History 2301E Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: No Taxation Without Representation, First Continental Congress, George Grenville
2 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
September 26th, 2017
The Origins of the American Revolution
➢ Britain and Empire
o Mercantilism
➢ The Seven Years War, 1754-1763
o General George Washington
o The Peace of Paris, 1763
➢ “No Taxation Without Representation”
➢ The First Continental Congress, 1774
➢ ‘The Shot Heard ‘Round the World’
➢ The Second Continental Congress, May 1775
➢ Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, January 1776
➢ The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
Evolution and Slowness
- A position of wanting presentation
o A voice in British parliament
- Finally pushed to a break point
o A fundamental evolution
Subjects of Great Britain
- governor
o British presentation in the colony
- powers
o major power is veto, can overturn any piece of colonial legislation
- councils and assemblies
o Purse
▪ Each of the colonies could decide how to distribute taxation
▪ Where the money goes to build a row, help a militia, etc.
▪ An economic power
- Legislation
o Ability to create their own legislation
o Governor can overturn it
Britain and Empire
- Imperial relations
o Other colonies more important
o 13 colonies need to fit into the broader imperial relations
- Colonies and European politics
o Has enemies and allies in Europe which has their own colonies
- A multi-faceted relationship
- Mercantilism
o purpose
o The navigation Acts, 1650s-1690s
▪ Regulate and control trade
▪ Raw materials
• Timber, tobacco, fish
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• Can only be sold to England
o Finished goods
▪ England starting to Industrialized
▪ Colonies can only buy finished goods from England
▪ Guarantees England a market for their trade
o Colonial trade
▪ The only trades can be done on English ships??
o A way to control the 13 colonies
o Impact
▪ Initially, no one complained
▪ Gave them a guaranteed market for their materials
The Seven Years War, 1754-1763
- European contact
o Running out of land, starting to look west
o Pushed further and further into the west
o Start to see more French
▪ The French colony of Quebec
▪ Beaver trade dried up and looking for more economic validity
- Virginia
- French forts
o Made a military stand to try to protect their expansion
o A series of defensive military forts in the western part of Virginia
- General George Washington
o Encounter with French
▪ Trying to negotiate
▪ Want a diplomatic solution
o Virginia governor
▪ Fort Necessity
• See a fort war going on as both countries build more and more forts
o Fort military clash, July 4, 1754
▪ Washington’s army begins to fight with the French army
• Leads to an all-out war between the French and British
• Both in North America and in Europe
- British forces
- War in Europe, 1756
- The plains of Abraham, 1759
o France defeated
- The Treaty of Paris, 1763
o Brings an end to the war
o France loses empire in North America except for a couple settlements
o British are dominant
o United States doubles in size
▪ A massive British territory
- Questions of war
o Defense of new territory
▪ Still have Natives and French to deal with
o War debts
▪ Who is going to pay?
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
- War debts
o Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Grenville
o Plan
▪ The colonists are going to pay for the defense and the war debts (British)
▪ Through taxes on American goods
▪ Money from taxes will go to pay off the war debt
o Problem from American perspective
▪ Issue isn’t that we have to pay, issue that they didn’t have a say in what those taxes
are, who pay for the taxes, where the taxes go
▪ About having a voice within the British system
“ No Taxation Without Representation”
The Sugar act, 1764
- Act
o A tax or duty on imported sugar
- Enforcement
o Customs agents
o Each 13 colonies had customs agents
o Job of collecting the taxes when the goods are imported into the united state
o A visual representation of British economic control
▪ In every city, port, in your face
o Battle over control
- American reaction
The Stamp Act, 1764
- Act
o Paper is imported, a manufacture good
o Now has a tax on it
- American reaction
o Even more problematic then sugar
o Had to do a lot more with daily life:
▪ newspapers, playing cards, dice, wills, deeds, posters, etc.
▪ no one talking about independence
• start to see a minority of those who want to act and show their displeasure
of the British
American Response
- boycotts
o something so that you don’t have to use manufactured good from Britain
o honey and molasses
- protests
o very small and contained
- the Sons of Liberty
o first radical group, in Boston
o about taking away any sense of liberty and freedom
o Patrick Henry
o Associations
▪ Around the colonies
o Grievances
▪ Wrote out the hardships that the British were imposing on the colonists
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
The seven years war, 1754-1763: general george washington, the peace of paris, 1763. The declaration of independence, july 4, 1776. A position of wanting presentation: a voice in british parliament. Finally pushed to a break point: a fundamental evolution. Legislation: ability to create their own legislation, governor can overturn it. Imperial relations: other colonies more important, 13 colonies need to fit into the broader imperial relations. Colonies and european politics: has enemies and allies in europe which has their own colonies. Initially, no one complained: gave them a guaranteed market for their materials. European contact: running out of land, starting to look west, pushed further and further into the west, start to see more french, the french colony of quebec, beaver trade dried up and looking for more economic validity. French forts: made a military stand to try to protect their expansion, a series of defensive military forts in the western part of virginia.
