American Revolution

Causes and Interpretations.

Dr. Saurabh
 • French and the British had a • Fearing that Virginia had designs
con ict over the Ohio Valley. on their land, Native Americans
refused to support Washington
• The Ohio valley was actually and in 1754 French troops drove
claimed by Virginia, Pennsylvania, the Virginians back to their
France, and the Six Nations homes.
Iroquois, as well as by the Native
Americans who actually lived • France and Britain remained at
there. peace in Europe until 1756,
Washington’s clash with French
• Traders from Virginia and troops began the war in North
Pennsylvania were strengthening America.
British In uence among Indians in
the area. • The war passed through several
phases.
• French started building a series
of of forts there in 1753. • French actually armed
Shawnees , Delawares, and
• Virginia retaliated by sending a Mingos from the Ohio Valley.
series of troops under a surveyor
and speculator George • In fact the French and Native
Washington to persuade French American allies captured several
to leave. forts.
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• Two developments turned the • William Pitt declared that I
tide for Britain. can save the country and no
can else.
• Iroquois and Ohio Indians
angered by the French • Pitt reinvigorated American
treatment of them and patriotism throughout the
sensing that the French were empire.
gaining too obvious and
advantage. • He was the colonist’s most
celebrated hero.
• They abandoned the French
in 1758. • The colonies provided more
than 40,000 troops in
• This led the British to capture 1758-1759 far more soldiers
several forts. than the crown send to North
America during the entire war.
• Many native Americans
withdrew from ghting. • The fall of Montreal dashed
French hopes of victory.
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 • The seven years war o cially • O cers complained about being
ended with the signing of treaty unwilling to provide food and
of Paris in 1763. shelter.

• France gave up all its lands and • Anglo Americans resented the
claims east of Mississippi to o cers arrogant manners.
Britain.
• Pennsylvania refused to vote
• France was now reduced to an funds to support the war e ort
insigni cant player in the while assemblies in New York
American politics. and Massachusetts opposed the
quartering of British troops.
• During the Seven year's war,
British o cers regularly • Pitt’s promise to reimburse the
complained about colonial colonial assemblies for their
troops, not only their inability to military expenses angered many
ght but their tendency to return in Britain.
home.
• They concluded that the
• Tensions between Britain o cers colonists were escaping scot free
and colonial civilians also ared. from the nancial burden of the
war.
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 • Colonists had pro ted enormously from the price of which doubled during the
the war, as military contracts and war.
spending by British troops brought an
in ux of British currency in the hand of • The War accelerated the anglo
farmers, artisans, and merchants. American commercial revolution.

• Some merchants had even traded with • Colonist’s purchase of British goods
the French enemy during wartime. fuelled British economy, particularly its
manufacturing sector.
• Britain’s national debt nearly doubled
during the war, from 72 million to 132 • But when peace returned in 1760, the
million. wartime boom in the colonies ended as
it had began.
• Total debt of all thirteen colonies
amounted to 2 million but the total debt • To maintain their lifestyles many
of Britain came to 4 million pounds. colonists went into debt.

• This debt was assumed by British • Many recently prosperous people found
landowners through a land tax and them in debt.
increasingly by ordinary consumers.
• Colonial indebtedness to Britain grew.
• Colonists felt equally burdened.
• Americans began to accuse the British
• Those who pro ted during the war of deliberately plotting to enslave the
spent their income on British imports, Americans.
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• The ascension of King George III at • As a result of the War and as a
age 22 reinforced the tensions. measure of conciliation with the
Indians, George III declared that
• He made frequent changes causing British government would now control
disruptions. land transactions, settlement and
trade of the non-Indians.
• Victory over French spurred Anglo
Indian con icts that drove the British • This proclamation angered the
debt even higher. colonies by subordinating their
expansion to the imperial
• Tensions mounted gradually and a authority.This slowed down expansion.
Delaware pro t named Neon reported
a vision in which the Master’s of Life or • The uprising meant that the British
Great Spirit instructed him to urge chose to maintain 10,000 soldiers in
Native Americans to all tribes to unify the region of great Lakes.
and to take back their land and live on
it as they had before Europeans. • The cost of maintaining this force was
almost 6 per cent of the Budget.
• This was targeted against the British in
the area. • Britain wanted the colonies to foot the
bill for this force.
• Another major event was the Pontiac
war during the summer of 1763 when • Anglo Americans regarded this force
the Ottawa Indians led by Pontiac as a threat that blocked their
sacked 8 British forts expansion and threatened their liberty.
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 The Growth of Opposition • British authorities attempted to halt
American merchants trade with he
• After the 7 years war the empire suddenly French enemy.
expanded.
• In 1760 the royal governor of
• This needed nance to govern and Britain Massachusetts authorised revenue
started to enforce the revenue measures o cers to employ a search warrant
directly rather than relying on local called the Writ of Assistance to seize
authorities. illegally imported goods.

