1. The Road to Revolution, 1763-1775
Cover Slide
The American Pageant
Chapter 7
The Road to Revolution,
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2. A View of the Town of Concord, 1775
In 1775 an unknown artist painted the redcoats entering Concord. The fighting at North Bridge, which occurred just a few hours after this triumphal entry, signaled the start of open warfare between Britain and the colonies. (Courtesy of Concord Museum, Concord, Massachusetts)
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3. Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation were debated for almost as many years as they were in effect. Proposed in 1775, they were not ratified until Eight years later, the Constitution replaced them. Eighteenth-century citizens hotly debated the virtues and shortcomings of the Articles, and historians have continued to disagree over the merits of this blueprint for a first American government. (The National Archives of the United States published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Photograph by Jonathan Wallen.)
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4. Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre
Shortly after this incident, one Bostonian observed that "unless there is some great alteration in the state of things, the era of the independence of the colonies is much nearer than I once thought it, or now wish it." (Library of Congress)
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5. Boston Tea Party
Boston Tea Party
In this 1775 drawing of the Boston Tea Party, bare-chested Americans, their hair pulled back Indian-fashion, pour tea into the harbor. The British lion appears as the figurehead of the tea ship, in case the true object of the protest was in doubt. The artist also added a large crowd of colonists content to watch rather than do anything to prevent this destruction of private property. (Library of Congress)
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6. Lafayette at Yorktown by Jean-Baptiste Le Paon, 1783
The brilliant young French general appears here with his African-American aide, a Virginia slave named James. Among other services to Lafayette, James spied on Cornwallis before the latter's surrender. (Art Gallery, Williams Center, Lafayette College )
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7. Mr. Rivington, pro-British editor, hanged in effigy
The Sons of Liberty, an organization that united elite and working class protesters, first appeared in Boston but spread quickly to other American cities. In 1775 a pro-British editor in New York, James Rivington, used this illustration while reporting that a New Brunswick mob had hanged him in effigy. The New York Sons promptly made good on the threat to Rivington, attacking his office, destroying his press, and forcing his paper to close. (Mr. Rivington: Library of Congress)
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8. Pulling Down the Statue of George III by William Walcutt
A statue of George III, standing in the Bowling Green in New York City, was one of the first casualties of the American Revolution; colonists marked the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by pulling it down. Much of the metal was melted to make bullets, but in the twentieth century the head--largely intact--was unearthed in Connecticut. (Lafayette College Art Collection, Easton, Pennsylvania)
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9. Stamp Act protest
Stamp Act protest
A Boston crowd burns bundles of the special watermarked paper intended for use as stamps. (Library of Congress)
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10. The Alternative of Williamsburg by Philip Dawe, 1775
In this cartoon, drawn by Philip Dawe in 1775, armed patriots in Williamsburg, Virginia, obtain a merchant's written agreement not to import British goods. The "alternative" is the containers of tar and feathers hanging in the background. (Library of Congress )
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11. The Edenton Ladies' Tea Party
In October 1774, fifty-one women gathered at Edenton, North Carolina, and declared it their "duty" to support the boycotting of all British imports. Nevertheless, the British man who drew this cartoon chose to satirize the event as an unruly "tea party." (Library of Congress)
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12. Map: The First Battles in the War for Independence, 1775
This map shows the British march to Concord and the routes taken by the three Americans who alerted the countryside of the enemy's approach. Although Paul Revere was captured by the British and did not complete his ride, he is the best remembered and most celebrated of the nightriders who spread the alarm.
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13. Map: The War in the North
The early phase of the Revolutionary War was dominated by British troop movements in the Boston area, the redcoats' evacuation to Nova Scotia in the spring of 1776, and the subsequent British invasion of New York and New Jersey.
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