Full transcript
0:03hello everybody so
0:05today we're going to start
0:07the middle third of the course we've
0:08concluded our examination of the opening
0:11of the atlantic world
0:13and for the next several lectures i'd
0:16like us to start to think about
0:18um the era of the american revolution um
0:22and so just to be clear we're not just
0:25talking about
0:26the events of 1776 or we're not just
0:29talking about the events of the
0:31revolutionary war itself but we're
0:33talking about a wider range of time here
0:37we're talking about really the first 30
0:39years of the american nation we're
0:41talking about a period that starts in
0:441776 but then
0:46goes through
0:48thomas jefferson's administration um
0:51which ends in 1808.
0:55so with that in mind um
0:58let's think about this year and one of
1:00the questions i think we want to
1:03think about here is this
1:05in what ways is the american revolution
1:08historically significant
1:11um is this a truly profound
1:15revolution that fundamentally changes
1:17the world
1:19and i think it's fair to say that it is
1:23um historians
1:25have debated this question of to what
1:28extent was the american revolution
1:30radical
1:32um and by radical what we mean is is the
1:35outcome something that departs from
1:38the social and political and economic
1:41circumstances of the time and i think
1:43what we'll find out is that in a lot of
1:45ways the answer is yes
1:47in some ways though the answer is no but
1:50just to briefly think about
1:52why this would be uh you know a really
1:55profound development
1:57we can think about the fact that well
1:59these 13 north american colonies are the
2:02first colonists
2:04in the new world to throw off the yoke
2:06of power of europeans this is the first
2:10successful successful revolution
2:13and this revolution ultimately creates
2:16the world's first modern
2:18self-governing republic that has
2:21equality
2:22as a basis
2:24right and so we have to remember
2:26that the world as it exists in the late
2:291700s
2:31is still a world of kings and queens and
2:34aristocrats
2:36and
2:37the united states
2:39founds itself without
2:41any of those
2:43monarchs or people who of titled
2:46nobility thomas paine
2:48who probably many of you are familiar
2:50with wrote the pamphlet common sense
2:53this was widely distributed in the years
2:56before the american revolution many
2:59people would have read it and
3:01paine attacks the ideas of a monarch as
3:05the head of one's nation he attacks the
3:07idea of hereditary succession the idea
3:11that
3:12you are born into your social class and
3:15pretty much you are fixed in that place
3:19for your life um he calls this pamphlet
3:22common sense because you know he feels
3:24like these are really rational
3:27very plainly evident arguments that he's
3:30making and he certainly does have a
3:33major impact on the thinking of people
3:36at the time
3:37and of course you know we have to look
3:39at the words of the declaration as well
3:42the idea
3:43and i'm gonna say this innumerable times
3:46over the next several lectures but
3:49these words that we all know
3:51that are
3:53uh
3:53you know
3:55the staple of our being to this very day
3:58are right there in the opening sentences
4:01of the declaration the idea that all men
4:05are created equal
4:07this was again a really
4:10brave statement a really prey a brave
4:13pronouncement and of course
4:16you know this idea is full of paradoxes
4:19and we'll consider that right
4:21thomas jefferson wrote those words
4:23concerning equality in a world where
4:25slavery exists not only does slavery
4:28exist the man who's writing those words
4:30has um more than a hundred slaves
4:33himself
4:34this is a world where racism exists this
4:36is a world where sexism
4:39by our standards exists as well
4:42and to be sure there are voices even at
4:44this early stage
4:46who are rising up against
4:49the institution of slavery who are
4:51calling for gender equality
4:54um and so we'll we'll consider those
4:57voices and how
4:58um and to what extent they're heard at
5:01this particular time
5:04um
5:05this is also a country that's born of
5:07very unique political and economic
5:10circumstances
5:11the united states
5:14is going to be a citizenry of landowners
5:17um that are probably in a lot of parts
5:20of the country
5:21more educated than people in europe as
5:24well
5:25land in north america is abundant
5:28it's cheap it's a way
5:31to wealth it's a way to social mobility
5:34land in europe of course
5:36is all
5:37occupied it's all taken up it's not
5:39available to the common person if you
5:42were landless
5:44in that society you're probably likely
5:46to stay that way
5:48um
5:49and so that is something that we want to
5:52consider
5:53as we move forward as well
5:56so
5:57let's pick up in the mid
6:001750s um
6:02the british and the french
6:05have a war of empire
6:08um in
6:09the 1750s and the 1760s
6:13that we commonly refer to as the seven
6:15years war
6:17this was in some ways a world war this
6:19was a war over empire
6:22basically a war that was going to
6:24determine who would control north
6:26america the british or the french and so
6:29this war
6:31often in the americas is referred to as
6:33the french and indian war because that's
6:35the theater
6:36that most of us would be familiar with
6:39and so ultimately we're not going to
