1775] Lexington and Concord 165 Old South Leaflets, only deepened the hostility of the king. Chatham's pro- Chatham's posals for a more conciliatory policy were set aside with advice. contempt. Instead, Lord North, who was now at the head of the government, suggested that Parliament would not tax the colonists provided they would tax themselves to the satisfaction of Parliament,- a proposition which Burke tions, I, 185. rightly characterized as offering them "the very grievance for the remedy." Adams's Mean Gage at The Boston. Winsor's Massa chusetts prepares for war. 139. Lexington and Concord, April 19, 1775. time, in Massachusetts, affairs had come to a crisis. government of that province, under the new order of things, America, had been confided to General Gage, the commander in VI, 113–125. chief of the British army in America, and he had come to Boston at the head of a small force of troops. He was a weak, foolish, and imprudent man, who annoyed the colonists by a series of petty hostilities. In September (1774) he summoned the General Court to meet at Salem, the new capital of the province, in the following October, but afterwards put off its assembling, as affairs had taken on a very threatening aspect. The representatives, however, met at the appointed time, formed themselves into a Provincial Congress, adjourned to Cambridge, and assumed the government of the province outside of Boston and other territory controlled by the soldiers. They appointed a receivergeneral and advised the town officials to pay their proportions of the public taxes to him and not to Gage's treasurer. The Provincial Congress also began the reorganization of the military forces of the colony, and appointed a Committee of Safety, which, with other committees, performed the administrative functions. The theory under which the radical leaders thus assumed the government was that as Parliament had no constitutional power to suspend the operation of the charter, the government set up under the suspending act was in itself illegal. The charter, according to this idea, was still in force, and as Gage, the king's representative, would not govern according to its provisions, the people of the colony must provide for their own welfare. Lexington, April, 1775. Fiske's Revolution, I, 120-123. Concord. Emerson's Gage, on his part, found himself almost powerless in Boston, the people would not work for him, and the farmers of the neighboring country would not sell him supplies for his soldiers. Moreover, throughout the province, everywhere drilling and arming were in progress. He determined to disarm the people. His first attempt to seize stores at Salem ended in a ridiculous failure, but no blood was shed. On the night of the 18th of April, he detached a large body of men to seize stores which were said to be concealed at Concord. The march of the troops was to be secret, but fearless riders carried the news of the soldiers coming to Lexington and to Concord. On the morning of the 19th of April, when the British soldiers reached Lexington, a small body of militiamen was seen drawn up on the town common. They dispersed when the size of the British column was apparent. Some one fired, whether American or Briton will never be known; several were killed and others wounded. The soldiers pressed on to Concord, to find that most of the supplies had been removed; there, a skirmish occurred with the militiamen, and the homeward march was one continuous conflict. The colonists pursued the retreating soldiers until the guns of the men-of-war anchored off Charlestown gave them protection; the provincials then withdrew and, instead of seeking their homes, encamped for the night at Cambridge, and began the blockade or siege of Boston. SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS AND TOPICS §§ 113-116. ENGLAND'S COLONIAL POLICY a. What is a "bounty"? Just how is it paid? In the history of the United States what bounties have been paid? b. Look up the subject of "general warrants" in English history. Get a warrant from your town officials, and note its exactness of description. What is the provision of the Constitution as to general warrants? What of the constitution of your state? Questions and Topics §§ 117, 118. AMERICAN POLITICAL THEORIES 167 a. Read Locke's Second Essay on Government. Note its fundamental ideas; watch for their enunciation in American political documents. b. What is the fundamental argument of both Otis and Henry ? §§ 119-123. AMERICAN AND BRITISH THEORIES a. Was Grenville's contention that the colonists should obey Acts of Parliament and pay a portion of the expense incurred in their defense intrinsically just? Give your reasons. b. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a stamp duty? Why should we not have such a tax to-day? c. Why has trial by jury been called "the most democratical of judicial institutions"? Give arguments for and against it. Ask some friend of yours, who is a lawyer, to explain this to you. d. Requirement of residence for elector and for representative. Give the arguments for and against this requirement. How is the matter arranged in the Constitution? in the constitution of your own state? What is the practice in your own city or town or district? SS 124-126. THE STAMP ACT a. Under what heading in your note-book should the "Declaration of Rights" be entered, and why? State the five principles it enunciates. b. State at length and compare the leading points in Pitt's and Mansfield's speeches; in Grenville's and Camden's. SS 127-134. THE TOWNSHEND ACTS a. Enumerate the Townshend Acts, and state what principle of government each one violated. b. Why did these Acts bear most heavily upon New England? c. What was the first step in the formation of a complete revolutionary organization? the second step? the third step? the fourth step? $$ 135-139. COLONIAL UNION AND REBELLION a. Were the acts of 1774 "illegal"? Precisely what is meant by 'illegal"? Why was the first act declared by Burke to be unjust? The second act has been called the most serious of all the grievances which led to the Revolution; why? b. Compare the Stamp Act Congress, the First Continental Congress, and the Second Continental Congress. Had any of these bodies any legal standing? Prove your answer. c. Compare the "American Association" with associations of the present day; eg. of Railway Employees. HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY Represent in colors upon your Map of the Proclamation of 1763 the boundaries of Quebec under the Act of 1774, and make any necessary change in the map of your state. GENERAL QUESTIONS a. Collect from this and the preceding chapter examples of the irritating effect of the Navigation Acts. b. State the several steps towards colonial union which you have so far met, and note in each the strength or weakness of the federal tie. c. What was the fundamental cause of the separation of the colonies from the British Empire ? d. Collect in separate lists all the examples of the four different means of resistance used by the colonists, protests, riots, non-importation, congresses. TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION BY INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS (See directions under this head on p. 48.) a. Where was the first shot fired that "was heard around the world"? Was it a British or an American shot? Sources, Guide, p. 295. b. Compare Jefferson's Summary View and the Declaration of Independence (p. 163). c. Destruction of the Gaspee. Sources, Guide, p. 293. d. The Boston Massacre (p. 155). e. Franklin's examination (p. 148). f. Compare account of early life of Patrick Henry in Wirt's Henry and in Tyler's Henry. |