APUSHHISTORICAL PERIOD 3(I) REVIEW

GOTTA KNOWS! Overview of Period 3(I): 1754-1783/Revolutionary Era (12%)

Period 3: 1754 – 1783 Revolutionary Era(12%)

Beginning=FrenchIndianWar(AKA7-­‐YearsWar)FranceandEnglandfightovercontrol oftheNorthAmericancontinentandrightstocolonizeinterior,COLONISTSFOUGHTFORTHE BRITISH!

What do I need toknow?

1.HowandWhytheFrenchandIndianWarwasamajorturningpointinUSHistory. Were colonists more “American” or“British”?

a.Examples: End of salutary neglect, Rise of Taxation (Stamp Act,etc),Resistance to Revolution (Sons ofLiberty)

2.Causes and consequences of AmericanRevolution

a.Steps:Boston Massacre, Stamp Act, Quartering Acts, Boston Tea Party, Intolerable Acts, 1st Continental Congress, Lex & Concord, 2nd Cont. Congress, Bunker Hill, Dec. of Independence

b.Why did colonistswin? George Washington, a cause!, lack of support in Britain, French alliance

END=End of Revolutionary War - Treaty of Paris of 1783.

APUSH HISTORICAL PERIOD3 (I): 1754-1783

French and Indian War (Seven Years’ War) –1754-1763

  • Cause:Washington’sOhioMissionandsubsequentdisputeoverOhioValleyRegionbetween France and England
  • Washington’s failed attack on Ft. Duquesne (Pittsburgh) triggered the beginning of thewar
  • ImportantEvents:
  • Albany Congress: Britain requested the colonies work together to protect againstNative Americanattacks.
  • AlbanyPlanforUnion(BenjaminFranklin):suggestiontocreateanintercolonialcongress among the 13colonies
  • Rejected by both the colonial governments andParliament
  • British alliance with the Iroquois Confederacy was important in defeating the Frenchand their allies—the AlgonquinsandHurons
  • Battle of Quebec (1760): decisive battle that determined the outcome of thewar
  • Results:
  • Treaty of Paris, 1763 -- France kicked out of North America leaving Britain in control ofthe eastern half of thecontinent
  • End of “salutary neglect”: Proclamation of 1763 (response to Pontiac’sRebellion)
  • Significance: Permanently altered the balance of power in North America betweenNativeAmericans and Europeans (now that France wasremoved)
  • Eventually led to Indian removal by American settlers in subsequentdecades

Causes of the AmericanRevolution

  • End to salutary neglect occurred with the Proclamation of 1763 when Britain barredAmericans from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains; some American colonials wereinfuriated
  • The new British king, George III, and new Tory government led by GeorgeGrenville

