Chapter 5-7, Give Me Liberty by Eric Foner. PDF

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Short summary of early chapter 5 so I can get premium days. Covers about three whole pages....

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Give Me Liberty Chapter 5, The American Revolution Book Notes

The Crisis Begins ● ●

In 1760 George lll took over the British throne. The Seven Years’ War left Britain in mounds of debt and no ability to control their newly obtained land from overseas. ○ Britain sought out ways to make the colonies share the cost of the empire. ■ Colonizers saw that continuing in the British empire was a threat to freedom. This set the road to independence.

Consolidating the Empire ●

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Before 1763, the Parliament issued Acts to forbid colonies from doing things. ○ Forbade the use of paper money. ○ The Wool Act of 1699, Hat Act of 1732, & Iron Act of 1750 forbade the manufacturing of these respective things. ○ The Molasses Act of 1733 sought to stop certain trade. ○ Navigation Acts sought to make the colonies rely on the mother-country. ■ The colonists mainly ignored these Acts. Great Britain and the colonies were allies during the French Indian War. ○ They contributed soldiers and economic resources. ○ The British reverted this status in the mid-1760’s and went back to viewing the colonies as subordinates with one job: enrich the mother country, and: ■ Make British rule more efficient and systematic. ■ Raise funds to help pay for war. ■ Finance the British empire. British leaders supported new laws in America, this enraged the colonists. ○ Britons felt Americans should be grateful for fighting in the Seven Years’ War. ○ Help pay back war expenses (150 million plus euros=tens of trillion dollars today) ○ Pay for continued British support and protection ○ Stop cheating the Treasury by violating the Navigation Acts. Virtual Representation: The idea that the colonies, although having no representatives in Parliament, were ‘virtually represented” by all members of Parliament. ○ Philosophy that each member of Parliament represented all of the empire, not just their district. ○ America insisted they were unrepresented, and therefore, could not be taxed. Colonists were outraged b...