The American Revolution (1765–1789) was a political movement in the Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain. It began as a colonial rebellion and evolved into a revolution, the result of which was the creation of the United States following the colonies' victory in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and British recognition of their independence in the Treaty of Paris. The Second Continental Congress, as the provisional government, established the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander-in-chief in 1775. The following year, the Congress passed the Lee Resolution on July 2nd and unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4th. Throughout most of the war, the outcome appeared uncertain, but a 1781 victory by Washington and the Continental Army in the Siege of Yorktown led King George III and the Fox–North coalition in government to negotiate the cessation of British colonial rule and the acknowledgment of American sovereignty, which was formalized in the Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783. The second U.S. Constitution took effect in 1789 and the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791.
Discontent with British colonial rule began shortly right after the end of the French and Indian War, which ended in 1763. Although the Thirteen Colonies had fought and supported the war directly, the British Parliament imposed new taxes onto the British-American colonists, ostensibly to compensate for wartime costs, and transferred control of the colonies' western lands to British officials in Montreal. Representatives from several of the Thirteen Colonies convened in New York City for the Stamp Act Congress in 1765. Its declaration argued that taxation without representation and other British policies had violated their rights as Englishmen. In 1767, though the Stamp Act was repealed, tensions increased again following Parliament's passing of the Townshend Acts. In an effort to quell the mounting rebellion, King George III deployed British troops to the colony of Massachusetts, where there was a conflict in the 1770 Boston Massacre. In December 1773, the local faction of the Sons of Liberty, made up of British-American colonists disguised as American Indians, orchestrated the Boston Tea Party, during which they dumped chests of taxed tea owned by the British East India Company into the Boston Harbor. Parliament responded by enacting a series of punitive laws, called the Intolerable Acts. These were intended to end self-government in Massachusetts but instead increased American support for revolution.
In 1774, 12 of the Thirteen Colonies sent delegates to the First Continental Congress (the Province of Georgia joined in 1775). The First Continental Congress began coordinating Patriot resistance through underground networks of committees largely built on the foundations of the Sons of Liberty network. In August 1775, King George III proclaimed Massachusetts to be in rebellion. The British attempted to disarm the colonists, resulting in the Battles of Lexington and Concord, starting the Revolutionary War. The Second Continental Congress convened in May of 1775 and created the Continental Army, which then surrounded Boston, forcing the British to withdraw by sea in March 1776 and leaving Patriots in control in every colony. In May 1776, Congress had voted to prevent all forms of British Crown authority, to be replaced by a locally created authority, and each colony created a state constitution. On July 2, the Congress passed the Lee Resolution, affirming their support for joint independence. On July 4, 1776, they unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence, basing the new nation on the revolutionary principle of protecting and guaranteeing Certain inalienable rights, proclaiming that "all men are created equal". After that, Congress had began drafting the first U.S. Constitution, known as the Articles of Confederation, an effort to establish a multi-state self-governing coordinating body capable of negotiating international treaties and prosecuting the war.
The Revolutionary War continued for another seven years, during in which France and Spain eventually entered. On September 28, 1781, Washington commanded the Continental Army's capture of a British army under General Cornwallis at the Siege of Yorktown, leading to the collapse of King George's control of Parliament. Consensus in Parliament soon shifted to the war ending on American terms. On September 3, 1783, the British signed the Treaty of Paris, recognizing the sovereign independence of the United States, and ceding to the new nation nearly all the territory east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes. The United States became the first nation to establish a federal republic with a written constitution based on the principles of universal natural rights, consent of the governed, and equality under the law, although with significant democratic limitations compared to later evolution of the concept.
The American Revolution (1765–1789) was a political movement in the Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain. It began as a colonial rebellion and evolved into a revolution, the result of which was the creation of the United States following the colonies' victory in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and British recognition of their independence in the Treaty of Paris. The Second Continental Congress, as the provisional government, established the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander-in-chief in 1775. The following year, the Congress passed the Lee Resolution on July 2nd and unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4th. Throughout most of the war, the outcome appeared uncertain, but a 1781 victory by Washington and the Continental Army in the Siege of Yorktown led King George III and the Fox–North coalition in government to negotiate the cessation of British colonial rule and the acknowledgment of American sovereignty, which was formalized in the Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783. The second U.S. Constitution took effect in 1789 and the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791.
