Printed Page 150-132-130(cont.)

America’s History: Printed Page 150

America: A Concise History: Printed Page 132

America’s History: Value Edition: Printed Page 130

Chapter Timeline

The Problem of Empire

1763–1776

5

CHAPTER

IDENTIFY THE BIG IDEA

Consider whether the collapse of British authority in the thirteen rebellious colonies might have been avoided through compromise measures and more astute leadership. Was colonial independence inevitable, and was war the only way to achieve it?

In June 1775, the city of New York faced a perplexing dilemma. Word arrived that George Washington, who had just been named commander in chief of the newly formed Continental army, was coming to town. But on the same day, William Tryon, the colony’s crown-appointed governor, was scheduled to return from Britain. Local leaders orchestrated a delicate dance. Though the Provincial Congress was operating illegally in the eyes of the crown, it did not wish to offend Governor Tryon. It instructed the city’s newly raised volunteer battalion to divide in two. One company awaited Washington’s arrival, while another prepared to greet the governor. The “residue of the Battalion” was to be “ready to receive either the General or Governour Tryon, which ever shall first arrive.” Washington arrived first. He was met by nine companies of the volunteer battalion and a throng of well-wishers, who escorted him to his rooms in a local tavern. Many of this same crowd then crossed town to join the large group assembled to greet the governor, whose ship was just landing. The crowd met him with “universal shouts of applause” and accompanied him home.

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The Great New York Fire of 1776 In the wake of the Declaration of Independence, General William Howe’s first objective was to capture New York, with its strategic location and excellent harbor. Patriot forces under George Washington’s command attempted to defend the city but were forced into retreat and abandoned it to the British in September 1776. Early in the morning of September 21, a fire broke out near the southern tip of Manhattan and burned northwestward, driven by a strong wind. As many as a quarter of the town’s buildings were destroyed; residents, already distressed by the fighting, fled into the streets with whatever possessions they could carry. Each side accused the other of arson, but that charge was never proven. Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, The New York Public Library. Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations.

This awkward moment in the history of one American city reflects a larger crisis of loyalty that plagued colonists throughout British North America in the years between 1763 and 1776. The outcome of the Great War for Empire left Great Britain the undisputed master of eastern North America. But that success pointed the way to catastrophe. Convinced of the need to reform the empire and tighten its administration, British policymakers imposed a series of new administrative measures on the colonies. Accustomed as they were to governing their own affairs, colonists could not accept these changes. Yet the bonds of loyalty were strong, and the unraveling of British authority was tortuous and complex. Only gradually — as militancy slowly mounted on both sides — were the ties of empire broken and independence declared.