American Revolution

The American Revolution is the series of events, ideas, and changes that resulted in the political separation of thirteen colonies in North America from the British Empire and the creation of the United States of America. The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) was one part of the revolution, but the revolution began before the first shot was fired at Lexington and Concord and continued after the British surrender at Yorktown. "The Revolution was effected before the War commenced," wrote John Adams. "The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people."

Origins

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Main article: Colonial America

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the early 1760s, Great Britain possessed a vast empire on the North American continent. In addition to the thirteen British colonies, victory in the Seven Years' War had given Great Britain claim over New France (Canada), Spanish Florida, and the Native American lands east of the Mississippi River. A war against France's former Indian allies—Pontiac's Rebellion—had, if not conquered, at least pacified the western frontier. Most white colonists in America considered themselves loyal subjects of the British Crown, with the same rights and obligations as people in Britain.

Related Topics:
Great Britain - Vast empire - Seven Years' War - New France - Canada - Spanish Florida - Native American - Mississippi River - Pontiac's Rebellion

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Government

Main article: Colonial government in America

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Philosophy and radical thought

The Enlightenment elevated natural philosophy and began to replace arguments born of tradition and authority with those based on observation and independent reasoning. The implications of the earlier scientific revolution began to have a greater effect on everyday life and in the conscious thought of men everywhere. Increased publication and communications between like-minded people opened new areas to question and consideration. The early works of thinkers like John Locke became the analysis of men like Montesquieu. The deist views of several of the Founding Fathers of the United States and their views on the proper form of government have roots in this European Enlightenment and were a source for ideas regarding separation of church and state and other liberties.

Related Topics:
The Enlightenment - Natural philosophy - Scientific revolution - John Locke - Montesquieu - Deist - Founding Fathers of the United States - Separation of church and state

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Religious trends

The Great Awakening was the American extension to the earlier religious revivals in Europe. It called into question the authority of established religious institutions, especially, but not exclusively, the Church of England. The revival placed emphasis on individual conscience and experience as the source of value in religious experience. There was a strong element of class revolt: God worked through grace that was given to every man or woman, regardless of station or level of education. This was a direct challenge to upper-class assumptions about the deference due to authority— it was a model of revolutionary thought to come; it was also the first event that swept through all the colonies, from New England to the Carolinas, as a common experience.

Related Topics:
Great Awakening - Church of England

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Road to rebellion

After the French and Indian War and Pontiac's Rebellion, newly crowned King George III sought to overhaul his expansive North American possessions. In order to make the Empire more stable and profitable, new economic and land distribution policies were implemented. Colonial resentment of these new policies grew steadily throughout the decade, and had a significant impact on the emergence of the American Revolution.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Economic disputes, 1760-70

The British national debt had risen to alarming levels during the war years and so in 1760 the Crown began a series of economic initiatives designed to extract more revenue from the colonies. These policies were justifiable, the reasoning went, because the colonists were enjoying the benefits of the peace that had been won.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In theory, Great Britain already regulated the economies of the colonies through the Navigation Acts, but widespread evasion of these laws had long been tolerated. Now, through the use of open-ended search warrants (Writs of Assistance), strict enforcement became the practice. In 1761, Massachusetts lawyer James Otis argued that the writs violated the constitutional rights of the colonists. He lost the case, but John Adams later wrote, "American independence was then and there born."

Related Topics:
Regulated the economies - Navigation Acts - Writs of Assistance - 1761 - James Otis - Constitutional rights

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1764, British Prime Minister George Grenville's Sugar Act and Currency Act created economic hardship in the colonies. Protests led to the boycott of British goods, and to the emergence of the popular slogan "no taxation without representation," in which colonists argued that only their colonial assemblies, and not Parliament, could levy taxes on them. Committees of correspondence were formed in the colonies to coordinate resistance. In previous years, the colonies had shown little inclination towards collective action. Grenville's policies were bringing them together.

Related Topics:
British Prime Minister - George Grenville - Sugar Act - Currency Act - No taxation without representation - Parliament - Committees of correspondence

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A milestone in the Revolution occurred in 1765, when Grenville passed the Stamp Act as a way to finance the quartering of troops in North America. The Stamp Act required all legal documents, permits, commercial contracts, newspapers, pamphlets, and playing cards in the colonies to carry a tax stamp.