• Stamp Act: • The Writ allowed custom o cers to

enter any ship or building to search of
• Opposition arose not only against seize suspicious goods.
the nancial implications of the act
but also many considered it a • The document required no evidence
dangerous expansion of the powers of probable cause for suspicion many
of the Parliament. critics considered it unconstitutional.

• All segments of the colonial people: • It proved e ective against smuggling.

rich poor working people, opposed
the act. • James Otis challenged
constitutionality of the act. Before the
• The crisis revealed a widening gulf Massachusetts Supreme Court in
between British and colonial 1761 Otis argued that “ an act,
perceptions of the proper relationship against the the Constitution is void”.
between the empire and its colonies.
• However the court ruled against the
• Writs of Assistance: merchants.
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• Otis expressed doubts about the role • Colonial trade under the Navigation
of Parliament’s under the British act was exempted from any duties
constitution. while exporting products to Britain.

• British Constitution was not a written • It was the importers who paid taxes
document but a collection of customs on the imports.
and accepted principles that
guaranteed certain rights to citizens. • Navigation act brought in so little
revenue that they did not pay for
• Otis maintained that Parliament even their own enforcement.
possessed no authority to supersede
the rights of Englishmen. • Sugar act amended the Molasses
act of 1733
• There are limits beyond which if the
Parliament goes their acts bind not. • It also made the documentation for
trade more complicated.
• Sugar Act
• Sugar act, majorly, disregarded
• Three years after the Stamp act, the many of the traditional English
parliament passed the Sugar act. protections for a fair trial.

• The goal was to raise revenues to • Only a British judge could not hear
help o set Britain’s Military the cases of smuggling.The right of
expenses in North America. the colonial courts to hear such
cases was taken away,
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• Further the judge was rewarded 5 per Pennsylvania while other provinces
cent of the value of con scated cargo, had little interest in opposing it.
the judge had an incentive of
pronouncing the accused guilty. • Stamp Act:-
• British Navy vigorously applied the • The revenue raised by Sugar Act
Sugar Act. They seized the incoming did little to ease Britain’s nancial
and outbound ships on some pretext crisis.
or the other.
• National debt continued to rise and
• The tax on molasses had bene Britons had the highest rate of
reduced to three pence (from 6 pence) taxes in Europe.
to prevent smuggling. Rather than
paying the tax the Americans • While the Britons paid 26 shilling
continued to smuggle the molasses. per person, whereas the colonial
tax burden was 1/2 to 11/2 shilling
• Finally it was reduced to a penny, less per person.
than the customary bribe paid by the
smugglers. • George Grenville realising the
anomaly thought the colonies
• The act raised about 30,000 pounds should make a large contribution to
annually in revenue. the empire’s expenses.

• As the burden of the tax fell heavily on • To raise revenue the Parliament
some colonies-the stamp act was passed the Stamp Act, in March
opposed by Massachusetts New York 1765.
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• The law obliged the colonies to • External tax were intended to
purchase and use specially stamped regulate trade and fell mainly on
(watermarked ) paper for merchants and ship captains ,
newspapers, customs documents, internal taxes were designed to raise
various licenses, college diplomas, revenue for the crown and a ected
playing cards, and legal forms of all most people at least occasionally.
kind.
• The new tax seemed a small price
• Violators would face prosecution in for the bene ts of empire, especially
vice-admiral court. since Britons had been paying such
a tax till 1695.
• The Prime Minister projected early
revenues of 60,000 pounds to • William Pitt actually objected to
100,000 pounds which would o set imposing an internal tax on the
12-20 per cent of North American colonies.
military expenses.
• The argument was that the colonists
• Sugar Tax was levied on imports, had never been subjected to British
therefore was an external tax. revenue bills.

