Expert answer:A Letter from Boston Place
Expert answer:Reflection Paper A Letter from Boston Place yourself (same age, family situation, and relative occupation) in early 1770s Boston. You are inspired to write a letter
to someone (family, friend, co-worker, etc.) outside of the area about what you have seen or heard happening with regards
to the growing rift with Britain.Below are questions you must address in your letter. Your nation is on the brink of war. What has caused this? In your current situation, how has the foreign government impacted you, and what you are seeing evolve as the American
government? Are you hoping to see a new nation emerge, or are you hoping for a reconciliation with Britain? You are encouraged to be creative with the assignment, but make sure you are using facts from what you have read and
learned to guide you. Your letter must be a minimum of one page, double spaced, and written in Times New Roman 12 point
font. APA format
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UNIT III STUDY GUIDE
Age of Revolution
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit III
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
2. Identify the rifts that developed between the European powers and their American colonies.
2.1 Describe the events that led to the War for Independence.
4. Summarize the impact foreign and local governments had on the evolution of American government.
4.1 Discuss the growing rift with Britain in the 1700s.
Course/Unit
Learning Outcomes
2.1
4.1
Learning Activity
Unit III Lesson
U.S. History reading passages
Unit III Reflection Paper
Unit III Lesson
U.S. History reading passages
Unit III Reflection Paper
Reading Assignment
Throughout this course, you will be provided with sections of text from the online resource U.S. History. You
may be tested on your knowledge and understanding of the material listed below as well as the information
presented in the unit lesson. Click on the link(s) below to access your material.
Click here to access this unit’s reading from U.S. History. The chapter/section titles are also provided below.
Section 4.4: Great Awakening and Enlightenment
Section 4.5: Wars for Empire
Chapter 5 (Sections 5.1-5.5): Imperial Reforms and Colonial Protests, 1763-1774
Chapter 6 (Sections 6.1-6.4): America’s War for Independence, 1775-1783
Unit Lesson
Under the dominant British leadership, Colonial America, in what could be called its second attempt,
successfully and quickly built a sturdy population of busy cities and thriving farms. Though Britain retained its
enforcement of the government within and throughout colonial society, its population was no longer the
dominant source of immigrants to this New World. America was already becoming a melting pot that would
inspire songs and teachings of unity and nationalism even centuries later.
Family prosperity and the need for labor would ensure that the rooted families would grow, especially in
regions such as the Chesapeake and lower South, while the perceived opportunity would ramp up increased
migration from Europe, Africa (mostly involuntary), and even some Asian influences. From the advent of the
18th Century until the years directly before the War for Independence, English America would expand into 13
total colonies across multiple geographic and climatic regions along the Atlantic shore.
HY 1110, American History I
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The majority of the population disproportionately grew in the northern cities from
nations
that held
no loyalty to
UNIT
x STUDY
GUIDE
the original British colonizers, and soon this would become a powder keg that Title
would explode with future
events that will be discussed later on in this lesson. England did not care to understand what loose borders
and great distance without representation was doing to divide the American citizenry. The unstable
confederation of territories with diverse and growing populations started to fracture, even within towns and
counties. This situation, mixed with increasing pressure from a government trying to reacquire its influence
from an ocean away, at first only generated a series of small skirmishes and native chaos, but finally this
powder keg would ignite a rain of gunfire that would be heard throughout the world.
Cultural Background
As a reminder from the previous unit, from the earliest settlements, the Atlantic colonies were divided by
multiple cultural and geographic factors, such as climate, ancestry, urban development, and religion. Within
these populations was also a very common association with Native Americans, and with a labor force that had
drastically evolved from heavily European servants to almost universally West African transplants.
These changes spurred many additional distinctions in terms of cultural expectation, neighborhood makeup,
and a general understanding of what was meant by the “American experience.” The distinctions between the
individual colonies would amplify as populations continued to flood into the prosperous colonies from Europe.
With this population also came fresh ideas that challenged the old guard and once again renewed the spirit of
freedom of opportunity and enterprise. Religion would be one of the largest targets; just as previous
generations had moved in rebellion to religious oversight, now the structure of organized religion itself was
caught in the crosshairs of philosophy: the Enlightenment.