Related Topics:
Stamp Act - Tax stamp

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Colonial protest was widespread. Secret societies known as the Sons of Liberty were formed in every colony, and used propaganda, intimidation, and mob violence to prevent the enforcement of the Stamp Act. The furor culminated with the Stamp Act Congress, which sent a formal protest to Parliament in October of 1765. Parliament responded by repealing the Stamp Act, but pointedly declared its legal authority over the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.”

Related Topics:
Sons of Liberty - Propaganda - Stamp Act Congress - Declared its legal authority

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The sequel was not long in coming. In 1767, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, placing taxes on a number of common goods imported into the colonies, including glass, paint, lead, paper, and tea. Colonial leaders organized boycotts of these British imports. The Liberty, a ship belonging to colonial merchant John Hancock, was suspected of smuggling and seized by customs officials in Boston on June 10, 1768. Angry protests on the street led customs officials to report to London that Boston was in a state of insurrection.

Related Topics:
Townshend Acts - John Hancock - Boston - June 10 - 1768

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

British troops began to arrive in Boston in October of 1768. Tensions continued to mount, culminating in the "Boston Massacre" on March 5, 1770, when British soldiers of the 29th Regiment of Foot fired into an angry mob, killing five. Revolutionary agitators like Samuel Adams used the event to stir up popular resistance, but after the trial of the soldiers, who were defended by John Adams, tensions diminished.

Related Topics:
Boston Massacre - March 5 - 1770 - 29th Regiment of Foot - Samuel Adams - John Adams

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Townshend Acts were repealed in 1770, and it was still theoretically possible that further bloodshed in the colonies might be avoided. However, the British government had left one tax from the Townshend Acts in place as a symbolic gesture of their right to tax the colonies—the tax on tea. For the revolutionaries, who stood firm on the principle that only their colonial representatives could levy taxes on them, it was still one tax too many.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Western land dispute

The Proclamation of 1763 sought to limit the conflicts between Native Americans and the English settlers by restricting settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. However, groups of settlers, led for example by Daniel Boone, continued to move into the region beyond the Proclamation Line and fought violently with the Shawnees and other peoples inhabiting the area. Furthermore, the Quebec Act of 1774 extended Quebec's boundaries to the Ohio River, reestablished French civil law, and instituted toleration for Roman Catholics in that territory. Proposals to post British regulars to man forts in the west further disquieted Americans eager to settle in the West.

Related Topics:
Proclamation of 1763 - Native American - Appalachian Mountains - Daniel Boone - Shawnee - Quebec Act - 1774 - Quebec - Ohio River - French civil law - Roman Catholic

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Crises, 1772-75

• Gaspée Affair
• Tea Act of 1773.
• Boston Tea Party - December 16, 1773
• "Intolerable Acts" of 1774.
• The First Continental Congress convened on September 5, 1774 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and endorsed the Suffolk Resolves, which declared the Intolerable Acts to be unconstitutional, called for the people to form militias, and for Massachusetts to form a revolutionary government. Joseph Galloway's Plan of Union is defeated.
• Battle of Lexington and Concord, April 19, 1775
• Second Continental Congress convenes on May 10, 1775.

:*Olive Branch Petition -- July 5, 1775, one final attempt by the Continental Congress to appeal to King George to redress their grievances and avoid more bloodshed. The King refuses even to receive the petition.

Related Topics:
Olive Branch Petition - July 5 - 1775

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Choosing sides

The American revolutionaries, known as Patriots (or Whigs or rebels), included many shades of opinion. Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and George Washington represented a socially conservative faction that would later take shape as the Federalist party and are traditionally characterized as preoccupied with preserving the wealth and power of the "better sorts" of colonial society. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine are usually portrayed as representing the less economically affluent side of society, and political equation.

Related Topics:
Patriot - Alexander Hamilton - John Jay - George Washington - Federalist party - Thomas Jefferson - James Madison - Benjamin Franklin - Thomas Paine

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A great many American colonists remained loyal to the British Crown; these were known as Loyalists (or Tories, or King's men). Loyalists were often of the same well-to-do social circle that produced the right wing of the Patriots (for example Thomas Hutchinson); however, the Scottish highlanders of the Mohawk Valley and the frontiersmen of Georgia included a large number of poorer King's men. Some Loyalists were American Indians, notably Joseph Brant, who led a mixed band of Indians and white farmers and laborers in the Loyalist cause. After the war, United Empire Loyalists became a central component of the populations of the Abaco islands (in the Bahamas), the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Ontario, and Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Related Topics:
Loyalist - Thomas Hutchinson - Joseph Brant - United Empire Loyalists - Abaco - Bahamas - Canadian - New Brunswick - Ontario - Freetown - Sierra Leone