6:41cover the ins and outs of this war in
6:44particular but ultimately the british
6:46prevail
6:48and they then
6:50are able to basically push the french
6:52out of north america and
6:55the lands that it would be west of
6:58the 13 original colonies is going to be
7:02controlled by the british as well
7:04and this is really a high point in the
7:06relations between the british empire
7:10and its colonial subjects in north
7:12america
7:13these people in the 1750s in the 70s
7:17early 1760s they see themselves as
7:20british subjects they are proud to be
7:23part
7:24of the empire
7:25um
7:26they just rallied to the cause right
7:30they shed their blood to protect these
7:33lands in north america from the french
7:36and
7:38this is
7:39again a time in which um
7:42there's real harmony um in the
7:46relationship between the people who live
7:49in the colonies and
7:50um the mother country back in europe so
7:54but things start to change the british
7:56win um
7:59but there's
8:01some downside to this
8:03on the one hand
8:05now
8:06there's no common enemy right british
8:09and the french have been fighting for
8:11centuries at this point
8:13the french threat is largely removed at
8:16this point so there's no sort of common
8:19enemy to rally against
8:22perhaps more importantly though
8:24is that this was an expensive war
8:28it's very costly to administer an empire
8:31and there are huge costs that are
8:34incurred by british citizens so they are
8:37basically stuck with a bigger tax bill
8:40the national debt doubles in this era
8:44and also coming with this victory means
8:48there's more territory to be maintained
8:50more borders that need to be
8:53and so what that means is
8:56more british troops something like 10
8:58000 of them are going to be
9:01permanently stationed in north america
9:04most of them along the frontier
9:07then the idea is that they're going to
9:08protect settlers
9:10from the indians as well as the other
9:13way around
9:15and the british
9:19government
9:21issues a proclamation
9:24around this same time at the end of the
9:26war that is extremely unpopular and that
9:29is the proclamation
9:31of 1763 and what the proclamation of
9:341763 says
9:36is that there is a line
9:39beyond which and if we could just sort
9:41of take it as this dotted line here
9:43between
9:44uh the colonies in this sort of pinkish
9:47color and what's labeled the indian
9:49reserve here
9:50this would be the proclamation line of
9:531763 and what this did was
9:56it forbade the settlement
9:59of lands to the west of that line
10:03and so this was to maintain good
10:05relations with native americans we did
10:07not want to be constantly at war with
10:10native peoples
10:12but this enrages
10:16colonists it enrages land speculators
10:18who are looking to make a buck off all
10:20of this land that they're just
10:22you know hungry to get their hands on
10:26but it enrages other colonists as
10:29well some of them had received land
10:31grants beyond that line as a reward for
10:34service in the war some of them had shed
10:36colonial blood
10:38and now the government's saying sorry
10:41can't move into this territory yet we
10:43have to basically i
10:46stay in this harmonious relationship
10:48with our neighbors
10:49and so this is really the first instance
10:52in which the colonists in great britain
10:55don't see eye to eye
10:58but if we return to that matter of money
11:01then we also have to think
11:04about how this war is going to be paid
11:07for and so
11:09there has been i mean you always hear
11:12the idea that colonists were upset with
11:15taxes that were imposed upon them and
11:18that that of course is true
11:20but what we have to acknowledge is that
11:24the taxes that occur after
11:26the seven years war are not the first
11:30taxes that they experience there was one
11:32earlier and this was the molasses act
11:35um
11:37colonies
11:39uh for decades had imported
11:42molasses from the sugar islands in the
11:45caribbean places like
11:47jamaica or the bahamas
11:50um and there was a tax in place where
11:53they had to pay basically six pence per
11:56gallon
11:57however
11:59this
12:00duty this you know basically this excise
12:04tax was
12:05ignored for the most part there were
12:08smugglers there was lots of corruption
12:11so this tax was not collected all that
12:14often and
12:16um
12:16the british government for its part just
12:18kind of shrugged their shoulders this
12:21era was known as a time of sometimes
12:24you'll hear the term benign neglect
12:26um
12:28the british weren't too concerned about
12:30the running of their empire
12:33they just kind of let the colonists be
12:35and the colonists became accustomed to
12:38that but
12:39starting with
12:42the implementation of the sugar act in
12:441764
12:46now we see the british getting serious
12:49about raising revenue from their
12:52colonies
12:54and so it actually reduces the tax to
12:57three pence per gallon but it is
13:00much more strictly enforced at this
13:02point and so one of the things that
13:05colonists really need molasses for is
13:09the creation of rum
13:12most of the rum that colonists consume
13:15is is crafted locally and it in new
13:18england especially it's the second most
13:21important industry next
13:23to shipbuilding
13:25and so
13:26this is the era in american history
13:29um when
13:31alcohol consumption is really high it's
