Unit 4 Revolutions

American Revolution

Middle 1700’s

• Drains on government treasury– French and Indian War—1756-1763 – Seven Years War—1756-1763

• 13 colonies existed for the benefit of the Mother Country—Britain

• England/Britain provided protection for the colonies• Mercantilism• *(England had been through it’s own Revolution in the

1600’s—Puritan Revolution/English Civil War 1640’s & 1650’s and the Glorious Revolution 1688-1689—confirmed Parliament, rule by written law, and wrote the English Bill of Rights)

British policies in the West

• British policies undermined the Amerindian economy provoking Indian raids in Pennsylvania and Virginia

• The raids were suppressed within a year• Fear of more violence force Britain to:

– Proclamation of 1763—placed limits on westward expansion

– Quebec Act of 1774—slowed settlement east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River

American Revolution 1775-1800

• Frontiers and Taxes– British government faced two problems in

North American after 1763• The danger of war with the Indians as Colonists

pushed west of the Appalachians and a rivalry with France

• The need to raise taxes from the Colonists to help pay for the increasing cost of war—both administration and defense

– British attempt to tax or prevent westward expansion provoked the Colonists to protest

British Attempts to Raise Revenue

• British tried to raise money through taxes and commercial regulation– Sugar Act– Stamp Act—tax on written documents, paper, cards, deeds, wills

• Colonists protested and Parliament repealed the tax

– Townshend Act—tax on all imports and exports, glass, metal, etc.

– Tea Act—Colonists protested violently, Boston Tea Party, monopoly on tea for British East India Co.

• Boston Massacre—5 American civilians killed

– Intolerable Acts—series of acts, closed the port of Boston, required Colonists to house British soldiers, etc.—refusal would get one sent to England for trial

British Advantages

• Numbers—more soldiers

• Manufactured goods– Weapons, ammo, clothing

• More money—large treasury

• Experienced, well-trained army

Colonial Advantages

• Fighting at Home—knew the lay of the land

• Fighting for a cause—motivated & determined– Independence– Protecting homes and families

• Aided by the French• Strong leaders—George Washington, had

previously fought with British

Course of Revolution 1775-1783

• Colonial governing bodies established a Continental Congress that printed currency and organized an army

• Ideological rhetoric for support– Thousands of street-corner speakers– Thomas Paine—Common Sense – Declaration of Independence

Course of Revolution 1775-1783 cont’d.

• British forces were sent to colonies– British forces won most battles, but were

unable to control countryside– British forces also unable to achieve a political

compromise to the solution of the colonial problems

• Amerindians served both sides—British and Colonies– Mohawk leader fled to Canada when war was

over

Course of Revolution 1775-1783 cont’d.

• France entered the war in 1778

• Assisted American forces including Naval Warfare that helped General Washington defeat General Cornwallis

• Treaty of Paris in 1783 ended the war granting unconditional independence to the colonies

Prelude to Revolutions

• Rivalry among European powers intensified in the 1600 and 1700’s—growing competition

• Piracy was growing on the seas• Dutch attacked Spanish and Portuguese ships • British placed the Dutch in check• British defeated the French in the Seven Years’ War

1756-1763 taking over French colonial possessions in the Americas and India

• Competition and war led to unprecedented costs– European governments were being forced to seek new sources

of revenue while at the same time, the Enlightenment was inspiring people to question the government

Enlightenment

• Enlightened thinkers sought to apply methods of the Scientific Revolution to the study of Human Society—social studies

Enlightened Thinkers

• John Locke– Argued governments were created to protect

people– Emphasized importance of individual rights

• Jean Jacques Rousseau– Argued the will of the people was sacred

• Voltaire– Argued monarchs could be agents of change

—not a radical or revolutionary per se

Enlightened Thinkers cont’d.

• Some nobility patronized enlightened thinkers– Catherine the Great (Russia) & Frederick the

Great (Prussia) used Enlightened ideas to reform bureaucracies, legal systems, tax systems, & economies BUT, suppressed ideas that promoted republicanism or attacked religion

Enlightened Communication

• Enlightened intellectuals communicated with political leaders– Women were instrumental through dissemination, purchase and

discussion of writings, and making homes a salon for gathering of the minds

• Enlightened ideas became popular with the growing Middle Class in Europe and the Western Hemisphere

• Many saw the Americas as a new, uncorrupted place where the ideas would have a chance

• Benjamin Franklin– Came to symbolize natural genius and vast potential of the

America– His success in business, scientific and intellectual

accomplishments, and political career offered proof that in a free society without chains such as America, that genius could thrive

Folk Culture and Popular Protest

• Most Westerners did not share Enlightened ideas• Most common people were remaining loyal to pre-

industrial tradition• As monarchs tried to change tradition with increases in

authority and power—such as through tax collection—common people began to protest

• Protests were aimed to restore custom and tradition, not bring about revolution

• When combined with conflicts within the Elite, potential for revolution grew