The American Board of Customs arrives in Boston in 1767 ready to enforce the new Townshend duties. With the backing of the British Navy, the Board tries to show who is boss by seizing a ship belonging to the wealthiest merchant in Boston and a leader of the tax protests, John Hancock. The seizure of Hancock's ship Liberty results in a riot and the beatings of several customs officials. The Board learns that they are not the boss and must flee to Castle William, an island in Boston Harbor, to avo...
Jan 28, 2018•21 min•Ep. 29
Following passage of the Towshend Acts in 1767, the colonists are unsure how to respond. These are import tariffs, not taxes, which was the line they drew over the earlier Stamp Act. They don't want to pay but have trouble articulating a good argument that everyone accepts. John Dickinson writes a series of 12 letters, purportedly from "a farmer in Pennsylvania" explaining why these new laws are just as objectionable. His letters push the colonists into real opposition to the new laws. British a...
Jan 21, 2018•21 min•Ep. 28
Prime Minister William Pitt's illness prevents him from running his administration. The Duke of Grafton becomes acting Prime Minister for over a year and eventually take the office officially when Pitt resigns in 1768. Although Grafton is a moderate on colonial issues, he moves hardliners like Lord North and the Earl of Hillsborough into his cabinet. The Ministry also adds to the Townshend Acts by creating several new Admiralty Courts in America to enforce the Townshend Acts and other customs la...
Jan 14, 2018•21 min•Ep. 27
William Pitt, champion of colonial rights, finally becomes Prime Minister in 1766. Illness however, keeps him from active participation in the government. His Lord of the Exchequer Charles Townsend tries to boost revenue by increasing tariffs on a wide variety of colonial imports. While avoiding direct taxes, the new laws are designed to extract money from the colonies as well as increase enforcement actions. Townshend hopes to introduce colonial compliance to Parliament slowly with this first s...
Jan 07, 2018•21 min•Ep. 26
Following the repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766, colonial protests stopped and trade resumed. Parliament is not happy about the pushback and seems determined to find a way to put the colonies in their place. The colonies are unhappy about the Declaratory Act and Parliament's assertion of complete tax authority over the colonies, despite a lack of colonial representation in Parilament. The colonists and the English people begin to view their interests as in competition with one another. During this...
Dec 31, 2017•22 min•Ep. 25
The Stamp Act took effect on November 1, 1765. But colonial opposition prevented the use of any stamps. Protesters forced newspapers, courts, and ports to operate without stamped paper. Creditors could not go to court to collect on debts and trading vessels stop going to England. As a result, English merchants joined in opposition to the Act. Prime Minister Rockingham replaced Grenville and immediately set about to repeal the law. The problem was, Parliament did not want to look like it was back...
Dec 24, 2017•21 min•Ep. 24
Colonists at all levels of society protested the Stamp Act of 1765. Newspapers railed against it. Mobs marched in the streets, and destroyed the homes of tax agents and other supporters. Colonial politicians not only spoke out against the Act but organized the Stamp Act Congress to coordinate a unified response to this tax. At issue was "taxation without representation." Parliament, for the first time, was imposing a direct tax on the colonists, even though they had no representation in Parliame...
Dec 17, 2017•22 min•Ep. 23
In 1765 Prime Minister Grenville led passage of the Stamp Act through Parliament. He designed the tax on newspapers, legal documents and a host of other paper to collect revenues from the colonies. Although some radical Whigs like William Pitt opposed the new taxes, the law sailed through Parliament with relative ease. Parliament wanted to pay off its war debt and thought the colonies needed to contribute more. To help with enforcement, Parliament also passed the Quartering act, forcing colonies...
Dec 10, 2017•22 min•Ep. 22
Following the passage of the Sugar Act in 1764, the British colonies in North America begin to organize opposition. The new taxes and trade enforcement policies hits the colonies just when they are experiencing other economic problems. Brtiain's removal of war subsidies leads to growing unemployment and a general lack of jobs. The Currency Act contributes to exisiting money shortages. The Wheelwright Scandal makes all of this worse. British restrictions on western lands cuts off a traditional ec...
Dec 03, 2017•22 min•Ep. 21
In 1764, with Britain under a massive debt from the Seven Years War and with increased costs of maintaining its new colonies, the Grenville Ministry passes the Sugar Act to raise revenue from the colonists. The Act itself actually cuts tariff rates, but also institutes enforcement measures to ensure the colonists cannot evade the taxes as easily as they did in the past. Parliament also passes the Quartering Act, to make colonies pay for the quartering of British Regulars within their borders, wh...
Nov 26, 2017•21 min•Ep. 20
In 1764, in response to the Native American attacks known as Pontiac's War, the colonists strike back at the Indians, killing the guilty and innocent alike. Gen. Amherst approves use of smallpox against the Indians. He proposes a campaign of terror and slaughter against the tribes. At the insistence of Indian agent Sir William Johnson, London recalls Amherst, leaving Gen. Thomas Gage in charge. Gage follows through on Amherst's attack plan, sending out two expeditions to destroy Indian villages ...
Nov 19, 2017•22 min•Ep. 19
By 1763, France has left Canada after losing the the French and Indian war. British soldiers and colonists continue to occupy land west of the Allegheny mountains in violation of promises. To save money, Britain stops making annual gifts to the tribes. The Indian tribes unite and rise up against these continuing violations of treaties. The tribes seize multiple forts and besiege others. Soldiers and colonists hunker down in forts, flee the region, or die horrible deaths. For more text, pictures,...
