REVOLUTION. 



365 



It also protested against selection by the Crown of 

 councillors to take part in the legislation of the colo- 

 nies. It demanded the repeal of the obnoxious acts as 

 violations of the rights of the colonies, and enumerated 

 such acts, including those already mentioned, as open 

 to such objections. It recommended non-intercourse, 

 non-consumption, and non-exportation, and the stop- 

 page of the slave-trade. 



Upon the report of these proceedings, Parliament 

 sanctioned the ministerial plan of increasing the mili- 

 tary force in the colonies, 10,000 men being provided 

 for Boston. As a retaliatory measure a bill was passed 

 In Parliament to prevent intercourse between the colo- 

 nies and other British possessions in America, having 

 special reference to the colonial trade with the West 

 Indies and the fisheries, which, the colonies held in 

 high estimation. 



In the meantime military activity commenced. A 

 hasty expedition to destroy military stores that had 

 been accumulated at Concord first brought the British 

 troops into conflict with the people, armed and banded. 

 In the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord, April 19, 



1775, the first blood of the impending conflict was 

 shed. The news of these fights rouse_d to greater in- 

 tensity the patriotic ardor of the colonists everywhere, 

 and the battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17, determined 

 irrevocably the issue as one of arms. The Congress 

 at Philadelphia had recommended at its adjournment 

 the calling of another Congress in the following year. 

 That body, when it assembled in May, 1775, advised a 

 defensive attitude, but that the building of fortifica- 

 tions by the royal governors should not l>e permitted, 

 and recommended that more rigid provisions should 

 be made as to non-intercourse with the British posses- 

 sions. It established a general post-office and made a 

 declaration of its position as loyal to the mother coun- 

 try but determined to resist tyranny by force. Wash- 

 ington was at this time appointed cpmmandcr-in- 

 chief of the provincial forces, and provision was made 

 for raising troops, bills of credit being issued for that 

 purpose. With all its caution in holding to estab- 

 lished forms and its professed loyalty to the Crown, this 

 second Continental Congress was a purely revolutionary 

 body. 



During the year 1775_the King proclaimed the ex- 

 istence of open rebellion in the American colonies, and 

 Parliament made the necessary military preparations for 

 war with the_m. It passed an act to compel all Ameri- 

 cans found in captured vessels to serve as seamen in 

 the British service ; foreign troops were engaged 

 under treaty with Hesse- Cassel for service in America, 

 and Sir \Villiam Howe was placed in chief command. 

 These actions of both King and Parliament had their 

 reaction in the colonies by stimulating the growing 

 desire for independence until it culminated in the 

 Declaration of Independence. (See INDEPENDENCE, 

 DECLARATION OF.) This measure, adopted July 4, 



1776, by a nearly unanimous vote in Congress, was the 

 starting point of American nationality. With this 

 declaration British sovereignty was denied throughout 

 the colonies and public authority exercised in the name 

 of the people. The colonies assumed the title of 

 States and reorganized their internal governments. 

 While the Declaration of Independence was under 

 consideration, measures were being taken to bring 

 about more definite confederation among the States. 

 The scheme of confederation was carefully considered 

 with a view to securing the proper conduct of those 

 matters of common interest, bearing directlv and in- 

 directly upon the existing state of war, that demanded 

 a common authority of confederated States. Articles 

 of Confederation were passed by Congress in 1 777 and 

 ratified in 1778 by all the States, except Delaware 

 and Maryland, and subsequently by these States. 

 (See CONGRESS.) 



The important advantages of an alliance with 

 France early attracted the attention of Congress, and 

 in 1776 commissioners, of whom Benjamin Franklin 



was one, were sent to negotiate such alliance and to 

 seek aid from France and the French people. In the 

 latter part of 1777 proposals were made to the com- 

 missioners on the part of the French government em- 

 bracing the acknowledgment of the independence of 

 the United States and aid towards the maintenance of 

 that independence, upon the condition that no return 

 to obedience to Great Britain should take place on 

 the part of the States. A treaty was concluded in 

 1778, one of the motives to which on the part of 

 France was a desire to diminish the commercial ad- 

 vantages of Great Britain. This treaty was one of 

 amity, commerce, and alliance, no special advantages 

 either pojitical or commercial being conceded to France 

 as the price of this friendly act on her part. A secret 

 provision was made for the admission of Spain to the 

 alliance. 



The British Parliament- on learning the state of 

 relations between France and the States promptly 

 passed conciliatory acts intended to win the States 

 from this alliance to their former relations to the 

 British government, but Congress as promptly de- 

 clined to accede to the terms of conciliation proposed. 

 A cessation of hostilities was embraced in the propo- 

 sition on the part of Great Britain, looking to the 

 restoration of amicable relations under the sovereignty 

 of Great Britain and tending to place the States in a 

 federal relation to Great Britain that would secure to 

 them a large control over their internal affairs. To 

 this proposition the reply of Congress was, that while 

 desiring to conclude an honorable treaty of peace the 

 idea of dependence upon the Crown could not be en- 

 tertained. The alliance between France and the 

 States involved that country in war with Great Britain, 

 to which ultimately Spain became a party, and British 

 interests suffered from these combined enemies. 



The financial condition of the new nation embarrassed 

 its military operations. _ As the first preparation for 

 war had included the emission of bills of credit, so that 

 source of obtaining the supplies necessary to carry on 

 the war was resorted to until its exhaustion in 1780. 

 Congress had no authority to enforce taxation within 

 the States or to compel them to contribute their just 

 proportion to the public service, and hence the resort 

 to the issue of bills of credit was the only available 

 means of raising revenue within the power of Con- 

 gress. The credit of these bills was for a time sus- 

 tained, but at last, as the emission was continued .from 

 year to year, decline in their purchasing value com- 

 menced, and continued until the issues had reached 

 two hundred millions, when the depreciation was so 

 great that necessity compelled a resort to other means. 

 Resort was had to forced contributions exacted by the 

 military power as necessary for its maintenance. An 

 attempt was made to obtain from the States material 

 supplies in lieu of their quotas of money, but failed. 

 An attempt was also made to absorb this currency by 

 taxation and to replace it by new issues, but this _was 

 not successful. (S_ee FINANCE, Revolutionary Period.) 



While affairs in the States were apparently ap- 

 proaching a failure of the resources for maintaining 

 the war the difficulties surrounding the British posi- 

 tion in Europe were increasing. The opposition of 

 the states of Europe to a British monopoly of Ameri- 

 can trade had already engaged France and Spain in 

 hostility to that country, and the motive to open com- 

 merce with America operated upon other powers. 

 The rigor with which Great Britain exercised bellig- 

 erent rights upon the seas interfered with neutral 

 trade and led to a proposed coalition, termed the armed 

 neutrality, intended to support more liberal ideas of 

 neutral rights. Holland became involved with the 

 American question, and war was declared against her 

 by Great Britain. The years 1780 and 1781 were the 

 culminating point in the financial embarrassment of the 

 country. The failure to pay the troops, their suffer- 

 ings for want of supplies, and their retention after 

 their term of enlistment had expired from inability to 



