Imperial Wars and Colonial Protest – Flashcards

1) King William's War (1689-1697) 2) Queen Anne's war ( 1702) -In these wars, the English launched expeditions to capture Quebec but failed at first. Ultimately, they succeeded and gained both Nova Scotia from France and trading rights in Spanish America 3) King George's War -James Oglethorpe (founder of Georgia) led a colonial army that managed to repulse Spanish attacks -New England forces managed to capture Louisbourg, a major French fortress that controlled access to the St. Lawrence River -In the peace treaty that ended the war, the Peace of Utrecht, Britain agreed to give Louisbourg back to the French in exchange for political/economic gains in India -NE was furious that England simply returned a fort they had worked so hard to win -Spain's power and influence in North America had come to an end

-The generation of peace ended in 1739 -England declared war on Spain -Cause of the war was England's drive towards commercial domination of the Atlantic basin

-The French provoked the war by building a chain of forts in the Ohio River Valley (The French did so to stop the westward expansion of English colonies) -Hoping to stop the French from completing work on Fort Duquesne and thereby win control of the Ohio River Valley, the governor of Virginia sent a small militia (headed by George Washington) to the area -Washington surrendered to the superior military force of the Frenchmen and their Native American allies, which started the war (started July 3, 1754)

-English general who led an expedition from Virginia into disastrous defeat at the hands of the Native Americans and French who practiced guerrilla warfare -he was badly defeated near Ft. Duquesne

7 Delegates from several colonies met at Albany in 1754. They adopted a plan, the Albany of Union, (developed by Benjamin Franklin) that provided for an intercolonial government and a system for recruiting troops and collecting taxes from the various colonies for their common defense. The plan was rejected however because the long standing prejudices to unite

First drawn by Benjamin Franklin as the first political cartoon in the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1754. Tried to encourage citizens to accept the Albany Plan of Union and unite.

English general Wolfe defeated Montcalm for the taking of Quebec and eventually Montreal

The Peace of Paris ended the war; Great Britain aquired both French Canada and Spanish Florida. France ceded to Spain its huge western territory, Louisiana, and claims west of the Mississippi River

1763; Chief Pontiac led a major attack against colonial settlements on the western frontier. Rather than relying on the colonial forces to retaliate, the British troops sent their own regular troops to deal with the "rebellion".

-Forbade white settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains -Outraged colonists because after their victory in the FIW, the colonists wanted to reap the benefits of their triumph, but were unable to do so -Meant to prevent future hostilities between colonists and Native Americans -Defying the prohibition, many Americans continued westward beyond this imaginary boundary line

1) By 1761, the Brtish government was aware of the systematic evasion of the Molasses Act through colonial smuggling which had been carried out during the war of Austrian Sucession and the 7 years War. England felt that this smuggling prolonged French resistance so they issued... 2) Writs of assistance which was a general search warrant, arousing the opinion of merchants who alleged the writs were illegal. 3) George Grenville, prime minister of England, recognized that the country needed money after the 7 years war and also to maintain an army in America for defense. The Sugar act of 1764 was passed with the avowed purpose of raising revenue in the colonies 4) The Colonial Currency Act prevented colonists from paying their debts to England in depreciated currency and forbade issues of unsound money. This act created a shortage of money at a time when the Sugar Act was also injuring the West Indian Trade which the colonies had relied for necessary specie

5) Grenville pushed through Congress the Stamp act which provided for stamps on commercial and legal documents, pamphlets, newspapers, almanacs, playing cards, and dice. -Stamp Act riots occur in Boston; effigy of stamp-collector Andrew Oliver hanged; the mansion of Lieut.-Gov, Thomas Hutchinson is sacked -Stamp Act Congress meets at NY; 28 delegates from 9 colonies drew up memorials to the king and parliament and adopted a Declaration of Rights and Liberties -Patrick Henry in the House of Burgesses sent out 7 strongly-worded resolutions, some even considered treasonous -Sons and Daughters of Liberty -tarring and feathering tax agents -"No taxation without representation" vs. virtual representation -Parliament repeals the stamp act in 1766 6) Quartering Act provided that in the event of insufficiency of barracks in the colonies, British troops might be quartered in public hostelries