Nov 12, 2017•22 min•Ep. 18
As the Seven Years War comes to an end, Britain and her colonies begin bickering over issues unrelated to the war. In Virginia, a new lawyer named Patrick Henry convinces a jury not to pay ministers the wage required under the law. The Archbishop of Canterbury is thwarted in his attempts to force New England to accept an Anglican Bishop. James Otis Jr. becomes an early advocate against the enforcement of trade tariffs through the use of general warrants. For more text, pictures, maps, and source...
Nov 05, 2017•22 min•Ep. 17
The French try for one last land claim in North America at the Battle of Signal Hill. Following the end of combat, the British army in America shrinks, removing men and money from the colonies. Britain finally ends the Seven Years War with France and Spain through the Treaty of Paris in 1763. British politician John Wilkes learns the hard way that although the King has gotten involved in politics, you cannot criticize the King like any other politician. He goes on to become a hero for the cause ...
Oct 29, 2017•21 min•Ep. 16
The Cherokee go to war against the settlers in the Carolinas who are encroaching on their land. Britain captures French colonies in the West Indies (what we today call the Caribbean). Newcastle and Pitt leave the government as the Earl of Bute takes charge. Spain finally joins France in the war against Britain, only to lose some of its own colonies. For more text, pictures, maps, and sources, please visit my site at AmRevPodcast.Blogspot.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/...
Oct 22, 2017•21 min•Ep. 15
The British Army in America captures the final concentration of French forces at Montreal in 1760. This effectively ends major combat operations in North America. With the death of his grandfather, 22 year old King George III claims the throne. For more text, pictures, maps, and sources, please visit my site at AmRevPodcast.Blogspot.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 15, 2017•20 min•Ep. 14
British Gen. Wolfe defeats French Gen. Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham in 1759. The British capture the key city of Quebec. For more text, pictures, maps, and sources, please visit my site at AmRevPodcast.Blogspot.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 08, 2017•20 min•Ep. 13
After convincing most Indians to abandon the French in the Ohio Valley, the British take Fort Duquesne at the end of 1758. Gen. Amherst takes command of British forces for the 1759 fighting season, capturing Forts Niagara and Carillion as well. Fort Duquesne becomes Fort Pitt. Fort Carillion becomes Fort Ticonderoga. For more text, pictures, maps, and sources, please visit my site at AmRevPodcast.Blogspot.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 01, 2017•19 min•Ep. 12
Gen. Amherst captures Louisbourg in Britain's first major victory of the French and Indian War. The British follow up with a successful raid on Fort Frontenac. In Pennsylvania, the British sign the Treaty of Eastong. This ends most of the military opposition of Indians in the Ohio Valley. For more text, pictures, maps, and sources, please visit my site at AmRevPodcast.Blogspot.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 24, 2017•22 min•Ep. 11
After continuing defeats, Britain changes leaders. It also adopts a new strategy for encouraging British colonial support for the war in North America. Gen. Abercromby's army assaults Fort Carillon at Ticonderoga. For more text, pictures, maps, and sources, please visit my site at AmRevPodcast.Blogspot.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 17, 2017•21 min•Ep. 10
The French offensive continues in 1757 as Gen. Montcalm takes Fort William Henry. France's Indian allies massacre part of the British and colonial garrison. In London, the King gives William Pitt a chance to turn around the war with new strategies. For more text, pictures, maps, and sources, please visit my site at AmRevPodcast.Blogspot.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 10, 2017•21 min•Ep. 9
The French go on the offensive, capturing Forts Ontario and Oswego. The British retreat, ceding much of upper New York to the French and their Indian allies. Various tribes also move aggressively to push British colonists out of the Ohio Valley. For more text, pictures, maps, and sources, please visit my site at AmRevPodcast.Blogspot.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 03, 2017•22 min•Ep. 8
The British expel the French inhabitants, of Acadia. The French and British fight over Lake George. Britain gets a new Prime Minister, the Duke of New Castle. Lord Loudoun arrives in America as the new British miltiary commander. For more text, pictures, maps, and sources, please visit my site at AmRevPodcast.Blogspot.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 27, 2017•24 min•Ep. 7
Britain sends Gen. Braddock to America to recapture the Ohio Valley in 1755. He meets the French and Indians at the Battle of the Monongahela. For more text, pictures, maps, and sources, please visit my site at AmRevPodcast.Blogspot.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 20, 2017•23 min•Ep. 6
Virginia sends a young man named George Washington into the Ohio Valley to challenge the French. There, he starts a world war. For more text, pictures, maps, and sources, please visit my site at AmRevPodcast.Blogspot.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 13, 2017•24 min•Ep. 5
Britain and France had spent the prior century in almost continuous fighting. In American, Native tribes attempted to play off the two European powers against one another, while engaging in their own power struggles with neighboring tribes. Today's episode looks at the power dynamics in play before the outbreak of the French and Indian War. For more text, pictures, maps, and sources, please visit my site at AmRevPodcast.Blogspot.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Aug 06, 2017•24 min•Ep. 4
Background on the American Colonies. For more text, pictures, maps, and sources, please visit my site at AmRevPodcast.Blogspot.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 30, 2017•25 min•Ep. 3
Background on the American Colonies. For more text, pictures, maps, and sources, please visit my site at AmRevPodcast.Blogspot.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 24, 2017•24 min•Ep. 2
Today I begin the American Revolution Podcast. For more text, pictures, maps, and sources, please visit my site at AmrevPodcast.blogspot.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 16, 2017•6 min•Ep. 1
