Summary of Week #4 PDF

Colonial Cities Education in the colonial period for both whites and blacks largely fell to parents and clergy. College of William & Mary (1693) The Enlightenment The Enlightenment “A miracle is a violation of the laws of nature; and as a firm and unalterable experience has established these laws, t...

Colonial Cities Education in the colonial period for both whites and blacks largely fell to parents and clergy. College of William & Mary (1693) The Enlightenment The Enlightenment “A miracle is a violation of the laws of nature; and as a firm and unalterable experience has established these laws, the proof against a miracle, from the very nature of the fact, is as entire as any argument from experience can possibly be imagined.” –David Hume Deism Critical elements of deist thought included: Rejection of religions based on books that claim to contain the revealed word of God. Rejection of religious dogma and demagogy. Skepticism of reports of miracles, prophecies and religious "mysteries". Constructive elements of deist thought included: God exists and created the universe. God gave humans the ability to reason Benjamin Franklin was a Deist. Jefferson’s “Bible” The Great Awakening George Whitefield Jonathan Edwards The Great Awakening ✓Implanted permanently into American culture evangelical methods and techniques. ✓Weakened the status of the old-fashioned clergy and encouraged believers to exercise their own judgment. ✓Encouraged the proliferation of denominations and the toleration of dissent. ✓Emphasized the power and right of individual choice and popular resistance to established authority. ✓Aroused hopes that America would become the promised land in which people might attain perfection in piety. Fourth of July Fourth of July Independence Day This was a revolution. rev·o·lu·tion /ˌrevəˈlo͞ oSH(ə)n/ noun 1. a forcible overthrow of a government or social order, in favor of a new system. Britain had the best trained army in Europe. (No professional army in the colonies.) Britain had the best equipped army in Europe. Britain had the best navy in Europe. (No navy in the colonies.) Britain’s military was well-financed. (No money for local military in the colonies.) At best, only about one-third (33%) of the colonists supported revolutionary action. This was doomed from the start. catalyst noun cat a lyst | \ ˈka-tə-ləst \ Definition of catalyst ·​ ·​ 1: an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action. The Colonial Period The Colonial Period Colonial Fur Trade Felt is stronger than a woven material. It will not tear or unravel in a straight line; it is more resistant to water, and it will hold its shape even if it gets wet. The wool felt came from various animals, but towards the end of the fifteenth century beaver wool began to predominate. Over time, beaver hats became increasingly popular eventually dominating the market. Only in the nineteenth century did silk replace beaver in high-fashion men’s hats. Colonial Fur Trade High quality pelts were available only where winters were severe, so the fur trade took place predominantly in the regions we now know as Canada, although some activity took place further south along the Mississippi River and in the Rocky Mountains. There was also a market in deer skins that predominated in the Appalachians. Colonial Fur Trade Algonquin Iroquois Effects of the North American Fur Trade This competition between Indian nations brought in their European trading partners embroiling North America in a series of colonial wars. Colonial Wars ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ King William’s War (1689-1697) Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713) War of Jenkin’s Ear (1738-1748) King George’s War (1744-1748) Seven Years’ War, French & Indian War, Great War for Empire (three names for the same war) (1754-1763) Seven Years’ War Lessons From the Colonial Wars ✓British army officers were unimpressed with the colonial militia they fought beside during the Seven Years’ War. ✓Consequently, they underestimated their colonists’ ability to defend themselves—a conclusion that will prove costly in the Revolution. Lessons From the Colonial Wars ✓ Quartering (i.e. housing and accommodations) British officers who had fought in the Seven Years’ War found it hard to persuade colonial assemblies to pay for quartering and provisioning of their troops. In response, Parliament passed the Quartering Act of 1765 which stated that the British could house its soldiers in American barracks and public houses. If the soldiers outnumbered colonial housing, they would be quartered in inns, alehouses, barns, other buildings, etc. Lessons From the