I. The Deep Roots of Revolution
1. Two ideas had taken root in the minds of the American colonists by the mid-18th
century
o Republicanism: a just society as one in which all citizens willingly
subordinated their private, selfish interests to the common good
2. Both the stability of society and the authority of government depended on the
virtue of the citizenry (selflessness, self-sufficiency, and courage, especially its
appetite for civic involvement)
o It was opposed to hierarchical and authoritarian institutions such as
aristocracy and monarchy
o A group of British political commentators know as Radical Whigs
3. They feared the threat of liberty posed by the arbitrary power of the monarch and
his ministries relative to elected representatives in Parliament. They called the
bribing and patronage of the King's ministers - "corruption in a sense of rot or
decay. They warned the citizens to be on guard against corruption and to be
eternally vigilant against conspiracies.
4. The Americans had grown accustomed to running their own affairs, distance
weakens authority
II. Mercantilism And Colonial Grievances
1. Britain's empire was acquired in a "fit of absentmindedness;" all except Georgia,
of the 13 colonies were haphazardly founded by trading companies, religious
groups, or land speculators.
2. Mercantilism: wealth was power and that a country's economic wealth (military
and political power also) could be measured by the amount of gold or silver in its
treasury
3. The London government looked at the American colonists as tenants. They were
expected to furnish products needed in the mother country
4. From time to time Parliament passed laws to regulate the mercantilist system
o The Navigation Law (1650) was aimed at rival Dutch shippers trying to
elbow their way into American carrying trade
5. Euro goods destined for America first had to be landed in Britain, the colonists
regularly bought more from Britain than they had sold there, the difference had
to be made up of hard cash. Currency issues came to a boil when dire financial
need forced many of the colonies to issue paper money, which slowly depreciated
The American Pageant
15th Edition
Chapter 7 notes
The Road to Revolution