sought to more strictly regulate thecolonies

  • The previous Whig government had favored much less strict regulation over thecolonies
  • Sugar Act, 1764: first tax act passed by Parliament on the colonies to raise revenue forthe Crown–an external, indirect tax
  • Stamp Act, 1765: Perhaps the most important event of the Revolutionaryera
  • Stamp tax would help pay the costs for Britain keeping a standing army inAmerica–a direct, internal tax
  • Stamp Act Congress (9 of 13 colonies attended): First time the colonies met to resistBritishcolonial policies; set a precedent for future meetings among the colonies (e.g. Firstand Second ContinentalCongresses)
  • Colonies claimed “no taxation withoutrepresentation”
  • Colonies agreed to non-importation of Britishgoods
  • Sons of Liberty enforcednon-importation
  • Britain rescinded the Stamp Act in 1766 (but passed the Declaratory Act in responseclaiming the empires right to tax the colonies in thefuture)
  • TownshendActs,1767:
  • New taxes by Parliament would pay for the salaries of royal governors and judges inthe colonies (who would have the right to order searches of colonial homes without awarrant
  • John Dickinson, Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer: claimed that Parliament did nothave the right to tax the colonies for the purpose ofrevenue
  • Massachusetts legislature supported Dickinson's arguments and called for other coloniesto pass petitions calling for Parliament to repeal the TownshendActs.
  • In response, British sent troops to Boston and threatened to dissolveMassachusetts' legislature if the letter was not retracted and threatened that other colonial legislaturesthat voted for the circular would bedissolved.
  • Some colonies reenacted previous non-importation agreements (cut British imports by40%)
  • Parliament dissolved legislatures of several colonies inresponse
  • Britain sent troops toBoston
  • Boston Massacre,1770
  • Arrival of British troops in Boston aroused American resistance
  • A riot in Boston resulted in 11 colonists being killed orwounded
  • Townshend Acts repealed in1770
  • Second time in five years that Parliament had given in to the colonistsdemands
  • Only a small tax on tea remained; half the troops wereremoved
  • Tea Act,1773
  • British gov’t granted the British East India Co. a monopoly over the American teatrade
  • In response, Sons of Liberty destroyed hundreds of crates of BEIC tea—Boston TeaParty
  • Parliament passed the Coercive Acts inresponse
  • committees of correspondence: prominent leaders in the colonies sought resistance toBritish colonial policies and communicated regularly. They eventually morphed into theFirst ContinentalCongress
  • “Intolerable Acts” (Coercive Acts), 1774
  • Passed to punish Boston and Massachusetts for itsinsubordination
  • Closed Boston’s port, revoked Massachusetts’ charter, forbade town hall meetings,enforced quartering of British troops in colonial homes, colonists who killed British officials wouldbe tried in England, not the colonies
  • Quebec Act (coincidentally passed at the same time as the CoerciveActs)
  • French Canadians given right to practice Catholicism, even though it was in theBritish empire (seen by colonists as an attempt to attack Protestantism in thecolonies)
  • Seemed to threaten colonial expansion by extending the British colony of Quebec southinto the Ohio Valley
  • First Continental Congress, 1774 (12 of 13 colonies in attendance)
  • Formed in response to the “IntolerableActs”
  • The Association: the colonies banned all trade with GreatBritain
  • Lexington and Concord,1775 – first battle of the AmericanRevolution
  • British troops in Boston sought to confiscate colonial weapons; 273 Britishcasualties
  • Second Continental Congress, 1775 (all 13 coloniespresent)
  • Congress elected to go to war against Britain in order to protect rights of Britishcolonists
  • George Washington appointed as leader of the ContinentalArmy
  • Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms: appealed to the Britishking and his people for redress of Americangrievances.
  • Olive Branch Petition: last ditch effort by moderates in Congress to prevent a war butwas rejected by theking.
  • Battle of Bunker Hill: major British casualties in Boston resulted in the king declaringthe colonies in rebellion and hiring Hessianmercenaries
  • Common Sense, Thomas Paine, 1776: Pamphlet convinced Congress to declare itsindependence from GreatBritain
  • Declaration of Independence, 1776: Colonists officially declared America’s independencefrom Great Britain in order to gain foreign aid for thewar.
  • Treaty of Paris (1783) – U.S. gained all land east of Mississippi River(excluding

Canada andFlorida); U.S. able to get favorable terms from British due to British fear of a continuing favorable alliance between U.S. and France

MajorBattles:

  • Lexington and Concord, 1775: first battle of the AmericanRevolution
  • Bunker Hill, 1775: resulted in the King declaring the colonies inrebellion.
  • Trenton, 1776: Washington saved the Patriot cause by crossing the Delaware River anddefeating Hessians
  • Saratoga, 1777: most important battle of the Revolution; U.S. victory convinced Franceto support the Americancause
  • Yorktown, 1781: Last major battle of the Revolution; victory for theU.S.

Why Did the U.S. win the AmericanRevolution?

  • Diplomatic:
  • Declaration of Independence opened the door to the U.S. gaining foreignaid
  • U.S. gained an alliance with France after the Battle of Saratoga (1777); Spain andthe Netherlands joined the war against Britain in1779
  • U.S. gained loans from France, the Netherlands and others to pay the costs of war(Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane helped secureloans)
  • Distrust among Britain and France in Paris (1783) enabled the U.S. to play one off againstthe other and gain lands westward to the MississippiRiver
  • Political:
  • The British government proved to be inept; King George III and Lord Northdemonstrated poorleadership.
  • Many Whigs in Parliament cheered American victories; feared a Tory dictatorshipin Britain
  • American leaders were more successful at gaining support of neutral colonists than werethe Loyalists
  • The Second Continental Congress ultimately declared American independence fromBritain and gained support of over 1/3 of Americancolonists
  • Each of the thirteen colonies created sovereign republics that appealed to Americancolonials
  • Women played a vital role at home in support of thewar
  • Robert Morris played a major role in financing the wareffort
  • Military:
  • The United States was too large a territory to conquer AND occupy. When theBritish captured large American cities, it had little effect as most of America wasrural.
  • The British failed to take New England and were forced to move south and occupy theMid- Atlantic states. Eventually, the British failed to maintain effective control in theMid-Atlantic states and moved to the Southern states where they were eventuallydefeated.
  • The British alliance with Native Americans did not result in decisive militaryvictories.
  • General Washington won important victories at critical times and kept the Americancause alive (e.g. Trenton,Princeton)
  • Britain had to fight against American and French forces, and later, Spanish and Dutchforces in other parts of the world. Thus, Britain could not focus all of its resources in NorthAmerica
  • Communication between British forces in North America and Great Britain wasineffective due to the time lag of traveling the AtlanticOcean.
  • The French navy’s blockade of Chesapeake Bay sealed the fate of the British at the Battleof Yorktown.