• Stamp tax was an internal tax or a • It was their own assemblies that
duty levied on directly on property, taxed the assemblies.
goods ad government services
within the colonies.
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• Grenville and his followers believed that • The argument developed over
while the Americans were not directly
represented in the British Parliament, they • Whether the concept of virtual
were virtually represented there. representation was valid.

• It held that all members of the Parliament • Either they confronted the issue head
stood above the narrow interest of their on or they give up all claims to
constituents and each considered welfare meaningful rights of self government.
of the subjects while deciding issues.
• The colonists argued that their
• Therefore British subjects, including the representation was similar to that of
colonists were not represented by Ireland where the Parliament alone
particular individuals but by all members of could tax its people.J
the Parliament.
• ames Otis had expressed this argument:
• Grenville and his colleagues also denied “by [the British] Constitution, every man
that the colonists were exempt from British in the dominions is a free man: that no
taxation as they elected their own parts of His Majesty’s dominions can be
assemblies. taxed without con- sent: that every part
has a right to be represented in the
• These assemblies were comparable to supreme or some subordinate
British local government. legislature.

• Their authority did not nullify the authority • The colonists assumed the empire to be
of the Parliament . a loose federation in which the
legislatures possessed considerable
• However this position clashed directly with autonomy.
the colonists who maintained that their
assemblies exercised powers equal to the
House of Commons in England.
• To many colonists passage of • The in uence of Henry was
Stamp act demonstrated both particularly in uential in Boston.
Parliament’s indi erence to their
interest and the shallowness of • A group of middle class artisans
the Virtual representation. and small business owners joined
together as the Loyal Nine to ght
• Parliament dismissed all appeals the stamp act.
of defeat of the act, without even
a hearing. • They recognised that the stamp
distributors, who alone could
• In late May 1765, Patrick Henry accept money for the
dramatically conveyed the rising watermarked paper, where the
spirit of resistance. laws weakest link.

• Henry wanted the Parliament to • If they could be forced to resign

adopt 7 strongly worded before etch taxes could be
resolutions denying the power of implemented on November 1, the
the Parliament to tax the colonies. Stamp Act could become
inoperable.
• Gradually 7 other assemblies
passed these resolutions.
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 • Boston: • The taxes, along with shrinking
number of consumers drove
• Set the pace in opposing many artisans into the ranks of
Parliament. the poor.

• It su ered the most from the • The city had not recovered from
Sugar Act restrictions. the Great Fire of 1760 that burnt
176 warehouses ad left 10 per
• Its ship building industry had lost cent families homeless.
signi cant ground to New York
and Philadelphia. • This produced a remarkable
situation where the fortunes of
• The output of its rum and sugar the rich grew while that of the
industry had fallen by half. poor fell.

• British impressment ( forced • The poor of the city blamed the

recruitment) of its shermen had rich for their misfortunes and
undermined the shipping troubles.
industry.
• The crisis was sharpened as they
• Resulting unemployment led to a had become accustomed to
rise in local taxes for poor relief. gathering in large crowds
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 • It was Boston where the e gy • They were fearful of alienating
burning of the stamp o cials wealthy opponents of the Stamp
started. Act.

• Attacks on the property of the • The attacks were con ned to only
o cers and on the o cials trying on property.
to disperse the crowds.
• In October 1765 representatives of
• Boston saw spontaneous, nine colonial assemblies met in
contagious violence. New York in a Stamp act
Congress.
• The house of the chief justice was
also demolished. • The Congress led to the following
agreement :
• Thereafter groups similar to Loyal
Nine called Sons of Liberty began • That the Parliament lacked
forming throughout the colonies. authority to levy taxes outside
Great Britain and to deny any
• Sons of Liberty sought to curb the person a jury trial.
decline of traditional defence to
authority , which if not curtailed • Unity of the delegates on this
could lead to a dangerous principle.
precedent.
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• By late 1765 most of the stamp and this strategy put the British
act o cials had ed. economy in danger of recession.

• Colonial elites favoured the • By early 1766, support was

moderate Sons of Liberty over growing in the Parliament for the
more radical groups. repeal of the Stamp Act.

