CSS Forums - A Glimpse of War of Independence

[B][CENTER][U][SIZE="5"]WAR OF INDEPENDENCE[/SIZE][/U][/CENTER][/B]

• War of Independence started from that day when first person landed on American land from Europe
• The time period between 1775-1783 was known as Revolutionary War
• This war was between former 13 British colonies and Great Britain
• American inhabitants rejected the orders and boycott all products from Europe
• These inhabitants who were against GB were known as Whigs or Rebels or Patriots
• While those who were with GB were called as Loyalists or Tories
• France and Spain supported colonies for their independence

[B][U]Role of France[/U][/B]

• France came in this war in 1778
• They trained militia forces of these colonies and provided them weapons

[B][U]Role of Blacks[/U][/B]
• 70% population of Blacks were with Americans
• George Washington and Franklin Benjamin told Blacks that if they support America then they would be freed

[B][U]School of Thoughts[/U][/B]

[B]1.[/B] Jacob Viner (American) ___ He said that Mercantilism was the supreme cause of War of Independence

[B]2.[/B] Robert B. Eklend (British) _____ He said that Mercantilism was not the main cause of war and other causes are also important which provides fuel to this war.

[B][U]Causes of War of Independence[/U][/B]

[B]1. Mercantilism[/B]
• It is an economic philosophy which states that colonial people are slaves and they exist for the benefit of mother country. It is basically a discriminatory approach of mother countries towards their captured colonies.
• British passed a number of acts against colonies that’s why Americans became irritated due to these acts

[B]a) Navigational Act[/B]
• Passed in 1651
• It states that all goods entering England must be carried in ships owned or manned by British subjects
• Ships of other countries were not allowed

[B]b) Enumerated Commodities Act[/B]
• Passed in 1660
• It provided that English colonies shall not export certain commodities like sugar, tobacco, indigo and dyes to any country except England

[B]c) The Staple Act[/B]
• Passed in 1663
• It states that all European exports in American colonies must be brought first into English ports and then be re-shipped after the payment of duty towards their destination

[B]d) Duty Act[/B]
• Passed in 1673
• It states that all earlier acts were enforced on colonial people through custom collectors

[B]e) Enforcement Act[/B]
• Passed in 1696
• It states that strong measures would be taken to check smuggling
• All colonial ships should be registered otherwise they can not carry on their business

[B]f) Molasses Act[/B]
• Passed in 1733
• It was designed to stop the importation of French-west Indian molasses into the English colonies

[B]g) Sugar Act[/B]
• Passed in 1764
• In this act, the duty on foreign molasses was slightly reduced but the duty on refined sugar was increased
• New taxes were also imposed on wine, silk, indigo, coffee and all other luxury items

[B]2. Restrictions on British Manufacturers[/B]
• Things on which no act was imposed then they imposed some restrictions to stop manufacturing process of these in colonies
[B]a)[/B] The woolen act
[B]b)[/B] Iron act
[B]c)[/B] Hat act

[B]3. The Albany Congress[/B]
• Held in 1754
• All 13 colonies participated
• Franklin Benjamin gave the concept that the following should be controlled by colonies themselves. British were not allowed to do so.
[B]a)[/B] Defence
[B]b)[/B] Expansion
[B]c)[/B] Indian Affairs

[B]4. The Great Awakening[/B]
• Initiated by Jonathan Edward
• 1730-1740
• Great Religious Movement
• Peoples were motivated in Churches for their independence
• The main purpose is to unite people for independence

[B]5. French-Indian War[/B]
• War between France and Red Indians (1754-1763)
• France also trained militia forces of British colonies
[B]a) Seven Years’ War[/B]
• War started in 1756 in European hemisphere
• Britain and Prussia fought France and Austria. Spain joined France in 1762
• In America situation also became tensed between France and British colonies.
[B]b) Treaty of Paris[/B]
• In 1763 France ceded to England most of the land east of the Mississippi
• England gained Florida and restored Cuba to Spain

[B]6. Royal Proclamation[/B]
• Passed in 1763 by British King George III
• It prohibited American Expansion to west of Appalachian Mountains

[B]7. The Currency Act[/B]
• Passed in 1764
• It prohibited the colonies from issuing paper money
• The main purpose was to keep colonial debtors from trying to pay their English creditors in paper currency, which was worthless than silver
• It discouraged business in the colonies, since there were always short of coin and needed paper money to carry on business

[B]8. The Stamp Act[/B]
• Passed in 1765
• Tax was imposed on legal documents and on newspapers, almanacs and other items
• Each of these had to bear a stamp to show that the tax has been paid

[B]9. Sons of Liberty[/B]
• Group, with Samuel Adams of Massachusetts and Patrick Henry of Virginia among the leaders, were formed to organize the resistance to the law
• Their slogan was :Liberty, Property and no Stamp”

[B]10. Physical Growth of Colonies[/B]
• In 1770 there was more than 1.5 million population in these colonies
• Youth population was more which were more active in anti-British activities

[B]11. Boston Massacre[/B]
• 2nd March, 1770
• People of Boston came in streets against these acts
• Also known as Battle of Ding Dong
• On 5th March British opened fire which killed 5 civilians
• The aftermath of this helped spark the rebellion in some colonies. They realized that British were not with them

[B]12. Letters of Samuel Adam[/B]
• Samuel Adam was a political leader
• He wrote letters to churches and other prominent leaders in all 13 colonies
• His letters influence the people and they stood against British

[B]13. First Continental Conference[/B]
• Held in Sep 5th, 1774 at Philadelphia
• 9 colonies attended the conference

[B]14. Second Continental Conference[/B]
• British used military forces in Massachusetts which angered the people
• On May, 1775 2nd conference was held and 12 colonies attended
• The objective was “All Acts which were not bearable were rejected. If any Act was passed against us then there will be a war with British”

[B]15. Declaration of Independence[/B]
• A committee was appointed in June 1776 to draft the Declaration of Independence
• It includes Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
• Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence
• He wrote: “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”
• Congress passed a resolution on July 2, 1776 and dissolve all political connections between colonies and Britain
• On July 4, 1776 the Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence to emphasize this resolution
• The united colonies were named as United States

[B]16. War of Independence[/B]
• In 1775, US started the war against British which ended on October 19, 1781 when Lord Cornwallis surrendered
• King George III wanted to continue war but other Government Leaders were ready to consider peace
• On September 3, 1783, in Paris, Britain and US signed a final treaty
• [B]Britain recognized the independence of United States[/B]