Part 8 (1/2)

Clauses of the Revolution--The Stamp Act--The Boston Tea Party--England's Unbearable Measures--The First Continental Congress--The Boston Ma.s.sacre--Lexington and Concord--The Second Continental Congress--Battle of Bunker Hill--a.s.sumption of Command by Was.h.i.+ngton--British Evacuation of Boston--Disastrous Invasion of Canada.

CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION.

England was never guilty of greater folly than in the treatment of her American colonies after the close of the French and Indian War. As has been said, she was oppressed by burdensome taxation and began seeking excuse for s.h.i.+fting a large portion of it upon the shoulders of her prosperous subjects across the sea, who had always been ready to vote money and give their sons to help in the wars which were almost solely for the benefit of the mother country. It has been shown that the intercolonial conflicts were of no advantage to the colonies which were dragged into them and suffered greatly therefrom. Since the surrounding territory would soon be necessary for the expansion of the Americans, they had much to gain by the defeat of the French and their expulsion from America; but they had done their full share, and it was unjust to demand further sacrifices from them.

Pa.s.sAGE OF THE STAMP ACT.

Hardly had peace been declared, when, in 1764, the British government a.s.serted that it had the _right_ to tax her colonies. The latter paid little attention to the declaration, but were rudely awakened in 1765 by the pa.s.sage of the Stamp Act, which was to go into effect in November of that year. It decreed that thenceforward no newspapers or pamphlets could be printed, no marriage-certificate given, and no doc.u.ments used in lawsuits, unless stamps were attached, and these could be bought only from British agents.

It was ordered further that the oppressive Navigation Acts, which had been evaded for a hundred years, should be rigidly enforced, while soldiers were to be sent to America to see that the orders were carried out. Since these troops were to be paid from the money received for the stamps, it will be seen that the Americans would be obliged to bear the expense of the soldiers quartered upon them.

Now we use revenue stamps to-day and no one objects, but the difference in the two cases is that we tax ourselves for our own expenses, and our representatives grade the taxes so as to suit the people. If we do not think the taxes equitable, we can elect other representatives, pledged to change them. But it must be remembered that we never had a representative in the British Parliament, whose English members did just as they pleased. That was ”taxation without representation.”

The news of the action of the British government threw the colonies into an angry mood and they vehemently declared their intention to resist the Stamp Act. They did not content themselves with words, but mobbed the stamp agents, compelled others to resign, and, when the date arrived for the act to go into effect, they refused to buy a single obnoxious stamp.

REPEAL OF THE STAMP ACT.

The Stamp Act Congress, as it was called, met in New York City, October 7, 1765. There were representatives from all the colonies except four, but they supported the others. Lacking the authority to make any laws, it issued a bold declaration of rights and sent pet.i.tions to the king and Parliament, setting forth the American grievances. The st.u.r.dy resistance of the colonies alarmed England. They had many friends in Parliament, including the ill.u.s.trious Pitt, and, at the beginning of 1766, the act was repealed. The Americans were so delighted that they almost forgot that England in repealing the act still a.s.serted her right to tax them.

Several years now followed in which the colonies quietly resisted the efforts of England to tax them. This was done by a general agreement not to buy any of the articles upon which taxes were laid. The men who did this and opposed the mother country were known as Whigs, while those who stood by England were called Tories.

DEFIANT ACTS BY THE AMERICANS.

But violence was sure to follow where the indignation was so intense and widespread. There were continual broils between the British soldiers and citizens, the most serious of which occurred in Boston on March 5, 1770, when the soldiers fired upon the citizens who had attacked them, killed three and wounded several. This incident, known in history as the ”Boston Ma.s.sacre,” added to the mutual anger. In North Carolina, William Tryon, the Tory Governor, had a battle with the patriots at Alamance in 1771, killed a large number, and treated others so brutally that many fled across the mountains and helped to settle Tennessee. In 1772, a British vessel, the _Gaspe_, which was active in collecting duties from Providence, was captured and burned by a number of Rhode Island people.

England offered a reward for the capture of the ”rebels,” but, though they were well known, no one would have dared, if so disposed, to arrest them.

THE BOSTON TEA PARTY.

The British Parliament was impatient with the colonies, and threatened all sorts of retaliatory measures. In 1770, Parliament took the tax off of all articles except tea, upon which it was made so light that the luxury was cheaper in America with the tax than in England without it.

The Americans, however, were contending for a principle, and contemptuously rejected the offer. When the tea s.h.i.+ps reached Charleston, the cargoes were stored in damp cellars, where they soon molded and spoiled. At New York, Philadelphia, and other points they would not allow the s.h.i.+ps to land their cargoes, and they sailed back to England. A similar reception having been given the vessels in Boston, the British officers refused to leave the harbor. Late at night, December 16, 1773, a party of citizens, painted and disguised as Indians, boarded the s.h.i.+ps and emptied 342 chests--all on board--into the harbor.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH, BOSTON. An immense a.s.semblage gathered here on the evening of Dec. 16, 1773, and stirring addresses were made by Josiah Quincy and Samuel Adams. The ”Boston Tea Party”

followed.]

The ”Boston Tea Party” thrilled the colonies and exhausted the patience of England, who felt that the time for stern measures had come. Her dallying course had only encouraged the rebels, and as in the story, having tried in vain the throwing of gra.s.s, she now determined to see what virtue there was in using stones.

ENGLAND'S UNBEARABLE MEASURES.

The measures which she pa.s.sed and which were unbearable were: 1. The Boston Port Bill, which forbade all vessels to leave or enter Boston harbor. This was a death-blow to Boston commerce and was meant as a punishment of those who were leaders in the revolt against the mother country. 2. The Ma.s.sachusetts Bill, which was another destructive blow at the colony, since it changed its charter by taking away the right of self-government and placing it in the hands of the agents of the king.

3. The Transportation Bill, which ordered that all soldiers charged with the crime of murder should be taken to England for trial. 4. The Quebec Act, which made the country east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio a part of Canada. These acts were to be enforced by the sending of troops to America.

THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS.

The result of the pa.s.sage of these harsh measures was to unite all the colonies in a determination to resist them to the last. The necessity for consultation among the leaders was so apparent that, in response to a general call, the First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, September 5, 1774, all the colonies being represented except Georgia, which favored the action.

This Congress adopted a declaration of rights, a.s.serting that they alone were empowered to tax themselves, and it named a number of acts of Parliament that were a direct invasion of such rights. An address was sent to the king and to the people of Great Britain, but none to Parliament, which had deeply offended the Americans. The agreement known as the Articles of a.s.sociation pledged our ancestors not to buy goods or sell them to Great Britain until the obnoxious acts were repealed by Parliament. It declared further that, if force was used against Ma.s.sachusetts by England, all the other colonies would help her in resisting it. Before adjournment, a new Congress was called to meet in the following May.