Transcript The Revolutionary War And The War Of 1812

The Revolutionary War And The
War Of 1812
Chapter 2
Colonialism and Restricted Trade
• Like other European nations, England hoped to
benefit from the economic system of colonialism.
Under this arrangement, colonies were supposed to
supply England with raw materials. England would
manufacture these materials and sell them back to
the colonies as finished products. England wanted
exclusive control over colonial markets, but in North
America the Dutch violated England’s trading
monopoly (a market in which there is only one
supplier). Dutch traders took advantage of trading
routes while England was engaged in a civil war
(1640s). England wanted to regain control.
• In an effort to stop Dutch trading with the English
colonies, Parliament passed the first Navigation Act
(1651), requiring that only English ships carry goods
to and from the colonies. England passed other
Navigation Acts over the next 50 years which
further restricted colonial trade. The Navigation Act
of 1696 allowed customs officials to seize any
unlawfully shipped goods and required that
merchants accused of smuggling be tried without a
jury because colonists on the jury would not usually
convict the merchants goods.
Restricted Rights
• The British colonies in North America had long enjoyed a
great deal of independence in their dealings with Britain
because the relationship was profitable for both. However,
when George III (1738-1820) became king in 1760, he
tried to gain more control over colonial trade. The British
government issued writs of assistance, search warrants that
gave customs officials the right to search anywhere for
illegal goods ( goods that had been bought or sold without
being taxed). James Otis (1725-1783), a lawyer
representing Boston merchants who had their businesses
searched under these writs, passionately defended the rights
of the merchants and brought many important leaders into a
larger discussion about personal liberties.
• During the mid 1700s, both the British and the French began
competing with each other to gain lands in North America and
elsewhere in the world. Great Britain successfully colonized the
eastern seaboard of the present-day United States, while France
occupied the Mississippi River region and the St. Lawrence River
region. The last and most decisive of these competitions for colonies
happened between 1754 and 1763. This war was called the Seven
Years’ War in Europe, and, in the United States, it is known as the
French and Indian War. During this, war Great Britain and France
fought each other for control of North America and the Indian
Subcontinent. In North America, the British colonies and soldiers
fought the French and their Native American allies, the Algonquins
and the Hurons. The British also formed an alliance with the Iroquois
nations, who were long-standing enemies of the Algonquins. Both in
North America and in India, the British were victorious. As a result,
France had to withdraw all claims to land east of the Mississippi
River.
• With the end of the French and Indian War in 1763,
Great Britain had won claim to lands west of the
Appalachians from the French. However, in the
Proclamation of 1763, the British informed settlers
that they could not move west because the colonies
had to respect the rights of the Native American
nation. This proclamation infuriated settlers who
wanted to move further west. To enforce this
proclamation, Great Britain sent 10,000 troops to the
colonies to uphold the law. These soldiers tended to
stay in the cities. The British government also used
these soldiers to enforce new taxes that Great Britain
placed on the colonists to pay for its expenses during
the French and Indian War.
Taxation Without Representation
• The colonists were not allowed to have representatives in the British Parliament, so
each tax became law without their consent. This policy of “taxation without
representation” angered the colonists and generated strong responses from the
British government and the colonists.
• The Sugar Act (1764) - Previous to this time, the British taxed molasses at a high
rate but did not enforce the law, so traders usually smuggled molasses into the
colonies This new act lowered the tax on molasses, but this time British troops
strictly enforced the law.
• The Stamp Act (1765) – This act created a tax on all paper items. Colonists had to
pay a tax on their legal documents, newspapers, playing cards, etc. Because this was
the first tax placed directly on the colonists, not just on trade, it led to riots in many
colonies. A secret group of colonists called the Sons of Liberty came together to
organize a boycott, refusing to buy British goods. The Daughters of Liberty did
their part by weaving their own cloth, so they would not have to but it from Britain.
The British policy of taxation without representation began to unify the colonists in
opposition to the British government. Due to colonial opposition, the Stamp Act was
repealed in 1766.
• The Townshend Acts (1767) – Though Parliament
repealed the controversial Stamp Act, it established
a tax on all imported glass, paper, lead, and tea sold
in the colonies. With the authority of writs of
assistance, British soldiers searched any home,
building, or ship to see whether anyone had bought
or sold goods without paying this tax. In response,
mobs attacked British customs officials, and the
colonists organized another boycott.
Other Events Leading to Colonial Separation
• The colonists in Boston regularly insulted the British
troops who enforced the Townshend Acts. On March
5, 1770, things came to a head when colonists
shouted insults at the troops at the Boston Customs
House. For some reason, a soldier heard the word
“Fire!” and began firing on the colonists standing
there. In all, the soldiers killed five people, including
Crispus Attucks (1723-1770), a free black sailor
who was active in the Sons of Liberty. Infuriated at
this action, the colonists held the soldiers
responsible and called this event the Boston
Massacre.