7) Right after the Stamp Act was repealed, Parliament issued the Declaratory Act which declared that the king, with the consent of Parliament, had authority to make laws to bind the colonies in all respects -the next year the New York assembly was suspended for its failure to comply with the Quartering Act of 1765 8) Townshend tax imposed duties on glass, lead, painters' colors, tea, and paper. the revenues from these taxes would be used to pay for the salaries of royal officials in the colonies. -A Boston town meeting adopted a non-importation agreement, then the Massachusetts House of Representative sent a circular letter to each colony objecting to the new Townshend duties (written by Samuel Adams and James Otis) and also the plan to pay for officials' salaries -Economic boycott of British goods (non-importation agreements) -Townshend acts were repealed, but a small tax on tea was left in place -John Hancock's sloop, the Liberty, was seized because of false entry; a riot began, causing more British troops to arrive in Boston, but the town refused to provide quarters

-the people of Boston resented the British troops who had been quartered in their city to protect customs officials from being attacked by the Sons of Liberty -a crowd of colonists harassed guards near the customs house -the guards fire into the crowd, killing 5 people including an African American, Crispus Attucks -At their trial for murder, the soldiers were defended by colonial lawyer John Adams, to demonstrate that the colonies were, above all the British convictions, not entirely brutish animals and could give a fair trial -samuel Adams called the incident a "massacre"

-A British customs ship had been successful in catching a number of smugglers -The ship was burned by a mob dressed as Native Americans

-Colonists continued to resist the tea tax -Hoping to help the Brtish East India Company out of its financial problems, Parliament passed the Tea Act of 1773 which made the price of the company's tea--even with the tax included--cheaper than that of smuggled Dutch tea -Merchants despised this new tax because it decreased their profits on smuggled Dutch tea and also helped the British East India Company have a monopoly of tea -Most colonists refused to buy the company's tea despite its cheap price because it represented England's right to tax them -a shipment of the company's tea arrived but no one would buy it so it sat in the Boston Harbor before the MA governor Hutchinson could arrange to bring it to shore -A group of Bostonians disguised themselves as Native Americans and dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor -Mixed reactions from colonists; some saw it as an act of justice and liberty, while others believed that the destruction of private property was far too radical

9) There were 4 coercive acts, directed at punishing the people of Boston and MA for destroying the tea 1) The port Act closed the port of Boston, prohibiting trade in and out of the harbor until the destroyed tea was paid for 2) The MA government act reduced the power of the MA legislature while increasing the power of the royal governor 3) the administration of justice acts allowed royal officials accused of crimes to be tried in England instead of in the colonies 4) The Quartering Act was expanded to private homes 10) Quebec Act of 1774 organized lands gained from the French in Canada; the act established Roman Catholicism as the official religion, set up a government without a representative assembly, and extended Quebec's boundary to the Ohio River -The colonists resented the Quebec act beca took away lands that they claimed along the Ohio River. -Also, they feared the British would attempt to enact similar laws in America to take away their representative government -The predominantly Protestant America resented the recognition given to Catholicism

-Initiated by Samuel Adams following the Boston massacre during the years of comparitive peace (1770-72) -Kept alive the view that British officials were conspiring against colonial liberties -Adams began the practice of organizing comittees that would reguarly exchange letters about suspicious or potentially threatening British activities

-formed after the harsh Intolerable acts -all colonies except Georgia sent delegates to a convention in Philadelphia in September 1774 -purpose of the convention was to determine how the colonies should react to the violation of their rights and liberties -Delegates: radical: Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, John Adams moderate: George Washington, John Dickinson conservative: John Jay, Joseph Galloway The followin measures were adopted: 1) Suffolok Resolves (originally enacted in MA, the resolves rejected the Intolerable Acts and called for their immediate repeal); colonies were encouraged to make military preparations and apply economic sanctions against Britain 2) Declaration of Rights and Grievances was a petition to the king urging him to make right their issues. 3.) The Association urged the creation of committees in every town to enforce economic sanctions of the Suffolk Resolves 4.) If colonial rights were not recognized, then another Continental Congress would take place in May 1775

