Chapter 4

--Albany Congress: English Board of Trade and Privy Council, to bolster loyalty of allies in America against French advance, called on colonies from VA northward to send representatives to meeting with Iriquois at Albany. Iriquois unimpressed with Bri tish efforts at friendship, in comparison to French displays of military might, ie forts, etc. Albany Congress also proposed that colonies form grand council with authority over defense, westward expansion, and Indian relations. Could raise armies, purcha se Indian lands, etc, and tax. Proposal rejected by colonies: assemblies realied that power to tax was father to every other governmental power. They often used it themselves to control royal governor. Did not want to give this power to any council, and d id not want to lose opportunity to beat out other states in race for Indian lands. England would have vetoed if assemblies had passed the proposal, since did not want colonial union to form, which would be harder to deal with than seperate assemblies. Fro m failure of proposal, English thought that colonies = divided, could never unite, but Indian land issue = most divisive among colonies.

--7 Years' War: George Washington made prelimiary attempts at conquering Ohio valley from French for Virginia, but failed miserably. French = too strong. Virginia called to Brits for help. Although officially at peace with France, Brits sent troops un der Braddock, which = routed in surprise French attack. Colonies = ineffective, too divided to stave off French advances. In 1756, after gaining support of Prussians, England declared full war on France, called 7 Years' War in Europe, French and Indian Wa r in America. At first, Brits lost miserably. Colonies would not yield money or troops to Brits, French won many battles.

--1757, William Pitt took over reigns of British Govt. His objective = to wrench control of America from French, win it for England. Europe loomed less large than America and India. Paid Frederick of Prussia to wage European war, thrust British force to America. Dipped into national treasury, national debt soared, but got resources. Slowly plucked away overseas empires of European rivals, gained control over N. America. George III succeeded his father, tried to reform British politics. In power plays , minister came and went quickly, so colonial policy was inconsistent. Pitt resigned in '61, Earl of Bute succeeded. Bute wanted war to end, did not share Pitt's imperialist ambitions, so when signed Treaty of Paris in 1763, signed away many territories t hat Brits had conquered for sake of balance of power. But French = off of N. American continent. Though many hated Bute for giving way territories, still welcomed peace.

--Question of Imperial Authority: Some said that must reform govt's of colonies now, or else would become ungovernable. Most of colonies had been founded before Parliament's supremacy = established, so were responsible only to king, not Parliament by their charters. But as America became important to England, Parliament paid it more attention, meddled more in its affairs. Some suggested that as it did so, must give Americans votes in Parliament. But none of these measures = adopted, and short-sighted politicians in England estranged American hearts from Britain.

--Proclamation Line: So much effort = invested in winning the continent that British had to guard it. Permanent presence of troops would help supress colonil insubordination and prevent French from trying to re-occupy the continent. Ottowa Indians, un der chieftan Pontiac, attacked English settlements, settlers in far West. Suffered heavy losses before attacks could be stopped. British politicians created Proclamation line along crest of Appalacians to keep colonists close to East Coast, and thus, in B ritish control and away from Indians. Colonists ignored it. British did not realize speed of American growth.

--Grenville's search for revenue: George Grenville, First Lord of the Treasury, had to pay enormous national debt from war. Had also to pay for British occupation of American colonies. American customs service = spending 3 times more money than what t hey collected from taxes.

--1763 Directive: ordered British navy to patrol N. American waters for smugglers of molasses.

--Currency Act, 1764: forbade colonies from making their paper money legal tender. Feared that colonists would try to pay their debts by artifically manipulating exchange rates for English sterling coin, and pay their debts at a low rate.

--Sugar Act, 1764: revised American duties and regulations. Cut duty on molasses in half to make bribing officials not to collect the taxes less attractive. Also imposed new duties on colonial imports of sugar, indigo, coffee, etc. To discourage smugg ling, required that elaborate official papers be filed for every ship entering or exiting a colonial port. Violators could be tried in British Admiralty courts, which = juryless, and whose judges = appointed by, and thus, tried to please the King.

--Stamp Act, '65: tax on all paper goods, legal documents.

--Quartering Act, '65: Any colony in which troops = stationed must furnish them with living uarters, fire, candles, vinegar, bedding, salt, and beer, cider, or rum.