• Because of colonial unrest and pressure from British
merchants who were losing money from the
colonist’ boycott, the British removed all taxes,
except the tax on tea. The colonists boycotted the tea
because it affirmed the British Parliament’s right to
tax the colonies. On December 16, 1773, Samuel
Adams (1722-1803) and other Sons of Liberty
dressed up as Native Americans and boarded ships
carrying teas. They cut open the crates of tea with
their tomahawks and threw the tea into Boston
Harbor. This action became known as the Boston
Tea Party.
• Tensions rose as Parliament passed several measures
to punish the people of Boston for this action. These
measures included forcing citizens to house British
soldiers in their homes, shutting down the port of
Boston to shipping, restricting town meetings to
once per year, and ordering that British high officers
charged with major crimes should be tried in the
courts of Great Britain. The Patriots (colonists who
wanted independence from Britain) called these
laws the Intolerable Acts. In response to these acts,
colonial leaders organized the First Continental
Congress (1774) in Philadelphia. At this congress,
colonial leaders agreed to boycott all British goods
and to stop exporting colonial goods to Great Britain
until the acts were repealed.
The Revolutionary War Begins
• Patrick Henry (1736-1799) was a prominent burgess
(representative) in Virginia. His “Give Me Liberty or Give
Me Death!” speech in Virginia’s House of Burgesses
(March 1775) aroused colonial leaders to revolt against
Great Britain and fight for freedom. Anticipating conflict
with the British, colonists in Massachusetts strengthened
their militia. The volunteer soldiers were called minutemen
because they were ready to fight at a moment’s notice. The
conflict soon came. Shortly before midnight on April 18,
1775, about 700 British soldiers left Boston on their way to
Concord, Massachusetts. They intended to confiscate the
weapons stored there by the colonists. As soon as Paul
Revere (1735-1818) saw the troops moving, he rode on
horseback through the neighboring towns shouting, “The
British are coming!” At this warning, the minutemen rushed
to Lexington, a town between Boston and Concord.
• The British forces met the minutemen at Lexington on the morning of
April 19. Later sources do not agree on who fired the first shot, but
with this battle, the Revolutionary War began. After killing eight
colonists and wounding ten others, the British soldiers marched on to
Concord, where they met hundreds of minutemen waiting on them.
The intense fighting of the minutemen forced the British to retreat,
suffering 73 casualties and 200 wounded soldiers by the time they
returned to Boston. A growing number of volunteers joined the
Massachusetts militia, gathered around Boston, and surrounded the
only British troops in North America.
• The conflict in Massachusetts was important news for the delegates
who gathered in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775 for the Second
Continental Congress. The moderate members of the Congress
wanted to negotiate a compromise with Britain. The radical members,
led by John Adams (1735-1826) and his cousin Samuel Adams,
called for independence even if it meant war. Public support for
independence was growing.
• Two weeks after the Battle of Bunker Hill (June 17, 1775),
Massachusetts asked the Continental Congress to take control of the
army that was forming around Boston. The Congress unanimously
chose George Washington (1732-1799) as commander because he
supported colonial independence, he was a strong leader, and as a
Virginian, he would help unite the southern colonies with the rebellion
in New England. On July 3, 1775, he arrived in Cambridge to take
charge of the rag-tag band of militiamen.
• Even as war preparations continued, the Congress sent one last peace
proposal to King George III on July 8, 1775. It came to be called the
“Olive Branch Petition.” His response to the colonists’ offer of
peaceful reconciliation was the Prohibitory Act (August 1775) which
declared that the colonies were in a state of rebellion and empowered
royal officers and loyal subject to “bring the traitors to justice.” Some
Patriots considered the king’s response a declaration of colonial
independence on his part.
Declaration of Independence
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By the spring of 1776, colonial legislatures were calling for
independence. Eventually, the Continental Congress created a
committee to draft a formal declaration of colonial independence
from Britain. The Declaration of Independence had the following
key features:
Became the foundation for a new American government that
guaranteed life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Principles:
All men are created equal.
All people have certain unalienable (given at birth) rights.
Government exists only by the consent of the governed.
Government must be changed if it becomes unjust.
Written by Thomas Jefferson and signed on July 4, 1776.
Inspired the colonists to fight for freedom from England.
Summary of Factors Leading to Colonial Separation from
England
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Colonialism –England bought raw materials from the colonies at
low prices and sold products made from these materials back to the
colonies at high prices.
Navigation Acts(1650s) –England required American colonies to
ship products only on English ships and trade solely with England.
Writs of Assistance(1751) –British officials could search any
home, building, or ship without the owner’s permission.
