Tea, Taxes, and The American Revolution: Crash Course World History #28

Summary

In this Crash Course World History episode, John Green explores the American Revolution's causes and its revolutionary nature. He discusses the British debt following the 7 Years War, the Stamp Act, and the colonists' resistance due to lack of representation. Green highlights the Committees of Correspondence's role in organizing protests and the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. He also addresses the Revolution's limitations, such as the perpetuation of property rights for the elite and the contradiction of fighting for equality while enslaving people. The episode concludes by reflecting on the Revolution's impact on American identity and its enduring influence on political thought.

Takeaways

• 📚 The video does not focus on a detailed chronology or biographies of key figures like Thomas Jefferson or George Washington but rather on the reasons behind the American Revolution and its revolutionary nature.
• 👖 John Green humorously mentions not wearing pants, setting a light-hearted tone for the educational content.
• 🇺🇸 The American Revolution's roots are discussed, starting with the end of the 7 Years War in 1763, which left Britain in debt and seeking revenue through new taxes like the Stamp Act.
• 💼 The colonists' resistance to the Stamp Act was partly due to the lack of representation in the British Parliament that imposed the tax, reflecting the principle of 'no taxation without representation'.
• 🗣️ The British government's insistence on maintaining control over the colonies and the colonists' growing resentment led to escalating tensions and protests, including the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party.
• 🍵 The Boston Tea Party is highlighted as a significant act of protest against British policies, symbolizing the colonists' resistance to unfair taxation.
• 📝 The Committees of Correspondence are introduced as key organizations that helped coordinate the boycotts of British goods and laid the groundwork for the first Continental Congress.
• 📜 The Declaration of Independence is noted as a pivotal document, with the Continental Congress editing out a significant portion of Thomas Jefferson's original draft, reflecting the political compromises of the time.
• 🏰 The video points out the irony that the American Revolution, which sought to establish a government without a king, was largely led by men of property who wanted to maintain their status.
• 🌍 The American Revolution is contextualized within the broader Enlightenment movement, which celebrated human reason and the potential for societal improvement, influencing the revolution's ideals.
• 🔄 Despite the revolutionary zeal for liberty and equality, the post-revolutionary society continued to uphold property rights and maintain social hierarchies, with significant portions of the population, including women and slaves, excluded from full equality.

Q & A

What was the primary focus of the video script provided?

The script focuses on the American Revolution, discussing its causes, the extent to which it was revolutionary, and the impact it had on society and government at the time.

Why did the British government introduce the Stamp Act in 1765?

The British government introduced the Stamp Act to help pay off the debt incurred from the 7 Years War, by placing a tax on documents, newspapers, playing cards, and other items in the American colonies.

What was the main objection of the colonists to the Stamp Act?

The colonists objected to the Stamp Act primarily because they had no direct representation in the British Parliament that levied the tax, leading to the famous slogan 'No taxation without representation'.

What event is referred to as 'the least massacrey massacre of all time'?

The Boston Massacre of 1770 is referred to in the script as 'the least massacrey massacre of all time' due to the relatively small number of casualties, with only five people killed.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to the American Revolution

In this introductory paragraph, John Green sets the stage for the discussion on the American Revolution, outlining that the video will not focus on a chronological account or biographical details of key figures but rather on the reasons behind the revolution and its revolutionary nature. The script humorously mentions the presenter's attire and delves into the economic and political context post-Seven Years War, leading to the Stamp Act and the lack of representation felt by the colonists. It highlights the colonists' resistance to British rule, the repeal of the Stamp Act, and the subsequent Townshend Acts, which further galvanized colonial organization and protests, including the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. The paragraph also touches on the Committees of Correspondence, which played a crucial role in spreading information and organizing boycotts against British goods, ultimately leading to the first Continental Congress and the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.