--Colonial Repurcussions: Colonial merchants still thought that remaining molasses tax could ruin rum trade and N. England economy with it. Customs procedures inhibited all kinds of trade. With shortage of money, some merchants = reduced to barter. Mo st shocking aspect of acts = that they seemed to embody new policy--a deliberate attempt to disinherit colonists of their rights as Englishmen. Taxed without representation. Admiralty courts violated right to trial by jury, right of innocence until proven guilty. Also, colonists doubted British intentions of keeping troops in America: all danger seemed gone, but troops stayed on. Why? Thought to suppress the colonists. Taxation without representation violated Lockeian ideal of right to property. Thus, col onists thought that Parliament had right to legislate for them, but not to tax.

--Colonies united in Stamp Act Congress of '65 to oppose Stamp and Sugar Acts. People = organized to demonstrate, threaten mob action, by Sons of Liberty, who used Lockeian idea that people have right to overthrow govt. when it oversteps its power. G renville = deposed back home, replaced by Rockingham, who tried to wipe the Stamp Act off the books. '66: Stamp Act repealed, after Parliament first issued Declaratory Act, giving itself power to legislate for colonies in all cases whatsoever. Repeal, tho ugh, signaled a turn to Old Colonial system, in which England and colonies = reunited.

--Stamp Act Congress taught that colonists shared cmmon interests with each other against Brits. Also found that ideals they thought inherent in the British system of govt. are not shared by most other Englishmen, who denied them most of their rights . Though idea of American representatives in Parliament surfaced occasionally, Americans did not like even that: even if in Parliament, other members could easily outvote them, and representatives would be too far removed from interests of the people. Thi s conflict gave rise to many great politicians who later lead Revolution. Showed colonists their shrinking invested interest in maintaining British rule at home.

--Townshend's Folly: After Rockingham, Townshend. Like Grenville, looked to colonies for revenue. Thought reviving trade would be best source of income. Taxed mny goods legally importable only from England, but ended up only stifling trade of these go ods and encouraging their production in the colonies. Expressed intent of taxes = to pay salaries of officials in colonies, who = hitherto dependent on grants from colonial assemblies for money. Thus, seemed like another attempt to weaken colonial power a nd increase tyranny. Assemblies at the time expressed great disapproval of taxes, but Townshend thought that colonists = becoming more amenable to taxes on trade, since were paying taxes on molasses. But molasses tax = down to 1 penny/gallon, about the co st of bribing officials.

--To ensure that taxes = collected, reorganied the customs service. New customs officials = hated by colonists, who thought them superfluous bureaucrats sent to fatten on toil of Americans. Exceeded everyone's worst expectations. Paperwork = too comp licated, and easy to make mistakes. Corrupt officials could easily find pretext from technicality to seize a ship and its goods, unless bribed by merchants. Since guilty until proven innocent, merchants could easily lose everything. Officers = protected p hysically by fresh troops from Britain. New troops made Americans seriously doubt British intentions. Troops demonstrated that English ministry, if not bent of absolute tyranny or slavery, at least thought Americans below English. Soldiers supported this suspicion with contempt for Americans. Americans returned the favor. But there was no real violence until Mar, 1770: crowd in Boston jeered at redcoats, taunted them to fire. They did so, killing five. Called Boston Massacre.

--In England, sentiment arose againt Townshend's Acts. First Lord of Treasury, Lord North, suggested repeal of all taxes except one on tea, which could not be grown in America. It worked. Restored good will in America toward motherland. Sons of Liber ty = ignored in appeals for further resistance.

--Concord and Discord: New harmony among colonists gave way to new discord that made Brits think American unity impossible. Disputes over election of American bishop. Disputes for land beyond Proclomation line. To Brit. politicians, faction among colo nists and good will to England seemed stronger than actual. Good will to England rested on hope that Parliament = changing from its old policies. Am. hostility to such policies = still strong. Opposition still existed aginst British occupation, corrupt of ficials, admiralty courts, etc. Adams et. al. kept colonists talking of colonial rights by giving wide exposure to all British violations thereof. Gaspee affair: when boat = burned for its outrages on Americans, Brit. Govt. demanded retribution. Suspectin g Rhode Island of not prosecuting case seriously, Brits appointed special commission to investigate incident separately. Bypassed RI courts, infringed rights as Englishmen. Catalyzed formation of Committees of Correspondence to coordinate colonies' views and actions on any issue of common interest.