L+C: -the king angrily dismissed the petition (Declaration of Rights and Grievances) from the 1st Continental Congress -On April 18, 1775, General Thomas Gage, the commander of the British Army in Boston, sent a large force to seize colonial military supplies in the nearby town of Concord -A militia (minutemen) of Lexington were forced to retreat under heavy British fire -The British continued to Concord where they destroyed some supplies, then returned -Met by hundreds of militia men firing behind stone walls -The British suffered many casualties and was humiliated by being mauled by such "amateur" fighters BH: -On June 17,1775, a true battle (not a skirmish) was fought between opposing armies on the outskirts of Boston -a colonial militia of MA fortified Breed's Hill (right next to Bunker Hill) and they were attacked by a British force -The British managed to take the hill from the Americans, but suffered heavy losses -Americans claimed a victory of sorts because if they hadn't run out of ammunition, they probably would have successfully defending the hill

-captured Fort Ticonderoga in the early years of the war (1775)

-Met in May 1775 Military Actions: -adopted a Declaration of the Causes and Necessities for Taking Up Arms and called on the colonies to provide troops -George Washington was appointed commander in chief of the colonial army and went to Boston to lead the MA militia and volunteer units from other colonies -Congress authorized a force under Benedict Arnold to raid Quebec in order to draw Canada away from the British empire -An Americna navy was organized to attack British shipping Peace Efforts: -Olive Branch Petition: delegates sent the petition to King George III in which they pledged their loyalty to Parliament and asked to secure peace and their rights -King George dismissed this petition and issued Parliament's Prohibitory Act which declared the colonies in rebellion

-his pamplet, Common Sense, was essential in inspiring many colonists to fight -a recent English immigrant, Paine argued that it was foolish for a huge continent to be ruled by a tiny island and for people to pledge allegiance to a king whose government was corrupt and laws were unreaosnable

-In 1776, Richard Lee Henry of VA introduced a resolution declaring the colonies to be independent -5 Delegates, including Thomas Jefferson, formed a committee to write a statement in support of Henry's resolution -The Declaration drafted by Jefferson listed specific grievances against George III's government and expressed the basic principles that justified rebellion -"ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL; THEY ARE ENDOWED BY THEIR CREATOR WITH CERTAIN UNALIENABLE RIGHTS; THAT AMONG THESE ARE LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS" -adopted on July 4, 1776

People who sided with the British and the king during the American Revolution

-people who fought against the British -tended to wealthier; like government officials and Aglican clergymen

-initially, George Washington rejected the idea of African Americans serving in the army, but eventually conceded then encouraged them -approximately 5,000 African Americans fought as patriots -most were freedmen from the north who fought in mixed racial forces, although there were some colored units

-Washington faced many setbacks, including New York: -Washington wanted to challenge the British for NYC -Outmaneuvered and badly outnumbered, he suffered defeat at the Battle of Long Island and then in Manhattan itself -The city was firmly in British hands, and would be until the war's end -Americna forces under General Richard Montgomery had taken Montreal but the subsequent assault against Quebec ended with too many casualties

-Americans had placed artillery on the strategic Dorchester Heights overlooking Boston, forcing Howe to evacuate the city in 1776 -The British officers did not burn the city, but made sure to sabotage the homes and infrastructure there -The British moved to New York City which was a much more strategic position because of its central location, spacious harbor at the mouth of the Hudson River, and the Loyalist sentiment

-Sent 2 chief commanders in North America, General William and Admiral Richard Howe, to make a final offer of peace to the colonists -they carried the authority to pardon all Americans who pledged allegiance to the king and negotiate with any colony that dissolved its revolutionary committees -Howes met with 3 delegates on Staten Island, NY harbor -When Howe demanded revocation of the the Declaration of Independence before negotiations could even begin, the Americans walked out