The Enlightenment, originally a French movement inspired by human potential and manifested in the ideas of
vacating (or even rebelling against) political oversight and religious tradition, quickly moved into the Americas.
And whereas Europe had centuries of tradition to help slow the effects of this philosophy, America was largely
a blank canvas for new ideas and worked like a sponge to soak up the potential for innovation. In tandem with
the strengthening of communities and increased literacy among multigenerational families, the ideas of free
thinkers would quickly spread from the elite to the lower classes through public displays and intentional
attempts to rouse a response among the most common denominator. These free thinkers included John
Locke, John Smith, Thomas Paine, Francois-Marie Arouet (Voltaire), Denis Diderot, and eventually American
leaders such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
The outward antagonism against tradition and religion that often came with the Enlightenment would
eventually release its grip on these colonies; in the next century, the ideas of free will and civil justice would
become instrumental to the founding of the first truly democratic nation. An argument could be made that the
American colonies became a utopia for those rebelling against the ideas of Machiavellianism (a term referring
to Niccolo Machiavelli’s masterwork, The Prince, which blatantly defends a ruler’s right to use any and all
methods to ensure his rule is respected), which had been used to shape European society and was a
common theme among many Enlightenment leaders. As an example of how powerful the Enlightenment was,
the challenge to change American culture would be instrumental to the Great Awakening discussed in the
previous unit as well as eventually to the development of what was a uniquely American cultural religious
perspective: revivalism.
Colonies Fight for the Crown
To protect itself from the growing populations and new ideas, the crown knew that the Navigation Acts of the
previous century required updating. These laws had ensured that British interests were kept in the
foreground. They had provided a successful monopoly for many decades, but as the population of these
colonies was often no longer dominantly loyal to the British crown, the attitudes and respect of the law were
called into question.
For this to work, the mercantilist laws had to remain intact, America’s interests had to remain with shipping
and the ports, and the crown had to be viewed as the absolute final authority as represented by its royal
appointed governors. By the mid-1700s, with many families having generations of roots in America, this
control was beginning to waiver, and colonial assemblies were starting to usurp power from the governor and
English Parliament, which were distant and often deaf to uniquely American needs and concerns. This loyalty
HY 1110, American History I
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would soon be tested when a full-scale frontier conflict evolved into the first world
conflict
to beGUIDE
fought on
UNIT
x STUDY
American soil: the Seven Years’ War (a.k.a. the French and Indian War).
Title
What began as a 1754 skirmish between colonists and Native American tribes of the Mid-Atlantic, soon
blossomed into an international conflict between colonizing nations and eventually between colonizing
empires. The French, whose numbers remained small in America, stayed focused on the fur trade near the
Mississippi River. This region, dubbed “New France,” engaged in only rare interaction with the British, who
under mercantilist laws had stayed primarily on the Eastern coast. The quest for land was once again the
aggressive instigator of physical reaction as the hunt for new lands for farming, hunting, minerals, and timber
caught the attention of entrepreneurs from Virginia and Pennsylvania. Also, their unimpeded venture into New
France would lead to a military response in the form of secured trade routes and military garrisons manned by
the French. At this time, many English colonies had not determined western borders as expansion was
neither allowed nor supported by crown authority until the financial prospects of Virginia Governor Dinwiddie,
which supported the new land claims, challenged the supposed French border.
In 1754, a British officer named George
Washington, a young native Virginian with a
wide knowledge of the terrain and European
battle tactics, led a small expedition into the
disputed territory that eventually led to the first
open gunfire of this frontier fray. The first British
stronghold, Fort Necessity, was constructed and
soon attacked with great success by the
combined western force.
The French had shown their alliance with the
Mingo, Shawnee, and Delaware tribes, and the
British felt they too needed support. British
A young George Washington inspecting his troops
brashness presupposed that once-honored
(Trumbull, 1797)
alliances with Mohawk and Iroquois leaders
would immediately necessitate support.
