INPI History of the USA. MODULE II
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Module II: The War for Independence
“Few observers thought the American revolutionaries could win a war against the world’s
greatest empire. The Americans lost most of the battles in the Revolutionary War, but eventually
forced the British to sue for peace and grant the colonies their independence.”
Quoted from America a Narrative History. Vol 1, Ch 6.
---- What beliefs and events fuelled the conflict between the British colonies
and the mother country?
1. John Locke’s philosophy. The enlightenment in America.
The War for Independence was not only ignited by revolutionary reactions to the imperial
interference in local government and the enforcement of the mercantile system. The beliefs in
people’s natural rights and a representative form of government challenged the whole idea of
government by kings and aristocrats and fuelled the war itself.
John Locke
Available from this link.
Complete the tasks below:
1. Read the articles about John Locke’s philosophy and The Enlightenment.
2. Discuss the answers to the following questions in class.
o
What was Locke’s second treatise about? What did he think about the belief in the Divine
right of Kings that prevailed in Britain? Explain this.
o
Was Locke’s philosophy influential in the development of colonial government? Support
your answer with examples.
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2. Territorial disputes. The colonies and their neighbours: the French, the Indians and the
Spanish.
Introduction
The British and colonial forces went to war with the French in North America. This military
conflict was called the French and Indian War. The actions, which lasted nine years, 1754 - 1763,
brought about the victory of the British Empire over the French. However, it also marked the
starting point of a rising conflict between the colonies and the British Crown. The colonists started
to rethink their traditional relationship with their parent country - and to decide ultimately that the
relationship had to change.
Look at the map below, which shows the French, Spanish and
British territories in 1754 before the war.
The reasons for the French and Indian War
By the mid-1700s British colonists felt crowded, especially in New England. According to
English custom, fathers tried to provide their sons with land; New Englanders now found it
increasingly difficult to do so since Americans were having many children and there was simply
not enough accessible and fertile land to go around. This apparent shortage of land worried many
Americans, and rose tensions between parents and children.
Could the colonies survive if they remained cramped along the Atlantic
Ocean?
For many colonists, the answer was clearly NO. Consequently, they started moving into
the interior of North America in search of land on which they could stake their independence. This
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intrusion of the English alarmed the French as well as the Native Americans. By the early 1750s,
it was clear that some kind of explosion was rapidly approaching.
Who started the war? Some enterprising Virginians crossed the Appalachians into the
Ohio River Valley to trade with the Indians and survey 200,000 acres of land granted them by
King George. This move infuriated the French, who saw this activity as a threat to their holdings
so they set about building a line of forts in the disputed area.
In spite of the new French fortifications, the wheel of fortune was on the British side.
Firstly, the British colonists outnumbered the French, and had the support of the British sea power.
Secondly, the French involvement in North America never approached that of the British, who
had populated and developed large coastal areas. The French colonists had established trading
outposts because their interest was mainly trading European goods for fur but they had not
established a large number of farms. In the end, the British were victorious.
The war lasted nine years and it was known as the French and Indian War. Spain became
part of it in 1761, but it met the same fate as the French.
The end came with the Peace of Paris in 1763. The war meant a significant blow to French
power in North America as Britain took all France’ s possessions east of the Mississippi River
(except New Orleans), several islands in the West Indies, and all of Spanish Florida. In
compensation for the loss of Florida, Spain received Louisiana from France.
The consequences of the victory over the French:
1- The annexation of new territory. The British crown greatly expanded its territory in
North America. The new Western frontier was the Mississippi River. See the map below.
Image available from this link
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2- The British-American relations became severely strained.
Read the information on the link: the colonists felt they were different from the British.
Answer: How did the French and Indian war challenge colonial thinking?
Do you support the colonists’ view? Give reasons.
3- Administrative and political problems for imperial Britain. These were:
The defence and governance of the new American possessions
The development of the newly acquired lands
The management of the greater and more complex colonial administration
The payment of a large debt built up during the war
The issues were of such a complexity that could hardly be dealt with by George III’s
ministers. The Hanoverian king himself was obstinate and largely dependent on his advisers while
parliamentary policies depended on personal loyalties, family connections and local interests
rather than on diplomatic vision. The outcome was a changing policy that moved from
inconsistency to inflexibility.
