Causes of the American Revolution Flashcards
(62 cards)
What was national debt like after the 7yrs war?
-national debt had doubled over the course of the war
-cost of the French-Indian War had contributed greatly to this
How did the defence of NA change after the 7yrs war?
-gov decided 10,000 British troops were needed as a permanent standing army in NA
-wanted to protect British possessions which stretched from Florida in the South to Canada
-colonial boundaries were moving west + Native Americans attacks would increase
What were costs like after the 7yrs war?
-cost of colonial administration and defence was high (wanted colonists to contribute)
1748: £70,000
1763: £350,000
What happened to westward expansion after the 7yrs war?
-needed a policy for westward expansion
-had to consider the needs of land settlement + fur trade + native Americans
What happened to Canada after the 7yrs war?
-gov had to provide for 80,000 French Canadians living under British rule
What happened during Pontiac’s rebellion in 1763?
-taken British forces and bribes to defeat rebellion
-confirmed that the colonies were unable or unwilling to defend themselves
-seen as justification for the demands that the colonies must contribute to defence
What was the Currency Act and when was it?
-1764
-banned colonial paper money
-aimed at Virginia
-deflationary effects of the act threatened some colonists with ruin
What was the Proclamation Act and when was it?
1763
-colonists were prohibited from settling west of a line beyond the Appalachians
-establish Native American reserve
-speculators wanted to expand westward
-by 1768 the lines was meaningless
-at least 30,000 moved west 1763-68
What were the 1763 Anti-smuggling measures?
-customs officials had to reside in the colonies
-revenue cases would be heard via a vice-admiralty court in Nova Scotia
-challenged trial by jury + colonial legal system
What was the 1764 Sugar Act?
-duty on molasses and sugar were reduced + more strictly enforced
-Rum distillers (new England) were proper upset
-penalties were now imposed on corrupt customs officials
When was the Stamp Act?
1765
What was the Stamp Act?
-Grenville introduced a tax on documents (confirmed by affixation of a stamp)
-50 items (newspapers, legal documents, insurance policies + playing cards) were affected
-direct direct tax imposed by Parliament on the colonists
What were the Virginia resolves?
-Virginia House of Burgesses adopted 5 of Patrick Henry’s ‘Virginia Resolves’
-asserted parliament had no right to tax the colonists
-newspapers printed the 7 resolves (including those not endorsed)
-other assemblies issued their own resolves
What was the Stamp Act Congress?
-delegates from 9 colonies met in NY
-congress declared that parliament had no right to impose taxes in the colonies + called for reform of Grenville’s reforms
How did pamphlets change after the Stamp Act?
-mid 1765 colonies had many pamphlets declaring that Parliament had no right to tax the colonies
-argued it was a big fat conspiracy
Stamp Act and Mob Action:
-Sam Adams led the Loyal Nine: co-ordinated mob action against Stamp Act
Andrew Oliver Stamp distributor: mob hung effigies from ‘Liberty Tree’ + destroyed property and homes of Oliver and Hutchinson + Oliver and other Stamp distributors resigned
Who were the sons of Liberty?
-by Autumn 1765 men leading mob action had formed a semi-secret society known as Sons of Liberty
-members were colonial elite, merchants, artisans and intellectuals
-appealed to boycott British goods + merchants signed non-importation agreements
What were the Townshend duties?
-paid directly to the British government
-1767: duties on colonial imports of glass, wine, china, lead, paint, paper and tea
-were light duties that he thought America would accept
What was the American Board of Customs Commissioners?
-used to tighten enforcement of duties
-established by Townshend
-based in Boston + directly responsible to Britain
-gave colonial customs officials greater powers
What was the 1765 Quartering act?
-colonial assemblies were required to provide quartering and supplies for British troops in America
-most compiled with act
-NY refused (burden on them was unfair)
What was the 1767 New York Restraining Act?
-NY assembly suspended until it complied with the Quartering Act
-NY assembly complied with the Quartering act eventually
What was the impact of Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer?
-most influential pamphlet
-John Dickinson
-parliament did not have the right to tax colonists without consent (internal or external duties)
-‘no taxation without representation’
-condemned the British suspension of NY assembly
What was the political response to the Townshend duties?
-Massachusetts assembly sent out a circular letter denouncing the duties
-appealed to the other colonies for collective action
-7 assemblies endorsed the letter
What was the economic response to the Townshend duties?
-Boston boycott against Britain
-1769 every colony except NH had non-importation associations
-committees of inspection established to enforce non-importation
-merchants who refused had their warehouses attacked
