THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

FROM RESISTANCE TO REVOLUTION: 1767-1783

THE TOWNSHEND DUTIES

• Charles Townshend was Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1767

– New duties on glass, paper, painters’ supplies, and tea

– John Dickinson argued these were illegal

– Merchants signed Nonimportation Agreements

– Sons of Liberty urged strict enforcement of Nonimportation agreements

BOSTON MASSACRE

• March 5, 1770

– Four colonists killed

– Incident began with harassment of British soldiers

– Did the have right to use deadly force?

– John Adams convinced a jury that they did

– A riot broke out after verdict; March 5 became a colonial holiday

THE TEA ACT CRISIS

• Townshend duties repealed in 1770

• Tea Act of 1773 ended a period of calm

– A tax on tea that had to be purchased from East India Company

– Boston Tea Party (December 1773)

COERCIVE ACTS, 1774

• “Intolerable Acts”

– Closed Boston Harbor until tea was paid for

– Suppressed town meetings

– Royal officials would now be tried outside of New England

– Governor could requisition houses for soldiers

– Quebec Act gave Catholics the right to worship; restored French civil law; extended Quebec’s boundaries to Ohio & Mississippi

FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS

• Philadelphia, September 1774

– All colonies except Georgia attended

– Pledged not to obey Coercive Acts

– Yet rejected call for independence

– Declaration of Rights promised obedience to King but rejected Parliament’s right to tax

– Set up Continental Association to prohibit importation of goods from England

– Adjourned to meet again in May 1775

THE SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD

• April 19, 1775: Lexington and Concord

– Minutemen lose 8 men

– Soldiers failed to find supplies

– Minutemen pursued them all the way back to Boston

SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS

• Philadelphia, May 10, 1775

– NO immediate declaration of independence

– G. Washington given command of Continental Army to besiege Boston

– At Bunker Hill, patriot army suffered a major defeat on June 17, 1775

– Bloodiest battle of entire war

– British held city until April 1776

The English Colonies: 1601--1756

CH 1-2: Patterns of Colonial Social Structure
1607-1750
Slides 35 to 54
England and the New World
English society fairly stable in 1500s
Central Europe devastated by Wars of Religion
Catholics v. Protestants
England at war in Ireland
Irish considered lazy and stupid by English
Savages just like Indians
Motivations for Conquest
National glory
Spreading Protestantism (most English people belonged to Church of England)
And profits (money, gold, silver)
THE SOCIAL CRISIS IN ENGLAND
A vast increase in poverty and homeless population
The New World offered a place to send the “unruly poor.”
America was a land where men could own land and be free
The “masterless man” was the ideal
SOCIAL CLASS AND FREEDOM
A well-ordered society depended on obedience to one’s “superiors”
Only a very few deserved or earned liberty
The Magna Carta (1215)—the ideals of freedom
Habeas corpus
The right to face one’s accuser
Trial by jury

Radical Freedom
Levellers called for liberty for everybody
Diggers called for economic security as a basis for liberty—can people be “free” if they are starving?
Both were organized groups of workers

The English Civil War (1642-1649)
Puritans v. Cavaliers
Oliver Cromwell v. Charles !
After the War: 1649—1662
Puritans rule England
Cromwell becomes Lord High Protector
The King is beheaded
Royal family escapes to Europe
THE COLONIAL PEOPLE
POPULATION
IMMIGRATION
LIFE-STYLES
THE POPULATION “EXPLOSION”
English-speaking population in 1640: 27,000 (about 2 percent African; 25 percent of English were indentured servants))
Population 1700: 250,888 (about 8 percent were African)
IMMIGRATION: GERMANS
Germans (1683-1750): 8 percent of population
Mennonites, Quakers, Lutherans, and Calvinists
Many came as redemptioners
Too poor to pay for transportation
Sold themselves to ship captains
Sold to highest bidder in America
As many as 1 out of 3 died at sea

