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Winning
Freedom
The Road to Rebellion
New British Policies
The British government faced large debts because the French and Indian
War had cost a great deal of money. Many British leaders thought the colonies
should help pay part of the war debts. These leaders said that the war
had been fought in large measure to protect the colonies from the French
and their Indian allies.
Several groups of Indians in the Ohio Valley rose against the British
in 1763. This was called Pontiac's Rebellion, after the chief of the Ottawa
who led it. Many British forts were captured before peace was made in 1766.
The fighting showed the fear of the Indians of further loss of their land
to the British colonies.
The British placed restrictions of Western movement, trade, and manufacturing
on the colonies after 1763.
The Grenville Acts
King George III called for the enforcement of laws in the colonies. George
Grenville first enforced the Navigation Acts which required colonists to
trade with Great Britain only.
Sugar Act: a tax on sugar, wines, and coffee set up to raise money from
the colonists. It was strictly enforced.
Stamp Act and Quartering Act: Stamp- people had to buy a stamp to put
on all newspapers, pamphlets, contracts, wills, and certain other printed
materials. The money raised would pay for British troops stationed in the
colonies. Quartering- required colonists to provide barracks and supplies
for British troops.
The colonists objected British taxes as they felt the British actions
were improper and illegal and an attempt to ruin the colonial economy.
Colonial Response
Representation: Colonists favored direct representation because they believed
they were not represented by virtual representation.
Stamp Act Congress: The colonists organized a boycott by which they refused
to buy British goods. Patrick Henry argued that "taxation without
representation is tyranny!"
Patriots tarred and feathered loyalists who did not support the boycott
of British goods.
Repeal of Stamp Act: British merchants began complaining that Americans
were not buying their goods so Parliament repealed the Stamp Act; however,
they also passed the Declaratory Act which let the colonists know that
it had the right to pass laws for the colonies in all cases.
Townschend Acts
Continued Protests: groups like the Sons of Liberty were formed to enforce
the boycott of British goods and to scare British officials stationed in
the colonies.
Boston Massacre: On March 5, 1770, a British soldier got into a brawl
with a civilian workman. This triggered an evening of protests by bands
of colonists who roamed the streets. Finally, a squad of Redcoats, led
by Captain Thomas Preston, fired into a small mob agitating in front of
the hated Customs House. Three colonists died instantly, and two others
were mortally wounded. British authorities promptly withdrew the troops
from Boston.
Boston Tea Party
To protest a tax on tea, on the night of December 16, 1773, a band of
Bostonians--lamely disguised as Indians--boarded three ships in Boston
harbor and dumped a cargo of tea chests overboard. The act triggered similar "tea
parties" in ports up and down the coast.
The Intolerable Acts
Intended to restore order to Massachusetts, the Intolerable Acts boomeranged,
leading the colonies to recognize their common cause and to convene the
First Continental Congress.
Continental Congress
The Congress met in Philadelphia during September 1774, and only Georgia
failed to send delegates. The 56 delegates who convened represented the
full spectrum of colonial thought, from radicals who wanted to sever all
ties with England, to conservatives who wanted to find a way to heal the
breach with England.
The Congress took two major steps. As some delegates wished, a letter
of grievances was sent to the king. The letter accepted Parliament's right
to govern colonial trade, but it asked Parliament to repeal laws that had
been passed since 1763. These were the laws to which the Americans objected.
The Final Break
Events that led to the outbreak of war include an attempt by English soldiers
to seize the patriot's military supplies; and resulted in fighting with
minutemen at Lexington and Concord.
Lexington and Concord: "By rude bridge that arched the flood,/ Their
flag to April's breeze unfurled,/ Here once the embattled farmers stood,/
And fired the shot heard round the world."--Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Second Continental Congress: For those still hoping for peace, the delegates
sent King George III one last appeal--the Olive Branch Petition. George
III turned it down and declared the Americans to be rebels. The time for
appeals was over. The Second Continental Congress became a government for
the Patriots in revolt.