13:34actually going to peak in the early
13:361800s but as in this year around say
13:401770 there's like 150 different rums
13:43distilleries
13:44in new england and so this is something
13:48that
13:49is
13:50problematic for people at the time so
13:53colonists were
13:54okay with the fact they knew they were a
13:56colony they knew to an extent that
14:00they
14:00existed to benefit the mother country so
14:03they were okay
14:05with an excise tax right as as a measure
14:08that's meant to regulate trade but now
14:10they see this is a tax that's intended
14:12to raise revenue
14:14and
14:16they're like you know what
14:18i don't think we're gonna go along with
14:20this um you know
14:22as you've heard before
14:25people are upset because
14:28um they're being taxed without their
14:30consent
14:32this is the era of the enlightenment um
14:35this is an era in which
14:37uh john locke and other thinkers
14:40are you know proposing the idea that
14:42property
14:44cannot be taken without the consent of
14:46the governed
14:47um
14:48property is a source of independence
14:51it's a source of liberty
14:53and now
14:55if property is to become concentrated in
14:58the hands of the king and the
15:00aristocracy to them that sort of means
15:03that the people are slaves they see that
15:06they don't really have
15:08a voice in government they're not
15:10represented in parliament
15:12and now they're being taxed
15:15and so the british would respond to this
15:17that well there's a lot of people in
15:19britain who are actually not represented
15:22in parliament too this is not the era of
15:24widespread voting rights
15:26so
15:28some people
15:29clung to the idea of what was called
15:32virtual representation
15:35meaning that every member of parliament
15:37represents every member of the british
15:39empire
15:41even so
15:43what is worth pointing out here
15:46is that the tax
15:48that was placed upon colonists the tax
15:51burden was extraordinarily
15:53low
15:54by one estimate the colonists paid only
15:58two to four percent
16:00of what british citizens in britain
16:04would have paid
16:06um so from the point of view of the
16:07british it's time that the americans pay
16:10their fair share and so
16:13again americans would tell you that
16:16the amount of taxation is really
16:19irrelevant the real question is whether
16:22the british have the right to do it at
16:24all
16:25and so
16:27this is a time in which people have
16:29enormous sensitivity to the dangers of
16:32power and they're afraid if we concede
16:34the right to parliament to tax us now
16:39that we're not going to be able to
16:40dispute that power later
16:43and as a result there's going to be no
16:46limit
16:46on parliament's power here it could go
16:49on indefinitely
16:50so
16:51in the short run
16:53the sugar act is a failure
16:55it actually costs more to administer it
16:58than
16:59it brings in in terms of revenue and so
17:01it's scrapped
17:03um it's replaced then
17:05with the stamp act and when we're
17:08talking about stamps here we're talking
17:10about um you know sort of a legal
17:12marking
17:14that is placed on all legal documents
17:19um this basically that states a tax has
17:22been paid so
17:23if you buy a newspaper
17:25you would have a tax associated with
17:27that basically anything that's in print
17:29playing cards
17:31licenses whether you need like say a a
17:34marriage license or some sort of license
17:36to practice like law or something
17:39and colonists interpret this as a loss
17:42of liberty
17:43and this becomes a real target for
17:46colonial outreach this is
17:49again a measure that's going to raise
17:52revenue and the colonists have no say in
17:55that raising of revenue and so this is
17:57really the first step towards revolution
18:00congress
18:02not congress but the provincial
18:03assemblies in each of the colonies stand
18:06up to great britain and say you know
18:07what we're going to ignore this tax
18:10and
18:11so
18:12what we see then
18:14is
18:17a different kind
18:19of relationship starting to evolve at
18:23this point
18:25so not only are the provincial
18:28assemblies upset about this but we see
18:32ordinary people taking steps as well we
18:35see various forms of protests
18:39direct action
18:40and even violence
18:43we see
18:44groups emerge like the sons of liberty
18:48who are famous for tarring and
18:50feathering their opponents
18:52as well as in some cases the outright
18:54killing of stamp distributors
18:58and so
19:00like i said this is america's first step
19:03toward revolution and we see
19:06various acts that are somewhat
19:09questionable and perhaps one of the
19:11biggest ones
19:13is the ransacking of the lieutenant
19:15governor's home
19:18his name was thomas hutchinson
19:20and
19:22we see a mob basically show up at his
19:25house
19:26and uh
19:28literally dismantle his house um they
19:30took axes to it they took all of his
19:33furniture scattered his paper
19:36scattered all of his papers
19:38and
19:39afterwards he
19:41makes a statement he even they doesn't
19:43have any clothes for himself for his
19:45family anymore so he's even borrowed
19:47clothes and he says
19:49um in a letter that such ruins never
19:53have never been seen in america and so
19:57this is a problematic
19:59question or a problematic turn of events
20:02some people
20:04would like this revolution to be seen as
