The Essen(al Ques(on. How did Americans and the Bri(sh differ in their understanding of what it meant to be an Englishman?

Transcription

1 The Essen(al Ques(on How did Americans and the Bri(sh differ in their understanding of what it meant to be an Englishman?

2 An Empire Transformed The Great War for Empire made up of two wars at the same (me, the French and Indian War in America, and the Seven Year s War in Europe/Asia, lasted from Britain could no longer let the colonies manage their own affairs, as during the war, the mother country had extended its interests & responsibili(es far into the interior of the country Neither the colonists nor the Na(ve Americans were inclined to cooperate in this transforma(on

3 Americans Seemed Bent Toward Liberty Americans had an autude that had grown from Britain s salutary neglect They felt themselves en(tled to a greater measure of Liberty than is enjoyed by the people of England Yet the English thought Americans had become a bunch of mongrels Their American colonies had become filled up with undesirables such as French, German, Dutch, innumerable Indians, Africans, and felons from English jails To the average Englishman, Americans were foreigners

4 We Are Bri(sh Ci(zens Wealthy Philadelphia lawyer John Dickinson argued his fellow colonists were not East Indian Sepoys, nor Maraaas, but Bri(sh subjects born to liberty, who know its worth, & prize it high Thus the stage was set for a struggle between the concep(ons of iden(ty- & empire held by Bri(sh ministers on one hand, and many American colonists on the other

5 The Costs of Empire The Great War for Empire caused the Bri(sh na(onal debt to balloon from 75- million to 133- million pounds Near every Bri(sh subject was alarmed By the end of the war, the na(on s debt alone consumed 60% of the na(onal budget Somewhere, somehow, taxes would have to be raised to pay off this debt

6 Where s The Money Coming From? During the 18 th century, taxes were shieing from land owned by the gentry & aristocrats to taxes on goods Excise or sales taxes were levied on all kinds of ordinary goods, like slat, beer, bricks, candles, & paper (in the form of a Stamp Tax) All these goods were consumed by poor & middle class Britons, who ended up paying most of the taxes

7 How To Collect the Taxes? To run the government, you need people to collect taxes so Britain doubled the size of the tax bureaucracy Customs agents patrolled the coast of southern Britain, seizing tons of contraband French wines, Dutch teas, & Belgian tex(les Convicted smugglers faced heavy penal(es or forced transporta(on to America as indentured servants Over 50,000 criminals had been sentenced to transporta(on to the colonies, who complained about the policy

8 Bri(sh Power in America is Weak In theory, royal governors had extensive poli(cal powers, including command of the mili(a In reality, they shared power with the colonial assemblies, which angered Bri(sh officials The Bri(sh Board of Trade complained that in Massachuseas that every act by the governor was ordered & directed by the General Court Colonial merchants had engaged in smuggling for years, forcing Parliament to pass the Revenue Act of 1762 The Royal Navy was instructed to seize American vessels carrying food crops from the colonies to the French West Indies

9 Bri(sh Soldiers in America Aeer the war, Britain found it necessary to deploy 15 baaalions- some 7500 troops- in North America Many of these were sta(oned in Canada, where Bri(sh ministers feared an uprising by the 60,000 French residents Na(ve Americans were also a worry- Pon(ac s revolt had nearly overwhelmed the Bri(sh fron(er forts Only a substan(al military force could keep land- hungry Americans from viola(ng the Proclama(on of and star(ng another Indian war

10 Bri(sh Ministers Worry About the Colonies In addi(on to Canada and the Indians, King George III s ministers worried about the loyalty of their American colonies Ministers es(mated the cost of keeping these troops in America at 225,000 pounds per year, making the country s debt problem con(nually worse It seemed clear to the king and Parliament that the colonists needed to pick up some of the burden, since they had benefits greatly during the war The colonists had always managed their own affairs, but those days were now over Note that each colonist was only going to be charged 18 Shillings. Each person living in England was being charged 17 pounds about 10 (mes as much.