However, in 1754 that alliance was demanded at a meeting in Albany, where in turn, the Native American
tribes refused their support, citing poor preparation and limited support. In response, political figures Benjamin
Franklin and Thomas Hutchinson supported a temporary union of all British, Iroquois, and Mohawk forces, to
which there was absolutely no support, including from the crown.
It was clear how divided the colonies and tribes had become and how little the English Parliament cared
about American matters that were not directly tied to mercantilist policies. Parliament resolved only to appoint
two new governors, whose roles were to coordinate all negotiations with Native American tribes. Only the
Mohawk pledged support to the British, and such a weak force would not challenge the growing French
resistance.
Over the next two years, the British would continually engage the French with less than satisfactory resources
and numbers. For the French, this was a major conflict, but for the British, it was but a skirmish that did not
(yet) threaten the fertile shipping lanes. With the assignment of William Pitt in 1757, the colonial resistance
was finally granted enough support to reclaim British lands and push the French back, but the outcome of this
was a widening of the conflict to the world stage, exactly the full-scale conflict the British Parliament and
crown did not want.
In the aftermath, the British might was more than adequate to halt French imperialistic goals, and new English
lands in America were captured from both of England’s traditional rivals, France and Spain. These included
modern Canada, Cuba, and territory to the Mississippi River, of which the Spanish took control. The French
were, for all political purposes, removed from the Americas and no longer posed any northern or western
threat to Britain’s American empire. The colonists believed that this was their victory, and to they who had fed,
quartered, and fought alongside their British cousins, belonged the spoils of war. To the rest of the empire,
this was a military solution to a colonial mess—an expensive mess.
HY 1110, American History I
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Paying for “America’s” Protection
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Fallout from the Seven Years’ War, like the attitude of the imperial leadership, was slanted against the
colonists. In 1763, once again in an attempt to spread into new lands for farming and opportunity, renewed
skirmishes with the still-fuming Native American tribes caused renewed conflicts, such as Pontiac’s Rebellion
and the attack on Fort Detroit. In an attempt to halt any escalation of this conflict, and with the goal of
retaining the still-profitable mercantilist system on the coast, the crown and native tribes agreed to what
became known as the Royal Proclamation of 1763. This, in simplest terms, was a promise that any Native
American tribes who were positioned on what was once disputed French territory between the Appalachian
Mountains and Mississippi River did not have to worry about colonial interference or encroachment. The
Native Americans were promised compensation and careful review prior to any lands being taken by the
crowd or colonies. The language of the contract was for the English government to very carefully remain
distant, yet respectful, to the tribes affected and overtly superior to the colonists.
For many “English subjects” living in America, this was a direct insult. Many of them lost properties,
livelihoods, and prospects due to these limitations, and colonists who had fought these same tribes felt
betrayed and humiliated by their government. Aided by the contract’s vague identification and the less-thanfortified border, the colonists in the West largely ignored the proclamation. Much of the formerly disputed land
was soon purchased from those tribes, which also provided some sense of the western borders for many of
the colonies.
The proclamation would soon be seen as only the first rash action taken by the English government against
her colonies. A new king, George III, and Prime Minister George Grenville, were now in power. In addition to
the standing Parliament, the first goal was to reclaim the monies lost in the Seven Years’ War, the bill for
which, according to the new administration, obviously belonged to the instigator, the colonies. The repayment
would come from the creation of two drastically apparent new taxes: the Sugar (Revenue) and Stamp Acts.
The first act, the Sugar (Revenue) Act of 1764, lowered the price of molasses (used like common sugar
today) but greatly increased the tariff for the non-British product. This meant that any item with molasses,
such as rum, desserts, or preserves, would increase in cost. For the traditional customer, who would
purchase only those quantities normal for self or family, these first two acts were not completely outlandish.
However, for distributors who had made up their losses caused by the mercantilist laws from under-the-table
deals, this was a serious threat to business.
Perhaps more undermining to the American marketer and consumer than the price was the increased
monitoring of tariff policy and collection by royally appointed accountants. The second tax, the Stamp Act of
1765, was a tax on any formal piece of paper, which ranged from documents to playing cards. The “stamp,” a
designed crest in ink, would have a much wider impact on the common citizen, as all professions would
require multiple daily documents to have a stamp, and the collection amount quickly added up to a large sum.