War for Independence
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence cast the American struggle for independence
in a noble light as a profound gesture "in the course of human events." Inspired
by the great English political philosopher John Locke, Thomas Jefferson
listed the "inalienable rights" of humankind. These included
life and liberty, but where Locke had listed property as the third right,
Jefferson specified "the pursuit of happiness." The purpose of
government, Jefferson declared, was "to secure these rights." When
government ceased to serve its just purpose, it was the right and duty
of "the governed" to withdraw their allegiance. And that is what
the colonists had done. Jefferson's document was adopted by Congress on
July 4, 1776.
The Early War
The commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution was
George Washington.
Battles in the Northeast: early fighting took place in New England, especially
around Boston. In June 1775, the Americans narrowly lost the Battle of
Bunker Hill. In early 1776, Washington moved his troops to New York; however,
after a series of battles the British forced Washington to withdraw his
troops to Pennsylvania by winter 1776. Washington launched a surprise attack
on Christmas night. His forces crossed the Delaware river into New Jersey
and captured the British garrison at Trenton. They defeated a second British
force at Princeton on January 3, 1777.
British Strategy: The British hoped to gain control of the Hudson River
Valley of New York. They could then cut off New England from the rest of
the colonies and secure British control of New York and Philadelphia. The
plan was a failure as some British commanders did not follow their orders
and left each other unprotected. British General John Burgoyone was then
defeated at Saratoga in October 1777.
Significance of Saratoga: The Battle of Saratoga was important to Americans
because it brought France into the war on the side of the colonies.
Organizing the War
The Continental Congress had a hard time raising money to continue the
war. They borrowed as much as $10 million from friendly countries like
France, Spain, and Holland.
The Continental Army was held together largely through the leadership
of General Washington. They seldom had the food and supplies they desperately
needed. Some 300,000 colonists served in the military during the war. Washington
had experienced field commanders, and he had a number of soldiers who helped
from other countries.
The part women played in the American Revolution: some women served in
the Continental Army; others cooked and cared for the ill near battlefields;
most remained at home to run farms and businesses.
War in the West
The British and their Indian allies attacked American settlers along the
frontier. The Kentucky militia, led by George Rogers Clark, swept through
what is today Illinois and Indiana and overran British posts in the summer
and fall of 1778. By 1779, the Americans controlled the area between the
Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River.
War at Sea
The British depended on Britain's ability to keep lines of trade and supplies
open.
In 1775, Congress authorized the building of 13 warships to patrol rivers
and harbors.
This navy was no match for the British; however, private ships disrupted
the British supply lines.
France's entrance into the war on the side of the Americans shored up
the American "navy."
Captain John Paul Jones made raids on the British coast which forced the
British to keep part of their navy at home.
War in the South
At the end of the war most of the fighting took place in the South (loyalist
support was strong in the South). The British controlled the ports of Charleston,
South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia and all of Georgia by 1778. Charleston
surrendered to the British in 1780.
As the British moved inland they were constantly attacked by colonial
militia.
By 1781, British General Cornwallis retreated to Virginia. He moved to
Yorktown (the site of the last major battle during the American Revolution)
on the Atlantic coast to rest his soldiers and get supplies.
General Washington saw a chance to trap Cornwallis and sent a large force
to block the British by land. Lafayette's French soldiers joined with the
Americans. In August 1781, a French fleet of warships blocked the British
from the sea. Cornwallis surrendered which virtually ended the Revolutionary
War.
The Treaty of Paris of 1783 ended the war between the colonies and Great
Britain and established American Independence.
Great Britain recognized American independence. The boundaries of the
new nation were set at Canada in the north, the Mississippi River in the
west, and Florida in the south. Spain was given Florida, and both the United
States and Great Britain were granted trading rights on the Mississippi.
America also got fishing rights in the waters off Newfoundland and Nova
Scotia.
With the conclusion of the War for Independence, the 13 British colonies
had become the United States.
The Meaning of Freedom
Political Results
Each of the 13 colonies had formed state governments during the American
Revolution. These governments took over when British officials lost their
control.
Americans limited the authority of new state governments created during
the war because of fear of limitless authority.
Social Results
The American Revolution had no effects on the rights of women.
Many slaves fought in the war, but few benefited from the American Revolution.
Economic Results
Economic problems the government faced after the War for Independence
include: it was in debt to its allies; and an abundance of printed money
lowered the value of money already in use.
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