-paper money issued by Congress (Continentals) were worthless because inflation was so detrimental -95% decline in trade

-Trenton in December 1776 and again at Princeton, Washington surprised the British with victories that prevented the troops from collapsing -British troops ended up taking Philadelphia, causing Congress to flee into the countryside -Battle of Saratoga was the turning point in French decision -General Burgoyne's troops had marched from Canada in an ambitious effort to link up with other forces marching from the west and south -Their objective was to cut off New England from the rest of the colonies and also take the vital Hudson River, splitting America in 2 -Burgoyne's troops were attacked and defeated at Saratoga, NY, by troops commanded by Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold -France joined the war against Britain because they resented their European foe, Britain, and wanted to undermine their power -in 1778, France openly allied itself with America; Spain and Holland also joined a year later

-Realized that if the continental army was defeated, independence would never be realized -decided to harass the British and make the war as costly as possible; avoid major battles

Washington remained there when the British were staying in Philadelphia in the winter of 1777-1778

-British officials adopted an alternative strategy: invasion/pacification of the south -Georgia's major port, Savannah, fell in 1778 -Charleston, SC, surrendered -Won at Camden, SC, and Guilfeford Court House in NC, but was defeated at Cowpens, SC, by General Daniel Morgan (1781) -Washington sent Nathanael Greene to lead the continental forces. Greene knew the area and divided his army into 2 mobile sections, used guerrilla tactics to harass the British

-In 1781 -Strongly supported by French naval and military forces, Washington's army forced the surrender of a large British army commanded by General Charles Cornwallis after a siege of the Yorktown peninsula -The British were cut off from the sea and caught on a peninsula between the York and James rivers by 17,000 French and American troops -A band played "The World Turned Upside Down"

-war had become increasingly unpopular in Britain because it put a strain on the economy and government finances -Lord North and other Tory ministers resigned and were replaced by leaders of the Whig party who wanted to end the war -In 1783, a treaty of peace was finally signed: 1) Britian would recognize the existence of the US as an independent nation 2) The Mississippi River would be the western boundary of that nation 3) Americans would have fishing rights off the coast of Canada 4) Americans wouls pay debts owed to British merchants an honor Loyalist claims for property confiscated during war

-Initially wanted to remain neutral -At the Oswego council in the summer of 1777, most of the Iroquois abandoned neutrality and joined the British because of promises of rum, trade goods, and protection -Joseph Brant was a Mohawk warrior who argued England's value as an ally against American expansion -But at the peace talks that ended the war, the British ignored their Indian allies and they receieved neither compensation for their losses nor guarantees of their land, for the boundary of the US was set far ti the west at the Mississippi River

-Manipulate the peace process in order to gain themselves and weaken the other countries

-At a conference in 1776 (Jefferson was simultaneously writing the DOI), John Dickinson drafted the first constitution for the US as a nation -It was adopted by Congress in 1777 and submitted to the states for ratification -Wasn't ratified until March 1781 Structure of Government: -established 1 central government with just 1 body, a congress -each state was given 1 vote, with at least 9 votes out of 13 required to pass important laws -To add an amendment required all votes Powers: -NO TAXING -NO REGULATION OF COMMERCE -Could wage war, make treaties, send diplomatic representatives, and borrow money

A: -Winning the war and negotiating a peace treaty -Opening the west with the Land Ordinance of (systematic survey and sale began the rectangular grid pattern of land survey) and Northwest Ordinance of 1787 (politically organized)--Native Americans posed a threat to opening the west because they grew more and more hostile to white expansion F: -Demobilizing the army (Shay's rebellion) -Financial: unable to issue taxes and could only request the states to provide money, the war debt was huge and worthless paper money was a problem -Foreign: Europeans had little respect for a new nation that could neither pay its debts nor take effective and united action in a crisis

