The Road to Revolution 1745 - 1776 Terms and People • George Washington – Virginia colonist who led troops against the French during the Seven Years’ War; future president • militia – force made up of civilians trained as soldiers but not part of the regular army • alliance – agreement between countries to help each other against other countries • cede – surrender By the mid-1700s, both Britain and France had claimed vast areas of land in North America - lands long settled by Native Americans. In the 1750s, land disputes erupted in the Ohio River valley, the area between Lake Erie and the Ohio River. France claimed the Ohio River valley as part of its territory. The Virginia colony also claimed the land, and British settlers continued to move west. French troops from Canada marched south to seize and fortify the Ohio Valley. Britain protested the “invasion” and claimed Ohio for itself. Virginia’s Governor Dinwiddie sent young Major George Washington to warn the French to leave the region. The French ignored Washington’s warnings. A young George Washington, representing Virginia and the British government, meets with French commander of Ft. LeBoeuf to request that they leave the area. The French sent Washington home with the message that they would never give up the Ohio River valley. The next year, Washington returned to the Ohio River valley to find the French building a fort at a key location. Ohio R. Fort Duquesne Built where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers meet to form the Ohio River Washington’s First Battle: Jumonville Glen • Washington is Sent to the Forks of the Ohio in Spring 1754 to Reinforce a Small Party Building a Fort There • Washington’s Force of 350 Begins to Build a Secondary Fortification at the Great Meadows • Washington Takes a Scouting Party of 50 Soldiers and Indians Searching for the French Washington Rock at Jumonville Glen As it • They Surprise and Defeat a Force of appeared in 2007 34 Frenchmen George Washington attacked a small French force at Jumonville Glen. The leader of the French Party, Ensign Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville, a Diplomatic Envoy, is killed by Native Americans after he surrendered. The incident touched off open fighting between the British and the French and started the French and Indian War. Washington’s First Battle: Impact on the World “The Volley Fired by a Young Virginian in the Backwoods of America has Set the World on Fire.” -Horace Walpole Washington built a small fort, Fort Necessity, near the forks of the Ohio. He called the landscape around Fort Necessity “a charming field for an encounter”. His inexperience led to a humiliating defeat for the Virginians and the beginning of a worldwide struggle for empire between Great Britain and France. Hoping to form an alliance against the French, the British called a meeting of colonial leaders and local Iroquois tribes in Albany, New York. The alliance failed. Iroquois British refuse to join a British alliance Colonial leaders at the Albany Congress still tried to work out a plan to defend themselves against the French. Benjamin Franklin urged the colonists to unite against the enemy. Franklin drew up a plan in which an elected council would have authority to act for all the colonies on urgent matters. It also could form armies and collect taxes to pay expenses. Albany Plan of Union The Albany Plan of Union was rejected by the colonial assemblies. Despite the failure to form a united front, the British decided it was time to act. In 1755, troops led by General Edward Braddock marched on Fort Duquesne. The French and their Native American allies ambushed the British, defeating them. The British knew little about fighting in North America. Braddock’s Defeat near Ft. Duquesne, 1755 The British disaster at Fort Duquesne was followed by other defeats. Fort Niagara Lake George Fort Oswego Fort William Henry In 1756, Britain declared war on France, marking the official beginning of the Seven Years’ War. The French and Indian War was just the North American theatre of a larger conflict, the Seven Years War. In Europe, Britain, Prussia, and Hanover fought against an alliance of France, Austria, Saxony, Russia, Sweden and Spain. The European phase of the war lasted from 1756 to 1763. Britain’s string of defeats finally ended when a new prime minister, William Pitt, took office. Pitt’s generals soon turned the tide of the war. In 1758, the British won Fort Duquesne, renaming it Fort Pitt. Such victories helped the British gain Iroquois support. British Iroquois join a British alliance British victories in 1758 and 1759 set the stage for the key battle or turning point of the war - the Battle of Quebec. The Battle of Quebec, 1759 Quebec, the capital of New France, was located atop high cliffs. The British climbed the cliffs on an unguarded trail and captured the city. Without Quebec, France could no longer defend its territory. In 1763, Britain and France signed the Treaty of Paris, ending the war. The Death of General Wolfe by