Chapter 6
Overview
This chapter covers the development of hostility between Britain and its colonies. While Britain became the dominant European power in North America, its very success and subsequent attempts to centralize power brought resistance from British colonists. Through many types of organization, the colonies developed an “American” identity. This new community of interest was often encouraged by inept British actions. The outcome of this unhealthy dynamic was that thirteen colonies decided to leave the empire and declare themselves independent.
After reading this chapter you should be able to:
Explain how overwhelming British success in the Seven Years’ War, also known as the French and Indian War, led to an imperial crisis in Britain’s North American holdings.
Describe the changes in British policy toward the colonies from 1750 to 1776.
Trace the development of the sentiment of “American” community, the political ideas supporting it, and the organizational machinery to act in common.
Outline the events from the Sugar Act to the Boston Massacre in encouraging community.
Summarize the developments from the Tea Party to the Declaration of Independence in establishing an American national community.
Discuss what the First Continental Congress demonstrated in regard to a national community of leadership.
Explain how the ideals of Protestant culture, the Great Awakening, and the Enlightenment inspired the American community in its move to independence.
Key Terms: / People:Franklin’s Plan of Union / Benjamin Franklin
French and Indian War / Sons of Liberty
Treaty of Paris / Minutemen
Royal Proclamation of 1763 / 1st and 2nd Continental Congress
Whigs
Sugar Act / Declaration of Independence
Republicanism / Revenue Acts
Stamp Act / Boston Massacre
Virtual vs. Actual Representation / Intolerable Acts
Declaratory Act / Quartering, Quebec Acts
Nonimportation Act / Committee of Correspondence
Review Questions
1. What were the most important weaknesses of the British Empire in North America at the outset of the Seven Years' War?
2. How did overwhelming British success in the Seven Years’ War lead to an imperial crisis in
British North America?
3. Outline the changes in British policy toward the colonies from 1750 to 1776.
4. What factors led to the growth of American nationalism in the 1760's?
5. How did political and economic problems in Britain contribute to unrest in the colonies?
6. Trace the developing sense of an American national community over this same period.
7. What steps did Britain take to punish Massachusetts for the colonists' acts of resistance?
8. What were the principal events leading to the beginning of armed conflict at Lexington and
Concord?
9. Who made up the first Continental Congress and why was it formed?
10. How were the ideals of American republicanism expressed in the Declaration of Independence?