Copley, Mercy Otis Warren, c. 1763
Image ID: 12454
Collection: Alan Taylor
Topic(s): Revolution, Arts and Architecture
Region(s): North America
CA Standard(s): 5.6 - The course and consequences of the American Revolution, 8.1 - Major events preceding the founding of the nation and the development of American constitutional democracy, 11.1 - The significant events in the founding of the nation and its attempts to realize the philosophy of government described in the Declaration of Independence
National Standard(s): Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
Card Text: John Singleton Copley, "Mercy Otis Warren," a prolific American author, historian, patriot, and revolutionary. Oil on canvas, c. 1763.
Citation: Copyright © Museum of Fine Arts, Avenue of the Arts, 465 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115-5597. Bequest of Winslow Warren, 1931. Acc. No. 31.212. All rights reserved.
Revere, The Bloody Massacre, 1770
Image ID: 13087
Collection: Alan Taylor
Topic(s): Revolution
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 5.6 - The course and consequences of the American Revolution, 5.6 - The course and consequences of the American Revolution, 5.5 - The causes of the American Revolution, 8.1 - Major events preceding the founding of the nation and the development of American constitutional democracy
National Standard(s): Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
Card Text: Paul Revere, "The Bloody Massacre" (the Boston Massacre), "perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th 1770 by a party of the 29th Regt.," 1770. British troops firing on a group of citizens on a street in Boston, Massachusetts, with the Royal Custom House known as "Butcher's Hall" on the right, and the First Church and Town House in the background. Some of the wounded are being carried away from the scene while others lie in the street. Engraving.
Citation: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, DC 20540. LC-DIG-ppmsca-19159.
Treaty of Greenville, 1795
Image ID: 13097
Collection: Alan Taylor
Topic(s): Revolution, Native Americans
Region(s): United States
CA Standard(s): 5.6 - The course and consequences of the American Revolution, 8.4 - The aspirations and ideals of the people of the new nation, 8.1 - Major events preceding the founding of the nation and the development of American constitutional democracy
National Standard(s): Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
Card Text: Forced to sign away their rights to the Ohio Valley in the Treaty of Greenville, 1795, Native Americans made their marks beside the English spelling of their names.
Citation: US National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Rd, College Park, MD 20740-6001.
American POWs on British Prison Ship Jersey in New York Harbor, 1779-83
Image ID: 13143
Collection: Alan Taylor
Topic(s): Revolution
Region(s): United States, North America
CA Standard(s): 5.6 - The course and consequences of the American Revolution, 5.6 - The course and consequences of the American Revolution, 8.5 - U.S. foreign policy in the early Republic
National Standard(s): Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
Card Text: American prisoners of war starve to death on the British prison ship "Jersey" in New York Harbor, 1779-83. Purposely brutalized, between 11,000 and 13,000 died, 75% of the total imprisoned. King George III considered them traitors and as such without rights. More Americans died in British prison ships in New York Harbor than in all the battles of the Revolutionary War.
Citation: Fordham University Library, Charles Allen Munn Collection, Rose Hill Campus, Bronx, NY 10458.
French Admiral Suffren Meeting Indian Ruler Hyder Ali, 1783
Image ID: 13161
Collection: Alan Taylor
Topic(s): Revolution
Region(s): Asia, Europe, North America
CA Standard(s): 5.6 - The course and consequences of the American Revolution, 5.3 - The cooperation and conflict among the American Indians and between the Indian nations and the new settlers, 8.1 - Major events preceding the founding of the nation and the development of American constitutional democracy
National Standard(s): Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
Card Text: J.B. Morret, "French Admiral Suffren meeting with the Indian ruler Hyder Ali," his ally and the leader of the Mysore revolt against British rule in India, 1783, in Cuddalore. Suffren engaged the British fleet in the last battles of the American Revolution, which were fought on the other side of the world - on the Indian and Ceylonese coasts. Engraving, 1789.
Citation: Original painting Copyright © Bibliothèque nationale de France, site François-Mitterrand, quai François-Mauriac, 75706 Paris Cedex 13, FRANCE. All rights reserved.
The Repeal, or The Funeral Procession of Miss Americ-Stamp, 1766
Image ID: 7822
Collection: Karen Halttunen
Topic(s): Eighteenth Century, Pre-Revolution, Revolution
Region(s): United States, North America
CA Standard(s): 8.1 - Major events preceding the founding of the nation and the development of American constitutional democracy
National Standard(s): Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
Card Text: "The Repeal, or The Funeral Procession of Miss Americ-Stamp," 1766; cartoon celebrating repeal of the Stamp Act, depicting its burial at water's edge; after Benjamin Willson, London, England. The Repeal or the Funeral of Miss Americ-Stamp
Attributed to Benjamin Wilson (March 18, 1766)
Over the Vault are placed two Skeleton Heads. Their elevation on Poles, and the dates of the two Rebellion Years, sufficiently shew what Party they espoused, and in what cause they suffered an ignominious Exit.