• Meanwhile the Colonial • William Pitt denounced all e orts

legislature restored normal to tax America.
business.
• Most members however
• To force the Stamp act’s supported repeal as a matter of
withdrawal New York’s Practicality, not as a matter of
merchants started to boycott all surrender.
the British goods.
• In 1766 when the Stamp act was
• Business men in other cities repealed it was done along with
followed. the Declaratory Act : that
Parliament can legislate for the
• American colonies purchased 40 colonies in all cases whatsoever.
per cent of the goods of Britain
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 • This meant that the Colonies could not • Thereafter groups of men entered a social
claim exemption from any parliamentary contract -formed government for the sole
statute, including a tax law. purpose of protecting those individual
rights.
• It ended in a fundamental disagreement
between Britain and America over • Any government that broke those natural
Parliament’s authority in the colonies. rights broke the contract with people.

• This con ict revealed a chasm between • In such cases people could resist the
Britain and its colonies. government.

• For rst time, some of them critically • To many colonists, the concept of natural
reconsidered the imperial relationship. rights appeared to justify opposition to
arbitrary legislation by the Parliament.
• To put their concerns into words the
colonists turn towards the works of • Colonists also read European writers who
philosophers, historians and political emphasised against the excessive
writers. concentrations of executive power as
tyrannical threats.
• The writings of Enlightenment
philosophers like Locke played a key role • A new set of ideas developed as
in this struggle. “Republican” in an attempt to balance
Locke’s emphasis on individual rights with
• Locke argued that human beings an emphasis on the rights of people as a
originated in a state of nature and enjoyed whole.
natural rights of life liberty and property.
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 • Republicans admired the sense of • Most members of the Parliament, in
civic duty of the Roman Empire. their view, no longer represented the
true interest of the people.
• A Leader commands respect by the
virtue of the people and not due to • They had created self interested
the terror of his power. factions and joined in a conspiracy
against liberty.
• A widely read group of English
political writers were formed called • Often referring to themselves as the
the Oppositionists: The Parliament “country party” opposition feared
consisting of the elected that a power hungry “court party” of
representatives of the people formed unelected o cials close to the king
the foundation of England’s unique was using a corrupted Parliament to
political liberties and protected those gain absolute power for themselves.
liberties against the inherent
corruption and tyranny of executive • A number of colonists pointed to a
powers. diabolical conspiracy behind British
policy during the Stamp Act crisis.
• Recent Prime Ministers had
exploited the treasury’s resources to • British taxation policies were seen as
bribe politicians and voters. an e ort to enslave the colonies
through excessive taxation and the
imposition of o cials, judges and a
standing army directed from London.
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• The Americans found • Anglican Church headed by
principled reasons for the king remained neutral.
opposing British policies and
actions. • Congregrationalists,
Presbyterian, and Baptist
• Some religious leaders wove clergymen argued that
resistance to the British battling for liberty and
authority defending liberty were one
and the same.
• They argued that people
should protect their god given • Far more Americans heard
liberty. sermons than had access to
newspapers or pamphlets.
• They argued that God had
given us liberties, and that it • Sermons emphasised that
was not displeasing to God if God sent people di culties
people protected those only to strengthen and
liberties and in fact it would sustain them till victory.
be ingratitude if people
tamely give it away.
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 • The repeal of the Stamp Act • A new con ict emerged over
silenced the colonial protests. the Quartering Act.

• The search for new revenues • The law ordered the colonial
led to the emergence of the legislatures to pay for certain
con ict again. goods needed by soldiers
stationed within their
• British leaders condemned the respective borders.
colonists for failing to
shoulder the burden while • This was a tax on mattress
Anglo Americans felt that the straw, candles, window panes.
Stamp act had been part of a
deliberate ploy to destroy the • Quartering Act aroused
self governance of the resentment, for it constituted
colonies. an indirect tax.

• E ective leadership now • Such obligation clashed with

passed to the Chancellor Of the assemblies claimed power
the Exchequer Charles to initiate all revenue raising
Townshend. measures.
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• It was Townshend who and therefore boost
expanded e orts to domestic manufacturing.
subordinate the colonies to
Parliament’s authority and • However, the revenue act,
raise revenues in America. did no such thing.