IMMIGRATION—Scotch-Irish
The Scotch-Irish (6 percent of population)
Had been moved from England to Ireland in early 1600s
King James wanted to strengthen Protestantism
A severe depression in 1696 devastated Ireland
Thousands of Scotch-Irish shipped out to Maryland and Virginia to work tobacco crops
Most were “indentures”
FORCED IMMIGRATION: Africans
West Africans: (27,817 by 1700)
First Africans arrived in Virginia in 1619
Referred to as “servants;”
1662: Virginia slave code makes children born of African mothers and white fathers slaves
Interracial marriages banned
All Blacks were slaves; unless freed by their owners
1669: it was not a crime to kill a slave
On Board
Restraints
COLONIAL LIFESTYLES
Majority of whites lived on farms (90%)
Most were poor but managed to grow enough food to feed themselves
Land was cheap and people moved frequently
Cities: Boston, Philadelphia, Charleston
Problems: fire, crime, sanitation, disease
Yellow fever killed 1/3 of population of Philadelphia in 1680s
COLONIAL POLITICS
NORTH AND SOUTH
GOVERNORS AND ASSEMBLIES
CONSENSUS AND CONFLICT
NORTH AND SOUTH: A GROWING DIVISION
Differences in the colonies
slavery more common in South;
rice, tobacco, indigo major crops
Similarities:
Trade united the merchant class
All colonists shared a common legal and political heritage
Shared an English system of representative government
GOVERNORS AND ASSEMBLIES
Governors appointed by the King
Considered to be the spokesmen of the King
The “Assembly--” Two Branches
A Lower (elected) and Upper House in other colonies (appointed by governor with consent of King)
Passed laws and appropriated money
Controlled by planters, merchants, lawyers
VOTING AND REPRESENTATION
Voting registration in New England very easy: free, white males, over 21 eligible
In South: property requirements kept a majority of whites from voting
Women and slaves could not vote
Due to geography and politics inland settlements had fewer representatives
Legislatures controlled by wealthy landowners on the Atlantic coast
CONSENSUS AND CONFLICT
Colonial upper class leaders assumed slaves, servants, and the poor had no stake in society—they did what they were told to do
Government should be by the “Best”: the wealthy and educated—(“deference politics”)
Most important source of conflict was tax policy
Other issues: Schools, roads, and protection from Indians
Who should pay? How much?
AMERICAN ECONOMIC HISTORY
The 13 Colonies: 1607--1763
THE AMERICAN ECONOMY
A History: 1492 to the Present
BEFORE COLUMBUS
Native Americans before 1492
Family Income (based on current value of dollars)
$1 a month for hunters
Hunters need 1 square mile per person
Europeans needed about 1 or 2 acres (for potatoes)
The “Great Transition” in use of land
From deer and buffalo hunting
To raising pigs and cattle




CAUSES OF EUROPEAN EXPANSION
Spain and Portugal
Conquer the world for Christ
A water route to the East (China, India, and Japan)
Silk and spices (luxury items)
The Silk Road
Expanding population after 14th century ravages of the Bubonic Plague


INDIANS v. EUROPEANS
Sources of Conflict
Hunters v. Farmers
Attitudes
Hunters considered “labor” degrading
Farmers believed land was to be “used”
Two ways of life were at war
(Do hunting peoples around the world always lose out to agriculturalists?)
EUROPE v. AMERICA
In Europe
The poor (90% of population) suffered great misery
Peasants and workers faced war, hunger, and disease
And still faced feudal controls
They could not buy their own land
Cities already overcrowded
America was virtually unpopulated (it seemed) and land seemed in endless supply
THE COLONIAL ECONOMY
An agricultural society
3 of 4 families owned farms
Subsistence farming was standard
Only 5% of product was exported
In the South: tobacco, indigo, rice
From the North came trees
BRITISH COLONIALISM
Navigation Acts imposed after 1649
Everything had to be shipped on English ships from Britain
Mercantilist theory demanded a controlled economy for benefit of the homeland
IMPACT OF MERCANTILE THEORY
Extra costs of Navigation Acts amounted to about 36 cents per person
About 1 percent of national income
Hardly enough to inspire a revolt
Much of this money went to British navy
To protect against pirates
And Indians and the French in the West
IMPACT OF FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR
Began in 1756--in Ohio Country
Peace treaty signed in 1763
French lost New France (Canada)
And Illinois Country
Though Spain controlled Louisiana Territory
British needed new sources of revenue to pay for the war and thousands of troops needed to protect against Indians