--Intolerable Acts, Quebec Act: East India Company = in serious financial trouble, govt. had to bail out. Tea Act of May, 1773, relived company of various taxes in England, let it sell its tea directly to colonies. Although American consumer benefited , American te merchants = nuked. Political leaders warned that Tea Act was Brtish ploy to get Americans to accept future taxations, so even consumers rallied against it. Hence, Boston Tea Party. Boston Port act ordered Boston closed until town payed for t ea. Mass. Govt. Act altered Mass's old charter, stating that the governor's council would be appointed by the king, and town meeting could be held only twice each year, unless by express consent of governor. Administration of Justice Act provided that cri minals could be tried in England, away from friendly juries. New Quartering act allowed commanding officers to house their troops in whatever inn they thought appropriate. Called the Intolerable Acts. These acts, instead of teaching colonists submission, taught them that Parliament's supremacy would bring only tyranny. Committees of Correspondence went into action immediately. Arranged for support of Boston, action against the Intolerable Acts, and an intercolonial congress in Sept. Quebec Act established permanent govt. for Canada. Among other things, provided for no Representative Assembly, which colonists thought ominous. Overlapped colonial territorial claims, so when colonists moved west, would have to live under Canada's autocratic govt.

--First Continental Congress: Adopted nonimportation, nonexportation, and nonconsumption agreement, called "The Association," against any trade with GBR, Ireland, and the West Indies. Congress assumed authority over lives of all Americans. All delegat es saw Intolerable Acts as threat to american rights, but exactly what those rights were left Americans divided. Some saw room for reconciliation with Parliament, others to limit its powers, and still others to split completely. Idea that legislative powe r could destroy men's rights as readily as taxation spread rapidly after Intolerable Acts and Gaspee affair. Finally, delegates agreed to deny Parliament any authority over colonies, but agreed to submit to its acts for regulation and trade.

--North secured Parliamentary measure to withhold taxation of any colony that taxed itself, but was silent on other issues. To Americans, seemed only a ploy to draw colonies away from the Union. Many English called for harsher demonstrations of Parli amentary might. Passed fishing restrictions, and took steps to prevent exportation of arms and munitions to colonies. All expected worst, but also underestimated size of enemy. General Gage, governor of Mass, demanded 20,000 soldiers, but got only a few t housand.

--Lexington to Bunker Hill: Colonial militia = carrying off munitions from royal storage points. On Apr. 14, '75, received word from high command to take offensive agaienst rebels. On Apr. 17, sent 700 men to Concord to seize munitions supposedly stor ed there. Americans = already aware of their advance, confronted Brits with militia at Lexington. Brits fired a volley into militia. Soon reached Concord, but colonials already moved almost all munitions stored there. Brits burned a few gun carriages, ret urned to Boston. Colonial militiamen amassed more forces, snipered Brits as they marched in rank to Boston. From then on, Gage = basically held in seige in Boston. Reinforced in summer with 1100 troops, Generals Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton, decided to rol l back the seige. Americans marched 1600 men to Breed's Hill on night of June 16. Howe sent 2200 redcoats to displace rebels by frontal assault. British eventually overtook hill, but a Phyrric victory.

--Second Continental Congress: Royal governors' authority collapsed. Popular assemblies, hitherto under royal authorization, met as extralegal provincial congresses, raising troops, issuing paper money, etc. Second Continental Congress met in Philly, May 1775. People = already united against Britain, so delegates could conduct America's first central government. Ordered transformation of militia around Boston into Continental Army, issued paper money, elected G.W. as commander, and appointed committee to deal with foreign relations. But still, mny members did not want to establish independent nation. Wanted to repudiate Parliamentary authority, laid their case at the feet of the king and their fellow Englishmen. Stated that they had to take up arms, b ut would lay them down as soon as England acknowledged their rights. Such an acknowledgement could have kept colonies in empire. But George III ganged up with North, wanted to subjugate colonists. Did not answer petition. Parliament sent 25,000 more troop s, outlawed all trade, and subjected all ships and goods to confiscation. Each such action weakened colonists' emotional links to England. Both king and Parliament repudiated them, so was a dubious privilege to be English.

--Paine's Common Sense portrayed George III as tyrant with biting eloquence. Reason, he said, forbade America from staying loyal to king. Kindled latent enthusiasm for republican government. Snetiment for independence and republicanism ballooned. Ch ances of reconciliation = basically nil. Individual colonies begn to take steps to independence. Cont. Congress allowed privateering against British ships, opened trade to all other nations, and encouraged establishment of governments based on popular ass ent. Both North and South = ready for independence by Sept 75, but Middle colonies = generally reluctant, still emotionally attached. But soon, feeling wore thin. Also, colonists needed arms and munitions to continue war, and when rumors spread that Engla nd was about engage in Machiavellian maneuver to prevent France and Spain from helping, Congress needed to act fast. Hence, the Declaration: elouent expression of ideals of Locke. Affirmed origin of government in consent of governed, obligation to protect natural rights, and the right of rebellion. Thus, Americans justified themselves in rebelling against England.

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