VisionIAS - Video Classroom Lecture

World History Class 02

BRIEF REVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS CLASS. (01:11 PM)

AMERICAN REVOLUTION

For understanding the American Revolution the way America was colonized must be studied first.
History of America started with Christopher Columbus.
Colombus reached the Bahamas in 1492 followed by Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci.
America was called New Foundland and the New World; attracting people from different European countries.
Most of the people who settled in America were from England whereas the natives of America were Red Indians.
Clashes started among the European powers in colonizing America.
Portugal & Spain concentrated mainly on Southern America.
Spain had its colonies in Mexico and Florida.
France formed its colonies in Hudson Bay, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Canada, and Louisiana.
England colonized the Central part of America, particularly the East coast of the Atlantic Ocean, which was found in 13 colonies.
In the 7 years of war between England and France (1756-1763) France was defeated and forced to surrender all its colonies except Louisiana.
Exactly 20 years later, England was made to vacate America by the native Americans.
American Revolution refers to all the events that followed between 1763-1783.

Reasons for the Revolt (6:10 PM)

(1) Americans were the people who had come of age and revolution was quite natural from their side. (Short note question)
It means they already had a thorough understanding of democratic ideas and institutions as most of them came from England.
Their forefathers were the architects of The Magna Carta and The Bill of Rights and The Petition of Rights, the three pillars of democracy in England.
Colonists followed a democratic system of government with local assemblies completely controlled by elected representatives.
Governors appointed by England were nominal supervisors without any powers.
Thus from the beginning itself, England never had any strong control over the administration of colonies.
(2) Centres of higher learning and universities were already founded Pittsburgh, and Boston were the major centres of learning.
America already witnessed the emergence of an educated middle class with Benjamin Franklin called the First Civilised Man of America and the highly educated Adams brothers called Boston Brahmins.
Americans also made an experiment for a federal government way back in 1664 in the Alabama Conference.
(3) The intellectual currents of the 18th century and the major philosophical thoughts of Europe all entered America particularly John Lockes Theory of Natural Rightshad a profound impact on America.
Thus Americans were the ones who had come of age and matured in their understanding and it is quite natural for these people to revolt against exploitation and become champions of democracy.

Trade as the reason. (01:30 PM)

(4) The most important reason was the pattern of trade between England and American colonies.)
England applied the principles of Mercantilism such as:
(a) Colonies exist for the sake of mother countries.
(b) Balance of trade (more exports, fewer imports)
(c) Monopolistic trade
Under these principles, England continued to exploit the 13 colonies.
(5) England s parliament passed:
(a) Navigational Acts under which the trade between colonies and England was carried out in England-based ships only.
(b) Iron Acts prohibiting the processing of iron and steel in the colonies.
(c) In 1763, the Molasses Act was passed levying an import duty of 6 pence for every gallon of molasses imported from the French West Indies.
This had hard-hit a colony New England which manufactured wine and rum.
Above all a Triangular trade was forced upon the colonies by England.
In other words, colonies were not permitted to trade directly with Europe.
All the export and import trade between colonies and Europe was routed through England adding more cost and a financial burden for the colonies.
It was this pattern of trade that irritated the colonies and created a constant source of conflict between the colonies and England.

The other factors were:

(a) After the 7-year wars, in 1764 colonists were prohibited by England from moving towards the West of the Appalachian mountains and settling there.
This very often caused violent clashes between settlers and the native Red Indians.
(b) England attempted to compensate for the losses it incurred during the war by taxing the Americans.
For England, she was justified to tax as she deployed her army in America for the protection of Americans.
PM John Greenwell went on adding different items of trade under the Enumerated list of articles adding more tax burden to the Americans.
(c) In 1764, the Molasses Act was replaced by the Sugar Act.