MERCANTILISM
The world’s wealth is limited
A nation could grow rich and powerful only by protecting itself from competition
Get the wealth before someone else does
Or take it from them
MERCANTILISM (2)
Nations should strengthen themselves by weakening their rivals
It should sell more than it bought
A favorable balance of trade
COLONIES IN A MERCANTILIST SYSTEM
Supplied the “mother country” with goods and raw materials not found at home
Colonists should purchase the mother country’s goods with gold or silver from colonial mines
MERCANTILISM AND THE BRITISH EMPIRE
Trade had to be regulated to prevent goods from leaving the Empire
Colonial manufacturing could not be allowed
Because it would compete with Britain’s own industries
Commerce had to be regulated
THE NAVIGATION ACTS
1651: British goods could only be carried on British ships
Sugar, rice, tobacco, indigo, naval stores from colonies had to be shipped directly to England
Coastal trade had to be conducted on English ships
¾ of crews had to be British sailors
SECOND NAVIGATION ACT
1660: “Enumerated articles” had to be shipped directly to England
Intent—to prevent colonies from trading with any other power
Especially France and Holland
List of articles included: sugar, cotton, tobacco, indigo, rice, molasses, apples, and wool

THE STAPLE ACT
1663: Made it illegal for colonies to buy anything directly from another country
Other nations had to ship their products to England first
Or pay the customs fees


NAVIGATION ACTS (con’t)
1673: Merchants had to post a bond as a guarantee that goods would be taken only to England
1696: All colonial governors had to take an oath to obey trade laws
Laws would be enforced by a Board of Trade and Plantations
Members appointed by the King
PROBLEMS AND IMPACT
The laws were difficult to enforce
Smuggling (from Canada) was common
1684: Parliament revoked the Mass. Bay Company Charter
To punish the colonists for avoiding the Staple Act
The colonial economy grew twice as fast as that of England

REGULATION OF MANUFACTURING
Laws were designed to stamp out colonial industries trying to compete with those of mother country
1699: Woolen Act
EFFECTS OF REGULATION ON THE COLONIES
Created a thriving shipbuilding industry in New England
The laws were difficult to enforce and easily avoided

THE BURDEN OF REGULATION
Because other foreign vessels were excluded from trade, colonists had to pay higher shipping costs
The paid higher prices and earned smaller incomes than they would have earned without Navigation Act restrictions

US History: 1492-1603

CH 1: Founding the American Colonies

Indians Before Columbus

Culture and Religion

European View of Indians

Slides 1 to 34

THE INDIAN WAY OF LIFE

n GENERALIZATIONS:

n They lived close to nature

n They respected faithfulness, honor, and aloofness

n They practiced retributive justice (unwritten laws)

n Sharing and generosity were key values

n They adopted themselves to the environment in which they lived

INDIANS IN 1492

n More than 350 languages and cultures

n Ancestors came from Mongolia 15,000 to 40,000 years ago

n Divided by anthropologists into several distinct geographical groups

n Eastern Woodlands; Great Plains; West Coast; Pueblo; Southeastern; Central and South American; Arctic

n Hunters, fishermen, farmers, traders

Indian Religions

n Individuals sought protection and well-being from the gods (polytheistic)

n The gods lived in nature, controlled it, and demanded obedience and sacrifice (animistic)

n Common to many cultures was a “vision quest”--individuals sought their own personal god

Indian Families

n Many--but not all--were matrilineal

n The mother was the head of the family

n Women had most of the authority in settling disputes, child-rearing, education

n In many societies, children were not punished but allowed to learn on their own

HUNTING SOCIETIES

n Great Plains Region:

n The greatest warrior/hunter was the most admired member of the community

n Many cultures believed animals had souls

n Rules had to be followed in hunting as in war

n The soul of an improperly killed animal would seek revenge

n After killing, a prayer had to be said asking for the animal’s forgiveness

PREPARATION FOR WAR

n War party purified itself by fasting for several days; abstained from sex

n Sought a remote sacred place where spiritual commitment was demonstrated

THE MANDAN BULL DANCE (Great Plains Ceremony)

n An example of of self-torture

n Young men had wooden skewers pushed through their arms and legs

n Then pulled by cords up to top of lodge

n Blood poured from wounds but crying out was forbidden

n Those best able to stand the pain became leaders

INDIANS AND EUROPEANS

n Were Indians human beings?

n 1512: Spanish King ruled:

n They were human beings with souls

n Deserved to hear the Word of God

n Could not be treated as “dumb brutes”

n They were descendants of Adam and Eve

n Only if they refused to listen to God’s word could war against them be “just”

n But who listened to the King?

