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John Locke's Social Contract
John Locke: one of the key Enlightenment thinkers; English philosopher
+ maintained that people have natural rights to life, liberty&property
+ contended that every society is based on a social contract(an agreement in which the people consent to choose&obey a government so long as it safeguards their natural rights)
+ if the government violates the social contract by taking away or interfering with those rights, people have the right to resist and even overthrow the government -
Battle of Concord
the British soldiers lined up to march back to Boston → 3,000-4,000 minutemen had assembled&fired on the marching troops from behind stone walls and trees → bloodied and humiliated, the remaining British soldiers made their way back to Boston that night colonists had become enemies of Britain&held Boston and its encampment of British troops under siege -
Writ of Assistance
a general search warrant that allowed British customs officials to search any colonial ship or building they believed to be holding smuggled goods enabled British officials to enter and search colonial homes whether there was evidence of smuggling or not -
French and Indian War
French–Native American trade relationship→several military alliances 1st battle: the French defeated the outnumbered Virginians & their leader George Washington the British suffered defeat after defeat (1755-1756)→William Pitt(politician) joined the British army&they began to win battles (1757)→Britain now w/ Iroquois(Britain-Native American allies) British troops defeated the French in a surprise attack during night (September 1759, Quebec) ⇒ VICTORY -
Treaty of Paris 1763
officially ended French and Indian War
+ Great Britain: Canada & virtually all of North America east of the Mississippi River & Florida from Spain(allied itself with France)
+ Spain: keep possession of its lands west of the Mississippi & the city of New Orleans(gained from France in 1762)
+ France: only a few islands and small colonies near Newfoundland, in the West Indies & elsewhere -
Proclamation of 1763
the British government prohibited colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains established a Proclamation Line along the Appalachians, which the colonists were not allowed to cross However, the colonists, eager to expand westward from the increasingly crowded Atlantic seaboard, ignored the proclamation and continued to stream onto Native American lands. -
Sugar Act & Colonists Response
halved the duty on foreign-made molasses(hoped that colonists would pay a lower tax rather than risk arrest by smuggling) placed duties on certain imports that had not been taxed before provided that colonists accused of violating the act would be tried in a vice-admiralty court rather than a colonial court merchants&traders: complained that it would reduce their profits&that Parliament had no right to tax the colonists as the colonists hadn't elected representatives to the body -
Stamp Act & Colonists Response
imposed a tax on documents&printed items(wills, newspapers&playing cards) a stamp would be placed on the tax-paid items Colonists: organized a secret resistance group - Sons of Liberty - to protest the law(May, 1765)(Boston)
+ the colonial assemblies declared that Parliament had no right to impose taxes on the colonies as the colonists were not represented in Parliament merchants boycotted British goods(October, 1765)(New York, Boston&Philadelphia)→Parliament repealed the law(March, 1766) -
Sons of Liberty is Formed & Samuel Adams
Sons of Liberty: a secret resistance group to protest the Stamp Act Samuel Adams: one of the founders of the Sons of Liberty
: colonists again boycotted British goods against the Townshend Acts(1767) -
Declaratory Act
asserted Parliament's full right “to bind the colonies and
people of America in all cases whatsoever” -
Townshend Acts & Colonists Response_Why They were Repealed
named after Charles Townshend, the leading government minister taxed goods that were imported into the colony from Britain(such as lead, glass, paint&paper) imposed a tax on tea(the most popular drink in the colonies) led by men such as Samuel Adams, one of the founders of the Sons of Liberty, the colonists again boycotted British goods (colonists protest “taxation without representation”) the Townshend Acts were partially repealed except for the tax on tea (April, 1770) -
Boston Massacre
a mob gathered in front of the Boston Customs House and taunted the British soldiers standing guard there
+ shots were fired and five colonists, including Crispus Attucks, were killed or mortally wounded -
Tea Act
Lord North devised the Tea Act in order to save the nearly bankrupt British East India Company granted the company the right to sell tea to the colonies free of the taxes that colonial tea sellers had to pay would have cut colonial merchants out of the tea trade by enabling the East India Company to sell its tea directly to consumers for less -
Boston Tea Party
the American colonists protested dramatically against the Tea Act a large group of Boston rebels disguised themselves as Native Americans and proceeded to take action against three British tea ships anchored in the harbor
+ the “Indians” dumped 18,000 pounds of the East India Company’s tea into the waters of Boston harbor -
The Intolerable Acts
shut down Boston harbor authorized British commanders to house soldiers in vacant private
homes and other buildings (the Quartering Act) General Thomas Gage(commander-in-chief of British forces in North America) was appointed the new governor of Massachusetts -
First Continental Congress Meets
in response to the Intolerable Acts, the committees of correspondence assembled the First Continental Congress 56 delegates met in Philadelphia and drew up a declaration of colonial rights
+ they defended the colonies’ right to run their own affairs and stated that, if the British used force against the colonies, the colonies should fight back -
Midnight Riders: Revere, Dawes, Prescott
on the night of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode out to spread word that 700 British troops were headed for Concord -
