Week 9

3/31
Coming of the American Revolution
	Alexander Hamilton:
		Born in 1755 on island of Nevis, West Indies (Caribbean)
		Father James Hamilton, mother Rachel Fawcitt Lavien
			James - British officer
			Abandoned family when Alexander was ~10
		Moved to St. Croix in 1765 w/ family (mother only)
			Clerks for Cruger & Beckman (trading post) from age 11
			Dealt w/ sugar
		1773; Local Presbyterian clergyman [Hugh Knox] raised money for Hamilton to go away for schooling
			Enters school in Elizabethtown, NJ
		1774; finishes studies @ kings college
			Arrives in NY
			Feels "British"(loyal to the king)
		1775; Joins NY artillery company and becomes a captain, fights for colonists
	Ben Franklin:
		1706; January 17: Born in Boston
		1723; Leaves home after falling out w/ brother
			Heads for Philadelphia
		1728; Marries Deborah Reed, love of his life
			Wanted to marry her earlier, but she was married to someone else
			Franklin fathered a child before his marriage to Deborah
			Mother is unknown, assumed to be Deborah's
			Franklin slept around often
		1729; Wrote the PA Gazette
		1733; Wrote Poor Richard's Almanac
		1736; Organized Philadelphia Union Fire Company
			First union fire company in Philadelphia
			Franklin's reasoning: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"
			Unknown if his own original thought or not
		1750; Famous electricity experiment w/ kite
			Demonstrated that lightning was actually static electricity
		1757; became the colonial representative for PA in England
			Thought of himself as an Englishman and proud
			Changes by 1765
			Begins to see reasons for the colonists to split from England
	James Wilson:
		Grew up near St. Andrews, Scotland
		Born to poor tenant farmers
			Pious and church going
			Eldest son out of ~5 siblings
			Considered very smart
			Only way to move up in ranks was through the church
				Parents wanted him to do this specifically
			Travelled to Edinburgh
			Scottish Enlightenment affected him greatly
			Wanted to go to the new world
				Had a cousin in Philadelphia
			1765; arrived in Philadelphia & studies under John Dictinson
				Considered the most brilliant lawman in the colonies
			Passed bar exam
			1774; elected to 1st Continental Congress
				Wilson believed the king would save them from Parliament
					Even switched religions for political reasons
			Signer of the Declaration of Const
			Codified PA laws (wrote them down)
			First US Prof of laws (U. Penn); replaced Dictinson's spot
			Asked to be on the Supreme Court, but self-promotion was discouraged
				Eventually became a Member of the 1st Supreme Court Bench anyway
			Bushod Washington's law tutor/teacher
				Known as expensive but worthwhile
			Primary author of 1790 PA Const
	February 1763:
		Treaty of Paris - Ends the 7 year's war
	April 1764:
		Sugar Act: enabled to pay off war debt, Britain learns that enforcing the act is more expensive than the revenue gained
		Currency Act: restricts colonists from issuing their own money (paper currency)
	August 1764:
		People of Boston boycott all luxury items made in Britain
	March 1765:
		Stamp act passed as first "direct tax" on colonies
			Would go into effect November 1st
			Leads to riots in NYC
	October 1765:
		Stamp act congress meets in NUC
		Quartering act passed for maintaining troops in America
		In Britain, John Wilkes is accused of seditious libel
			Pamphlet "The North Britain"(Scotland reference)
				Issue #45 is the problem (it attacks the king)
			Member of Parliament, removed and re-elected
			Notorious womanizer
				Wrote "the essay on women"; it was banned
			Writ of Assistance is ordered (essentially a witch hunt looking for him)
				Locked up Wilkes
				However, due to his knowledge of the law, he ended up being reimbursed for his time and was charged nothing
				This was seen as a sign for the colonists


4/2
	March 1766:
		British Parliament repeals Stamp Act
			Declaratory act approved in wake of the repeal, Parliament approved the Declaratory Act
				Stated that Parliament had the power to do pretty much whatever they want to the American colonies
				Edmund Burke argued in favor of Americans despite being a Member of Parliament; Britain gained from the illegal activity they were trying to prevent
	June/July 1767:
		Townshend Acts
			NY Restraining Acts
				Suspended NY assembly for disobeying Quartering Act
			Customs Service Reform
				New courts & board of customs commissioners put into place
				Writs of Assistance explicitly permitted
			Townshend Duty Act
				Taxes on glass, paint, paper, lead, tea
				Taxes used to pay royal officials in the colonies
					Decision of assemblies
					People didn't want the royals there, nor wanted to pay for them
		Charles Townshend
			Attended Cambridge - Studied law (Lincoln's Inn)
			Worked his way up in British Government - served on the Colonial Board of Trade in the 1750's
	1768:
		Boston is "taken over" by colonists, more troops sent to control the city
	Sovereignty:
		Requirements:
			The recognition of other nations
			The ability to make their own money
			Ability to declare war
			Ability to negotiate treaties
		The colonies decided they were sovereign because they were left alone
			They had none of the requirements listed above
	March 5, 1770:
		British 29th Regiment arrives to aid the 8th regiment @ Customs House
		Captain Thomas Preston & soldiers are confronted by a sizeable & acerbic (unruly & angry), mob of civilians - unable to disperse crowd
		Mob shouts "Fire & be damned!” taunting and throwing rocks at the troops
		Troops ordered NOT to fire
		Orders probably misheard, shots are fired, 5 people die (colonists)
			Samuel Grey (rope maker), James Caldwell (Captain's mate), Samuel Maverick (17 year old), Patrick Carn (feather maker (quill pens)), Crispus Attucks (sailor, first to die)
				Attucks becomes famous
				Despite being an African, he was whited out in pictures to relate to the colonists
		Massacre used to make the issue seem larger than what it was (5 is hardly a massacre)
	April 12, 1770:
		All Townshend Duties repealed except for tea tax
	October, 1770:
		Captain Preston hauled before a Boston court for Murder
		John Adams is his attorney
		Preston acquitted by Boston Jury
		No reasoning why Adams defended him (principle of everyone's day in court most likely)
		Some say Preston had a "packed" jury (meaning they were picked specifically to ensure he won his case)
	May, 1773
		Tea Act goes into effect
			East India Company having problems - important British company
			Ships directly from India to NA colonies
			Avoid tax when tea first sent to England per previous law
				3 pence/lb. duty on tea to be collected delivered to America
				Despite the tax being lowered, it was unpopular
	Samuel Adams:
		Born in Quincy, MA
		Studied in Harvard, attaining degree in 1743
		Studied law, eventually quit
		Worked as a clerk; it bored him
		Tried his hand in brewing, failed;
		Tried tax collecting, disliked it
		Discovered himself in Politics
		Elected to MA legislature - rises to leadership
		Refused royal positions due to disagreeing with the policies, remained chronically in debt
		Prime mover in organizing sugar & stamp act protests among other others (Boston Tea Party for example)
		Early advocate of independence
		Signer of declaration of Independence
		Served as MA governor, 1793-1797