Estudios Interculturales II 1

The American Revolution.

1. Why did colonists, who had until the French and Indian War been proud British
subjects, become patriots fighting for independence? List reasons and support them
with facts.

During the period from 1763 to 1775, in the twelve years after the French and Indian War and
before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, proud British subjects in the American colonies
became anti-British patriots struggling for independence. For many years London’s view on the
colonies was based on a simple policy of “salutary neglect” this changed with the expenses of
the Seven Year War. The reasons that changed this were:

 Mercantilism: money was power and the more reserves they had the more powerful they
were. Colonies provided cheap natural resources such as gold, cotton, timber, tobacco,
sugarcane, and furs. These materials could be shipped back home to the mother country
and converted into manufactured goods, which were resold to the colonists at high prices.
 Grenville and the Sugar War: Due to the French and Indian War, Britain’s reserves were
empty, Parliament levied heavier taxes on British subjects, especially the colonists. First, in
1764, Grenville’s government passed the Sugar Act, which placed a tax on sugar imported
from the West Indies. The Sugar Act represented a significant change in policy: whereas
previous colonial taxes had been levied to support local British officials, the tax on sugar
was enacted solely to refill Parliament’s empty Treasury.
 The Stamp Act: This act was taken as an offense; it was a tax required certain goods to
bear an official stamp showing that the owner had paid his or her tax. Many of these items
were paper goods, such as legal documents and licenses, newspapers, leaflets, and even
playing cards. The act declared that those who failed to pay the tax would be punished by
the vice-admiralty courts without a trial by jury. Colonists were particularly incensed
because the Stamp Act was passed in order to pay for the increased British troop presence
in the colonies.

2. Why did colonists mean by “no taxation without representation”?

In protest, the American public began to cry out against “taxation without representation.” is a
political slogan which expressed one of the primary grievances of the American colonists for Great
Britain. In short, many colonists believed that as they were not represented in the distant British
parliament, any taxes it imposed on the colonists (such as the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts)
were unconstitutional and were a denial of the colonists' rights as Englishmen. In reality, most
colonists weren’t seriously calling for representation in Parliament; a few minor representatives in
Parliament would have been too politically weak to accomplish anything substantive for the
colonies. Rather, the slogan was symbolic and voiced the colonists’ distaste for paying taxes they
hadn’t themselves legislated.

3. What did the Declaratory Act say and what effect did it have on colonists?

The Declaratory Act was a declaration by the British Parliament that accompanied the repeal of
the Stamp Act. It stated that the British Parliament’s taxing authority was the same in America as
in Great Britain. The Declaratory Act proved far more damaging than the Stamp Act had ever
been, because it emboldened Britain to feel that it could pass strict legislation freely, with few
repercussions. It was during the aftermath of the Declaratory Act, from 1766 to 1773, that colonial
resistance to the Crown intensified and became quite violent.
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4. What were the causes and consequences of the Boston Tea Party?

The Americans were protesting both a tax on tea (taxation without representation) and the
perceived monopoly of the East India Company. The Townshend Acts passed by Parliament,
raised such a storm of colonial protest and noncompliance that they were repealed. The
merchants of Boston circumvented the act by continuing to receive tea smuggled in by Dutch
traders. In 1773 Parliament passed a Tea Act designed to aid the financially troubled East India
Company by granting it,

 a monopoly on all tea exported to the colonies.

A group of about 60 men, encouraged by a large crowd of Bostonians, marched to Griffin’s wharf
(port), boarded the ships, and dumped the tea chests into the water. In retaliation, Parliament
passed the series of punitive measures known in the colonies as the Intolerable Acts, including the
Boston Port Bill, which shut off the city’s sea trade pending payment for the destroyed tea. The
British government’s efforts to single out Massachusetts for punishment served only to unite the
colonies and impel the drift toward war.

5. What resolutions were passed during the First Continental Congress and what new ideas
were put forward there?

The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from 12 of the 13 British colonies
that became the United States. It met from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after the British Navy instituted a blockade of Boston Harbor and
the Parliament of Great Britain passed the punitive Intolerable Acts. Although rebellion against the
Crown was at this point still far from certain, leaders believed grievances had to be redressed to
Parliament and King George III. The delegates met for nearly two months and concluded with a
written Declaration of Rights and requests to Parliament, George III, and the British people to
repeal the Coercive Acts so that harmony could be restored.
The Continental Congress delegates decided that until the Coercive Acts were repealed, a
stronger system of nonimportation agreements, patriotic colonists argued that the purchase of
any British-produced goods only perpetuated the servile relationship the colonies had to London
under the system of mercantilism. The Congress therefore created the Committees of
Observation and Safety and gave them the task of making sure no citizens purchased British
merchandise under the authority of the Continental Association.

