Chapter 3 Summary

The pride American colonists felt as citizens of the British empire after defeating France in the French and Indian War was quickly challenged as the British attempted to climb out of debt following the conflict. It is important to teachers and students to discuss both the colonial and British perspectives on the new taxes and regulations imposed after the war. The British saw it as completely reasonable to tighten enforcement of the Navigation Acts (on the books for a century, but largely ignored) and impose new taxes on the colonists. After all, the war against France had been fought on the colonists' behalf and had led to a financial crisis for the mother country. It was time for the colonials to pay their own way, particularly the cost of the additional troops necessary to protect new territories won in the war. Students will also want to research the meaning of mercantilism and understand how Britain saw the role of the colonies in the economic system of the empire.

But the colonists had totally different views. To them, the Stamp Tax was clearly an infringement upon their "rights as Englishmen" -- rights they could trace back to the Magna Carta. Chief among those rights was the right not to be taxed without representation. No one in England would disagree, but people on different sides of the Atlantic could not even agree on the meaning of representation. The British talked of virtual representation while colonists such as Patrick Henry insisted on actual representation. They also debated the difference between internal and external taxes. In fact, the colonies and the mother country had grown apart over the decades and now barely understood one another. The crisis of the 1760s only made that gulf more readily apparent.

The Stamp Act Congress of 1765 was a key turning point on the road toward revolution. Bennett includes key resolutions passed by that Congress. Students should note that although there is a strong declaration of rights, there is still a strong statement of loyalty to both the king and to Parliament. Students should be challenged to see the great contrast between this document and the Declaration of Independence 11 years later. They will want to evaluate what changed in that time span. Colonial boycotts, protests and violence forced Parliament to repeal the Stamp Tax, but students should clearly note that the Declaratory Act passed along with the repeal made clear Parliament's insistence on being supreme to the colonies in "all cases whatsoever." Colonists missed that message in their celebrations over the repeal of the tax they hated. England had backed down and relations would never be the same.

Following the Stamp Tax, students will want to chart the spiral toward a break in relations over the next decade. From the proclamation of 1763 to the Townsend duties to the Quartering Act to issues of writs of assistance and the suspension of trial by jury - the colonies and the mother country drifted further apart as England tried to tighten administration that had been lax over a century of "salutary neglect." The colonists were having none of it and protested every step of the way. Students should be challenged to find reference to each of these government "abuses" reflected in both Jefferson's Declaration of Independence and later in the Bill of Rights to the Constitution.

The cycle of British repression and colonial protest grew progressively more violent in the 1770s with the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. British responses became more repressive with measures such as the Coercive Acts of 1774. Bennett points out that as the British became more forceful, a new colonial union was born. This is reflected in the calling of the First Continental Congress of 1774, which encouraged colonists to arm themselves. Thus British actions were counter-productive. But even the few voices in Parliament who could see this (William Pitt and Edmund Burke) were drowned out by cries to make the colonists behave.

Accounts of Lexington and Concord give students an excellent chance to analyze primary sources and see the challenge historians face when trying to determine who really did fire the first shot of the war. Bennett's account gives an excellent overview of the military campaigns of the war, from New England to Canada to New York and finally to the South. Teachers will find numerous topics for class discussion. Examples include: How critical was George Washington's leadership to American victory? What made him a great leader of the Independence effort? What key victories turned the tide? Could America have won the war without French help? Why didn't Canadian colonists join the war for Independence (despite the efforts of Franklin)?

Teachers will also want students to evaluate how Americans themselves came to accept the idea of independence and see themselves as a new nation. At what point did the war become a war of liberation rather than a violent dispute with the mother country? As Bennett points out, Thomas Paine's Common Sense clearly moved Americans toward a new acceptance of nationhood and Jefferson's Declaration of Independence made the break official to the world. Still, many Americans remained loyal to the crown. Bennett points out that many battles (especially in the South) very much had the characteristics of civil war between loyalists (Tories) and rebels. What factors determined where a colonist stood on this historic question?

Bennett makes a strong argument that the founders who signed the Declaration of Independence truly did mean all men are created equal. Some historians would disagree, citing the obvious fact that the nation still had slavery and did not include women or Indians in the political process. Students can debate Bennett's view and analyze his evidence that the message of America was indeed universal from the beginning.

The Peace of Paris (1783) recognized America's independence and granted the new nation lands all the way to the Mississippi River. Bennett points out, though, that the drama of the war was not over until the presence of George Washington quelled desperate, hungry, unpaid American troops and prevented chaos. Then his retirement and surrender of military power separated him from virtually all military strongmen in history. Students might be challenged to learn about an ancient Roman general named Cincinnatus and understand why some early Americans referred to Washington as the "American Cincinnatus."