Discontent with British colonial rule began shortly after the end of the French and Indian War in 1763. Although the Thirteen Colonies had fought and supported the war directly, the British Parliament imposed new taxes on the colonists, ostensibly to compensate for wartime costs, and transferred control of the colonies' western lands to British officials in Montreal. In 1765, Representatives from several colonies held the Stamp Act Congress in New York City, resulting in the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, which argued that taxation without representation, among other British policies, violated their rights as Englishmen. The Stamp Act was repealed in 1767, but tensions increased again following Parliament's passage of the Townshend Acts. In an effort to quell the mounting rebellion, King George III deployed British troops to the colony of Massachusetts, which resulted in the Boston Massacre in 1770. In December 1773, a local faction of the Sons of Liberty orchestrated the Boston Tea Party, during which they dumped chests of taxed tea owned by the British East India Company into Boston Harbor. Parliament responded by enacting a series of punitive laws, called the Intolerable Acts. These were intended to end self-government in Massachusetts, but instead increased American support for revolution.
In 1774, twelve of the Thirteen Colonies sent delegates to the First Continental Congress (the Province of Georgia joined in 1775) in order to begin coordinating Patriot resistance. In August 1775, King George III proclaimed Massachusetts to be in rebellion. The British subsequently attempted to disarm the colonists, resulting in the Battles of Lexington and Concord and starting the Revolutionary War. The Second Continental Congress convened in May of 1775 and created the Continental Army, which soon laid siege to Boston and forced the British to withdraw by sea in March 1776. On July 2, the Congress passed the Lee Resolution, affirming their support for joint independence. On July 4, 1776, they unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence.
The Revolutionary War continued for another seven years, with France and Spain eventually entering. On September 28, 1781, Washington commanded the Continental Army's capture of a British army under General Cornwallis at the Siege of Yorktown, leading to the collapse of King George's control of Parliament. Consensus in Parliament soon shifted to the war ending on American terms. On September 3, 1783, the British signed the Treaty of Paris, recognizing the sovereign independence of the United States, and ceding to the new nation nearly all the territory east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes. The United States became the first nation to establish a federal republic with a written constitution based on the principles of universal natural rights, consent of the governed, and equality under the law, although with significant democratic limitations compared to later evolution of the concept.
Origins
After the Glorious Revolution in England, the British had adopted a strict trade policy of "salutary neglect," whereby the Thirteen Colonies were largely left to govern themselves. As a result of this new policy, as well as the ideals of liberty which had been borne out of the Glorious Revolution, there emerged new government systems (as exemplified by William Penn's Frame of Government of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Charter of 1691); religious institutions (as exemplified by the democratic nature of Congregational Protestantism in New England and the First Great Awakening across the colonies); and occasionally, attitudes towards slavery (as exemplified by Massachusetts and, at least initially, Georgia banning the practice), although the latter of these was less common. This British policy reverted significantly after the French and Indian War. The British political establishment, especially after taking massive swathes of land from the former territories of New France, pursued a policy of greater control over colonial affairs, prompting the Thirteen Colonies to seek restoration of greater autonomy from Britain. One Patriot, Capt. Levi Preston of Danvers, Massachusetts, was asked why the Americans rebelled against England, and he responded: "...we always had governed ourselves, and we always meant to. They didn't mean we should."
In the 1680s, Charles and his brother, James II, attempted to bring New England under direct English control. The colonists fiercely opposed this, and the Crown nullified their colonial charters in response. In 1686, James finalized these efforts by consolidating the separate New England colonies along with New York and New Jersey into the Dominion of New England. Edmund Andros was appointed royal governor and tasked with governing the new Dominion under his direct rule. Colonial assemblies and town meetings were restricted, new local taxes were levied, and rights were abridged. Dominion rule triggered bitter resentment throughout New England. When James tried to rule without Parliament, the English aristocracy removed him from power in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. This was followed by the 1689 Boston revolt, which overthrew Dominion rule. Colonial governments reasserted their control after the revolt. The new monarchs, William and Mary, granted new charters to the individual New England colonies.
The British constitution served as the model for colonial governments. The Crown appointed a royal governor in each colony to exercise executive power, usually also appointing a Governor's Council largely to act as an unelected upper chamber of the legislature. Property owners elected a colonial assembly amongst themselves with powers to legislate and levy taxes, but the British government reserved the right to veto colonial legislation.
The British government lacked the resources and information necessary for close supervision of the colonies. Instead, British officials negotiated and compromised with colonial leaders to gain compliance with imperial policies. The colonies defended themselves with provincial troops and colonial militias of locals, and the British government rarely sent military forces to America before 1755. According to historian Robert Middlekauff, "Americans had become almost completely self-governing" before the American Revolution, a practice that was consistent with the British monarchy's practice of salutary neglect.
Mercantilism
British colonial policy was based on mercantilist theory, which held that Britain's national security depended on building a self-sufficient empire and controlling key trade routes. The purpose of colonies was to produce raw materials for Britain's use, consume British manufactures, and support the growth of British shipping. In the 1600s, the English Parliament enacted a series of laws called the Navigation Acts to ensure that the colonies fulfilled these purposes.