6. What is the significance of the Battle of Lexington and Concord?

By 1775, colonial resentment toward Britain had become a desire for rebellion. Many cities and
towns organized volunteer militias of “minutemen”—named for their alleged ability to prepare for
combat at the drop of a hat—who began to drill openly in public common areas. The British arrived
in Concord only to be ambushed by the Concord militia, the British retreated to Boston after more
than 270 in their unit were killed, compared to fewer than 100 Americans. The minutemen’s victory
encouraged patriots to redouble their efforts and at the same time convinced King George III to
commit military forces to crushing the rebellion. Almost immediately, thousands of colonial
militiamen set up camp around Boston, laying siege to the British position. The battle initiated a
chain of events, starting with the militia siege of Boston and the Second Continental Congress that
kicked the Revolutionary War into high gear.
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7. What important measures were taken by the Second Continental Congress?

The Second Continental Congress was convened a few weeks after the Battle of Lexington and
Concord to decide just how to handle the situation, some important measures taken were:

 Created a new country that it first named the United Colonies, and in 1776, renamed the
United States of America.
 A “De Facto” government was set up.
 It allowed raising militias, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and writing petitions
such as the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms and the Olive
Branch Petition.
 George Washington was selected to command the militia surrounding Boston, renaming
it the Continental Army.

8. What effect did Thomas Paine´s 1776 pamphlet Common Sense have on American public
opinion?

Common Sense made a clear case for independence and directly attacked the political, economic,
and ideological obstacles to achieving it. Paine relentlessly insisted that British rule was
responsible for nearly every problem in colonial society and that the 1770s crisis could only be
resolved by colonial independence. It compelled the American people because it resonated with
their firm belief in liberty and determined opposition to injustice. The message was powerful
because it was written in relatively blunt language that colonists of different backgrounds could
understand.

9. What reasons did different groups have for supporting Britain?

The group of people who supported the British were called The Royalists; they had several
reasons for choosing to support Britain. Some, including many wealthy merchants, Anglican
clergymen, and officials, disagreed with Parliament’s policies but felt that it was not right to
challenge British rule. Others were political conservatives who preferred the status quo. Many
ethnic minorities, including blacks and Native Americans, also backed Britain, fearful that
victorious white Americans would trample (pisotear) their rights.
The Native Americans were particularly fearful of future American expansion into their lands, and
the majority of tribes chose to support. Britain Most believed that the British were a sure bet and
that the rebellious colonies stood almost no chance of winning. The ultimate British surrender was
a huge loss for Native Americans: white settlers were already pushing westward, and after the war,
they felt justified in their taking of native lands .
African Americans generally supported the British because an American victory would only keep
them in slavery. Most who had the opportunity chose to flee to British and Loyalist areas that
promised freedom from slavery. Consequently, colonies both north and south lost tens of
thousands of slaves.
Undecided colonists some men and women were neither patriots nor Loyalists and opted to take
a wait-and-see approach.

10. When was the Declaration of Independence signed and what was are its main points?

The document announced the separation of 13 North American British colonies from Great Britain.
The Congress appointed a committee of five to write the formal declaration. Thomas Jefferson
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wrote the first draft, drew heavily on the political theories that English philosopher John Locke had
outlined in his book On Civil Government.

 God made all men equal and gave them the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness.
 the main business of government is to protect these rights.
 If a government tries to withhold these rights, the people are free to revolt and to set up a
new government.

The Declaration did not establish the independence of the American colonies. Complete
separation from Britain would have to be accomplished by force. Once the Declaration had been
adopted, however, there was no turning back.

11. What advantages did the colonists enjoy during the war?

 One strength was the patriotism of their people. Many colonists willingly gave their lives to
defend their liberty, homes, children, families, and friends.
 Countries such as a France, and to a lesser extent Spain, aided the Americans from abroad.
France, motivated by a hatred of the English, provided roughly 85-90 percent of the
Americans’ gunpowder in the wars’ first two years.
 The Americans final great strength was in their commander. George Washington was a very
experienced and talented leader.
 Geography also gave the Americans advantages, to the British forces, the North American
terrain was unusually rugged: New England was rocky and cold in winter, the South was
boggy and humid in the summer, and the western frontier was almost impenetrable because
of muddy roads and thick forests. In addition, because American settlements were spread
out across a vast range of territory, the British had difficulty mounting a concentrated fight
and transporting men and supplies. American troops, on the other hand, were used to the
terrain and had little trouble.

12. What events brought the revolutionary war to an end?

Though the war went on for several years, American popular support for it, especially after France
and Spain entered the fray, remained high. The motivation for rebellion remained strong at all
levels of society. Although the United States did not really “win” the war—there were no clearly
decisive battles either way—it was able to survive long enough against the British to come to an
impasse. The support in England for the war was low. In Parliament, many Whigs denounced the
war as unjust
 The surrender at Yorktown: The siege of Yorktown was the last major land battle of the
American Revolutionary War in North America, and led to the surrender of Cornwallis and the
capture of both him and his army. The Continental Army's victory at Yorktown prompted the
British government to negotiate an end to the conflict.
 The peace of Paris: The war came to an official close in September 1783, when Britain, the
United States, France, and Spain negotiated the Peace of Paris. The treaty granted vast
tracts of western lands to the Americans and recognized the United States as a new and
independent country.