The colonists were outraged by these new taxes, and their refusal to adhere to them, especially the Stamp
Act, would lead to its quick repeal (1766), but the damage was done. The “English citizens” in America saw
how unfairly they were being treated, compared to other citizens around the world, and took offense that this
taxation, monitoring, and subjugation was claimed as penance for a war that had escalated due to imperial
ambition of the mother country.
HY 1110, American History I
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UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Stamps, such as that in the upper right hand corner, became required for paper products
ranging from papers to playing cards.
(Bradford, 1765)
The response to these acts came from unification, a “Patriotism” towards those living in the Americas and
separate from England. Political orators and leaders, such as Patrick Henry, would emerge in fits of rage
against the cold English policy, remarking that the only authority to tax Virginia was Virginians, i.e., the House
of Burgesses, Virginia’s assembly in Williamsburg. The original intention was not to separate from English
authority as a whole, especially as Britain retained the world’s strongest military and had diplomatic
connections throughout the world, but only to establish the ability and right to self-govern issues which only
affect Virginians. Henry’s reactions, collectively known as the Virginia Resolves, would be printed and
published throughout the colonies, where it quickly became a rally cry against the Stamp Act and inspired the
term “no taxation without representation!” Henry’s ideas are an example of another major tool that would
encourage American support for Patriot support: propaganda. What was started in Williamsburg would quickly
spread to Boston, a second hotbed for revolutionary ideas that soon was the site that put the propaganda
machine into high gear.
Before going further, there is a matter of terminology to clarify. Though their titles
are often interchanged, for this lesson the terms American Revolution and the
War for Independence refer to two different series of events. The American
Revolution (“revolt”) was from 1763-1775, when the colonists were performing
actions that were in direct revolt on Great Britain. The fight for independence
commenced when the Declaration of Independence was written and sent to King
George. Britain was not about to just give up the colonies, so the War for
Independence—where the colonists were fighting to gain their independence
from Britain—began in 1776. Fighting concluded in 1781 with the Battle of
Yorktown, but the war officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in
1783.
Patrick Henry ca. 1770s
(Patrick Henry, n.d.)
Just as had been the case in Virginia, the northern colonies were dealing with the dilemma of what to do
about the new taxes being imposed by the crown. Like Patrick Henry in Virginia, there was a class of worldcaliber politicians emerging in the Massachusetts legislature. For many in Boston, though, the true political
body was proven to be found not in the capital, but in the pub—most notably the Green Dragon Tavern.
HY 1110, American History I
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There, future President John Adams, his cousin Samuel Adams, and John Hancock,
UNIT x among
STUDYothers,
GUIDEwould
form one of America’s first true political action committees: the Sons of Liberty.Title
The general mob had proven
already to be enough of a voice to expel specific dignitaries and appointments from their office using tactics
such as tarring and feathering or outright destruction and violence. However, there was doubt if such actions
actually made it back to London, or if anyone of power cared. The outright refusal and destruction in the name
of the Stamp Act would force its removal, but not without an immediate statement back to the colonial
leadership in the form of a new act, the Declaratory Act of 1766, which stated that the English Parliament was
the sole final authority and had the right to legislate over any British colony, for any reason, without exception.
This was a slap in the face to those who challenged British authority. The government in London, in effect,
removed any and all influence or power that local government had in the eyes of the crown and placed the
imperial legislators in charge–a collection of voices that did not directly include colonial representation.
The next act came soon after, and this would be the final straw for many, especially those who depended on
the success of shipping channels along the Atlantic coast. The Townshend Acts (Duties) of 1767 were, in
simplest terms, a tax on the importation of many common household goods, ranging from tea to teapots. The
tax was to be enforced on the importer. However, like the Sugar Act before, that meant that prices for any
affected items would also rise significantly, so the tax would affect anyone in English society. In addition, this
also caused some previously taxed items, such as paper, to include yet another fee, which now meant that it
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