The Stamp Act. (02:03 PM)

In 1765, the Stamp Act was passed making it mandatory for all legal documents to have the stamps of England.
The reaction of the colonies was very sharp and spontaneous against the Stamp Act.
For the first time, different sections of American society came together.
The Stamp Act conference was held in New York.
Of the 13 colonies, 9 participated (colonies like Georgia, Maryland, and New England continued to have their loyalties to England.
Most of the Americans were not actually for independence. They only wanted England to change her attitude.
(d) It was at the New York conference that the first time the slogan No taxation without representationwas given. (They borrowed it from the Magna Carta of England.)
The Stamp Act was revoked a great moral victory for the colonies.
However, England continued to maintain its stand that it had the right to legislate by introducing the Declaratory Act
A similar sharp response came from colonies when Finance Minister Townshend levied additional taxes and Lord North, PM suggested additional taxes on imported tea.
In 1770, violent clashes started in Boston media exaggerated as the Boston Massacre.
In 1773, the Boston Tea Party occurred in Port Boston and it was the immediate cause of the war.

Equally important are other factors. (02:20 PM)

(a) The long distance of 4000 km naturally made Americans feel they were different nationalities altogether.
(b) Most of the Americans were protestants known for their spirit to revolt against absolutism.
(c) There was no more threat of the French after 1763.
King George III and PM Lord North both were highly conservative.
Their attitude was equally responsible for precipitating the crisis.

Course of the Revolution. (3:00 PM)

In 1774, the First Continental Congress called the Philadelphia Congress was held.
All the colonies except Georgia participated.
Declaration of the Rights of Man was drafted.
Colonies demanded to revoke all the laws passed after 1764 whereas the parliament remained indifferent.
Clashes started for the first time at Lexington.
Lord Cornwallis commanded the British army.
In the second Philadelphia conference, George Washington was posted as the Chief Commander of the colonial army.
Initially, colonial forces were being defeated.
It was the timely intervention of France under Spain that saved the situation.
The most important battle was at York Town (1781).
Cornwallis was defeated and surrendered and the war ended with the Paris Treaty of 1784.
England recognized the independence of 13 colonies.

REASONS FOR THE VICTORY OF COLONIES (03:22 PM)

(1) France and Spain entered the war in the support of colonies.
(2) Distance of 4000 km main problem for the English army.
(3) They were fighting against completely a hostile people s army.

An Evaluation.

The American Revolution was not only an American but a global revolution- a major event in the history of mankind.
It was the first war of independence by the people of colonies against the colonial power of England.
With the revolution, America emerged as an independent American, champion of democracy, liberalism, and human rights.

Impacts:

(1) America became the first federal country in the world.
(2) The first country to have a written constitution.
(3) Thus with the revolution, forces of democracy, constitutionalism, and federalism appeared for the first time
(4) With the revolution, Americans set a model for the rest of the world that despite differences- racial, communal, and linguistic, people can come together and fight for a common cause and live together.

Global Implications of the revolution were:

(1) It affected England. England lost America, a very rich colony.
This clearly brought a change in the attitude of England towards its other White colonies- Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
In other words, she followed a liberal policy.
(2) Due to the revolution conservative King George III and PM Lord North both resigned.
(3) Because of the revolution public opinion was divided in England which finally led to the installation of the two-party system.
Great parliamentarians like Edmund Burke and William Pitt sympathized with the Americans.
Thus the beginnings of the Labor Party were seen.
(4) The American Revolution inspired Ireland in the fight against England for autonomy.
England tightened its control over India to compensate for the loss of wars.
In other words, England continued to depend on India for both raw materials and markets.
(5) When it comes to Europe the impact was direct upon France.
France added more to her financial burden by participating in the American War of Independence.
French army participated in the revolution and was very much inspired by the democratic spirit under the concepts of liberty and freedom.
French commander Lafayette who led the French army in the revolution was the first to take the lead in the French Revolution of 1789 and administered the oath of Tennis court.
The declaration of the rights of man and citizen and constitutionalism of the American Revolution formed their way into the French Revolution.
The idea of no taxation without representation also inspired the French revolutionaries.
Regarding the impact of revolution on the Latin American Countries :
The impact was more direct.
(6) With this revolution America inspired liberation movements in Latin America against Portugal and Spain.
America very soon emerged as the big brother of American continents."
America established her control on these countries under Munroe doctrine which said Americas for Americans, Dollar diplomacy and Pan Americanism.
America which was a champion of Civil Rights liberties undermined the same in the case of Latin American countries.
Thus, the resultwise American Revolution was not only American but also global.

TOPIC FOR THE NEXT CLASS- AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND FRENCH REVOLUTION.