05:01

🏰 Loyalists, Slaves, and the Complexities of the Revolution

This paragraph explores the complexities of the American Revolution, acknowledging that approximately 20% of colonists remained loyal to Great Britain throughout the conflict, especially in occupied cities. It also discusses the stance of many slaves who supported the British, enticed by promises of freedom. The paragraph challenges the celebratory narrative of the revolution by suggesting that marginalized groups like slaves and the less privileged might have fared better under British rule, given the earlier abolition of slavery in Britain without a civil war. It also addresses the fact that the British did not initially view the colonies as separate entities, leading to prolonged resistance until 1781 or 1783, depending on the interpretation of when the conflict truly ended. The paragraph further examines the revolutionary aspects of the American Revolution, such as the rejection of monarchy in favor of a new form of government, and the Enlightenment ideals that influenced the revolution, particularly the focus on liberty. However, it also points out that the actual outcomes of the revolution were less revolutionary in terms of property rights and equality, with the Articles of Confederation protecting property owners and the Declaration of Independence failing to extend equality to all, including women, slaves, and property-less white men.

10:01

🌟 The Enlightenment and Its Impact on the American Revolution

The final paragraph delves into the influence of the Enlightenment on the American Revolution, highlighting the celebration of human reason and the potential for societal improvement. It contrasts the radical Enlightenment thinkers who questioned the necessity of belief in God with the more moderate thinkers like John Locke, who advocated for life, liberty, and property as inalienable rights. The paragraph discusses the American Revolution's alignment with the moderate British Enlightenment rather than the more radical French version, which would later influence the French Revolution. It acknowledges the American Revolution's success in preventing the establishment of a formal nobility and recognizing equal rights for daughters and widows in property matters. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the revolutionary idea of perceived equality among 'ordinary Americans,' which was a radical concept for the 18th century. It also reflects on the challenges of living up to revolutionary ideals, especially when wealth and power are involved, and the importance of basing a new society on inclusive and humanistic ideals.

Keywords

💡American Revolution

The American Revolution refers to the period during which the thirteen American colonies fought to gain independence from British rule, leading to the formation of the United States. The video discusses the causes, such as the Stamp Act and Townshend Acts, and the extent to which the revolution was revolutionary, emphasizing its impact on self-governance and independence.

💡Stamp Act

The Stamp Act of 1765 was a British law that imposed a tax on the American colonies, requiring them to pay for a stamp on various documents, newspapers, and playing cards. This act angered the colonists as they had no representation in the British Parliament that enacted the tax, leading to protests and contributing to the revolutionary sentiment discussed in the video.

💡Committees of Correspondence

These were local groups established by American colonists to coordinate efforts against British policies and promote communication among the colonies. They played a key role in organizing protests, enforcing boycotts, and eventually setting up the Continental Congress, thereby fostering a sense of unity and self-governance highlighted in the video.

💡Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the American colonies that met to coordinate their resistance to British rule and ultimately draft the Declaration of Independence. The video notes its significance in organizing colonial response to British actions and laying the groundwork for the new nation's government.

💡Declaration of Independence

Drafted by Thomas Jefferson and approved by the Continental Congress in 1776, this document declared the American colonies' independence from Britain. The video emphasizes its role in articulating the revolutionary ideals of liberty and equality, even though these ideals were not fully realized for all people at the time.

💡Townshend Acts

A series of British laws passed in 1767 that imposed duties on common products imported into the American colonies, such as paper, tea, and glass. These acts led to widespread protests and boycotts in the colonies, further fueling revolutionary sentiments as described in the video.

💡Boston Tea Party

A 1773 protest by American colonists against British tea taxes, where they dumped a large shipment of tea into Boston Harbor. The video uses this event to illustrate the escalating conflict between the colonists and Britain, highlighting the colonists' resistance to British economic policies.

💡Enlightenment

An intellectual movement in the 18th century emphasizing reason, individualism, and skepticism of traditional authority. The video explains how Enlightenment ideas influenced the American Revolution, promoting concepts of liberty and self-governance central to the revolutionary cause.

💡Equality

A central theme in the American Revolution, particularly articulated in the Declaration of Independence's assertion that 'all men are created equal.' The video discusses how this ideal was revolutionary yet limited in practice, as it excluded women, non-property-owning men, and slaves.

💡Property Rights

The concept that individuals have the right to own and control property. The video highlights how the American Revolution reinforced property rights, particularly for wealthy landowners, and discusses the tension between this focus and the broader revolutionary ideals of equality and liberty.

Highlights

The American Revolution was not just about the war but also about the ideas and changes that led to it.