20:06legitimate
20:08and if you have people who are
20:10um you know engaging in
20:13basically vandalism
20:15is this a legitimate form of protest
20:18um or is this actually undermining the
20:22cause
20:23and so
20:24that is one of the big concerns here
20:27are these people principled
20:30protesters
20:32protesters who are making a point
20:34or are they just
20:36um you know vandalists
20:39people who are aren't so much interested
20:43in
20:45bringing about any kind of
20:47real change as they are of just creating
20:49mischief
20:50and so
20:52um
20:53people like say samuel adams or john
20:57hancock they're very much
20:59trying to keep all of these events on
21:02the up and up sam adams is famous for
21:04saying no mobs no confusions no tumult
21:08that's how we want to run this thing
21:12and so
21:13this tax also doesn't work out in the
21:16end
21:17probably in part because it's harming
21:19the interests of the long wrong groups
21:21of people
21:22lawyers merchants
21:24newspaper editors all these people who
21:26have great influence on public opinion
21:29but what it does create is a new sense
21:32of american-ness
21:33at the same time even though we do see
21:36various acts that are somewhat
21:39questionable
21:40um
21:41it's at this point boston becomes kind
21:44of ground zero for the struggle against
21:47great britain
21:49and so as a response to
21:52um all of this violence that's born at
21:54the stamp act
21:56britain dissolves the massachusetts
21:58legislature says that they've been
22:00instigating all the problems there and
22:02then sends
22:03two regiments of british troops to
22:06boston
22:07and that's about 4 000 soldiers
22:10in a city of about fifteen thousand and
22:14so you can imagine if you have british
22:16soldiers walking the streets in their
22:18red uniforms with bayoneted muskets that
22:23there's bound to be tensions um they
22:25went so far as saying to colonists if
22:27you're out after dark
22:29you have to announce yourself when you
22:31come upon a british officer you have to
22:34basically stop and state who you are
22:36what your business is
22:38and of course a lot of people would be
22:40upset with this
22:42throughout the winter of 1769 and 1770
22:47there are numerous scuffles between
22:50soldiers
22:51and the citizens of boston
22:54but by the time we get to late winter
22:571770
22:58is when we have probably the most famous
23:01event and that is the boston massacre
23:04this starts
23:05with
23:06basically rioters probably in a lot of
23:08cases a little on the inebriated side
23:12throwing
23:14snowballs at soldiers but also bricks
23:17and oyster cells
23:20the crowd grows increasingly hostile it
23:22gets bigger
23:23and the troops eventually fire on it
23:26five people died and so
23:29both sides are kind of taken aback by
23:31this and john adams
23:34actually offers
23:36his legal services to defend the
23:38soldiers most of them are acquitted um
23:41others are treated leniently and by
23:44leniently we're talking about
23:46um
23:47corporal punishment whippings
23:49that sort of thing
23:52and
23:55two are convicted of manslaughter and
23:57their punishment is branding
24:01and so
24:02people are starting to wonder
24:05what's going on and of course around
24:08this time
24:09we also see the creation of propaganda
24:12as well
24:13like what you see here
24:16this is paul revere's
24:19famous engraving of the boston massacre
24:21and it gives a very different view of
24:24what happened here as opposed to
24:28as opposed to the actual course of
24:30events if you want to see um
24:32something that that sort of resembles
24:34what might have happened i posted a clip
24:37in our module for this lecture from
24:40i believe it's an hbo mini series from
24:42several years ago
24:44that basically uh you know shows the
24:48reenactment of of the boston massacre
24:50and and how it could have perhaps
24:52unfolded
24:53so check that out if you're interested
24:55but anyway um
24:58this is how many colonists came to see
25:01it there is real tension afterwards and
25:04you can see it's it's made to look like
25:06you have this very orderly
25:09british line of troops firing upon these
25:12hapless colonists um in some versions of
25:15this you can you can see
25:17uh the blood spilling out of the bodies
25:20of colonists and so forth
25:22um
25:23and so
25:24um again this is propaganda this is not
25:27an image that would be very historically
25:29accurate
25:30but
25:31even so people are increasingly
25:34wondering what the british are doing in
25:37america why do we have this
25:40british presence here
25:42um
25:43people see this kind of unchecked power
25:47as an op
25:48as like
25:49having real potential for abuse
25:52and so
25:54even with all of these tensions
25:57it's probably fair to say at this point
26:00that most people still hope for
26:03resolution with great britain
26:06um
26:07again this is a society
26:10who feels extraordinarily privileged
26:13they are in their own minds the freest
26:16people on the earth
26:18um
26:20and so
26:21this is where things stand tensions are
26:24growing um but at this point we're not
26:28necessarily seeing
26:30many calls
26:32for independence but of course that will
26:34get that will change as we get closer to
26:371776 so we'll stop there
26:40for now
26:41uh be well
26:42and i'll talk to you again soon