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Class differences among the Patriots

Just as there were rich and poor Loyalists, the Patriots were a mixed lot, and often had different aims for the revolution. Wealthy Patriots viewed independence as a means of freeing themselves from British taxation and limitations on taking western land, but had every intention of remaining in control of the resulting nation. Many craftsmen, small merchants and small farmers, however, were looking at independence as a means of reducing the power and privilege of the elite. Wealthy Patriots knew that they needed the support of the lower classes, but were fearful of their more radical aims. John Adams (an elite more by education than by wealth) attacked Thomas Paine's Common Sense for the "absurd democratical notions" it proposed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Women

The boycott of British goods would have been entirely unworkable without the willing participation of American women: women made the bulk of household purchases, and the boycotted items were largely household items such as tea and cloth. And as cloth was still a basic necessity, for the boycott to work, women would have to return to spinning and weaving, skills that had fallen into disuse. In 1769, the women of Boston produced 40,000 skeins of yarn, and 180 women in Middletown, Massachusetts wove 20,522 yards of cloth.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As the Revolution progressed and economic disruption deepened, women participated directly in the food riots and tar and feathering that was the people's response to price gouging by merchants, Loyalist and Patriot alike. On July 24, 1777, Thomas Boyleston, a Patriot merchant who was withholding coffee and sugar from the market waiting for prices to rise, was confronted by a crowd of 100 or more women, who seized the keys to his warehouse and distributed the coffee themselves while a large crowd of men stood by and watched, dumbfounded.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Writing the state constitutions

By 1776, the colonies had overthrown their existing government, closing courts and driving British agents and governors from their homes, and they had elected conventions and "legislatures" that existed outside of any legal framework— new constitutions were desperately needed in each colony to replace the superceded royal charters.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On January 5, 1776, New Hampshire ratified the first state constitution, six months before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Then, in May, 1776, Congress voted to suppress all forms of crown authority, to be replaced by locally created authority. Virginia, South Carolina, and New Jersey created their constitutions before July 4. Rhode Island and Connecticut simply took their existing royal charters and deleted all references to the crown.

Related Topics:
January 5 - 1776 - New Hampshire - Declaration of Independence - Virginia - South Carolina - New Jersey - July 4 - Rhode Island - Connecticut - Royal charter

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The new states had to decide not only what form of government to create, they first had to decide how to select those who would craft the constitutions and how the resulting document would be ratified. This would be just the start of a process that would pit conservatives against radicals in each state. In states where the wealthy exerted firm control over the process, such as Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, New York and Massachusetts, the result was constitutions that featured:

Related Topics:
Maryland - Virginia - Delaware - New York

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• substantial property qualifications for voting and even more substantial requirements for elected positions (though New York and Maryland lowered property qualifications);
• bicameral legislatures, with the upper house as a check on the lower;
• strong governors, with veto power over the legislature and substantial appointment authority;
• few or no restraints on individuals holding multiple positions in government;
• the continuation of state-established religion.

In states where the less affluent had organized sufficiently to have significant power, especially Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Vermont, the resulting constitutions embodied:

Related Topics:
Pennsylvania - Vermont

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• universal manhood suffrage, or minimal property requirements for voting or holding office (New Jersey went so far as to enfranchise women, a radical step that they retracted 25 years later);
• strong, unicameral legislatures;
• relatively weak governors, without veto powers, and little appointing authority;
• prohibition against individuals holding multiple government posts;
• disestablishment of religion.

Naturally, the fact that conservatives or radicals held sway in a state did not mean that the side with less power accepted the result quietly. In Pennsylvania, the propertied class was horrified by their new constitution (Benjamin Rush called it "our state dung cart"), while in Massachusetts, voters twice rejected the constitution that was presented for ratification; it was ultimately ratified only as a result of the legislature tinkering with the third vote. The radical provisions of Pennsylvania's constitution were to last only forteen years— in 1790, conservatives gained power in the state legislature, called a new constitutional convention, and wrote a new constitution that substantially reduced universal white-male suffrage, gave the governor veto power and patronage appointment authority, and added an upper house with substantial wealth qualifications to the unicameral legislature. Thomas Paine called it a constitution unworthy of America.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~