EUROPEAN VIEW OF NATIVE PEOPLES (continued)

n Europeans saw them as an inferior variety of the human race

n 1.Had no law and order

n 2.Lived in no permanent homes

n 3.Had no great cities

n 4. Had “immoral ideas”

n 5. Were weak, poor, and pagan

INDIAN VIEW OF EUROPEANS

n They were loud, nasty, vulgar, mean-spirited people

n They mistreated their children

n They screamed and yelled and got drunk

n They frequently broke their promises

n Their religion was strange: they actually ate the body and drank the blood of their god.

Decline After European Invasion

n Indian population declined 90 to 96 percent from 1500 to 1600

n From 25 million to 1 million in North America

n Similar numbers in South America

n Causes

n War

n Enslavement

n Disease

THE NEW WORLD

n Columbus and his crew came across animals unknown in the Old World

n Giant armadillos, jaguars, huge snakes like the anaconda

n Columbus found the people attractive

ANCIENT MEXICO

n The Oaxaca Valley

n The site of the earliest civilization about 9,000 BC

n Hunters and gatherers

n Agriculture began about 3000 BC

n Maize (corn) allowed growth of civilization

AZTEC RELIGION

n Xipe Totec, the “Flayed One,” the god of spring renewal

n The god is dressed in the facial and body skin of a sacrificial victim

n Victims were POWs and young girls

CALENDAR: Central America

n Central American Indians showed much interest in the passage of time.

n This elaborate calendar divides the year into 20 equal months

ZUNI PUEBLO

A ZUNI INDIAN

ZUNI VILLAGE

ZUNI RELIGION

n A Zuni house shrine

n Zuni gods live in this world

n Some live at the bottom of a lake in Arizona

A ZUNI LEADER

n Zuni “governors” were appointed by priests

n The Zuni live on a reservation in eastern Arizona

n A few pueblos are still occupied

ZUNI WOMEN

n Zuni houses are the property of adult women

n Husbands could not sell them without the permission of their wives

THE SPANISH EMPIRE

The Conquest

Spain in North America

The Spanish Legacy

Motivations for Conquest

n National glory

n Spread Catholic Christianity

n Get to the “Orient”

n Spices

n Silk cloth

n Avoid Islamic middlemen on route to China

The Spanish Conquest

n Spain v. Portugal

n Henry the Navigator (1394-1460)—a Portuguese prince

n Search for gold, ivory, spices

n Portuguese ships explored African coast looking for gold

n Found gold dust and slaves

n Sailors feared the “green sea of darkness”

n Explored South about 100 miles a year

King John II of Portugal (1481-1495)

n Supported exploration after Henry died

n 1483: reached mouth of Congo River

n 1487: Bartholomew Diaz rounded Cape of Good Hope

n 1497: Vasco Da Gama entered Indian Ocean--returned to Lisbon in 1499 with pepper and cinnamon

n 1500: Pedro Cabral landed in Brazil

Spain: Voyages of Columbus

n 1484: told Portuguese that God told him to sail west to Indies; John II rejected a the idea1492:

n Convinced Queen Isabella (Spain) to finance voyage

n Columbus named “Admiral of the Ocean Sea” and governor of “all lands he should find); and promised a share of profits

n Voyage Aug. 3 to Oct. 12

Treaty of Tordesillas, 1494

n Spain and Portugal agreed to terms designed by Pope Alexander VI

n To avoid a world war for empire

n Spain got all lands 370 leagues west of Azores and Cape Verde Islands

n Portuguese Empire granted in Africa, India and Asia

n Columbus made three more trips to “New World”--died in 1506

Spanish Settlements & Conquest

n Columbus visited Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti); Cuba; Central America; Panama--found gold, silver, and slaves

n 1509-1517: began finding Aztecs, Mayas, Incas

n 1519-1521: Aztec Empire falls to Hernando Cortes and his 1,000 man army

Spanish Conquests: 1521-1545

n Mayans in Mexico fight until 1545

n Incas in Peru defeated by 1557

n Indians no match for Spanish horses, guns, and steel swords

n Disease also killed millions

n Spanish priests raised question of mistreatment--: were Indians equal to whites?

