American Revolution: Tensions & Taxes

American Revolution

• The American Revolution occurred from 1763-1783.
• This emergence of the US shaped Canada.
• The revolution caused challenges of coexistence due to the Loyalist Migration.
• People met those challenges in many ways.

Tension In The 13 Colonies (Debt)

• After 1763, Britain was heavily in debt due to the Seven Years' War.
• Britain wanted ways to reduce expenses, and to keep troops in the 13 colonies.
• Britain decided the 13 colonies should pay for the stationed troops to resolve these issues.

The Stamp Act

• This was passed in 1765.

Tension In The 13 Colonies (Taxes)

• Britain increased taxes in the colonies to cover costs.
• The colonists refused to pay these taxes.
• The colonists argued Britain had no authority to tax them.
• They claimed this was because they had no elected representatives in the British Parliament.
• "No taxation without representation" became the slogan.

Boston Massacre

• The Boston Massacre was a violent confrontation between British soldiers and a crowd of colonists in Boston on March 5, 1770.
• Five people were killed and six wounded.
• The event resulted from growing tensions between the colonists and the British Parliament.

Boston Tea Party

• In 1773, American colonists dressed up as First Nations British allies boarded British ships carrying tea and threw 342 crates of tea over the edge into the harbor.
• This was to protest the tea act.
• The Quebec Act of 1774 established rights in Quebec that protected French law and customs, and extended the boundaries of Quebec.
• The new boundaries made territory around the Great Lakes part of Quebec without consulting First Nations.
• The Thirteen Colonies believed they had a right to this territory and called the Quebec Act "intolerable."
• They accused Britain of favoring "French enemies" over them, Britain's original colonists.

Protest to Rebellion

• In 1775, protests escalated into a rebellion.
• George Washington took command of an army formed in the 13 Colonies.
• This army fought against British rule.
• A protest expresses dissaproval of or objection to something.
• A rebellion is an act of violent or open resistance to an established government or ruler.
• 1776 marked the Shot Heard Around the World.

Declaration of Independence

• In 1776, the United States declared independence from Britain.
• This started the American War of Independence (American Revolution).
• The war went from 1776 to 1783.

Deeply Divided

• The war deeply divided communities in the Thirteen Colonies.
• People who supported the rebellion called themselves "Patriots."
• People who opposed the rebellion and wanted to remain united to the British empire and loyal to Britain called themselves "United Empire Loyalists."
• American patriots, or colonists, tarred and feathered British loyalists and tax collectors during the American Revolution.
• American patriots used tar and feathers to wage a war of intimidation against British tax collectors, as a sign of liberty.

Loyalist Migration

• The American Revolution forced people to choose sides.
• Many British supporters fled to Quebec and Nova Scotia.
• They were refugees seeking British-controlled territory.
• Loyalist refugees were American colonists who fled the United States during and after the American Revolution to settle in British North America.
• Most Loyalists had British ancestry.
• The group included 3,000 Black Loyalists, 2,000 Haudenosaunee allies, and 3,000 neutral German Mennonites.
• Migration of the Loyalists during the American War of Independence occurred from 1776-1783.
• The American War of Independence drove out the Loyalists.

British Loyalists

• Many British Loyalists faced harassment after the war and chose to leave.
• They fled to British colonies in the North for acceptance.
• Refugee life was harsh, with rations and tent living.
• Only those with supplies had a better chance of surviving winters.

Black Loyalists

• Britain promised Black Loyalists freedom and land for fighting.
• Many moved to Nova Scotia but received smaller, poorer farms.
• Facing racism, some left, but many stayed.

Haudenosaunee

• The war divided the Haudenosaunee.
• They were excluded from treaty talks.
• Britain later granted them land in Ontario.
• Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant), a Mohawk leader, fought for First Nations' land rights.

German Mennonite

• Mennonites remained neutral due to religious beliefs against war.
• Many migrated north.
• They petitioned Britain for exemption from military service.
• Instead, they were required to pay a fine.

Impacts of Migration on Canadiens

• Loyalist arrival increased Quebec's British population.
• Before this, British settlers were few.
• By 1790, they made up about 10% of Quebec's population.
• Loyalists demanded British laws and customs in Quebec.
• They argued they were British-born and lived under English laws.
• This concerned many Canadiens.
• There were worries about rights under the Quebec Act of 1774, rights that protected French laws and customs.
• Some wondered if the arrival of the Loyalists would endanger these rights.