Benjamin West Under the terms of the treaty, France lost its lands in North America. Native Americans lost, too, as British settlers continued to move west. Terms and People • duty – import tax • boycott – organized campaign to refuse to buy certain products • petition – written request to a government • writ of assistance – court order that allowed officials to make searches without saying what they were searching for • John Adams – Massachusetts lawyer and colonial leader; future president • Samuel Adams – leader of the Sons of Liberty who established the Committee of Correspondence With the French defeat in the Seven Years’ War, Britain gained vast new lands in North America. Native Americans Colonists saw saw a new threat endless room to their lands. for settlement. Pontiac, the leader of the Ottawa nation, took action to stop settlers from pushing farther west. Pontiac and his allies launched a bloody attack on British forts and towns. The British responded with equally brutal attacks against Native Americans. The British defeated Pontiac in 1764, but thousands of settlers and Native Americans had been killed. Pontiac’s Rebellion Hoping to avoid further wars, the British issued the Proclamation of 1763. It forbid colonists from settling west of a line drawn along the Appalachian Mountains. The stopped settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. It angered colonists who had hoped to move to the Ohio Valley. The Proclamation of 1763 angered many colonists, who believed they had the right to settle wherever they wanted. Proclamation of 1763 The colonists largely ignored the proclamation, and Britain found it impossible to enforce. Tensions rose. Colonists POV Colonists had fought and died to help win the war. Colonists expected Britain Colonists increasingly to be grateful for the believed their rights their help. were being threatened. Colonists were loyal subjects; they expected to have the same rights as other British citizens. British POV The war had put Britain in debt. Britain continued to British leaders spend money on were concerned troops to protect about paying for colonists from their costly Native Americans. colonies. British leaders expected the colonists to help pay expenses. Currency Act of 1764 The stopped American colonists from making and using their own paper money as legal tender. Parliament effectively assumed control of the colonial currency system. Since Parliament favored a "hard currency" system based on the pound sterling and was not inclined to regulate the colonial bills, they simply abolished them. British Taxes Britain owed a large debt from the Seven Years War (French and Indian War). Keeping troops in the colonies would raise that debt even higher. Britain needed more revenue, or income, to meet its expenses. So it attempted to have the colonies pay part of the war debt. Britain also wanted the colonies to contribute toward the costs of frontier defense and colonial government. In the past, the King asked the colonial assemblies to pass taxes. This time Parliament voted to tax the colonies directly. Colonial leaders claimed that Parliament had King George III no right to tax the colonies, since colonists were not represented in Parliament. The Placed a duty or tax on sugar, molasses, coffee, pimento, and some wines. Required all legal and commercial documents to carry an official stamp showing that a tax had been paid. increased tensions between Britain and the Colonies. Colonial leaders felt they were being taxed without their consent. Colonial leaders protested the Stamp Act and sent a petition to the King. Some colonists formed secret societies to oppose British policies. Colonial assemblies and newspapers joined the protests. Later, colonial merchants organized a boycott of British goods. A boycott is a refusal to buy. Not all protests were peaceful. Colonists burned stamped paper whenever they could find it. They also attacked and threatened customs officials. Many officials quit their jobs because of fear. This newspaper expressed the colonial anger over the Stamp Act and included a mock stamp drawn as a skull and crossbones. Quartering Act of 1765 The directed colonial assemblies to provide for the basic needs of soldiers stationed within their borders. Specified items included bedding, cooking utensils, firewood, beer or cider, and candles. This law was expanded in 1766 and required the assemblies to billet soldiers in taverns and unoccupied houses. Virginia Resolution of 1765 In response to the Stamp Act, the Virginia House of Burgesses passed the Virginia Resolution in 1765. The resolution rejected the right of Great Britain to tax Virginians and declared that only Virginians could tax Virginians. It led to widespread protest in the American colonies, and to Patrick Henry the slogan, "No taxation without representation!" The Sons of Liberty In Boston, in the early summer of 1765 a group of shopkeepers and artisans who called themselves The Loyal Nine, began preparing for agitation against the Stamp Act.