n If so, they should be treated humanly

The Spanish Legacy in Central and South America

n Introduced African slavery into New World

n Also raised question of human inequality—were some people superior to others?

n Immense wealth taken by Spain from Mexico, South and Central America inspired English and French expansion

SOCIAL CLASSES IN NEW SPAIN

n Peninsulares

n Creoles

n Meztizo

n Indians

n Africans

n Zambos

n (Based on skin color and social class)

Justification for Conquest

n Spanish culture was superior to Indian

n The “heathen” must hear the message of the Bible

n Whites were superior to the “colored” races

n Inferior, non-Christians could be enslaved

SLAVERY IN AFRICA

n Portuguese explorers along west coast of Africa brought first slaves to Europe

n Slavery in Africa

n Slaves were criminals, debtors, and POWs

n They had rights and could own property

n Men, women, and children were enslaved

n Trade grew rapidly in Africa:1450 to 1500

n Europeans traded cloth and guns

The Spanish View

n They were inferior types of beings

n Indian religion was barbaric

n A long experience with the MOORS focused their attention on the “One True God”

n Moors were Muslims who conquered Spain in 730s

n Spanish were true fanatics

n Indians were “ignorant like children”

The New Laws

n Bartolome Las Casas wrote that Spanish were meaner and nastier than other Europeans

n However, Pope Paul had banned Indian enslavement (but not African)

n The New Laws (1542) were never enforced

THE SPANISH FRONTIER IN NORTH AMERICA

1528-1821

The Spanish and the Indians

Spain in North America

n Florida, Texas, Santa Fe, and California

n Florida explored by Hernando de Soto who spread disease and destruction looking for the “fountain of youth”

n Coronado explored Southwest in 1540

n Pueblo Indians defeated in 1598 opening Southwest to settlers; a few came

n California had many missions

Coronado’s Expedition

n Told Indians that Spanish had “a disease of the mind that only gold could cure.”

n Traveled all the way from Mexico City to Central Kansas looking for Cibola

n Went no further

n There was nothing out there

n Priests began to build missions throughout the Southwest

ACOMA PUEBLO MASSACRE 1598

n Spanish expedition ambushed, several killed

n Governor sent large army to “teach Indians a lesson”

n Spanish killed 500 men and 300 women and children at Acoma

n 580 others taken alive

n Males had one foot cut-off

n Women and children sold into slavery

PUEBLO REVOLT OF 1680

n Led by Indian religious leader named Pope

n The “Gods” had told him drive out whites

n 400 Spanish killed, including 34 priests

n Led to Spanish retreat from Santa Fe

n They would not return for 12 years (1692)

n The largest and most successful Indian revolt in entire colonial era (1500-1775)

INDIANS IN CALIFORNIA AND TEXAS

n Population in California declined from 95,000 to 35,000 between 1650 and 1800

n Due to slavery and war, but mostly disease

n Spanish built 100 missions

n Texas

n Spanish population only 3,500 by 1800

n Due to fear of Comanche, who dominated other tribes in region, through war and violence

n Spanish governor ordered their extermination

LIFE ON THE SPANISH FRONTIER

n Life expectancy was 40 years for settlers

n Mothers frequently died at birth

n As did the babies

n Frequent Indian wars killed many

n 1800-1810: Indians subjugated by extermination and bribery in Texas

RACE RELATIONS IN NEW SPAIN

n Spanish were “Gente de Razon”

n Indians were “Gente sin Razon”

n “Intermarriage” still common--very few Spanish women on frontier

n By 1776 a majority of population of New Mexico was meztizo

n The English rarely intermarried—why?