Lecture №2

Theme: The War for Independence

Aim: To analyze the period of the formation of a new state, the conditions of the
new settlers at the pre-war period.

Plan of the lecture:

2.1 The benefits the colonists got from the British Empire
2.2 The Tea Act of 1773
2.3 The First Continental Congress
2.4 A big Problem the New Country Faced

1.Now let's continue with the colonies around the turn of the century (i.e., the late
1600s and early 1700s). Don't memorize dates, but do keep time periods separate
in your mind. In the 1600s most of the colonies were just getting started (except
for Georgia, which was the only colony founded in the 1700s rather than the
1600s). By the 1700s, the colonies (except for Georgia) had long been established
and were growing stronger.Events in Europe affected the American colonies.
Upheaval occurred in England in 1688. The people in England overthrew King
James II, who was Catholic. His daughter Mary and her husband William of
Orange took the throne and reinstated Protestantism, and also adopted the English
Bill of Rights. A century later this would inspire the American Bill of Rights, One
of the first American universities, "William & Mary" in Virginia, was named after
King William and Queen Mary.In 1692, dozens of extraordinary criminal trials
occurred in the town of Salem and other villages located north of Boston,
Massachusetts: the Salem Witch Trials. Several girls displayed behavior and
symptoms suggesting they were possessed by the devil, and it remains a mystery to
this day what caused their afflictions, or even if they were play acting. Their
puzzled doctor, after examining them, suggested that the unknown cause might be
supernatural. The community became suspicious of an Indian slave from Barbados
in the Caribbean, named Tituba, who had been telling stories of voodoo and
witchcraft and even fed a "witch cake" to a dog (at her master's instructions) as a
way of a causing pain to the devil and identifying his presence.
The girls -- who were only 9 and 11 years old -- told identical details about how
the devil visited them, including seeing "witches flying through the winter mist."
Tituba first denied being a witch, but then "confessed" that she was a witch and
named other townswomen (including a tavern owner) who she said were witches
working with her. Tituba declared that a tall man from Boston, perhaps Satan,
visited her and sometimes appeared as a dog or a hog, asking her to do his work.
She said she had flown through the air on poles with the other witches she named,
and could not obtain counseling from the minister because the devil had blocked
her path.
Before long the local jails were overflowing with witches identified by other so-
called witches who had "confessed", and trials had to be held in order to free up
space in jail. Keep in mind that Puritans were running these trials, and they
allowed "spectral evidence" as a basis for convicting someone. "Spectral evidence"
is testimony by a victim that she had been visited by an image ("specter") of the
accused, thereby suggesting the guilt of the accused. This type of unreliable
evidence is not allowed today. Another flaw in the Puritans' legal system included
a lack of a defense attorney for the accused, the allowance of "touching tests" as
evidence, and the case did not have to be proven "beyond reasonable doubt," as it
must be today.
This important case also helped convince Americans of the importance of the right
to a jury trial, which was later written into our Constitution.
This trial established one additional right: the power of the jury to ignore the law
and hold in favor of a defendant even though the law says he is guilty. This is
known as "jury nullification," and it exists to this day. Juries may "nullify" the law
to find a defendant "not guilty," but defense attorneys are not allowed to inform a
jury of their power to nullify the law during a specific trial. Jurors can only decide
to do this on their own, without suggestion by the defense attorney.
In 1763, the war ended when Britain, France and Spain signed the Treaty of Paris.
Under the terms of the treaty, the French lost all of their possessions in North
America, yielding to England all of their territory east of the Mississippi, with the
exception of two islands off the coast of Newfoundland. England returned Cuba
and the Philippines to Spain, in exchange for Florida, while France surrendered the
Louisiana territory to Spain. Later, in 1803, Spain sold this land back to France,
who quickly sold it to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase.
In North America, the end of the French and Indian War left the British with a
great deal of territory west of the Appalachians, but the Indians, who were not
included nor consulted in the peace settlement, did not give up their land easily. In
1763, Native Americans, inspired by the anti-British message of a Lenni-Lenape
(Delaware) prophet named Neolin, and led by the Ottawa chieftain Pontiac,
destroyed every British post west of the Appalachians with the exceptions of
Niagara, Pitt, and Detroit.
1763, forbidding colonists from settling west of Appalachians and forcing them to
stop buying land from Indians. The Proclamation Act ordered, "that no governor or
Commander in chief of our other colonies of plantations in America, do presume