1.) In the summer of 1786, captain Daniel Shays, a MA farmer and Revolutionary war veteran, led other farmers in an uprising against high state taxes, imprisonment for debt, and lack of paper money. The rebel farmers stopped the collection of taxes and forced the closing of debtor's courts. In January 1787, when Shays and his followers attempted to seize weapons from the Springfield armony, the state militia of Massachusetts broke the rebellion. Shay was eventually aquitted for his crimes 2.) In June 1884, Spain--still in possession of Florida, the Gulf Coast, and the trans-Mississippi west--closed the outlet of the MI river to American shipping. Farmers and western settlers were outraged because they needed this river to get their goods to the eastern markets. Land speculators were also outraged that this closure would discourage development of the backcountry. There were rumors that Spanish agents were seeking American frontiersmen to affiliate with Spain. John Jay, in an effort to open the mouth, offered to relinquish American claims to free transit of the river in return for a new commercial treaty opening Spanish ports to American shipping because trade was so low. But southern states saw this attempt as a betrayal of their interests and an obvious bias for the commercial interests of the North. Congress could take no action because they were stalemated and the river remained closed 3.) Robert Morris was named superintendent of finance. He urged states to stop issuing paper money and persuaded Congress to demand the states pay their requisitions in specie. Morris eventually resigned because of despair over the country's financial situations and its inability to change

-George Washington hosted a conference at his home in Mt. Vernon, Virginia (1785) to discuss what could be done to overcome the country's critical problems; representative from 4 states came -they agreed to meet again and have all the states present -only 5 states attended the convention in 1786 -James Madison and Alexander Hamilton persuaded the others that a convention should be held in Philadelphia for the purpose of revising the AOC

Rhode Island

1.) -suggested by Madison -favored large states in representation 2.)-suggested by William Patterson -favored smaller states in representation 3.) -each state would be given equal representation in the Senate, but in the House of Representatives, it would be based on population 4.) -the 3/5 compromise counted each slave as 3/5 of a person -there was a guarantee that slaves could be imported for at leats 20 years longer, then Congress would later decide to abolish the practice in 1808

-northern states wanted the central government to regulate interstae commerce and foreign trade, but the south was afraid that export taxes would be placed on agricultural products such as tobacco and rice -The COMMERCIAL COMPROMISE allowed Congress to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, including placing tariffs on foreign imports to protect domestic markets, but it prohibied placing taxes on any exports

-Disagreed over the president's term of office and also election -decided to assign each state a number of electors equal to the total number of state representatives/senators -tis electoral college system was instituted because the delegates at Philadelphia feared that too much democracy might lead to mob rule

-on setember 1787, the Philadelphia convention finally approved the draft of the constitution -the framers decided that only 9 out of the 13 states were required for ratification -it was a struggle -Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania were the first 3 -With New Hampshire voting yes in 1788, the Federalists won the necessary votes to secure ratification, but they still wanted to get every vote to promote unity -George Mason and Patrick Henry led Virginia away from the Constitution, but after the Federalists promised to include a bill of rights, Virginia also agreed to ratify -New York finally ratified following Virginia and NC and RI were the last 2 states to ratify in 1790

Leaders: F: George Washington, Franklin, Madison, Hamilton AF: Patrick Henry, George Mason, James Winthrop, John Hancock Arguments: F: Stronger central government was needed to maintain order and preserve the Union AF: stronger central government would destroy the work of the Revolution, limit democracy, and restrict states' rights Strategy: F: Emphasized the weakenesses of the Articles of Confederation; showed their opponents as merely negative opponents with no solutions to the problems of the nation that the AOC Confederation were not addressing AF: Argued that the proposed Constitution contained no protection of individual rights, that it gave the central government more power than the British had ever had Advantages: F: Strong leaders who people recognized and identified with AF: Appealed to the popular distrust of government based on colonial experience Disadvantages: F: Constitution was new and untried, lacked a bill of rights AF: poorly organized, slow to respond to Federalist challenge because they really didn't have an alternate solution

-written by Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay but anonymously under the pseudonym Publius -in their essays, they moved systematically through the Constitution, explaining its virtues and responding to the AF attacks