Americans liked being English. In spite of the disagreement and disunity discussed in chapter 4, the one unifying cultural feature most Americans shared was a sense of English identity. Yet less than seven years after Bostonians celebrated their victory in the Seven Years' War and expressed pride in their young king, George III, their fellow Britons are portrayed firing upon these same loyal citizens. The same year the American painter Benjamin West completed the painting commemorating the death of General Wolfe at Quebec, the Empire's great triumph, Paul Revere, a Boston engraver, published an etching of the Boston massacre. What went wrong in less than a decade? 

As Parliament attempted to bind the American colonies more closely to the empire, once-loyal Americans became convinced that their rights were being violated. Encouraged by Thomas Paine's pamphlet, Common Sense, proclaiming "a new era for politics," Americans rejected the idea that they were English.

The Web activities for chapter 5 explore the West and Revere images as important pieces of visual evidence of colonial affairs. You will examine the story behind Revere's engraving, and the decisions and choices made on both sides of the Atlantic that led most Americans to agree with Paine in 1776: it was the destiny of Americans to be republicans not monarchists; to be independent, not subjects of George III; to be American, not English.

1. Visual evidence is an important source of historical information. In activities 1-3 you will analyze two key period images to assist you in answering the question, what went wrong between Britain and her American colonies during the years between the triumph at Quebec and the "massacre" in Boston? View the painting The Death of General Wolfe by Benjamin West and the widely circulated companion engraving (magnify image). Study the composition, the key figures represented--noting their dress--and other symbolic elements in this strictly imaginary scene. For a discussion of Historian Simon Schema's perspective on the consequences of West's portrayal go to "The Many Deaths of General Wolfe" by Maryland State Archivist, Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse. Open the first link and read the sections "In Command" and "Parkman's Account of the Death of Wolfe." Why do you think Schama terms the painting both an "icon of the British Empire" and a "grandiloquent lie"? 

2. By 1770 the relationship between British troops in the colonies had deteriorated, especially in Boston where brawls were frequent. When five people were killed in March, propagandists labeled the incident a "massacre" and Revere created America's most lasting visual image of the event. View Image

• the account of Captain Thomas Preston, who was in charge of the British troops, and the transcript (scroll down on the page until Preston's name appears) of his trial, 
• an anonymous account, Printed by Order of the Town of Boston, 
• an account taken from the Boston Gazette and Country Journal of 12 March 1770, 
• and, a Behind-the-Scenes Look At Paul Revere's Most Famous Engraving. 

4.  In January 1776, nine months after Lexington and Concord, revolutionary rhetoric reached new heights with the publication of Common Sense, by Thomas Paine. The full text of Common Sense may be found at George Welling's From Revolution to Reconstruction project in The Netherlands at the University of Groningen. Read the Introduction ,  then find section five and resume reading at the paragraph which begins "A government of our own is our natural right," and continue to the end (omitting the section on naval preparations). Mark the words and phrases you consider to be revolutionary, as much verbal propaganda as Revere's image was visual. What do you think would have been the most compelling parts of Paine's concluding argument to his "target" audience? Why did Paine's pamphlet have such a profound impact on Britain's American colonist's decision for independence?

Additional Research Links
 

• Return to the Colonial North America, 1492-1763, tutorial at the University of Calgary.  Go to "Conclusion" for an overview of the Seven Years' War. Think about the consequences for Canada of the English driving the French from North America.
• The Seven Years War is a site with another fine narrative overview of events and good internal links. An additional site on The French and Indian War examines the practice of scalping by both European and Indian participants in the conflict.”
• Fighting for a Continent: Newspaper Coverage of the French and Indian War, 1754-1760, contains some interesting images of period newspapers reporting the war with an interpretive essay that may contain suggestions for research.
• The following items from the British National Maritime Museum Greenwich collection on the Seven Years War provide additional contemporary visual evidence of Britain's North American triumph (be sure and magnify each). 
• Capture of Louisbourg Medal, 1758
• A Plan of the River St Laurence with the Operations of the Siege of Quebec 
• French Fireships Attacking the English Fleet off Quebec, 28 June 1759 
• A View of the Taking of Quebec, 13 September 1759  (how does this image differ from the one in the text on page 147?).

• Removal of the French from North America had significant consequences for native peoples. For online information see Pontiac's Rebellion, then go to Great Lake Indians and scroll down to the rebellion. Go to Lord Jeffrey Amherst's letters discussing germ warfare against American Indians to examine the smallpox blankets controversy.
• Read The Royal Proclamation - October 7, 1763, to comprehend the British perspective of the post-war period.

• Two good chronologies of the era include one at the Tax History Museum, view room 1756-1776: The Seven Years War to the American Revolution for a fine summary of events with images, and another at The Age of George III, Topic Page.
• Digitized primary source documents of the era are extensive. See The Townshend Acts and the period 1767-1768, then visit the Charles Townshend Papers (site has good background notes) at the the University of Michigan. Next explore the general Text Index of George Welling's From Revolution to Reconstruction project for additional research opportunities.
• The First Continental Congress  met from September 5 to October 26, 1774. Journals of the Continental Congress is the complete edition based on the manuscript Journals and other manuscript records of the Continental Congress in the Library of Congress.
• The Battles of Lexington and Concord is a good essay with links on the first battles of the revolution. See also the Battles of Lexington and Concord by Tom Chirgwin.
• The Age of George III provides one account of events at Lexington and Concord from the colonists' point of view,  and another, written by the sister of one of the customs' commissioners to her friend in England, presents the actions of the American colonists in a different light. 
• Visit the British Millennium Exhibition to view additional evidence of the British experience. The exhibit contains many important documents that can be magnified for better viewing. Click on eighteenth century then read materials on the Olive Branch Petition.

• The American Sons of Liberty were part of an international network of the friends of Liberty. John Wilkes,  a London journalist was one, Pascal Paoli,  the Corsican freedom fighter, another. The repercussions of such movements have led historians to suggest that there was an "Atlantic Revolution."' 
• Visit the CNN Millennium site. Go to the 18th century section, then click on "map" to tour other areas of Democratic Revolutions.