for the present, and until our further pleasure be know, to grant warrant of survey,
or pass patents for any lands beyond the heads of sources of any of the rivers
which fall into the Atlantic Ocean from the west or north west ...."
Colonists disliked these events, but only with the passage of the Stamp Act did
they become truly angry. The Stamp Act was an undisguised attempt to bring the
British more money, the first time Parliament directly taxed the colonies. It
required that legal papers, cards, dice, newspapers, degrees, land documents, and
appointments to office display a stamp showing that the tax had been paid. Subtly,
the British were suppressing vocal writers and lawyers by making their professions
more costly. The public, and especially the media, was outraged.
Meanwhile, the revolutionary Samuel Adams was busy establishing a resistance
organization known as the Committee of Correspondence. This group, and others
like it throughout the colonies, shared and disseminated information on Britain's
activities.
As punishment, Britain passed harsh laws, which were given pejorative names by
the colonists: the Coercive Acts or, alternatively, the Intolerable Acts. These laws
revoked Massachusetts' charter, closed Boston Harbor, installed a British general
as governor, and repealed liberties like the right to hold town meetings. The
closing of the harbor, in particular, was a sore blow to Massachusetts, whose
economy was largely dependent on fishing and whaling.
In defiance, public sentiment turned violently against tea. Coffee gradually
replaced it, and continues to be more popular than tea in America to this day. In
Boston today, there is still no tax on tea as a tribute to the Boston Tea Party.
The British also passed the Quebec Act, which gave Canadians part of the Ohio
Valley. This further infuriated the colonists. In addition, the Act gave the French
more freedoms, such as freedom of religion for the Catholic Church. Colonists
were angered because (1) they felt people in Quebec were getting more freedoms
than they had and (2) they feared establishment of an Anglican Church in America.
1/3 of colonists were not even English, and thus felt no attachment to the British.
Colonists accepted John Locke's philosophy of natural rights and a social contract,
which conflicted with rule by a monarchy.
Colonists saw a bright prospect for their future.
The Coercive (or Intolerable) Acts sparked the Revolution. Britain had backed
down from earlier conflicts caused by its laws, but not this time. Britain was
determined to bring America into line.
3.The colonists responded with the First Continental Congress, in 1774. Every
colony except Georgia agreed to disobey the Coercive Acts and to withhold taxes,
cut trade, and arm their people. Their agreement is recorded in the Declaration of
Rights and Grievances by John Adams. The Congress also gave Massachusetts
instructions on resisting the Coercive Acts, called the Suffolk Resolves.
Massachusetts, still heavily Puritan, was prepared to defy the British. The
Congress composed a set of Declarations and Resolves which established the
colonies' position toward Britain. The colonies agreed to end all trade with Britain
in a final effort to have her alter her policies. All of these plans were carried out.
Yet the British did not back down. Colonists were prohibited from presenting
petitions and declarations and resolutions to Parliament. William Pitt, one of the
colonists' few friends in the British Parliament, introduced a resolution to withdraw
British troops from the colonies. This was defeated in Parliament by a wide
margin: 68 to 18. Parliament officially declared that Massachusetts was in
rebellion.
Many Americans were ready to forsake all hope of peace. Patrick Henry was one
of these, when he said these words in a famous address, "Gentlemen may cry,
Peace, Peace -- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that
sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our
brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen
wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased
at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what
course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"
Paul Revere then went on his famous midnight ride to alert the colonists. They
were ready. After years of conflict, war finally began. At Lexington, just 75
colonists faced several hundred British soldiers. When the British ordered the
colonists to disperse, gunfire broke out. Eight colonists were killed and ten were
wounded in the ensuing chaos. But 73 British died.
The British troops continued to Concord. Here a larger number of colonists
attacked them and routed them back to Lexington. Only 93 colonists died in
comparison to 275 British soldiers. The British were narrowly saved by the arrival
of reinforcements.
That and other conflicts brought the colonies together in 1775 for the Second
Continental Congress. They realized that hope for peace was foolish now. It was
time to prepare for war. The Congress instituted paper money and named George
Washington head of Continental Army, which he then led throughout the
Revolution. As a last attempt for peace, they sent the "Olive Branch Petition"
(written by Charles Townshend) to the King. He refused even to receive the
petition. War was inevitable.

