
eq 2
The colonist began to unite as the following occurred:
imperial struggles of the mid-18th century
new British efforts to collect taxes without direct colonial representation or consent
renewed British assertion of imperial authority in the colonies
perceived and real constraints on their economic activities and political rights
answer 1
Colonial leaders based their calls for resistance to Britain on:
arguments about the rights of British subjects
the rights of the individual
local traditions of self-rule
the ideas of the Enlightenment
answer 2
The effort for American independence was energized by colonial leaders (the established elite) such as Benjamin Franklin, as well as by popular movements that included the political activism of laborers, artisans, and women.
answer 3
Stamp Act
1765
(passed under Greenville, repealed under Rockingham)
WHAT: Parliament passed that every legal document and publication would have a stamp tax
WHY: To put direct tax on colonies, get more money
REACTION: hit hardest on exactly all the wrong people, colonists lashed back violently, burned stamps, collectors rid out of town, hanged or tarred
Henry, Otis, Daughters/Sons of Liberty
Committees of Correspondence
1772 and 1774
Committees of Correspondence, organized by patriot leader Samuel Adams, was a system of communication between patriot leaders in New England and throughout the colonies. They provided the organization necessary to unite the colonies in opposition to Parliament. The committees sent delegates to the First Continental Congress.
Intolerable Acts
1774
acts instituted by the British as punishment for the Boston Tea Party; closed Boston Harbor until debt could be repaid, dissolved all town meetings in MA, and appointed British as all government officials
Sons of Liberty
A radical political organization for colonial independence which formed in 1765 after the passage of the Stamp Act. They incited riots and burned the customs houses where the stamped British paper was kept. After the repeal of the Stamp Act, many of the local chapters formed the Committees of Correspondence which continued to promote opposition to British policies towards the colonies. The Sons leaders included Samuel Adams and Paul Revere.
Merry Otis Warren
the head of patriot women during the revolution; produced many writings questioning the declining republican values in post-revolutionary America; blamed the “constant state of war”, relaxation of government, sudden fluctuation in money, and new foreign intercourse for the chaos of the 1780s
Letters from a former in Pennsylvania
John Dickinson, Lawyer and author of Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, an incredible popular pamphlet published in the colonies. Argued that Parliament could regulate colonial trade, but could not exercise that power to raise revenue.
In the face of economic shortages and the British military occupation of some regions, men and women mobilized in large numbers to provide financial and material support to the Patriot movement.
answer 4
Despite considerable loyalist opposition, as well as Great Britain’s apparently overwhelming military and financial advantages, the Patriot cause succeeded because of:
the actions of colonial militias and the Continental Army
George Washington’s military leadership
the colonists’ ideological commitment and resilience
assistance sent by European allies
answer 5