The end of the 7 Years War in 1763 marked the beginning of the financial burden that would lead to the American Revolution.

The Stamp Act of 1765 was met with resistance from colonists who had no representation in the British Parliament.

The colonists' protests against the British government included boycotts and the creation of Committees of Correspondence.

The Boston Massacre in 1770 and the Boston Tea Party in 1773 were significant events that escalated tensions between the colonies and Britain.

The Declaration of Independence was drafted and approved by the Continental Congress, marking a significant step towards self-governance.

The American Revolution was not only about political independence but also about the philosophical shift towards a government without a king.

Despite the revolutionary zeal, the actual outcomes of the American Revolution maintained many of the pre-existing social and economic structures.

The Articles of Confederation highlighted the importance of property rights, which favored the wealthy landowners.

The American Revolution's impact on equality was limited, as it did not extend voting rights to women, slaves, or property-less white men.

The Enlightenment influenced the American Revolution, with its emphasis on reason, liberty, and the potential for human improvement.

The American Revolution was more influenced by British Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke than by the more radical French thinkers.

The post-revolutionary America saw a shift in self-perception, with citizens viewing themselves as equal, which was a radical idea for the time.

The American Revolution's legacy is still relevant today, influencing political discourse and the understanding of property, equality, and representation.

The American Revolution reminds us of the challenges in living up to revolutionary ideals, especially when power and wealth are involved.

The video concludes with a call for societies to be founded on inclusive and humanistic ideals, acknowledging the imperfections of those who execute them.

Transcripts

Hi, I'm John Green, this is Crash Course World History and today you aren't going to get

a blow by blow chronology of the American Revolution, and you aren't going to get cool

biographical details about Thomas Jefferson or George Washington. But you are going to

get me not wearing any pants.

Mr. Green, Mr. Green! Did you know that George Washington might have had slave teeth

implanted into his jaw?

Yeah, I did, Me from the Past, and while it's fun to focus on metaphorically resonant details,

what we're concerned with here is why the American Revolution happened and the extent

to which it was actually revolutionary. Plus, for the first time in Crash Course history,

I have a legitimate chance of getting through an entire episode without butchering a single

pronunciation. Unfortunately, next week we will be in France, and je parle français comme un idiot.

[theme music]

So, intellectual historians might put the roots of the American Revolution earlier,

but I'm going to start with the end of the 7 Years War in 1763, which as you will recall

from last week was: 1. Expensive, and

2. A victory for the British, including British subjects living in America, who now had more

land and therefore more money.

Right, so, in 1765 the British government was like, “Hey, since we went into this

debt to get you all this new land, we trust that you won't mind if we pass the Stamp Act,

in which we place a fancy stamp on your documents, newspapers, playing cards, etc., and in return,

you give us money.”

Well, it turns out the colonists weren't so keen on this, not so much because the tax

was high because they had no direct representation in the parliament that had levied the tax.

And plus, they were cranky about the Crown keeping large numbers of British troops in

the colonies even after the end of the 7 Years War.

And then the British government was like, “You are inadequately grateful,” and the

colonists were like, “Shut up we hate you,” and the British government was like, “As

long as you live under our roof, you live by our rules,” and so on, but eventually

the British backed down and repealed the Stamp Act. The repeal inspired a line of commemorative

teapots, thereby beginning America's storied tradition of worthless collectible ceramics.

But, in the end, this only emboldened the colonists when the British tried to put new

taxes on the Americans in the form of the Townshend Acts. These led to further protests

and boycotts and most importantly, more organization among the colonists.

The protests escalated: 1770 saw the Boston Massacre, which with its sum total of five

dead was perhaps the least massacrey massacre of all time, and in 1773, a bunch of colonists

dumped about a million dollars worth of tea into Boston Harbor, in protest of British

government decisions that actually would have made British tea cheaper. Oh it's time for

the open letter?

Ah... oh, that did not go well. An Open Letter to Tea. But first, let's see what's in the

secret compartment today. Oh, it's a gigantic teabag. Hm. Let's see what flavor it is...

Bitter tyranny variety!

Dear Tea, Like all Americans who love justice and freedom,

I hate you. But I understand you're quite popular in the UK where the East India Company

would periodically go to war for you.