Impacts On First Nations

• Loyalists were mostly farmers.
• Their arrival changed Britain's treaty approach with First Nations.
• Earlier treaties focused on peace and friendship.
• Treaties afterward aimed to take land for settlement.
• Most Loyalists settled in Nova Scotia, which had poor farmland.
• Struggling to survive, they moved into Mi'kmaq hunting and fishing grounds.
• Britain didn't negotiate with the Mi'kmaq for the land.
• It claimed the 1763 Royal Proclamation did not apply to them.
• The Mi'kmaq were not included in the designated "Indian Territory."

What Loyalists Wanted

• Many Loyalists settled in existing Nova Scotia communities.
• These settlements were mostly founded by British colonists.
• Colonists had migrated from the 13 Colonies after the Seven Years' War.
• A large group of Loyalists settled along the St. John River.
• They petitioned Britain for a separate colony from Nova Scotia.
• In the late 1780s, Loyalist settlers in Quebec sent petitions to Britain.
• They requested the use of British laws and customs instead of French ones.
• Britain faced a dilemma.
• It owed support to the Loyalists who fought for Britain.
• The 1774 Quebec Act was meant to secure Canadien loyalty.

How Britain Responded

• Loyalist settlements along the St. John River led to changes.
• In 1784, Britain divided Nova Scotia into new colonies.
• The St. John River settlers received their own colony, New Brunswick.
• In 1791, Britain reorganized Quebec with the Constitutional Act.
• The act introduced British laws and institutions west of Montreal for Loyalist settlers.

Constitutional Act 1791

• Quebec was divided into Upper and Lower Canada.
• British civil and criminal law was established in Upper Canada.
• In Lower Canada, the act reaffirmed the arrangements under the Quebec Act of 1774: British criminal law, but French civil law.
• Lands were set aside for Protestant churches, and the Canadiens rights to the Catholic Church were guaranteed.
• Officials and a legislative council were appointed by Britain in each colony, and an assembly was elected by the colonists.
• Upper and Lower Canada had "representative government."
• A representative government allows citizens to elect an assembly to speak for them.
• In 1791, elected assemblies in British North America had limited power.
• They could not make decisions on tax spending.
• Real authority rested with British-appointed governors and legislative councils because they could veto a lot of decisions made by the elected assemblies.
• Representative government was important to the Canadiens.
• Britain had promised an elected assembly in Quebec under the 1774 Quebec Act.
• This promise was only fulfilled later in Lower Canada.
• Representative government was important to the Loyalists.
• The 13 colonies had it and therefore they viewed it as an essential part of their heritage.

War of 1812

• The success of the American War of Independence struck similar interests in European countries.
• France still functioned as a monarchy, where the people had no involvement in decision-making and the Monarchs were in power.
• As a result of witnessing the success of the American War of Independence, while also facing unfair treatment of inequality, heavy taxation, and unfair representation, a French revolution began.
• This war was between the United States and British North America.
• It was part of the broader Napoleonic Wars in Europe.
• Napoleon, a French general, defended the French republic and conquered much of Europe. The wars were named after him.
• In 1812, the Napoleonic Wars triggered a conflict in North America.
• America was neutral.
• Britain had an incredibly powerful navy and held immense control over trade across the ocean.
• Britain shut down trade between France and the U.S. as part of its war against France.
• It blocked and seized American ships from landing at French ports.
• the British navy began boarding American ships, looking for British deserters, and forcing them to serve in the British military.
• This was known as impressment.
• In retaliation, the U.S. declared war on British North America (now Canada).
• The U.S. invaded Upper Canada in July 1812, expecting colonists to join their fight against British rule.
• The colonists fought back.

War of 1812: Viewpoints

• The Americans hoped people in British North America would support their takeover.
• In July 1812, the U.S. invaded Upper Canada.
• The Catholic Church opposed republican government and favored a monarchy.
• The Church opposed the American republic and encouraged Canadiens to fight for Britain and its monarchy during the War of 1812.
• They also feared changes to language, religion, and politics from the Americans.
• British troops and Canadien militia (Voltigeurs) defended Montréal from an American attack in a key battle.
• Canadian Viewpoints include the story of Laura Secord.
• If the attack had succeeded, the Americans could have won the war.
• American attacks focused on Upper Canada, where many Loyalists had settled after the American Revolution.
• Many Upper Canadians strongly supported Britain and opposed American plans.
• Only some American settlers in Upper Canada supported the U.S. invasion, but many remained neutral.
• Most hoped the war would end quickly and with minimal damage to their farms.
• Britain ordered settlers who supported the American cause to leave Upper Canada after the war.
• It also discouraged further American immigration.
• Tecumseh, leader of the Shawnee First Nation, organized First Nations to support the British against the Americans when the war began.
• The Osages, from the Great Lakes region, became allies of Tecumseh and the British during the War of 1812.