103 Questions
What event helped to precipitate the American Revolution?
The emerging sense of American political identity
What did Americans initially seek in their conflict with the mother country?
To claim the 'rights of Englishmen'
What did the victory in the Seven Years’ War make Britain in North America?
The master of a vastly enlarged imperial domain
What did the New World nurture according to the text?
New ideas about the nature of society, citizen, and government
What did the Americans protest with the cry, 'No taxation without representation'?
The Stamp Act
What theory did Grenville claim to justify imposing taxes on the colonies?
Virtual representation
What did the nonimportation agreements against British goods achieve?
United American people for the first time in common action
What did the violent acts by groups like Sons of Liberty and Daughters of Liberty enforce?
Nonimportation agreements
What did the colonial commotion lead to regarding the Stamp Act?
The breakdown of the machinery for collecting the tax
What percentage of British exports did America buy, according to the text?
One-quarter
What did the Americans concede Parliament's right to, but denied its right to impose?
Legislate
What did the Stamp Act Congress of 1765 represent?
Colonial outcries against the stamp tax
What did the breakdown of the machinery for collecting the tax lead to?
The nullification of the stamp act
What did the American trade represent for England, according to the text?
Crucial importance, with America buying about one-quarter of all British exports
What did the Americans deny the notion of and cling to the principle of?
Virtual representation; no taxation without representation
What did the mobilizing in support of nonimportation give ordinary American men and women?
New opportunities to participate in colonial protests
What did the American colonists emphasize in their embrace of republicanism?
Citizens' selflessness and civic involvement
What did the 'Radical Whigs' in Britain warn the colonists against?
Corruption and arbitrary power
What did the British government expect from the American colonists in terms of trade?
Supply raw materials, refrain from certain exports, and exclusively buy imports from Britain
What did Adam Smith criticize in 1776?
Mercantilism
What did British policies, such as restricting commerce to British vessels, affect?
Colonial trade
What did the British government's actions lead to in the colonies?
A currency shortage
What did Parliament prohibit colonial legislatures from doing?
Printing paper currency and passing indulgent bankruptcy laws
What did the British government's efforts to tighten control over the colonies cause among the American colonists?
Jolting shock and resistance
What was the justification for Britain's control over the colonies?
Mercantilism, aiming to amass gold or silver through exports and colonial markets
What characterized colonial life and bolstered attitudes against threats to rights?
Widespread property ownership and political participation
What did the British government regard the American colonists as?
Tenants
What did the Navigation Law of 1650 aim to regulate and control?
Colonial trade
What did the Declaratory Act assert?
The right of Parliament to govern the colonies in all cases
Which items were subjected to import duties by the Townshend Acts?
Glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea
What did the colonists particularly object to?
Taxation without representation
What event led to clashes between British troops and colonists in Boston in 1768?
The landing of British troops
What was the outcome of the Boston Massacre in 1770?
The death of five colonists and two redcoats found guilty of manslaughter
Who attempted to assert the power of the British monarchy?
King George III
What was the outcome of the ill-timed Townshend Acts?
Failed to produce revenue and led to near-rebellion in the colonies
What did the nonimportation agreements aim to do?
Pinch British manufacturers
What persuaded Parliament to repeal the Townshend revenue duties?
The government of Lord North
What was the result of the suspension of the New York legislature in 1767?
Further escalated tensions
What did the British officials landing troops in Boston in 1768 lead to?
Clashes with liberty-loving colonists
What did the government of Lord North persuade Parliament to do?
Repeal the Townshend revenue duties
What was the British crown's right regarding colonial legislation?
To nullify colonial legislation if it interfered with the mercantilist system
How did colonial merchants initially respond to the Navigation Laws?
They disregarded the restrictions and engaged in smuggling
Why did Americans feel resentment despite benefiting from the mercantile system?
They perceived it as oppressive and stifling economic initiative
What did the Stamp Act of 1765 require for tax payment?
Stamped paper
How did colonial assemblies view the Quartering Act?