The Stamp Act(1765) –England placed tax on all printed material.
Boston Massacre(1770) –British troops killed five American
civilians.
Boston Tea Party(1773) –Colonists protested the tax on tea by
dumping a shipment of tea into Boston Harbor.
Intolerable Acts(1774) –English Parliament passed laws that
limited trade and self-government in the colonies.
Major Battles in the Revolutionary War
• April 19, 1775–The Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts began the
War. Paul Revere and other Patriots rode from Concord warning that the British
were coming.
• June 17, 1775–At the Battle of Bunker Hill, Massachusetts, the British suffered
heavy casualties even though the Patriots ran out of ammunition.
• Oct. 17, 1777-At the Battle of Saratoga, New York, the French decided to fight for
the colonies’ independence from Britain.
• Winter 1777-78-George Washington trained his tired and poorly equipped troops at
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. With the help of other foreign generals, General
Washington was able to instill discipline and lift morale during that winter.
• 1778-1781-Fighting shifted to the South. Nathanael Greene led forces in the South
to victory against the British at the Battle of Cowpens(1781) in South Carolina. In
the South, Patriots fought using guerilla war tactics. They would strike quickly and
then disappear into the woods or swamps.
• Sept.-Oct., 1781-French naval and army forces joined General Washington and the
Patriots in defeating the British troops at Yorktown, Virginia on October 18, 1781.
This was the final blow to the British war effort.
The Treaty of Paris
• After nearly two years of difficult negotiations,
representatives of Great Britain and the United
States signed the Treaty of Paris on September 3,
1783. In this treaty, Britain recognized the
independence of the United States, as well as the
border of the new nation. The border extended to
Canada in the north, to the Mississippi River in the
west, to the northern border of Spanish Florida in
the south, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the East.
The War of 1812
Events Leading to Another War with Great Britain
• The British and the French were fighting each other on the open seas.
They would frequently take sailors from United States ships and force
them to serve in the British or the French Navy. This activity is called
impressment. As a result, the United States refused to ship goods to
either nation.
• Napoleon, leader of France, agreed to stop conscripting sailors from
the United States. After this announcement, the Unites States dropped
its embargo(prohibiting entry or departure of ships) of French goods
and opened trade with France.
• In Congress, “war hawks” from the South and the West pressed for
war with Great Britain. These politicians were infuriated by the
British not respecting the rights of United States sailors. They also felt
that war with Britain could produce land gains for the United States in
British Canada, as well as in Spanish Florida because Spain was a
British ally at the time.
• As settlers moved into the West, they would trick or
force the Native Americans off their land, resulting
in frequent fights. Two Native American Shawnee
leaders, Tecumseh, and his brother, The Prophet,
organized many native tribes and allies themselves
with the British Canadians in case of war with the
United States.
• After years of pursuing neutrality, President James
Madison (1809-1817) decided that war with Britain
was necessary for the good of the United States.
New Englanders opposed any motion for a war
because it would hurt their trade with Great Britain.
However, on June 18, 1812, Congress agreed with
Madison and declared war on Great Britain.
Important Battles in the War of 1812
• Battle of Horseshoe Bend(March 27, 1814)- With the help of the
Cherokee nation, Andrew Jackson(1767-1845) defeated the Creeks,
Tecumseh’s allies in the South. As a result, the Creeks had to give up
much of their land to the United States.
• Battle of Fort McHenry(September 13, 1814)- The British gave up
their attack on this well-defended fort. At a scene of this battle,
Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star Spangled Banner,” which later
became the national anthem of the United States.
• The Treaty of Ghent(December 24, 1814)- The United States and
Great Britain negotiated to end the war with the Treaty of Ghent. The
treaty did not address any of the reasons for which the countries went
to war.
• Battle of New Orleans(January 8, 1815)- Andrew Jackson’s troops
suffered 71 casualties(soldiers wounded or killed) while the British
suffered over 2,000. This victory gave people in the United States
great people great pride in their country and made Andrew Jackson a
hero.
Consequences of the War
• The United States and Great Britain agreed to return their land
boundaries to pre-war agreements. The “war hawks” hopes for land
gains were dashed.
• Other European nations recognized the rights of the United States as a
nation. Even though there was no clear winner in the war, the United
States proved that it could defend itself.
• Feelings of nationalism(devotion to one’s country) grew in the people
of the Unites States. The people felt the need to protect and promote
the interests of the United States.
• New England Federalists had been so angered by the war that they
talked of seceding(withdrawing from the Union). The victory at New
Orleans and the Treaty of Ghent embarrassed the angry Federalists
and resulted in the end of their political party.
• The manufacturing industry grew in the United States. The lack of
manufactured goods from Britain during the war pushed the United
States to develop its own industries.