Battle of Lexington
the first battle of the Revolutionary War: lasted only 15 minutes 700 redcoats VS 70 minutemen the British commander ordered the minutemen to lay down their arms and leave, and the colonists began to move out without laying down their muskets→someone fired→the British soldiers sent a volley of shots into the departing militia 8 minutemen were killed and 10 more were wounded, but only 1 British soldier was injured -
Continental Army
Congress agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the Continental Army Commander: George Washington -
Second Continental Congress
held in Philadelphia to debate the colonists next move some delegates called for independence, while others argued for reconciliation with Great Britain the Congress agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander -
Battle of Bunker Hill
Cooped up in Boston, British general Thomas Gage decided to strike at militiamen on Breed’s Hill, north of the city and near Bunker Hill. On June 17, 1775, Gage sent 2,400 British soldiers up the hill. The colonists held their fire until the last minute and then began to mow down the advancing redcoats before finally retreating the colonists had lost 450 men, while the British had suffered over 1,000 casualties. the deadliest battle of the war -
Olive Branch Petition
Who sent?: Congress urged a return to “the former harmony” btw Britain and the colonies King George flatly rejected the petition. Furthermore, he issued a proclamation
stating that the colonies were in rebellion and urged Parliament to order
a naval blockade to isolate a line of ships meant for the American coast. -
Minutemen
Minutemen: civilian soldiers who pledged to be ready to fight against the British on a minute’s notice
: quietly stockpiled firearms and gunpowder -
Publication of Common Sense
Common Sense: Thomas Paine attacked King George and the monarchy
+ argued that responsibility for British tyranny lay with “the royal brute of Britain.”
+ explained that his own revolt against the king had begun w/ Lexington & Concord
+ declared that independence would allow America to trade more freely
+ stated that independence would give American colonists the chance to create a better society(free from tyranny, w/ equal social and economic opportunities for all -
Declaration of Independence
Writer: Thomas Jefferson “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”(John Locke) to be “unalienable” rights the American colonies declared their independence from Britain a government’s legitimate power can only come from the consent of the people when it denies their unalienable rights, the people have the right to “alter or abolish” it “all men are created equal” adopted on 7 July 1776 -
Loyalists and Patriots
Loyalists: opp. independence & remained loyal to the British king (judges, governors, people of more modest means) Patriots: supp. independence African Americans: fought w/ Patriots
: others joined the Loyalists as the British promised freedom to slaves who would fight for the Crown most Native Americans: supp. British as they viewed colonial settlers as a greater threat to their lands many Americans: neutral -
Redcoats Push Washington's Army Across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania
the British quickly attempted to seize New York City with a force of about 32,000 soldiers including thousands of German mercenaries known as Hessians(many of them came from the German region of Hesse) Although the Continental Army attempted to defend New York in late August, the untrained and poorly equipped colonial troops soon retreated. By late fall, the British had pushed Washington’s army across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania -
Washington's Christmas Night Surprise Attack
desperate for an early victory, Washington risked everything on one bold stroke set for Christmas night
+ in the face of a fierce storm, he led 2,400 men in small rowboats across the ice-choked Delaware River
+ they then marched to Trenton, New Jersey and defeated a garrison of Hessians in a surprise attack
+ the British soon regrouped, however, and in September of 1777, they captured the American capital at Philadelphia -
Saratoga
American troops surrounded General John Burgoyne at Saratoga, where he surrendered on October 17, 1777 the surrender at Saratoga turned out to be one of the most important events of the war (turning point) -
Valley Forge
Washington and his Continental Army—desperately low on
food and supplies—fought to stay alive at winter camp in
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania more than 2,000 soldiers died, yet the survivors didn’t desert -
French-American Alliance
although the French had secretly aided the Patriots since
early 1776, the Saratoga victory bolstered France’s belief
that the Americans could win the war as a result, the French signed an alliance with the Americans and openly joined them in their fight -
Friedrich von Steuben and Marquis de Lafayette
Friedrich von Steuben(a Prussian captain and talented drillmaster) helped to train the Continental Army(American) Marquis de Lafayette also arrived to offer their help
+ Lafayette lobbied France for French reinforcements(1779)
+ led a command in Virginia in the last years of the war with the help of such European military leaders, the raw Continental Army became an effective fighting force -
British Victories in the South
at the end of 1778, a British expedition easily took Savannah, Georgia in their greatest victory of the war, the British under Generals Henry Clinton and Charles Cornwallis captured Charles Town, South Carolina, in May 1780 Clinton then left for New York, while Cornwallis continued to conquer land throughout the South -
British Surrender at Yorktown
in late September, about 17,000 French and American troops surrounded the British on the Yorktown peninsula and began bombarding them day and night less than a month later, on October 19, 1781, Cornwallis finally surrendered -
Treaty of Paris
confirmed U.S. independence & set the boundaries of the new nation
+ the United States now stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and from Canada to the Florida border
