AP U.S. History · Lesson 1

From the Seven Years' War to revolt

Know Know it

The Seven Years' War (1754 to 1763), called the French and Indian War in North America, began in the Ohio valley, where Britain and France both claimed land. Colonial leaders met at Albany in 1754, but the colonial assemblies rejected Franklin's Albany Plan of Union. Britain won, and in the 1763 peace it took Canada and the lands east of the Mississippi from France; France had already handed Louisiana west of the river to its ally Spain.

Victory changed everything. Britain was deep in debt and now had a huge territory to guard. Native nations lost their French ally and the ability to play one empire against another; in Pontiac's War (1763) they attacked British forts. The Proclamation of 1763 barred colonists from settling west of the Appalachians, angering land-hungry settlers and speculators.

To raise money, Parliament taxed the colonies directly. The Sugar Act (1764) cut the duty on molasses but enforced it strictly. The Stamp Act (1765) taxed printed paper. Colonists answered that only their own assemblies could tax them: "no taxation without representation." The Stamp Act Congress protested, merchants signed nonimportation agreements, and the Sons of Liberty used crowd pressure. Parliament repealed the tax in March 1766 and, on the same day, passed the Declaratory Act.

The cycle repeated. The Townshend duties (1767) taxed imported goods such as glass, paper and tea and met new boycotts; British troops in Boston led to the Boston Massacre (1770). The Tea Act (1773) led to the Boston Tea Party, and Parliament answered with the Coercive Acts (1774). The First Continental Congress met that fall, and fighting broke out at Lexington and Concord in April 1775.

Colonial arguments moved step by step: first a defense of the rights of Englishmen, then a denial of Parliament's authority, and finally a rejection of the king himself. Thomas Paine's Common Sense (January 1776) made the case for independence and against monarchy in plain language, and Congress declared independence in July 1776.

Trap The colonists did not want seats in Parliament

No taxation without representation did not mean colonists were asking to elect members of Parliament. Most argued that, because they could not be truly represented an ocean away, only their own colonial assemblies could tax them. That is why Britain's answer, virtual representation, did not satisfy them.

Worked example Easy

After the Seven Years' War, the British government taxed the colonies directly mainly because

  1. the colonies had stopped trading with Britain
  2. colonists had asked Parliament for new taxes
  3. France had demanded payment in the peace treaty
  4. the long war had left Britain deeply in debtAnswer

How to solve it

  1. Start with the war's cost: Britain borrowed heavily to win.
  2. Peace brought a large territory to guard, which also cost money.
  3. Parliament turned to the colonies to share the burden.

Why each choice is right or wrong

  • A. Incorrect. The colonies still traded heavily with Britain in 1763; boycotts came later, in response to the new taxes.
  • B. Incorrect. Colonists protested the new taxes; they did not ask Parliament for them.
  • C. Incorrect. Britain won the war, so France was in no position to demand payment from Britain.
  • D. Correct. Britain had borrowed heavily to fight the war and now had to pay for troops to guard new lands.

Explain Explain it

Task verbs: explain, compare

Many questions in this unit ask you to explain a cause and effect in two links. Name the cause, name the effect, and say why the effect followed: the French defeat took away Native nations' ability to play one empire against another, so when the British cut back the gifts and trade the French had offered, nations around the Great Lakes rose up in Pontiac's War.

Worked example Medium

Why did colonists object more strongly to the Stamp Act of 1765 than to earlier trade laws such as the Navigation Acts?

  1. It was the first law Parliament had ever passed for the colonies
  2. It taxed colonists to raise revenue, not to regulate their tradeAnswer
  3. It was passed by the colonial assemblies without royal approval
  4. It required colonists to house British soldiers in their homes

How to solve it

  1. Compare the two kinds of law: one regulated trade, the other raised revenue.
  2. Colonists accepted the first but said only their own assemblies could do the second.

Why each choice is right or wrong

  • A. Incorrect. Parliament had passed many colonial laws before, such as the Navigation Acts, so this was not the first.
  • B. Correct. Colonists had long accepted rules regulating trade, but a tax meant to raise money from them without their consent was new.
  • C. Incorrect. Parliament, not the colonial assemblies, passed the Stamp Act, which is why colonists objected.
  • D. Incorrect. Housing soldiers was the subject of the Quartering Act, not the Stamp Act.

Explain Your turn

In March 1766 Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, and on the same day it passed the Declaratory Act. Explain how colonial boycotts helped bring about the repeal. Then explain why the Declaratory Act meant the dispute over taxation was not settled.

Write it, then compare. Nothing you type here is saved or graded.

Compare with a model answer

A full answer does this

  • Explains that the boycotts hurt British merchants, who pressed Parliament to repeal the tax
  • Explains that the Declaratory Act kept Parliament's claim to make laws for the colonies, so it could tax them again

Model answer

Colonial merchants and consumers refused to buy British goods, and British merchants and manufacturers who lost those sales petitioned Parliament to repeal the tax. But the Declaratory Act stated that Parliament had full power to make laws binding the colonies in all cases whatsoever, so Parliament had given up none of its claim and could, and soon did, pass new taxes such as the Townshend duties.

Apply Apply it

Practice these topics. AP Practice questions on exactly what this lesson covers, with an explanation for every answer.

Practice these topics