11 George Grenville & the Reform Impulse George Grenville was charged with making the colonies pay Widely regarded as one of the ablest men in England, Grenville understood this was the (me for reforming the system As Prime Minister, he pushed through Parliament the Currency Act of 1764 American merchants could no longer use paper money as legal tender it had been used but worth less that Bri(sh pounds sterling

12 Grenville s second move was to win approval of the Sugar Act of 1764 to replace the Molasses Act of 1733, which the colonists had ignored The earlier act had put a 6- pence per gallon tax on French molasses- so high it cut off legal trading Rather than paying the tax, colonial merchants bribed customs officials at the going rate of 1.5- pence per gallon Grenville cut the tax rate to 3- pence, but tried to (ghten enforcement & cut out the bribery The Sugar Act

13 It Didn t Work Aeer spending so much (me carefully craeing a tax bill, the policy garnered liale support in America New England merchants like John Hancock had made fortunes smuggling in French molasses, which would be turned into rum Boston merchants paid customs du(es on just 400 hogsheads of molasses, yet they imported 40,000 for use by 63 Boston rum dis(lleries American merchants vowed to evade the tax by smuggling or bribing officials

14 Who Has The Right to Tax? In Massachuseas, the leader of the assembly argued that the sugar tax was contrary to the Bri(sh cons(tu(on He argued that all taxes ought to originate with the people In Rhode Island, Gov. Hopkins warned: They who are taxed at pleasure by others cannot possible have any property, and they who have no property, can have no freedom

15 Other Cons(tu(onal Issues The Sugar Act also raised other ques(ons Merchants who were caught no longer would be tried before courts made up of colonists, which would oeen end in acquiaals by friendly juries Instead, they would face trial in vice- admiralty courts, staffed by naval officers & run by Bri(sh- appointed judges Many Americans began to worry that they were no longer being treated as equals, but as second- class Bri(sh ci(zens

16 The End of Salutary Neglect The real issue for Americans was the growing power of the Bri(sh state Americans had lived for decades under the policy of salutary neglect The Bri(sh began to control colonial life Their response: The rule that a Bri(sh subject shall not be bound by laws or liable to taxes, but to what he has consented to must be confined to the inhabitants of Great Britain only

17 An Open Challenge: The Stamp Act The Stamp Act sparked the 1st great crisis The actual cost of keeping Bri(sh troops in America had ballooned to 385,000 pounds a year, or about $150- million a year in todays $$$ Somebody had to pick up this 70% increase Grenville came up with the Stamp Act, which would raise 60,000 pounds per year All printed items- college diplomas, court documents, land (tles, contracts, newspapers, almanacs, & playing cards had to carry a stamp

18 An Ingeniously- Designed Tax The English had to pay this tax, too, and it fell most heavily on people with money It charged only a penny a sheet for newspapers & other common items, but up to 10- pounds for a lawyer s license There was no need for a new bureaucracy- stamped paper would be delivered to colonial ports & sold to printers, & replace unstamped stock

19 Benjamin Franklin felt the impact of the tax as a newspaper publisher But he was also a member of the Pennsylvania assembly Franklin suggested that if the Bri(sh chose to tax their American colonists, they should give them seats in Parliament With the excep(on of William Pia, Bri(sh poli(cians rejected Franklin s idea as too radical They argued the colonists already had virtual representa(on because some members of Parliament were transatlan(c merchants & West Indian sugar planters Representa(on

20 Asser(ng More Control The Bri(sh House of Commons was keen to respond to the hint that Americans were geung a liale too full of themselves They passed the Stamp Act in March, 1765, by an overwhelming majority Viola(ons of the act would result in a trial before a vice- admiralty court At the request of Gen. Thomas Gage, the Bri(sh military commander in America, Parliament also passed the Quartering Act of 1765

21 The Quartering Act The new law said that colonial governments were required to provide barracks & food for Bri(sh troops Aeer all, the troops were there to protect the colonies If necessary, Bri(sh officers could commandeer a colonist s home & food for his men In some ways, Britain s handling of America was similar to the way it handled Ireland Bri(sh officials would govern the colonies with liale regard for local assemblies