• Parliament passed the • Clearly its purpose was to

Revenue Act, which taxed collect revenue for the
glass, paint, lead, paper, and treasury.
tea imported into colonies
From Britain. • In fact, the revenue act
would not actually create
• To the colonists, it was lawful any signi cant revenue for
to tax goods, if improved the Britain
colonial economy.
• But by 1767, Britain was
• By taxing the imports, concerned more with
making them expensive, asserting its authority than
revenues.
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• As resistance to the Revenue Act • Colonies under the leadership of
mounted John Dickinson Samuel Adams, drafted a circular
published twelve essays entitled condemning taxation without
Letters from a Farmer in representation.
Pennsylvania.
• However there were di erences in
• The essays argued that although the reaction of the assemblies.
Parliament could regulate trade
by imposing duties, no tax • This was because the relationship
designed to produce revenue of the colonies to the mother
could be considered country varied.
constitutional unless a people’s
elected representatives voted for • Some actually bene tted from this
it. relationship.

• It had already been pointed out • The Parliament rejected the

during th Stamp Act,but circular and asked Massachusetts
Dickinson pointed out that the assembly to disown the letter.
opposition to Stamp Act also
applied to the Revenue Act. • Parliament thought that the letter
smacked of rebellion.
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 • The next secretary of state • Colonial needed some e ective
Hillsborough tried to bully the means of pressuring Parliament
colonial legislatures and for its repeal.
commanded the royal governors
(appointed by the king) to • Nonimportation seemed
dissolve any legislatures that especially promising because it
violated the instructions. o ered an alternative to violence
and would distress Britain’s
• Now those legislatures which economy.
were actually not reactive now
united against this bullying of the • In August 1768, Boston’s
Governor. merchants therefore adopted a
nonimportation agreement.
• Samuel Adams, James Otis and
others sought to ignite • “Save your money, and you save
widespread public opposition to your country!” Became the
the Townshend duties. watchword of the Sons of Liberty.

• There was massive outrage . • This gave fresh impetus to Sons

of Liberty who began reorganising
after two years of inactivity.
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• There were merchants who repeal of the Townshend
were making pro t by trade duties.
with the British despite the
policy of non importation. • The act was partially repealed.
• By 1770, a new British Prime • It led to a dilemma for the
Minister favoured eliminating colonial politicians.
most of Townshend duties to
prevent the boycott from • Should they continue the
widening. agitation till the duty on tea
was repealed (tea was the
• However to underscore the most pro table item)
British authority, he insisted on
retaining the tax on tea. • Or should they maintain only a
selective boycott of tea.
• Parliament agreed, and in April
1770 repealed Townshend • They stopped drinking tea.
duties. They were able therefore to
limit the revenue to one sixth
• Two times in four years, the level originally expected.
colonial pressure led to the
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 • The Tea act remained a • This would have freed the
reminder that the parliament o cials from the assemblies’
refused to retreat from the control and in uence.
broadest possible interpretation
of Declaratory act. • The most e ective weapon of
the assemblies would have
• There was another way of been taken away in this manner.
pressurising the Legislatures in
America. • The power would shift away
from the elected representatives
• The Governors salaries were towards unelected royal
voted by the legislatures in o cials.
America.
• Another hope of Townshend
• At Townshend’s urging was existing custom laws had
Parliament authorised paying to be enforced strictly.
the salaries of Governor and
other royal o cials in America • Now informers on customs
from the revenues raised there. would be given one third of the
value of goods seized.
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 • The nes could also be tripled • The private property of the
under certain circumstances. sailor could also be taken
This provided incentives to over by the o cials.
seize illegal cargoes.
• This violated the private rights
• The law led to protests due to of the traders and also led to
the way it was implemented. the age old practice of private
trade being stopped.
• It assumed guilty until proven
otherwise for the accused. • Traditionally this was the way
the sailors made pro t.
• Revenue agents led charges
for technical violations of the • The use of informers
Sugar Act: for example the provoked retaliation. They
absence of the signs of a were compared to dogs of
custom o cial. prey.

• This gave them a pretext for • This also became similar to a

seizing entire cargo. system of legalised piracy.
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 • A movement also developed
in Britain where there was an
e ort to make common
cause with the American
movement.

• They formed a movement

that arose during the 1760s
to oppose the domestic and
foreign policies of George III.

• Leader of the protest

movement was John Wilkes.
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