---- Steps to the British-American War for Independence:
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Parliamentary Acts
Colonial reactions: street protests, parades, bonfires, meetings and antiBritish propaganda
The Continental Congresses
The Declaration of Independence
The war
The British, under the pressure of a large debt, put an end to the policy of salutary neglect.
Now Parliament would deliberately interfere with the colonial matters shifting from a mercantile to
an imperial policy, disrupting old traditions and accepted customs. The mother country’s moneyraising policy provoked colonial suspicions and stirred up a storm of protest and popular
resentment. The widespread protests encouraged colonial unity, as protesting Americans
discovered that they had more in common with each other than with London.
The reading material for this section includes pages 130 to 139 in G.B.TINDALL &
D.E.SHI (2004) America a Narrative History, volume 1.
1. Webgraphy. Do research work.
Images: Timelines that describe the Steps to the Revolutionary War.
Watch the video (3:50 min) Colonists Protest British Policies
Watch the video: The sons of liberty and the Boston Tea Party.
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Online article: The colonies fight for their rights
2. Discuss the following topics
a. What Parliamentary Acts did the British government pass to solve its financial
and governance problems caused by the cost of the French and Indian War?
Provide (at least two) examples.
b. Describe three reactions to the imperial policy in the colonies.
Illustration
John Lamb speaking at the Sons of Liberty
Meeting at New York City Hall
Available from this link.
Anti-British propaganda in the colonies
Different newspaper articles, pamphlets, speeches, letters and essays fuelled colonial
resistance. For example, in the days following the Boston massacre The Boston Gazette characterized the massacre as part of an ongoing scheme to "quell a Spirit of Liberty", and harped
on the negative consequences of quartering troops in the city.
Some other writings spread the idea that Parliament had no right to levy taxes for revenue
and made the slogan “no taxation without representation” become familiar. An example of these
were the essays of John Dickinson, a Philadelphia lawyer, published by the colonial press. Later
in 1767, Dickinson’s Letters of a Pennsylvania Farmer began to appear in the Pennsylvania
Chronicle. Similarly, Samuel Adams, who organized town meetings and Boston protests, wrote
provocative articles and letters. In 1768 Adams and another lawyer formulated a circular letter,
which stated the illegality of Parliamentary taxation and invited the other colonies to join in a
boycott of British goods.
Thomas Paine (see the picture) and his contribution to the
independence.
Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet called Common Sense in early
1776. The writing, which was a call to both, educated and
uneducated, dealt with the political controversy of the time.
Image available from this link.
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---- The Continental Congresses
The climax of the conflict: the 1770s
The conflict between the colonies and their mother country exploded into rebellion in the
1770s. The colonists felt they should be united and organize resistance against the impositions
of the imperial administration. Representatives of every colony except for Georgia met in
Philadelphia on Sept. 5th, 1774 to take some decisions on the unhappy state of the colonies. This
first significant meeting was called the First Continental Congress, and there were others that
followed.
In London the King was raging at the state of resistance and rebellion. All through late
1774 and early 1775 events in the colonies were moving beyond conciliation.
The picture shows delegates at Congress
Available from this link
Read
The reading material for this section includes pages 139 to 145 in G.B.TINDALL &
D.E.SHI (2004) America a Narrative History, volume 1.
Answer
What three main resolutions were adopted by the Continental Congresses in
Philadelphia? What were they aimed at? Complete the box below.
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The Continental Congresses in Philadelphia
1774 - 1775
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One of the resolutions of the two-month long Convention was the Declaration of Rights
and Grievances. John Adams drafted the Declaration, which stated the colonial position about
Parliamentary policy on domestic affairs within America.
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George Washington wrote to a friend saying that
“the crisis is arrived when we must assert our rights, or submit to every imposition that
can be heaped upon us, till custom and use shall make us tame and abject slaves, as the
blacks we rule over with such arbitrary way.”
Quoted from America a Narrative History. Vol 1, Ch 5.
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King George III of England disregarded the colonial petitions and had no intention of making
concessions. He wrote:
“New England colonies are in a state of rebellion. Blows must
decide whether they are to be subject to this country or
independent.”
Quoted from America a Narrative History. Vol 1. Ch 5.
Picture of king George available from this link
---- The Declaration of Independence of the United States of
America
July 4, 1776
The United States Declaration of Independence is a single-page statement written by a
committee headed by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Continental Congress in 1776. It
is considered the birth of the USA.
Why was The Declaration of Independence written?