Here are some of Paine's words against divine rule: "The heathens paid divine
honors to their deceased kings, and the Christian world had improved on the plan
by doing the same to their living ones. How impious is the title of sacred majesty
applied to a worm, who in the midst of his splendor is crumbling into dust!"
4.On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was formally announced. It
declares that all men are created equal, having natural inalienable rights. The
colonies' many grievances against the crown were listed. It argued that government
is a social compact and rebellion is justified when the government breaks its end of
the bargain. This logic was borrowed from the philosophy of John Locke. But
perhaps the most important part of the Declaration was its frequent invocation of
God. Our nation was founded on God's providence and truth.
Still, the colonies had few troops, especially since one-third of the population was
loyal to Britain and another significant percentage were pacifist Quakers.
Washington's army was composed of just 18,000 men, less than a third the size of
attendance at Giants Stadium for a football game. The British won early battles
at Bunker Hill in Boston, in Canada, and in New York. The colonies did not start
winning until Christmas Eve in Trenton in 1776, then later at Princeton.
At Saratoga in upstate New York in October 1777, 6,000 British soldiers
surrendered, constituting a huge victory for the colonies. It is a mystery to this day
whether Benedict Arnold actively directed our army there, or had little influence,
before becoming a traitor and going over to the British side. The Saratoga victory
was the turning point in the war, as the French entered on our side.
In May 1781, two fleets of French soldiers helped trap the British at Yorktown,
Virginia. The British were forced to surrender their entire army of 8,000. But the
British still held New York, and did not finally sign a peace treaty until February
1783, the Treaty of Paris. In it the British gave up their claim to land east of the
Mississippi, from Canada to Florida. The Americans promised to treat fairly the
Loyalists (colonists loyal to the King) and English creditors (people owed money
by colonists). Some people on both sides refused to abide by the treaty, and loyalty
to England continues to run deep to this day in some American families.

Questions for self-control:

1. What five groups can North America’s early Indians be divided into?

2.Where did each of the groups live? What did they do for their living?

3. Why did the Vikings travel to foreign lands?

4. What did Leif Ericsson find on the land he discovered? What did he call this
land?

Literature:
1.Ageyeva Z.D. USA. A Reader. - M: Higher School, 1976. - 168 c.
2. Popova T.I. History of the American Nation. - M.: "Reecha", 1997. - 110 p.
3.Kostina Elena. Learn to Read and speak English about the United States of
America.- M.: "Московский лицей". - 159 p.
4.Bryson Bill. An Informal History of the English Language in the United States. -
N.Y.: Avon Books. - 1998.-417 p.
5.Khalilova L. The USA: History and the Present. - M.: «Айрис Пресс», 2001. -
256 c.
6. Elain Kirn . About the USA.-Washington, 1980.– 127 p.

7. Zeuske Max. A Short History of the United States of America. – Leipzig, 1987.
-180 p.

8.Jump up↑ http://myvesta.org/history/history_debtorprison.html

9.Jump up↑ http://www.usconstitution.net/constcmte.html

10.Jump up↑ http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html