The Navigation Acts restricted colonial trade with foreign countries. The Thirteen Colonies could trade with the rest of the empire but only ship certain commodities like tobacco to Britain. Any European imports bound for British America had to first pass through an English port and pay customs duties. Other laws regulated developing colonial industries to prevent competition with British industries, such as the Wool Act 1698, the Hat Act 1731, and the Iron Act 1750. With little industry except shipbuilding, the colonies exported agricultural products in return for manufactured goods. They also imported molasses, rum, and sugar from the British West Indies.
Colonial reactions to these policies were mixed. The Molasses Act 1733, for example, placed a duty of six pence per gallon upon foreign molasses imported into the colonies. This act was particularly egregious to the New England colonists, who protested it as unconstitutional taxation without representation in the British parliament. The act increased the smuggling of foreign molasses, and the British government ceased enforcement efforts after the 1740s.
On the other hand, certain merchants and local industries benefited from the restrictions on foreign competition. The limits on foreign-built ships greatly benefited the colonial shipbuilding industry, particularly in New England. Some argue that the economic impact was minimal on the colonists, but the political friction that the acts triggered was more serious, as the merchants most directly affected were also the most politically active.
British military presence after 1754
During the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the British government fielded 45,000 soldiers, half British Regulars and half colonial volunteers. The colonies also contributed funds and materiel to the war effort; though, two-fifths of this spending was reimbursed by the British government. Great Britain defeated France and acquired that nation's territory east of the Mississippi River.
In order to allow approximately 1,500 politically well-connected British Army officers to remain on active duty in America with full pay after the war, the Bute ministry decided in early 1763 to permanently garrison 10,000 soldiers in North America. Due to long-established English resistance to a standing army, stationing these officers in Great Britain during peacetime was a politically unacceptable alternative. The excuse made for a standing army in America was defense against French troops stationed in the West Indies, and foreign populations in newly acquired territories (the French in Canada and the Spanish in Florida). In addition, British soldiers were supposed to help collect customs duties and prevent colonists from instigating conflict with Native Americans.
Instead, increased British migration beyond the Appalachian Mountains and Native American anger over the policies of General Jeffery Amherst caused Pontiac's War (1763–1766). In response, the Grenville ministry issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763, designating the territory between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River an Indian Reserve closed to colonial settlement. The Proclamation angered settlers, fur traders, and land speculators; however, it failed to stop westward migration.
1764–1766: Sugar Act and Stamp Act Crisis leads to organized resistance
According to historian Middlekauff, "the need for money played a part in every important decision made by Prime Minister George Grenville regarding the colonies—and for that matter by the ministries that followed up to 1776." The national debt had grown to £133 million with annual debt payments of £5 million (out of an £8 million annual budget). Stationing troops in North America permanently would cost another £360,000 a year. On a per capita basis, Grenville claimed Americans paid 1 shilling in taxes directly to the empire (not including local taxes) compared to 26 shillings paid by the English. The enslaved, a near majority of the population in some colonies, did not pay any taxes and therefore skewed this comparison.
On March 9, 1764, Grenville proposed the Sugar Act, which Parliament enacted in April. It lowered the duty on foreign molasses from 6 pence to 3 pence per gallon. The Treasury believed it would generate £78,000. To ensure this money could be collected, the act strengthened efforts against smuggling. Customs officials could choose whether to prosecute violators in colonial courts or vice admiralty courts. Unlike colonial courts, where there was a presumption of innocence and local juries often acquitted accused smugglers, vice admiralty courts operated on a presumption of guilt, and Crown-appointed judges decided cases.
Most resistance to the Sugar Act came from colonial merchants and legislators, whose primary argument was its negative economic impact on both the colonies and Great Britain. The New England and middle colonies imported molasses from the French West Indies and turned it into rum that was then exchanged for enslaved Africans sold to the southern colonies and the West Indies. This trade generated credit and bills of exchange that the colonists used to pay for British manufactured goods. By the winter of 1764, nine colonial legislatures had petitioned the British government to repeal the Sugar Act.
Grenville decided to levy a stamp duty on the colonies as well. In February 1765, a group of colonial agents, including Benjamin Franklin, met with Grenville to dissuade him. They argued that if Parliament taxed them, governors would never need to convene colonial assemblies again, thereby destroying representative government in America, but Grenville dismissed these concerns. The colonists had allies in the House of Commons, such as Colonel Isaac Barré, who gave an impassioned speech during the debate. Still, Parliament passed the Stamp Act easily, and it received royal assent in March. The act imposed direct taxes on the colonies for the first time. All official documents, newspapers, almanacs, and pamphlets were required to have the stamps—even decks of playing cards.