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Second Continental Congress, British reaction to its actions (II)
British response: rejected OBP and enacted Prohibitory Act - closed colonies to all overseas trade and made no concessions to American demands except an offer to pardon repentant rebels -
Reasons Americans fight Britain
- Cost of War - human and financial were so high, that original war aims began to seem too modest to justify them
- Brits tried to recruit Indians, African slaves, and forein mercenaries (Hessians) aggainst them
- believed Brit gvt was forcing them toward independence by rejecting OBP and enacting Prohibitory Act
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Second Continental Congress, its actions (I)
Adams cousins, Richard Henry Lee of VA: favored complete independence from GB.
John Dickson: modest reforms in imperial relationship that would permit early reconciliation
Approved one last conciliatory appeal to the king: Olive Branch Petition
July 6, 1775: Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking up Arms - British gvt had left American ppl with two alternatives: unconditional submission to the tyranny of irritated ministers or resistance by force -
Period: to
The American Revolution and the Articles of Confederation
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George Washington
took command in June 1775
had to deal with serious problems of morale among soldiers who received short rations and low pay
with aid of foreign military experts (Marquis de Lafayette and Baron von Steuben), built and held together an army of 10,000
provided the army and ppl with symbol of stability around with they could rally -
Common Sense & Thomas Paine
Paine - revolutionary propagandist, exposed the folly of continuing to believe reconciliation with Britain was possible
argued: it was common sense to break completely with a gvt that could produce so corrupt a monarch as George III, a gvt that could inflict such brutatily on its own people - unfil to rule
pamphlet sold more than 100,000 -
Abigail Adams' plea
was calling for a very modest expansion of women's rights
wanted new protections against abusive and tyrannical men -
Declaration of Independence (content & ideology)
Content: (John Locke) gvts were formed to protect the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (Jefferson)
listed the allged crimes of the king, who had violated the contracct, thus forfeiting all claims to their loyalty
Ideology: all men are created equal
encouraged patriots to fight on and reject the idea of a peace that stopped short of winning independence -
Assumption of Republicanism/ideology underlying creation of governments
republicanism - political system in which all power came directly from the people, rather than from some supreme authority standing above them
success of gvr depended on nature of its citizenry
small freeholder, equality, class systems, full equality of opportunity but no equality of condition -
Battle of Saratoga (effects)
led directly to an alliance between the US and France
American gained support from abroad - indirect support from several European nations and direct support from France
France recognized US as a sovereign nation and laid provided assistance
provided navy and expeditionary force -
Articles of Confederation
adopted: Nov 1777
Congress was to survive as the central instituation of national authority
conduct wars and foreign relations, appropriate, borrow, and issue money, cannot regulate trade, draft troops, or levy taxes directly on the pple
for troops and taxes: make formal requests to state legislatures, no separate executive, each state would have a single vote in Congress and nine would have to approve important measure, all 13 would have to approve before they could be ratifed or amended -
Role of French in American Revolution
formally recognized US as a soverign nation and laid groundwork for greatly expanded assistance to American war effort
furnished new nation with most of its money and munitions, provided navy and expeditionary force that proved invaluable in the decisive phase of the revolutionary conflict -
Effects of American Revolution on Women
mothers had important task in instructing their children in virtues the republican citizenry was expected to possess
ideas, interests, and domestic roles received increased respect
encouraged both genders to reevalute the contribution of women to family and soceity -
English common law rights of colonial women; how Rev War changes
an unmarried woman had some legal rights (own property, enter contracts) but a married woman had virtually no rights at all = everything she earned/owned belonged to her husband
no legal authority over her children, no legal transactions, could not vote, can't obtain divorce
Rev: in some states, became easier to obtain divorces, NJ - women obtained right to vote
encouraged both genders to reevaluate contribute of women to family and soceity (ideas, interests, and roles received more respect) -
Articles of Confederation - Shay's Rebellion showed need for stronger central govt with standing army
dissidents in CT Valeey and Berkshire Hills rallied behind Daniel Shays
demanded paper money, tax relief a amoratorium on debts, the relocation of state capital from Boston to interior, and abloition of imprisonment for debt
1786: concentrated on preventing collection of debts, private or public
RESULTS: few immediate gains for the discontented groups - received pardons and economic concessions: tax relief and postponement of debt payments
added urgency to produce a new, national constitution -
Effect of American Revolution on Economy
american trade was independent, english ships sttempted to drive americnan vessels from seas, no access to english ports or markets
american ships leared to evade british navy, Yankees began to prey on british commerce with hundreds of privateers
enterprising merchants in New England began to develop new commerce in Caribbean, S America, Asia, Cape Horn, China
homespun clothing, developed factories for the manufacture of guns and ammunition -
Articles of Confederation - ratified
small states insisted on equal state representation, but larger states wanted rep based on population