The main purpose of the document was to explain the reasons for wanting separation
from Great Britain. The committee who wrote the Declaration was formed by Thomas Jefferson,
Ben Franklin, John Adams, Robert Livingston, & Roger Sherman. These patriots understood the
importance of official recognition from foreign powers and they also intended to persuade many
colonists who still favoured union with Great Britain.
Read
The reading material for this section includes pages 145 to 149 in G.B.TINDALL &
D.E.SHI (2004) America a Narrative History, volume 1.
Click on The Declaration of Independence. Then, complete the task:
Highlight quotes that refer to:
a- religious beliefs
b- enlightenment ideas
c- representation
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---- The war comes to an end
On February 1782 the House of Commons voted against the continuing of the war and
on March 5 authorized the crown to make peace. There was a peace agreement signed in Paris.
Great Britain recognized the independence of the United States and agreed to a Mississippi River
boundary to the west while the northern and southern borders left ambiguities that required further
definition. In the case of Florida, it passed back to Spain.
The painting below depicts the surrender of British Major General Charles, Earl Cornwallis at
Yorktown, Virginia on October 19, 1781 virtually guaranteeing American independence.
Available from this link.
---- Shaping the Republic. The USA Constitution
The reading material for this section includes pages 180 to 183, 206 to 209 and
216 in G.B.TINDALL & D.E.SHI (2004) America a Narrative History, volume 1.
When the thirteen colonies first became independent states, each state had its own
government. These governments worked together under a Confederacy called the Articles of
Confederation, which lasted from 1781 to 1788. It was a decentralized form of government in
which the Congress of the Confederation had less power than the colonies had accepted in
Parliament, as the greatest fear of the states was to create a strong centralized government.
In 1787 Congress decided to call a convention for revising the kind of union the states
had. The meeting, where delegates worked hard for four months, was called the Constitutional
Convention. Although there were some differences on political philosophy, the delegates agreed
on certain fundamentals:
-- government derived its power from the consent of the people
-- the society should be protected from the tyranny of the majority
-- the people must have a voice in their government
-- the government should have a system of checks and balances
-- a stronger central authority was essential
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The outcome was a new plan of government and the document was the Constitution.
The United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are the two
most important documents in the history of the United States.
What is the United States "Constitution"?
The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States.
It provides the framework for the organization of the United States Government. It was adopted
by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 17, 1787. The first
10 Amendments are known as the United States Bill of Rights.
The amendments of the Bill of Rights all start with the phrase "Congress shall NOT
_____", except for the 10th Amendment which says in effect "if we forgot anything, Congress may
NOT do that either".
"No one can read our Constitution without concluding that the people who wrote it wanted
their government severely limited; the words "NO" and "NOT" employed in restraint of government
power occur 24 times in the first seven articles of the Constitution and 22 more times in the Bill of
Rights." —
Edmund A. Opitz.
Classroom activity
Read the description of the US Constitution
Answer the questions below.
Finally, share your answers with your partners.
1. How many parts are there in the Constitution? What is each part about?
2. How many branches of government were set up by the Constitutional Convention?
3. Why is the U.S. Constitution considered a great document?
---- Who were “The founding fathers”?
The founding fathers were men who installed the first ideals into the American Society.
After having successfully fought the Revolutionary War, they signed the declaration of
Independence and drafted the Constitution of United States.
Read this article on the web: the United States Founding Fathers.
A strong religious feeling led the founding fathers’ actions. View the images.
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Founding Fathers presenting their draft of the Declaration of Independence
Painting by John Trumbull. Trumbull's painting can also be found on the back of the U.S. $2 bill.
Available from this link
---- What is the lasting legacy of the Revolutionary War?
Clink on the image below and open the link to the video: The Revolution’s Lasting Legacy
Image available from this link
List of links in this Module:
1. The article about John Locke’s philosophy - The Enlightenment.
2. After the French and Indian War: the colonists felt they were different from the British.
3. Timelines that describe the Steps to the Revolutionary War.
4. Watch the video (3:50 min) Colonists Protest British Policies
5. Watch the video: The sons of liberty and the Boston Tea Party.
6. Online article: The colonies fight for their rights
7. Transcription: The Declaration of Independence.
8. The description of the US Constitution
9. The United States Founding Fathers and Founding fathers’ Images
10. Video: The Revolution’s Lasting Legacy