The reverend Mr.Anti-Sejanus (who under that signature hackney'd his pen in support of the Stamps) leads the procession as officiating Priest, with the burial service and funeral sermon in his hands.
Next follow two eminent Pillars of the Law, supporting two black flags, on which are delineated the Stamps with the White Rose and Thistle interwoved, an expressive design, supposed to have been originally contrived on the 10 of June. The significative motto Semper Eadem is preserved, but the Price of the Stamp
2nd column:
is changed to three farthings, an important sum taken from the Budget. The numbers 122 and 71 declare the minority which fought under these Banners.
Next appears the honourable Mr. George Stamp, full of Grief and dispair, carrying his favourite Childs Coffin, Miss Americ Stamp, who was born in 1763 and died hard in 1766.
Immediately after, follows the chief Mourner Sejanus.
Then his Grace of Spital Fields, and Lord Gawkee.
After these Jemmy Twitcher, with a Catch, by way of funeral anthem, & by his side his friend and partner Mr. Falconer Donaldson of Halifax.
3rd column:
The rear is brought up by two right reverend Fathers of the Church.
These few mourners are seperated from the joyful scene which appears on the River Thames, where three first rate ships are riding. VIZ. the Conway, Rockingham, and Grafton. Along the opposite Shore, stand open Warehouses, for the several goods of different manufactoring towns from which Cargoes are now shipping for America. Among these is a large Case containing the Statue of Mr. Pitt, which is heaving on board a Boat No. 250, there is another boat taking in goods nearer the first Rates, which is No. 105. These Numbers will ever be held in esteem by the true SONS of LIBERTY.
This cartoon, which celebrates the end of the Stamp Tax, is said to be "one of the most famous and popular of the political satires commenting on the Stamp Act." This print became one of the most copied satirical prints of the time period.
The cartoon shows a funeral procession of supporters of the act carrying a small coffin containing the remains of the bill toward an open vault. The vault has been prepared for the burial of all unjust acts that would alienate Englishmen.
Leading the procession and preparing to deliver the funeral eulogy is the Reverend W. Scott, who under the name "Anti-Sejanus," published letters in support of the Stamp Act in London's Public Advertiser.
Scott is followed by the mourners: Solicitor General Wedderburn and Attorney General Norton, who are mockingly referred to as "Two Pillars of the Law" in the text.
"George Stamp" in the foreground holding the coffin, represents George Grenville. Lord Grenville is shown "carrying his favourite Childs Coffin, Miss Americ Stamp, who was born in 1763 and died hard in 1766."
Following him are Bute, Bedford, and Temple, some of the same Englishmen who were responsible for passing the act.
The dates on the skulls above the vault refer to the uprisings by the Jacobites, supporters of King James after the Glorious Revolution of 1688. They continued to believe that the authority of the king came from God not Parliament.
The black flags carried by Wederburn and Norton contain the numbers 71 and 122 which reference the number of votes against the repeal of the Stamp Act in the house of Lords and Commons.
The ships in the background are labeled "Conway," "Rockingham," and "Grafton." They represent the Parliamentary leaders responsible for the repeal of the bill now stand ready to carry the goods to America.
By setting the action on a dock, the artist is able to show the large unshipped cargoes destined for America that accumulated during the period when the act was in force.
A small dog makes a gesture under Reverend Scott.
Stamps just returned from America are also stacked on the wharf.
Directly behind the bale of stamps, is a crate containing a statue of William Pitt, Grenville's archenemy in the Stamp Act controversy.
Citation: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, British Cartoon Prints Collection, Washington, DC 20540. LC-USZ62-1505. Text: Sources:
Colonial Williamsburg website: http://www.history.org/history/teaching/tchcrpc1.cfm.
Joan D. Dolmetsch, Rebellion and Reconciliation: Satirical Prints on the Revolution at Williamsburg (Williamsburg, Va., 1976), pp. 38-39.