rest of states demanded that all western territory be turned over to Confederation gvt
went into effect in 1781 -
Articles of Confederation - conducted Revolutionary War successfully (A)_
weak, decentralized system
lacking adequate powers to deal with interstate issues or to enforce its will on the states
took western lands from states, controlled by the Confederation gvt -
Articles of Confederation - negotiated 1783 Treaty of Paris
disputes over northeastern boundary of new nation and over the border between US and FA, which Britain had ceded back to Spain in the treaty
diplomats agreed to a treaty with Spain in 1786 that accepted American interpretation of FA boundary in return for American recognition of Spanish possessions in NA and an agreement that US would limit its right to navigate the Mississippi for 20 years
but southern states, incensed at the idea of giving up their access to Mississippi, blocked ratification -
Articles of Confederation - couldn't pay Rev. War debts or war vets; no way to raise money
borrowed large sums of money from american citizens and foreign gvts during the war, and it owed back pay to revo soldiers
powers of taxation were limited - Congress received only about 1/6 of money it requisitioned from the states
Robert Morris, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison of VA: continental impost - a 5% duty on imported goods, to be levied by Congress and used to fund debt - RI disagreed
increase taxes - rebellious farmers
debtors: mortgages foreclosed and their property seized, jailed -
Articles of Confederation - list specifically the ways in which the Articles gvt was too weak a central gvt
powers were limited: could not levy taxes directly on ppl - difficult to pay back debt and pay Rev soldiers
ratified/amended - took all 13 colonies: took time, ineffective
could not prevent settlers from westward expansion despite treaties
left too much power to states: and state legislatures were unsuccessful in collecting taxes from citizens
did not have a strong, powerful president: just a presiding officer at the sessions of Congress -
Treaty of Paris (term and effects)
Spain and France agreed to end hostilities
US gained clear-cut recognition of its independence and a generous territory - from southern boundary of Canada to northern boundary of FA and from Atlantic to the Mississippi -
Effects of Revolutionary War on Loyalists/Tories (A)
hounded by Patriots in their communites, harassed by legislative and judicial actions, up to 100,000 fled country
others moved to England, and lived in difficult and lonely exile
others moved to Canada and est first Eng speaking community in Quebec
some returned to America after the war and managed to reenter life of the nation
elites left behind large estates/property was confiscated: new opportunites for Patriots to acquire land and influence - social changes in communities -
Effects of Revolutionary War on Anglicans (B)
many members were Loyalists
VA and MD: imposed taxes for its maintenace, disest the church and eliminated the subsidy
Anglican parishes no longer even had clergy men, and received no aid from England -
Effects of Revollutionary War on Roman Catholics (C)
improved position of Roman Catholic Church b/c most Catholics supported the Patriots
french alliance brought catholic troops and chaplains to the country
gained strength as an institution, vatican provided US with own Catholic hierarchy
Father John Caroll: named head of Catholic missioins in America (1784) and became first American bishop (1789) and archbishop of Baltimore (1808) -
Effects of Revolutionary War on African Americans (D)
many slaves became emancipated and was led out of country by the British
few tried to apply ideas of liberty and freedom
slave uprising and open resistance to white control (Charleston, South Carolina) -
Effects of Revolution War on Native Americans
Patriot victory increased white demand for western lands
many whites deeply resented the assistance the Mohawk and other Indians had given the British
others adopted a peternalistic view of the tribes, and were willing to redeem them if they were to adapt to the white society
Indians continued to launch raids against white settlers, and white militias used used raids to attack tribes who stood in the way of expansion -
Articles of Confederation - ordinances of 1783 and 1785
1784 Jefferson - divided western territory into ten self-governing distrits, each of which could petition Congress for statehood when its pop equaled the number of free in habitants of the smallest existing state
1785 - Congress created a system for surveying and selling western lands. territory north of Ohio River would be surveyed and marked off into neat rectangular townships
original ordinances proved highly favorable to land speculators and less to ordinary settlers who could not afford it -
Changes states made concerning establishment of relgion after Rev War
stripped away privileges they had once given particular churches
NY and southern states disestablished the church
New England states stripped Congregational Church of special status
1786: VA enacted a Statute of Relgious Freedom (Jefferson) - called for complete separation of church and state -
Changes made in state constitutions regarding slavery post American Revo War and why so few changed
PA passed general gradual emancipation act (1780)
supreme court of MA ruled in 1783 that ownership of slaves was impermissible under state's bill of rights
VA passed law encouraging manumission
but slavery survived in all the southern and border states: racist assumptions about natural inferiority, enormous eco investments, inability of southerners to envision any alternative,to sustain democratic quality and stability and to protect freedoms of white southerners -
Articles of Confederation - 1787 Northwest Ordinance
abandoned ten districts est in 1784 and created a single NW territory out of the lands north of Ohio, specified a pop of 60,000 as a minimum for statehood, guaranteed freedom of religion and the right of trial by jury to residents of the NW, and prohibited slavery
brought order and stability to the process of white settlement