Colonial Wars Colonial assemblies disliked being commanded to provide quarter for British troops—they preferred to be asked and then to give their consent, if they were going to have soldiers in their midst at all. Many colonists began to feel like they were being treated like second class citizens—not the equal of their countrymen living in Britain. This resentment over the Quartering Act can’t be overstated. Americans were so enraged by the practice that its prohibition is included in the Constitution. Amendment III: No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. Lessons From the Colonial Wars ✓ Impressment The British navy consistently suffered manpower shortages due to the low pay and a lack of qualified seamen. During colonial wars the Royal navy forced unwilling colonists into service. Residents of seaports lived in fear of the “press gangs” that patrolled waterfronts and raided taverns, pouncing on nautical tradesmen and idle mariners. This practice contributed to mounting anger and resentment toward the king and Parliament. Lessons From the Colonial Wars ✓ Debt Wars are expensive and the Seven Years’ War was no exception. The British Government had borrowed heavily from British and Dutch bankers to finance the war, and as a consequence the national debt almost doubled from £75 million in 1754 to £133 million in 1763. (the equivalent of $32,400,518,521.00 in 2019) Mercantilism (Navigation Acts) Simply put, colonies exist for the good of the mother country. Raw materials and cash flow from the colonies to Great Britain in exchange for goods and services. Colonies Great Britain Salutary Neglect Netherlands Great Britain Colonies Spain Pontiac Proclamation Line (1763) The Stamp Act (1765) The Act levied a direct tax on the colonies designed to raise revenue rather than to regulate trade. From their establishment, colonial legislatures had exercised exclusive authority to levy direct revenue taxes in North America, their sovereignty derived directly from the people they represented. By contrast, no colonial representatives sat in the House of Commons. “No taxation without representation!” Stamp Act Congress (1765) Dissent and Protest A colony-wide Non-Importation Agreement (the word “boycott” did not exist in the English language until 1880) of British manufactured goods to protest the Stamp Act’s implementation appealed to a broad audience. It was a form of economic coercion against London merchants (and their representatives in Parliament). Colonists throughout the colonies subscribed enthusiastically to the plan, effectively reducing British imports to a trickle. Protest Sons of Liberty Dissent and Protest The Sons of Liberty, an urban organization composed primarily of middling tradesmen, artisans, clerks, and journeymen, were particularly adept at employing intimidation and violence to hamper the distribution of stamps; they frequently burned tax collectors in effigy and ransacked the homes of British officials. Sons of Liberty These organizations sprang up in colonial cities up and down the Atlantic seaboard. Tondee's Tavern in Savannah served as the meeting place for Georgia's Provincial Congress and the Sons of Liberty. The tavern was located at the corner of Broughton Street and Whitaker Street between 1770 and 1785. Declaratory Act The British repealed the Stamp Act, but issued a Declaratory Act reaffirming that Parliament "had, hath, and of right ought to have, full power and authority to make laws and statutes of sufficient force and vitality to bind the colonies and people of America... in all cases whatsoever.” The reprieve was short-lived. In 1767, the Townshend Act imposed duties on glass, paint, lead, paper, and tea imported into the colonies. Committees of Correspondence Revolutions do not grow on trees. They are products of organization, planning, hard work, sacrifice, risk, and luck. Complicating matters in the eighteenth century was the problem of communication. The Committees of Correspondence were the colonies’ first institution for maintaining communication with one another. They served to spread propaganda and keep the various Sons of Liberty groups “on the same page.” Sam Adams Sam Adams, a member of Boston’s Sons of Liberty, was a strong opponent of British taxation and helped organize resistance in Boston to Britain's Stamp Act of 1765. He also played a vital role in organizing the Boston Tea Party—an act of opposition to the Tea Act of 1773. Boston Tea Party (1773) Boston Massacre (1770) Boston Massacre (1770) Stamp Act Congress (1765) Thomas Gage Activists Joseph Warren William Dawes Raid on Concord Lexington John Parker John Pitcairn Lexington Raid on Concord The “Crime Scene”