Copyright Digital History 2019
Broadside for Boycott of Merchant who Continued to Stock English Goods, Boston, 1770
Image ID: 7820
Collection: Karen Halttunen
Topic(s): Eighteenth Century, Revolution, American Revolution, British Empire, Business, Civil Rights, Class Structure, Colonial America, Decolonization, Domesticity, Early Ads, Imperialism, Individualism, Technology, Institutions and social disorder, Invention, Labor Organizations and Leaders, Luxury, Middle-Class Culture, National Events, Nativism, Politics & Government, Pre-Industrial Work - Misc., Propaganda, Stores, Strikes and Violence, Symbols, Taxes, Trade, Women in the Revolution, Women's image, Women's organizations, Work and Workers
Region(s): United States, North America
CA Standard(s): 8.1 - Major events preceding the founding of the nation and the development of American constitutional democracy, 5.4 - Political, religious, social, and economic institutions that evolved in the colonial era. , 5.5 - The causes of the American Revolution, 5.6 - The course and consequences of the American Revolution, 5.7 - People and events associated with the development of the U.S. Constitution and it's significance as the foundation of the American republic
National Standard(s): Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
Card Text: Broadside urging the boycott of merchant William Jackson, who continued to stock English goods at his business on Corn-Hill, Boston, MA, 1770. "It is desired that the Sons and Daughters of Liberty, would not buy any one thing of him, for in so doing they will bring disgrace upon themselves, and their Posterity, for ever and ever, AMEN." Like the Stamp Act of 1765, the Townshend Acts of 1767 produced controversy and protest in the American colonies. For a second time, many colonists resented what they perceived as an effort to tax them without representation and thus to deprive them of their liberty. The fact that the revenue raised by the Townshend Acts would pay royal governors only made the situation worse, because it took away control from colonial legislatures that otherwise had the power to set and withhold a royal governor’s salary. The Restraining Act, intended to isolate New York without angering the other colonies, had the opposite effect, showing the rest of the colonies how far beyond the British Constitution some members of Parliament were willing to go.
The Townshend Acts generated a number of protest writings, including “Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer” by John Dickinson. In this influential pamphlet, which circulated widely in the colonies, Dickinson conceded that the Empire could regulate trade but argued that Parliament could not impose either internal taxes, like stamps, on goods or external taxes, like customs duties, on imports.
Women were encouraged to take political action by boycotting British goods, especially tea and linen, and to manufacture their own homespun cloth. Building on the protest of the 1765 Stamp Act by the Daughters of Liberty, the non-importation movement of 1767–68 mobilized women as political actors.
In Massachusetts in 1768, Samuel Adams wrote "The Massachusetts Circular" to the other colonial legislatures. It laid out the unconstitutionality of taxation without representation and encouraged the other colonies to protest the taxes by boycotting British goods. Even in this letter of protest, the humble and submissive tone shows the Massachusetts Assembly’s continued deference to parliamentary authority. Even in that hotbed of political protest, it is a clear expression of allegiance and the hope for a restoration of “natural and constitutional rights.”
Britain’s response to this threat of disobedience served only to unite the colonies further. Lord Hillsborough demanded that the Massachusetts colony retract the letter, and warned that any colonial assemblies that endorsed it would be dissolved. This ultimatum pushed the other colonies to Massachusetts’s side. Even the city of Philadelphia, which had originally opposed the Circular, came around.
The Daughters of Liberty once again supported and promoted the boycott of British goods. Women resumed spinning bees and again found substitutes for British tea and other goods. Many colonial merchants signed non-importation agreements, and the Daughters of Liberty urged colonial women to shop only with those merchants. The Sons of Liberty used newspapers and circulars to call out by name those merchants who refused to sign such agreements; sometimes they were threatened with violence. The boycott in 1768–69 turned the purchase of consumer goods into a political gesture. It Consumption was political; the very clothes you wore indicated whether you were a defender of liberty in homespun or a protector of parliamentary rights in superfine British attire.
Citation: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, DC 20540. LC-USZ62-43568. Text: "The Townshend Acts," OpenStax. https://open stax.org/books/us-history/pages/5-3-the-townshend-acts-and-colonial-protest. © 1999-2019, Rice University, 6100 Main St, MS-375, Houston, TX 77005. All rights reserved. May 17, 2020.
Execution of King Louis XVI of France, Paris, 1793
Image ID: 12532
Collection: Alan Taylor
Topic(s): Canada, Revolution
Region(s): United States, Europe
CA Standard(s): 10.2 - Glorious Revolution of England, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution and their enduring effects worldwide on political expectations for self-government and individual liberty , 10.2 - Glorious Revolution of England, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution and their enduring effects worldwide on political expectations for self-government and individual liberty
National Standard(s): An Age of Revolutions, 1750-1914
Card Text: Execution of King Louis XVI of France on the guillotine, Paris, 1793. Unidentified artist; print.
Citation: Source unknown. Original at Bibliothèque nationale, site François Mitterrand, quai François-Mauriac, 75706 Paris Cedex 13 FRANCE.