Key Concept 3.1

Britain's victory over France in the imperial struggle for North America led to new conflicts among the British government, the North America colonists, and American Indians, culminating in the creation of a new nation, the United States.

I. Throughout the second half of the 18th century, various American Indian groups repeatedly evaluated and adjusted their alliances with Europeans, other tribes, and the new United States government.

    • English population growth and expansion into the interior disrupted existing French-Indian fur trade networks and caused various Indian nations to shift alliances among competing European powers.
    • After the British defeat of the French, white-Indian conflicts continued to erupt as native groups sought both to continue trading with Europeans and to resist the encroachment of British colonists on traditional tribal lands.
      • Pontiac's Rebellion, Proclamation of 1763
    • During and after the colonial war for independence, various tribes attempted to forge advantageous political alliances with one another and with European powers to protect their interests, limit migration of white settlers, and maintain their tribal lands.
      • Iroquois Confederation, Chief Little Turtle and the Western Confederacy

II. During and after the imperial struggles of the mid-18th century, new pressures began to unite the British colonies against perceived and real constraints on their economic activities and political rights, sparking a colonial independence movement and war with Britain.

    • Great Britain's massive debt from the Seven Years' War resulted in renewed efforts to consolidate imperial control over North American markets, taxes, and political institutions - actions that were supported by some colonists but resisted by others.
      • Stamp Act, Committees of Correspondence, Intolerable Acts
    • The resulting independence movement was fueled by established colonial elites, as well as by grassroots movements that included newly mobilized laborers, artisans, and women, and rested on arguments overs the rights of British subjects, the rights of the individual, and the ideas of the Enlightenment.
      • Sons of Liberty, Mercy Otis Warren, Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania
    • Despite considerable loyalist opposition, as well as Great Britain's apparently overwhelming military and financial advantages, the patriot cause succeeded because of the colonists' greater familiarity with the land, their resilient military and political leadership, their ideological commitment, and their support from European allies.

III. In response to domestic and international tensions, the new United States debated and formulated foreign policy initiatives and asserted an international presence.

    • The continued presence of European powers in North America challenged the United States to find ways to safeguard its borders, maintain neutral trading rights, and promote its economic interests.
    • The French Revolution's spread throughout Europe and beyond helped fuel Americans' debate not only about its proper role in the world.
    • Although George Washington's Farewell Address warned about the dangers of divisive political parties and permanent foreign alliances, European conflict and tensions with Britain and France fueled increasingly bitter partisan debates throughout the 1790s.