U3: 1754-1800

Periodization (1754-1800)

● Period 3 begins with the start of the French and Indian War, and ends with John Adams’s presidency. Why does this matter?

○ The start of the period concerns the growing sentiment towards colonial separation from the mother country, while the end of the period concerns the end of the Federalists’ presidency period. Hence, the key ideas (located below)

Key Ideas

● Independence: how/why the desire for it grew, how it was achieved

● Beginnings of Government: debates over state vs. federal power, attempts at establishment, the American definition of government, important leaders

Events Leading to American Revolution (Before Independence)

Albany Plan of Union

○ Meeting organized by Benjamin Franklin to bring the colonies together under one governing body

○ Completely and utterly failed due to the lack of cooperation

○ Resulted in complete SEPARATE colonies at the beginning of the period

French and Indian War

○ IMPORTANT event that sparks the movement toward revolution

○ Named by the Europeans as the Seven Years War. Colonists named it the French and Indian War due to the people they were fighting: the French and the Indians vs. the British and the colonists. 

○ Purpose: French were protecting their fur-trade against the growing expansionism of the British-Americans. However, Britain and France originally had hostile relations and were well-known rivals, which further inflamed conflict in the New World.

○ Result: Britain and colonies won, BUT, the more important result was:

■ Growing sentiment against Great Britain, the mother country

● Colonists were treated poorly by British soldiers

● Colonists viewed the war as the entanglement of colonies in a British-French Rivalry

Growing Control Over Colonies

○ End of salutary neglect (colonial autonomy)

■ British soldiers stayed in the colonies even after the war was already done.

○ Proclamation of 1763: passed by Parliament and forbid the further westward movement of colonists beyond the Appalachian Mountains

■ Completely ignored by colonists, for it was seen as a restrictive act

○ Seen in the passage of the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Currency Act, Townshend Acts → 1760s

■ Passed to help pay the debts of the French and Indian war.

■ Later on, others were passed: Declaratory Act, Quartering Act, etc.

○ From this, the statement “No taxation without representation” was born.

Other Incendiary Events

○ Boston Massacre (1770): the sudden gunshots that killed five colonists during a riot in Boston 

■ Colonists portrayed the event (with bias) as a cruel shootout against innocent colonists.

● Notice how British soldiers are depicted as the antagonist in this picture → added fuel to the growing fire

○ Boston Tea Party (1773): after the boycotts of goods that were taxed by the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, etc., Parliament repealed all of them except for the tax on tea. In response, colonists threw tons of tea overboard the ships of the British East India Company.

● Main Idea: from 1754 to around 1770, one can see the growing sentiment towards independence as a result of the growing suppression of colonial rights. Of course, not everyone was supportive of the movement. Some Loyalists were loyal to the crown and simply did nothing to rebel.

Organizing Colonies

• “Are we fighting for rights or independence?”

First Continental Congress (1774)

○ Colonies gathered to discuss the growing negative sentiment against Britain.

○ Settled on a fight for RIGHTS, not independence -- yet.

○ The Second Continental Congress also resulted in this agreement.

Olive Branch Petition

○ Petition to the King from colonists stating their apologies for the recent events, and explaining their desire for more rights and representation within Parliament.

○ Simply ignored by the King, resulting in the Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence (1776)

○ Written by Thomas Jefferson, stating their independence from Great Britain

○ Portrayed the official sentiment of INDEPENDENCE, not only rights!

Ideologies for War

Battles of the American Revolution

*** This is not a complete list, but these three wars have some notable importance that would be beneficial for you to remember.

● Battle of Lexington and Concord

○ First battle of the war was fought with militias, surprising Britain with an American win.

● Battle of Saratoga

○ The victory by the Americans proved their strength and helped Americans gain the support of the French -- the longtime rival of Britain.

● Battle of Yorktown

○ American victory that ended the war; Americans now independent.

○ Resulted in the Treaty of Paris 1783

Beginnings of Government

Articles of Confederation (1776-1789) - AOC

○ Formed a weak government, and thus a weak foundation for the nation

■ Done on purpose to prevent another “king”, but it backfired

○ Government had no power to tax, and thus no power to raise money

■ No military could be formed as a result, and the newly born America was not able to pay its war debt to its allies

○ Shay’s Rebellion

■ Veterans who were waiting to be paid for their service in the war rose up in rebellion when they did not receive their money

■ Government had no money to pay them, as well as no money to raise a military to put down the rebellion → Proved the weakness of the AOC

Constitutional Convention → Constitution

○ Three branches of government: executive, legislative, judicial

■ Each with a check and balance to prevent a new tyrannical government

○ Great Compromise for Congress

○ Three-Fifths Compromise: The growing number of slaves in the South gave the Southern states an advantage in the House of Representatives. The Northern states pointed out that blacks were treated as property and thus should not be able to vote; the South was opposed to the idea.

■ To settle the conflict, the Three-Fifths Compromise counted every slave in the population as three-fifths of a person.

First Presidency and the Beginning of Political Parties

Hamilton’s Plan

○ National Bank: a federal bank that would have power over all state banks, and thus symbolized a great amount of power in the hands of the government

○ Tax on Whiskey

○ Government Funding: government would spend money on its states

○ Assumption of State’s Debt and the Nation’s War Debt: would make their previous allies favor the US’s success in order to get their money back

○ Tariff on Imports: would protect American businesses

Washington’s Presidency

○ Though he did not identify with a particular party, he often agreed with Hamilton and allowed him to carry out his plans (listed above)

○ Served only two terms and set this tradition for future presidents

○ Set a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs

■ Did not give in to French Revolution war pressures

○ Farewell Address 1796 (end of his term)

■ Warned America to beware of permanent alliances to other nations, as it would later pull the nation into entanglements that would only harm America

■ Warned of the danger of political parties, and how the nation would fall if divided along political lines

Whiskey Rebellion

○ A rebellion against the whiskey tax

○ Washington did not hesitate to raise a federal army to squash the rebellion

■ His success proved the new power of the government, but was also an example of overbearing governmental power.

○ Deeply contrasted the results of Shays Rebellion

Other Groups to Consider

Native Americans

○ With the loss of the French in the French and Indian War, colonists continuously expanded westward

○ No longer had French protection in their battles

■ Pontiac’s Rebellion

■ Battle of Fallen Timbers

■ Treaty of Grenville: ceded a lot of land to colonists

○ Germ warfare severely decimated their populations

African Americans

○ Slavery became very common in the South and continuously grew

Women

○ No role change yet

○ Republican Motherhood: mothers became the moral teachers of their home

■ Note that this is a change, but still only an addition to their domestic role

End of Period 3

John Adams’s Presidency (1796-1800)

○ Generally let Hamilton take the reins and continue his plans

○ His presidency garnered a lot of criticism and led to the Alien and Sedition Acts

Alien and Sedition Acts

○ Passed with support from Adams

○ Prevented any form of anti-government speech, including criticism of the government

○ Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

■ These states did not accept this federal law and nullified it in their state

● Violated the First Amendment regarding Freedom of Speech

■ This introduced the idea of state nullification of federal laws (previously unheard of)

● Sets the stage for the Federal Power vs State Power debate that truly explodes during Period 5

***Note: Understand how this period revolves mainly around the American Revolution and the first years of government. Though political concepts are highly emphasized, consider the less explicit social and economic considerations as well: for example, the differences in future visions for American economics, Hamilton’s war debt plans, Native American treatment, etc.