The Roots of Revolution
In the 18th century Britain and France fought several wars, struggling in Europe, Asia and America. In North America France claimed to own Canada and Louisiana. As in the middle of the 18th century most of the forests and plains of both these vast areas were still unexplored by Europeans, the French claim worried both the British government and the American colonists, because it might keep the colonists to the east of the Appalachian Mountains and stop them from moving westwards.
In 1756 Britain and France began fighting the Seven Years War, known to Americans as the French and Indian War. In 1759 the French Quebec and in 1760 – Montreal. The war was ended by the Peace of Paris, signed in 1763, according to which France gave up its claim to Canada and to all North America east of the Mississippi River. This victory led directly to conflict with its American colonies.
Until the 1760s most Americans seemed quite content to be ruled by Britain because the British government rarely interfered in colonial affairs. Another important reason for it was the presence of the French in North America, because the colonists felt they needed the British navy and soldiers to protect them. However, the policy of the British government after the French and Indian War angered the colonists when they were told to pay new taxes on sugar, coffee, textiles and other goods. This meant a rise in the costs of living and problems in trading at a profit. Besides, the colonists had to feed and shelter the British soldiers in exchange for protection they didn’t seem to need any more. In 1765 the British government passed another new law called the Stamp Act. This too was intended to raise money to pay for the defense of the colonies. It said that the colonists had to buy special tax stamps and attach them to newspapers, licenses and legal papers such as wills and mortgages.
Ever since the early settlements Americans had claimed the right to elect representatives to decide the taxes they paid. Now they insisted that as ‘freeborn Englishmen’ they could be taxed only by their own colonial assemblies. ‘No taxation without representation’ became their demand, because they didn’t have their representatives in the British Parliament. All over the colonies merchants and shopkeepers refused to sell British goods until the Act was withdrawn; while in Boston and other cities angry mob attacked government officials selling stamps.
In 1765 representatives from nine colonies met in New York to form the ‘Stamp Act Congress’ and organize opposition to the Stamp Act. As a result the British government had to withdraw the Stamp Act, but it was determined to show the colonists that it had the right to tax them. Another law called the Declaratory Act was passed, according to which the British government had ‘full power and authority over the colonies and people of America in all cases whatsoever.’
In 1767 the British placed new taxes on tea, paper, paint and other goods that the colonies imported from abroad, which provoked mass riots. In 1770 all the duties except on tea were removed. But some colonists in Massachusetts were determined to keep the conflict going. In December 1773, a group of them disguised as Mohawk Amerindians boarded merchant ships in Boston harbour and threw 342 cases of tea into the sea. “I hope King George likes salt in his tea,” said one of them. The British reply to this “Boston Tea Party” was to pass a set of laws to punish Massachusetts; Boston harbour was closed to trade until the tea was paid for. More soldiers were sent there to keep order. The powers of the colonial assembly were greatly reduced.
On June 1, 1774, British warships took up position at the mouth of Boston harbour to make sure that no ship sailed in or out. A few months later (in September 1774), a group of colonial leaders came together in Philadelphia. They formed the First Continental Congress to oppose what they saw as British oppression. The Continental Congress called upon all Americans to support the people of Massachusetts by refusing to buy British goods. Some colonists went further and began to organize themselves into groups of part-time soldiers (‘militias’) and to gather weapons and ammunition.
Fighting for Independence
On the night of April 18, 1775, 700 British soldiers marched silently out of Boston to seize the weapons and ammunition of the rebels in Concord. But the colonists were warned, and the British found 70 American militiamen, farmers and tradesmen, barring (преграждать) their way. As a result, eight militiamen were shot by the British soldiers. These were the first shots in what was to become the American War of Independence.
In May 1775, a second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and began to act as an American national government. It set up an army of 17,000 men under the command of George Washington, a Virginia landowner and surveyor with the experience of fighting in the French and Indian War. The Congress also sent representatives to seek aid from friendly European nations – especially from France, Britain’s old enemy. By the end of the year the fighting spread beyond Massachusetts and had grown into a full-scale war.
On July 2, 1776 the Continental Congress cut all political ties with Britain and declared that ‘these United Colonies are free and independent states.’ Two days later, on July 4, it issued the Declaration of Independence – the most important document in American history– written by Thomas Jefferson, a landowner and lawyer from Virginia. After that the colonies were officially named the United States of America.
The Declaration of Independence was more than a statement that the colonies were a new nation. It also set out the ideas that all men had a natural right to ‘Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’, while the government can only claim the right to rule if they have the agreement of those they govern.
Though the Americans did badly in the war against the British, as Washington’s army was more of an armed mob than an effective fighting force, they finally achieved success in October 1777, when a British army of almost 6,000 men were trapped in New York. In February 1778, the French king, Louis XVI, signed an alliance with the Americans, and the French ships, soldiers and money were soon playing an important part in the war.
From 1778 onwards most of the fighting took place in the southern colonies, where the war came to an end. In September 1781, George Washington, leading a combined American and French army, surrounded 8,000 British troops under General Cornwallis at New York. Cornwallis expected British ships to arrive and rescue or reinforce his army. But when the ships arrived, they turned out to be French, so Cornwallis was trapped. On October 17, 1781, he surrendered his army to G. Washington and the British began to withdraw their forced from America.
In the Treaty of Paris, signed in September 1783, Britain officially recognized its ex-colonies as an independent nation. The treaty granted the new United States all of North America from Canada in the north to Florida in the south, and from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River.
1756 – 1763 – the Seven Years War (between Britain and France)
1765 – the Stamp Act (the law enabling the US colonists to buy special tax stamps to attach them legal papers and newspapers. The act was withdrawn in the same year after the “Stamp Act Congress” was set up to oppose the law)
1773 – “Boston Tea Party” (the uprising of colonists from Massachusetts who boarded British merchant ships in Boston harbour and threw 342 cases of tea into the sea. The harbour was closed to trade until the tea was paid for)
(September) 1774 – the formation of the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia (a coalition against Britain)
(May) 1775 – the formation of the Second Continental Congress (which was to function as an American national government)
(the 4th of July) 1776 – the Declaration of Independence was issued
1775 – 1783 – the American War of Independence (the Treaty of Paris signed in September 1783 Britain officially recognized its ex-colonies as an independent state)
