AMERICA
: THE LAST BEST HOPE
CHAPTER 3
The Greatest Revolution
(1765-1783)
Key British Prime
Ministers
1763 George Grenville
1765 Charles WatsonWentworth, Marquess of
Rockingham
1766 William Pitt the Elder
1767 Augustus Fitzroy,
Duke of Grafton
1770 Frederick North,
Lord North
TEACHER
The pride American colonists felt as citizens of the British empire after
defeating France in the French and Indian War was quickly challenged
as the British attempted to climb out of debt following the conflict. It is
important to teachers and students to discuss both the colonial and British
perspectives on the new taxes and regulations imposed after the war. The
British saw it as completely reasonable to tighten enforcement of the
Navigation Acts (on the books for a century, but largely ignored) and impose
new taxes on the colonists. After all, the war against France had been fought
on the colonists’ behalf and had led to a financial crisis for the mother
country. It was time for the colonials to pay their own way, particularly the
cost of the additional troops necessary to protect new territories won in the
war. Students will also want to research the meaning of mercantilism and
understand how Britain saw the role of the colonies in the economic system
of the empire.
But the colonists had totally different views. To them, the Stamp Tax was
clearly an infringement upon their “rights as Englishmen” -- rights they
could trace back to the Magna Carta. Chief among those rights was the
right not to be taxed without representation. No one in England would
disagree, but people on different sides of the Atlantic could not even agree on
the meaning of representation. The British talked of virtual representation
while colonists such as Patrick Henry insisted on actual representation. They
also debated the difference between internal and external taxes. In fact, the
colonies and the mother country had grown apart over the decades and now
barely understood one another. The crisis of the 1760s only made that gulf
more readily apparent.
The Stamp Act Congress of 1765 was a key turning point on the road
toward revolution. Bennett includes key resolutions passed by that
Congress. Students should note that although there is a strong declaration
of rights, there is still a strong statement of loyalty to both the king and to
Parliament. Students should be challenged to see the great contrast between
this document and the Declaration of Independence 11 years later. They
will want to evaluate what changed in that time span. Colonial boycotts,
protests and violence forced Parliament to repeal the Stamp Tax, but
students should clearly note that the Declaratory Act passed along with the
repeal made clear Parliament’s insistence on being supreme to the colonies in
“all cases whatsoever.” Colonists missed that message in their celebrations
AMERICA
: THE LAST BEST HOPE
TEACHER
over the repeal of the tax they hated. England had backed down and
relations would never be the same.
Photo: 1 Patrick Henry addresses the
Virginia House of Burgesses during the
Stamp Act crisis. (National Archives)
Following the Stamp Tax, students will want to chart the spiral toward a
break in relations over the next decade. From the proclamation of 1763 to
the Townsend duties to the Quartering Act to issues of writs of assistance
and the suspension of trial by jury – the colonies and the mother country
drifted further apart as England tried to tighten administration that had
been lax over a century of “salutary neglect.” The colonists were having none
of it and protested every step of the way. Students should be challenged
to find reference to each of these government “abuses” reflected in both
Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence and later in the Bill of Rights to the
Constitution.
The cycle of British repression and colonial protest grew progressively
more violent in the 1770s with the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea
Party. British responses became more repressive with measures such as the
Coercive Acts of 1774. Bennett points out that as the British became more
forceful, a new colonial union was born. This is reflected in the calling of
the First Continental Congress of 1774, which encouraged colonists to arm
themselves. Thus British actions were counter-productive. But even the few
voices in Parliament who could see this (William Pitt and Edmund Burke)
were drowned out by cries to make the colonists behave.
Photo: 2 The Boston Massacre.
(National Archives)
Accounts of Lexington and Concord give students an excellent chance to
analyze primary sources and see the challenge historians face when trying
to determine who really did fire the first shot of the war. Bennett’s account
gives an excellent overview of the military campaigns of the war, from New
England to Canada to New York and finally to the South. Teachers will
find numerous topics for class discussion. Examples include: How critical
was George Washington’s leadership to American victory? What made him
a great leader of the Independence effort? What key victories turned the
tide? Could America have won the war without French help? Why didn’t
Canadian colonists join the war for Independence (despite the efforts of
Franklin)?
Teachers will also want students to evaluate how Americans themselves came
to accept the idea of independence and see themselves as a new nation. At
what point did the war become a war of liberation rather than a violent
dispute with the mother country? As Bennett points out, Thomas Paine’s
Common Sense clearly moved Americans toward a new acceptance of
nationhood and Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence made the break
official to the world. Still, many Americans remained loyal to the crown.
AMERICA
: THE LAST BEST HOPE
TEACHER
Bennett points out that many battles (especially in the South) very much
had the characteristics of civil war between loyalists (Tories) and rebels.
What factors determined where a colonist stood on this historic question?
Bennett makes a strong argument that the founders who signed the
Declaration of Independence truly did mean all men are created equal.
Some historians would disagree, citing the obvious fact that the nation still
had slavery and did not include women or Indians in the political process.
Students can debate Bennett’s view and analyze his evidence that the
message of America was indeed universal from the beginning.
Photo: 3 Thomas Paine, author of
Common Sense. (National Archives)
The Peace of Paris (1783) recognized America’s independence and granted
the new nation lands all the way to the Mississippi River. Bennett points
out, though, that the drama of the war was not over until the presence of
George Washington quelled desperate, hungry, unpaid American troops
and prevented chaos. Then his retirement and surrender of military
power separated him from virtually all military strongmen in history.
Students might be challenged to learn about an ancient Roman general
named Cincinnatus and understand why some early Americans referred to
Washington as the “American Cincinnatus.”