The Causes of the American Revolution
I. Effects of the French & Indian War (Seven
Years' War)
A. Proclamation of 1763
1. War ends with the signing of the Treaty of
Paris.
2. Boundary drawn. American colonists restricted
from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains.
B. Rise of Liberalism and Republicanism
inspires revolutionary thought
1. Enlightenment influence.
2. Locke's theories : "social contract”.
3. Standing in opposition to tyrants,
republicanism called for the protection liberty
through the rule of law and civic virtue.
C. The Navigation Acts & Writs of Assistance
1. Mercantilism enforced.
2. Effort to increase revenues.
3. Cracking down on American smugglers.
4. Customs officials were empowered with writs of
assistance (transferable, open-ended search
warrants), which permitted them to search
warehouses, homes, and ships on a whim without
cause. Angered by this trampling of their rights,
colonial merchants voiced their disapproval.
5. Admiralty courts created to take smuggling
cases out of colonial courts.
6. In England, Lord Grenville introduces idea of
taxing colonies to off set the cost increased
colonial defiance on the frontier and to pay war
debt.
D. New Taxes & Boycotts
1. April 5, 1764, the Sugar Act (a tax of three pence
per gallon on molasses).
2. "taxation without representation," as they had
no members of Parliament to represent their
interests.
3. March 22, 1765, Parliament passed the
Stamp Act which called for tax stamps to be placed
on all paper goods sold in the colonies.
4. First attempt to levy a direct tax on the colonies.
5. Led by vocal orators such as James Otis and
Patrick Henry, the colonists began a massive
boycott.
6. Imports to fall from £2,250,000 in 1764, to
£1,944,000 in 1765.
7. "Sons of Liberty" formed.
8. Pennsylvanian John Dickinson, the congress
drew up the Declaration of Rights and Grievances
which stated that as the colonies had no
representation in Parliament, the tax was
unconstitutional and against their rights as
Englishment.
9. Benjamin Franklin argued a similar point and
warned that continued taxation could lead to
rebellion.
10. Relenting, Parliament repealed the tax, but
issued the Declaratory Act (March 1766) which
stated that they retained the power to tax the
colonies.
E. Townshend Acts June 29, 1767
1. An indirect tax, the acts placed import duties on
commodities such as lead, paper, paint, glass, and
tea.
2. Created three new Admiralty courts in the
colonies and reaffirmed the legality of writs of
assistance.
3. Colonial leaders organized boycotts of the taxed
goods, smuggling increased and efforts
commenced to develop domestically-produced
alternatives.
F. Boston Massacre March 5, 1770
1. Parliament repealed most aspects of the
Townshend Acts in April 1770, but left a tax on
tea.
2. 1772. Actively patrolling to prevent smuggling,
the Royal Navy drew the ire of many colonial
merchants. This came to a head on June 9, when
the revenue schooner HMS Gaspée ran aground.
3. Members of the Providence Sons of Liberty, led
by Abraham Whipple, rowed out and attacked the
stranded vessel.
4. Committees of Correspondence react.
G. The Tea Act, May 10, 1773
1. British East India Company struggling. Given
right to sell directly to colonies.
2. As a result, tea prices in America would be
reduced, with only the Townshend tea duty
assessed. Aware that this was an attempt by
Parliament to break the colonial boycott of British
goods.
H. The Boston Tea Party December 16, 1773
1. "raiders" tossed 342 chests of tea into Boston
Harbor.
2. Many uncertainties surround this important
historical event:
Did the soldiers fire with provocation?
Did they fire on their own?
Was Captain Preston guilty of ordering his men
to fire into a crowd of civilians?
Was he innocent and being used by men like
Samuel Adams to confirm the “tyranny” of
England?
3. Paul Revere’s print. American propaganda?
I. The Intolerable Acts:
The Boston Port Act
1. The port of Boston was closed to all shipping
until full restitution was made to the East India
Company and the King for the lost tea and taxes.
2. Other colonies began sending relief to the
blockaded city.
Massachusetts Government Act
1. May 20, 1774, the Massachusetts executive
council would no longer be democratically elected
and its members would instead be appointed by
the king.
2. Many colonial offices that were previously
elected officials would henceforth be appointed by
the royal governor.
3. Across the colony, only one town meeting was
permitted a year unless approved by the governor.
Administration of Justice Act
1. Allowed travel expenses to be paid to witnesses,
few colonists could afford to leave work to testify
at a trial.
2. Dubbed the "Murder Act" by some, it was felt
that it allowed royal officials to act with impunity
and then escape justice.
Quartering Act 1765
1. Contrary to popular belief, it did not permit the
housing of soldiers in private homes. Typically,
soldiers were first to be placed in existing barracks
and public houses, but thereafter could be housed
in inns, victualing houses (taverns serving food) ,
empty building, barns, and other unoccupied
structures.
Quebec Act
1. Did not have a direct effect on the thirteen
colonies.
2. Intended to ensure the loyalty of the king's
Canadian subjects, the act greatly enlarged
Quebec's borders and allowed the free practice of
the Catholic faith.
J. Reaction to the Intolerable Acts
1. Committees of correspondences across colonies.
2. First Continental Congress. If the Intolerable
Acts were not repealed within a year, the colonies
agreed to halt exports to Britain as well as support
Massachusetts if it was attacked.
3. Boycott of all British goods, importation of
British goods dropped 97% in 1775.
5. Mass. governor, Governor Thomas Hutchinson
departs Boston, and is replaced by royal authority.
6. Lieutenant General Thomas Gage as the new
royal governor on April 2, 1774.
7. In the spring of 1775, Gage began a series of
raids with the goal of disarming the colonial
militias. On the evening of April 18, Gage ordered
some of his troops to march to Concord to seize
munitions and gunpowder. The next morning,
British troops encountered colonial militia in the
village of Lexington.