But, what fascinates me about you, tea, I mean, aside from the fact that people choose

to drink you when there are great American refreshments available, like Mountain Dew,

is that even though you're stereotypically English, you're not English. It's Chinese,

or Burmese, or Indian. No one really knows, but it's definitely not English. You didn't

even have tea until, like, the 1660s. Posers.

Best wishes, John Green

So, The Boston Tea Party led to further British crackdowns and then mobilization of colonial

militias and then Paul Revere and then actual war, but you can hear all about that stuff

on, like, TV miniseries. I want to focus on one of the ways that colonists protested unfair

taxation. Let's go to the Thought Bubble.

As previously noted, the English Crown benefited tremendously from the import of consumer goods

to the American colonies, and one of the most effective ways American colonists could protest

taxation without representation was by boycotting British products.

In order to enforce these boycotts, the protesters created Committees of Correspondence, which

spread information about who was and was not observing the boycotts. And these committees

also could coerce non-compliers into compliance - which is to say that they were creating

and enforcing policy, kind of like a government does.

The Maryland Committee of Correspondence, in fact, was instrumental in setting up the

first Continental Congress, which convened to coordinate a response to the fighting that

started in 1775. This was back when congresses did things, by the way. It was awesome.

Anyway, the Continental Congress is most famous for drafting and approving the Declaration

of Independence. No, Thought Bubble. That's the Will Smith vehicle Independence Day. I

mean the Declaration of Independence. Right, that one. It's not your fault, you guys are

Canadian. You've never declared independence. Worth noting, by the way, that the congress

edited out more than a quarter of Jefferson's original declaration, and he forever after

insisted they’d "mangled" it.

Anyway, I would argue the heavy lifting of the American Revolution was already done by

the Declaration. In truth, by the time the shooting started, most of the colonists were

already self-governing and had developed a sense of themselves as something separate

and different from Great Britain - as evidenced by these "Committees of Correspondence," which

functioned as shadow governments - eventually reaching out to foreign governments, establishing

an espionage network, tarring and feathering loyalists and royal officials which, by the

way is incredibly painful and dangerous to the victim, and even recruiting physicians

to tell American men that drinking British tea would make them weak and effeminate.

Thanks, Thought Bubble.

Now, despite all this, about 20% of colonists remained loyal to Great Britain throughout

the war, especially in the major cities that Britain occupied. Also lots of slaves continued

to support the British, especially after Britain promised that any slaves who fought with them

would be freed.

And it's worth noting that while we generally celebrate the Revolution and see it as a step

toward justice and equality, the people who most needed the protection of a government

might have been better off and more free, if Britain had won. Especially since Britain

ended slavery well before America did, and, you know, without a civil war.

Also, even though most Americans had come to see themselves as separate from Britain

before 1776, the British certainly didn't see it that way. They continued to fight either

until 1781 or 1783, depending on whether you calculate by when they actually gave up or

when the peace treaty was signed.

So you can't really say the American Revolution was won before the fighting even started.

But the truth is, the American Revolution and the war for independence weren’t like

this. They were like this.

So, here's what was pretty revolutionary about the American Revolution: The colonists threw

off the rule of an imperial monarchy and replaced it with a government that didn't have a king,

a radical idea in a world that didn't feature many non-monarchical forms of government.

And, if you look at the explanations for the revolution, especially those contained in,

like, the Declaration of Independence and in pamphlets, like Thomas Paine's Common Sense,

there's definitely a revolutionary zeal that’s informed by the Enlightenment. And that's

especially true if you focus on the idea of liberty, as many of the pamphleteers did.

That said, if you look at the actual outcome of the revolution, aside from the whole no

king thing, it wasn't that revolutionary. Let's look, for instance, at two ideas central

to the revolution: property rights and equality.

So the Articles of Confederation gave the government no power to tax, which had the

effect of making sure that people who had property were able to keep it because they

never had to pay the government anything in exchange for the right to own and use it.

And that's very different from taxation systems dating all the way back to, like, Mesopotamia

and Ancient Egypt.

And it's probably not a coincidence that most of the writers and signers of the Declaration

of Independence were men of property, and they wanted to keep it that way. So, basically,

the white guys who controlled the land and its production before the American Revolution

were the same white guys who controlled it after the American Revolution.

