3) ENDING THE COLONIAL RELATIONSHIP 1774-1776
Coercive/Intolerable Acts:
1) Boston Port Act June 1774 – closed port of Boston until cargo was paid for
2) MA Gov Act May 1774 – legislature appointed by King, no elections, no meetings without Governors
permission
3) Administration of Justice Act may 1774 – royal officials omitting capital offences tried in London – more likely
to be let off
4) Quartering Act June 1774 – colonists had to provide shelter and supplies for British troops on demand
5) Quebec Act – disbanded representative assemblies in Canada, revoked right to trial by jury, expanded
Quebec boundary – fear this would spread to America
American Reaction
- June 1774 – Boston Committee of Correspondence drafted Solemn League and Covenant committing to
boycott
- May – June – VA and 7 other assemblies denounced acts and were dissolved, continued to meet in extra-
legal conventions
- Jefferson’s ‘Summary of the Rights of British America’ and John Adams under ‘Novangulus’
- Committees of Safety/Inspection set up to enforce boycott and non-importation
- Militias drilled and arms stockpiled from Sept 1774 – MA, NH and RI
First Continental Congress
Met Sept 1774, only GA absent
Radical– Paul Revere and Suffolk Resolves endorsed by 50 citizens of Boston, ordered non-importation
enforced by Committees of Safety and militias to be drilled
Loyalist – Galloway’s Plan of Union only rejected 6 votes to 5, equal British-colonial relationship
Agreed – Dec 1774 non importation and non-exportation from Sept 1775, oct 1774 declaration of rights and
grievances
Another congress arranged for May 1775
British Response
Nov 1774 – North requested repeal of Coercive acts and 20,000 more troops, only sent 4000, Pitt and
Burke’s attempts to repeal Coercive acts ignored
Conciliation plan – Britain would not tax any colony paying for own administration and defence
March 1775 – New England Restraining Act colonies in state of rebellion, Dartmouth ordered Gage to act
against rebellion
Prep for War:
British aware of Dutch gunpowder being smuggled to American ports
RI militiamen took military equipment and arms from Newport Forts, same in NH
Dec 14th 1774 – 400 militia attacked Fort Williama and Mary, took guns and cannons
Oct 1774 – MA set up Committee for defence and safety, spent £20000 on arms
Formation of minutemen
Nov 1774 – CT assembly ordered towns to double stocks of musket balls, gunpowder and flints
MA and RI formed own state militias
George III pro war speech 1774
Feb 1775 – Gage tried to seize arms cache in Salem MA but forced to retreat
Lexington & Concord
18th April 1775 – Gage sent 700 troops to Concord, militia alerted by Revere and Boston Committee of Safety
70 minutemen barred path at Lexington, stalemate, shot heard around the world, 8 colonists killed and 8
wounded, 1 British solider wounded
, Onto Concord under heavy fire, arms cache evacuated, and rebel leaders had fled
Retreat to Boston, Lord Percy late to support, 273 British killed, 92 colonists killed
British besieged in Boston by 20,000-30,000 militia
Second Continental Congress
10th May 1775 Philadelphia – 63 delegates from 13 colonies, 50 had served in 1774
June 1775 – assumed responsibility for war, impressed quota on colonies for 20,000 men Continental Army
issuing $2mil paper money
GW appointed commander – experience from 7 years war, wealthy Virginian planter, colonial unity from
Southern leader for a predominantly New England army
6th July 1775 – Declaration of the Causes and Necessities of Taking up Arms – after Bunker Hill
8th July 1775 – Olive Branch Petition – signed by 48 delegates, urged reconciliation with King George III
24th July 1775 – seized letter of John Adams, detailed plans of war, printed in British newspapers
23rd Oct 1775 – King George III called loyal subjects to supress rebellion, Oct 27 th speech to Parliament
War up to 1776
Battle of Bunker Hill June 1775 – Generals Howe, Clinton and Burgoyne made up British troops to 6500,
militia men occupied Breeds/Bunker Hill, Howe attempted to dislodge them, double British casualties than
American
GW held back from attacking Boston – town destruction, outbreaks of typhoid and dysentery
Howe replaced Gage – inertia
Invasion of Canada – Montgomery led 1200 men to capture Montreal 13 th Nov, Arnold lost 300 men on
route, met in Dec, launched unsuccessful attack on Quebec
War in South – Lord Dunmore and 500 loyalists launched cache raids in coastal towns, freedom promised to
any slaves freeing rebel owners to fight for British, patriots defeated loyalists
Evacuation of Boston – 4th March 1776 Dorchester Heights captured by 17000 rebels, 11,000 British and
1000 loyalists evacuated on 17th March to Halifax Nova Scotia
Nov 1775 – Committee of Secret Correspondence to maintain foreign relations to aid war effort
Royal governors all replaced with rebel government, congress operated with sovereign power
Draft declaration written by Jefferson, Sherman and Franklin
Ideas & Influence
Ideology (Natural Right of Englishmen, taxation without representation, mercantile system) v economic (fear
of EIC monopoly, anti-smuggling laws, mercantilism, taxes)
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense published Jan 1776 – sold 500,000 copies, not copyrighted, GW made army
read it, simple language
Thomas Hobbs – traditional view – all people naturally evil and selfish so a King is needed to govern them
Jefferson – principal writer of Declaration of Independence, used Locke, Sam Adams and Paine’s ideas
Sam Adams – led Sons of Liberty, opposed taxation without representation, called for non-cooperation
Voltaire – separate church and state to allow religious tolerance
Locke – no Divine rights of Kings, natural rights – life, liberty, property, people can overthrow government
when it does not protect these rights
Montesquieu – separation of powers of executive, legislative and judiciary with checks and balances against
each other
Rousseau – social contract between people and gov
Wilkes – defender of liberty, criticised Parliament openly, influenced independent thinking
James Otis – no taxation without representation, Petition of Lechmere, defence of inalienable rights
Declaration of Independence
NJ’s gov did not want independence – overthrown 12 th June