As jeopardizing basic rights as Englishmen
What was the impact of the Sugar Act and Stamp Act on the right to trial by jury?
They undermined the right to trial by jury
What was the main reason for the outbreak of the revolution according to the text?
Britain's failure to recognize an emerging nation
What did Prime Minister George Grenville enforce and pass to regulate colonial trade and taxation?
Sugar Act and Stamp Act
What was the British crown's response to colonial defiance of the Quartering Act?
They attempted to enforce the Quartering Act more rigorously
How did the Americans perceive the Stamp Act in comparison to the British people?
As an attack on their rights as Englishmen
How did the British crown emerge from the Seven Years’ War?
With a significant debt
What was the British crown's approach to colonial producers?
They paid liberal bounties to colonial producers
What was the impact of victory in the Seven Years’ War on Britain's imperial domain in North America?
It made Britain the master of a vastly enlarged imperial domain in North America
What was the primary reason for the London government's struggle after 1763?
To compel the American colonists to share some financial costs of empire
What did the change in British colonial policy after 1763 reinforce?
An emerging sense of American political identity
What did the Americans initially seek in their conflict with the mother country?
To claim the “rights of Englishmen,” not to separate from the mother country
What did the 'Radical Whigs' in Britain emphasize, widely read by colonists?
The danger of corruption and arbitrary power
What did Adam Smith criticize in 1776?
Mercantilism
What did the Navigation Law of 1650 aim to regulate and control?
Colonial trade
What did the British government expect from the American colonists in terms of trade?
Supply raw materials, refrain from certain exports, and exclusively buy imports from Britain
What did the British government's efforts to tighten control over the colonies cause among the American colonists?
Jolting shock and resistance
What did the nonimportation agreements against British goods achieve?
A boycott of British goods
What did the British government regard the American colonists as?
Tenants
What did the American colonists emphasize in their embrace of republicanism?
Citizens' selflessness and civic involvement
What was the impact of the Sugar Act and Stamp Act on the right to trial by jury?
It limited the right to trial by jury
What did the victory in the Seven Years’ War make Britain in North America?
The dominant power
What did the mobilizing in support of nonimportation give ordinary American men and women?
A sense of political involvement and empowerment
What did the Declaratory Act assert?
Parliament's right to legislate for the colonies
What did the Americans deny the notion of and cling to the principle of?
Virtual representation
What characterized the Stamp Act Congress of 1765?
It was the first official meeting of the 13 colonies' representatives
What did the breakdown of the machinery for collecting the tax lead to?
The nullification of the Stamp Act
What theory did Grenville claim to justify imposing taxes on the colonies?
Theory of virtual representation
What did the nonimportation agreements against British goods achieve?
Unification of American people against British taxation
What did the American trade represent for England, according to the text?
A significant portion of British exports
What did the victory in the Seven Years’ War make Britain in North America?
A dominant colonial power
What did the mobilizing in support of nonimportation give ordinary American men and women?
New opportunities to participate in colonial protests
What did the British government expect from the American colonists in terms of trade?
Exclusive trade with Britain
What did the British government regard the American colonists as?
Subordinate subjects
What did the Americans initially seek in their conflict with the mother country?
Greater representation in Parliament
What did the Declaratory Act assert?
The authority of Parliament over the colonies
What did the Stamp Act require for tax payment?
Stamped paper
What did the Navigation Laws aim to regulate and control?
Colonial trade and shipping
What did the Americans protest with the cry, 'No taxation without representation'?
The imposition of taxes by the British Parliament
What was the impact of the Sugar Act and Stamp Act on the right to trial by jury?
Undermined the right to trial by jury
What did the British crown regard the American colonists as?
Subordinate subjects
What event helped to precipitate the American Revolution?
The imposition of the Stamp Act
What was the justification for Britain's control over the colonies?
National security of the colonies
What did the breakdown of the machinery for collecting the tax lead to?
Increased resistance from the colonists
What did the British government expect from the American colonists in terms of trade?