And this leads us to the second, and more important way that as a revolution, the American

one falls a bit short. So, if you've ever studied American history, you're probably

familiar with the greatest line in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to

be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” Sorry, ladies.

And, you also may know that at the time those words were written, a large segment of the

American population, perhaps as much as 30%, were slaves of African descent who were held

as property and were definitely, 100% not treated as equal to whites. In fact, the guy

who wrote those words held slaves, and was fighting against a government who promised

to free any slaves who supported it.

Furthermore, women couldn't vote, and neither could white men who didn't own enough property

- meaning that the government of, for, and by the people was, in fact of, for, and by

about 10-15% of the people.

But here's the real question: Was the American Revolution what the historian Jonathan Israel

called “a revolution of mind?” Did it change the way we think about what people

are and how we should organize ourselves? Addressing those questions will involve a

brief foray into the history of ideas. Let's study the Enlightenment!

The Enlightenment was primarily a celebration of humans' ability to understand and improve

the natural world through reason. The Enlightenment had a number of antecedents, including the

European Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution, but what made it special was that some of

its more radical proponents - like, Immanuel Kant, for instance - went so far as to argue

that human reason rendered a belief in God unnecessary and, by extension, proclaimed

that any belief in divine intervention or a divine plan for humanity was just superstition.

Given that this was coming out of an overwhelmingly Christian Europe, this was a pretty controversial

suggestion, and not all Enlightenment thinkers would go that far. And more moderate Enlightenment

thinkers were also more willing to countenance hierarchical social and political structures.

Like John Locke, a major Enlightenment thinker, formulated his version of inalienable rights

as life, liberty, and property. And that's much more traditional than arguing, for instance,

that property should be held communally.

And it's no coincidence that the more moderate Enlightenment thinkers, like Locke and Adam

Smith, happened to be British, and the real radicals were French. And the founders of

the United States, were far more closely linked to those British Enlightenment thinkers than

to the French, who influenced the French Revolution, which as we will see next week, goes swimmingly.

But even if the government that America's revolutionaries came up with didn't overturn

privilege or tear apart the social order as the French Revolution tried to do, it did

make significant changes. America made sure that there would never be a formal nobility,

except for the Count of Chocula.

And, it recognized the equal rights of daughters and widows, when it came to inheriting and

possessing property. Also, it created a world in which future countesses could rehabilitate

their reputations in New York.

But, the real seismic change was that after the Revolution, Americans came to view themselves

as equal to each other. And, in the context of the 18th century, that was pretty radical.

"Ordinary Americans came to believe that no one in a basic down-to-earth and day-in-and-day-out

manner was really better than anyone else. That was equality as no other nation had ever

quite had it."

And in the end, the ideas of the American revolution - ideas about property and equality

and representation - are still hugely important in shaping political discourse around the

world, and particularly in America. And by America, I mean the United States. I'm sorry

Canadians and Mexicans and Central Americans and South Americans. We're provincial, okay?

I mean, here in the United States, our Presidential candidates must both know how to wear a suit

and how to bowl.

But the American Revolution also reminds us - as the French one will next week - that

revolutionary ideas and values are not always easy to live up to. Nothing challenges one's

belief in equality quite like becoming rich and powerful. Indeed, rare is the revolutionary

who doesn't become, on some level, like Orwell's pigs, insisting that while all animals were

created equal, some were created more equal than others.

In short, if you're going to base your new society on philosophy, you should try to found

it on ideals that are as inclusive and humanistic as possible - because the people executing

those ideas will never be ideal. Thanks for watching. I’ll see you next week.

Crash Course is produced and directed by Stan Muller, our script supervisor is Danica Johnson,

the show is written by my high school history teacher Raoul Meyer and myself, our graphics

team is Thought Bubble, and we are ably interned by Meredith Danko.

Last week's phrase of the week was "Historian Feuds." If you want to suggest future phrases

of the week, or guess at this one you can do so in comments, where you can also ask

questions about today's video that will be answered by our team of historians.

Thanks for watching Crash Course, and as we say in my hometown, Don't Forget To Be Awesome.