Exclusive trade with Britain
What did the British officials landing troops in Boston in 1768 lead to?
Clashes between British troops and colonists
What characterized colonial life and bolstered attitudes against threats to rights?
Republican ideology
What was the main outcome of the Boston Massacre in 1770?
Two redcoats were found guilty of manslaughter
What did the Declaratory Act assert?
Parliament's right to govern the colonies in all cases
What was the government of Lord North persuaded Parliament to do?
Repeal the Townshend revenue duties
What was the impact of the ill-timed Townshend Acts?
Led to near-rebellion in the colonies
What did the suspension of the New York legislature in 1767 lead to?
Further escalated tensions
What did the British officials landing troops in Boston in 1768 lead to?
Clashes with liberty-loving colonists
What characterized the British monarchy's attempt to assert power?
Surrounded by cooperative 'yes men'
What did the Townshend Acts of 1767 impose import duties on?
Glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea
What did the nonimportation agreements aim to achieve?
Pressure the British government to repeal the Townshend Acts
What was the outcome of the nonimportation agreements against the Townshend Acts?
Less effective than those against the Stamp Act
What characterized the British officials' landing of troops in Boston in 1768?
Led to clashes with liberty-loving colonists
What did the colonists particularly object to?
Taxation without representation
Study Notes
The Road to Revolution, 1763–1775
- British crown had the right to nullify colonial legislation if it interfered with mercantilist system, used veto 469 times with 8,563 laws
- Navigation Laws loosely enforced until 1763, colonial merchants disregarded restrictions, some fortunes amassed through smuggling
- Americans benefited from mercantile system but felt resentment, perceived as oppressive and stifling economic initiative
- British paid liberal bounties to colonial producers, Virginia tobacco planters had monopoly in British market
- Despite benefits, mercantilist system burdened colonists with dependency, stifled economic initiative
- Revolution broke out due to Britain's failure to recognize an emerging nation
- Britain emerged from Seven Years’ War with a significant debt, leading to redefining their relationship with the colonies
- Prime Minister George Grenville enforced Navigation Laws, passed Sugar Act in 1764, imposed Stamp Act in 1765
- Stamp Act required stamped paper for tax payment, angered colonists who saw it as fiscal aggression and an attack on local liberties
- Colonial assemblies defied Quartering Act, viewed the legislation as jeopardizing basic rights as Englishmen
- Both Sugar Act and Stamp Act provided for trying offenders in admiralty courts, undermining the right to trial by jury
- British people had endured a heavier stamp tax, but the Americans saw it as an attack on their rights as Englishmen
Road to Revolution in Colonial America
- In 1766, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, but passed the Declaratory Act, asserting its right to govern the colonies in all cases.
- The Townshend Acts of 1767 imposed light import duties on glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea, leading to colonial unrest.
- The colonists objected to taxation without representation, particularly the tax on tea, which was to pay the salaries of royal governors and judges.
- The suspension of the New York legislature in 1767 and the presence of British troops in Boston in 1768 further escalated tensions.
- Nonimportation agreements were revived against the Townshend Acts, but were less effective than those against the Stamp Act.
- British officials landed troops in Boston in 1768, leading to clashes with liberty-loving colonists.
- The Boston Massacre in 1770 resulted in the death of five colonists, including Crispus Attucks, and two redcoats were found guilty of manslaughter.
- King George III, surrounded by cooperative "yes men," attempted to assert the power of the British monarchy.
- The ill-timed Townshend Acts failed to produce revenue and led to near-rebellion in the colonies.
- Nonimportation agreements, though feebly enforced, began to pinch British manufacturers.
- The government of Lord North persuaded Parliament to repeal the Townshend revenue duties due to various pressures.
- The stage was set for a continuing confrontation between the colonists and the British government.
Test your knowledge of the events and factors leading to the American Revolution with this quiz. Explore the economic and political tensions between the American colonies and the British crown, the impact of mercantilist policies, and the key legislative acts that fueled the revolutionary spirit.
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