Britain and America

What was the relationship between Britain and America before the American Revolution?

For almost the first 200 years after Europeans settled here, America was a collection of colonies that were all owned by Great Britain, which is a country on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in Europe. 

For a long time, most Americans were happy to live under British rule. There were lots of advantages to being a British colony:

• Money: Britain was a wealthy country, and the British people, both those who lived in Great Britain and those who lived in its colonies, lived better than most people in the world. In general, the British had nicer houses, better food, and more possessions than people in other countries.
• Defense: Britain had a very strong army and navy. In fact, the British navy was becoming the largest navy in the world in the 1700s. The British military protected the American colonies from other European countries that might want to take over the colonies in the New World, like France or Spain.
• Democracy: British people had some say in what laws were passed and who their political leaders were. People in other countries weren’t allowed to participate in their government as much as they could in Britain, although not everyone in Britain was allowed to vote at this time.
• Freedom: For the most part, the British government allowed Americans a great deal of freedom to settle the North American continent and build their colonies. The Americans even got in the habit of ignoring British laws they didn’t like! With all this freedom, the Americans got used to making their own decisions.

In the 1760s, though, the attitude of the British government changed. Leaders in Britain decided that they had given the Americans too much freedom. The Americans needed more laws to govern them, and the laws the British had already passed should be enforced.

The American colonists and the British government began to argue about who should make the laws and whether they had to be enforced in America. When the British government insisted that it was their job to make laws for the colonies, Americans began to wonder why they should have to follow laws that they didn’t have any say in making.

Should a government be able to make rules without the people’s consent?

America Moves toward Independence

What happened to convince Americans to declare independence from Great Britain?

It’s a big step, though, from being angry with the mother country to declaring independence. In fact, no colony—in all of history—had ever successfully rebelled and created its own country before.

So how did the Americans come to take such an extreme step? Did they just wake up one morning and decide to throw off British rule?

After each of these events, more and more Americans began to question British rule. These Americans began to call themselves patriots.

Not everyone in America agreed, though. Americans who wanted to remain under British rule were called loyalists or Tories.

New Hampshire Moves toward Independence

What was New Hampshire’s role in the events leading up to independence?

Like Americans in the other colonies, most of the people in New Hampshire gradually came to the decision that America should be independent of Great Britain because the British government was not treating them fairly. Americans were especially unhappy that the British government was putting new taxes on many things Americans needed, like paper and tea.

Through a series of events, the Americans stepped closer and closer to revolution.

The Stamp Act

One of these events was a new law called the Stamp Act, which the British passed in 1765. The Stamp Act placed a tax on nearly every piece of paper in the colonies, even things like newspapers and playing cards.

Americans sent petitions to the British government, asking them to change its mind about the tax, but the British government didn’t listen to them. Riots broke out in many American cities, including Portsmouth, New Hampshire. In fact, there were two Stamp Act riots in Portsmouth, one in September 1765 and one in November.

Several months after the riots in America, the British government repealed the Stamp Act so the Americans didn’t have to pay the tax they hated so much. Americans were worried that the British hadn’t originally listened to them, though.

The Sons of Liberty

The Sons of Liberty were clubs that had begun to form all over America, including in New Hampshire, in the mid-1760s.

These clubs were created to organize protests against the Stamp Act, but after the Stamp Act was repealed, the Sons of Liberty believed that they would need to keep a close watch on the British government to make sure it didn’t ignore the Americans again. They promised to organize more protests against the British government if the government passed any more laws the Americans didn’t like.

Many New Hampshire towns had Sons of Liberty clubs, and these became the center of the patriot movement.

Pine Tree Riot

One of New Hampshire’s most valuable resources at this time was its white pine trees, which were so strong and tall that they made perfect ships’ masts. (Masts are poles on ships that hold up the sails.) In the 1700s, Great Britain needed thousands of ships’ masts for the British navy, so the British Crown claimed all white pine trees over a certain size, even if those trees were on private land.

British officials carved all the large trees with a mark called the King’s Broad Arrow. If a tree was marked with the King’s Broad Arrow it meant colonists were not allowed to cut it down or use it. Instead, the colonists had to turn their white pine trees over to the government, even though they needed the white pine trees themselves to build houses and bridges.

For many years, the people of New Hampshire thought this law was very unfair and resented the British government taking their trees. In 1772, several men living in Goffstown and Weare were caught taking white pine trees to a local sawmill. They were going to use the trees on their farms illegally. After they were caught, some of the men paid the fine for having cut down the trees. But the rest of the men refused to pay the fine and ran the British official out of town in the middle of the night. Eight of the men involved were arrested and put on trial. However, they only had to pay a small fine as punishment instead of serving time in jail.

The event became known as the Pine Tree Riot, and it encouraged the people of New Hampshire to stand up to British rule if it went against the American colonists’ interests.

New Hampshire Committee of Correspondence

In 1772, patriots in New Hampshire formed what was called a committee of correspondence to exchange letters with patriots in the other colonies. Other colonies already had these committees, which shared information about what the British government was doing throughout America.

Through their letters to one another, the committees talked about how the patriots were starting to protest what the British were doing. By keeping in such close contact with one another through the committees of correspondence, the colonies were taking an important first step toward joining together to stand up to the British.

Fort William and Mary

In December 1774, patriot leaders in Boston found out that the British were sending two ships to Fort William and Mary in Portsmouth Harbor. The British wanted to put more soldiers in the fort, and they wanted to take the gunpowder that was stored there because they didn’t want the patriots to use it.

The patriot leaders in Boston sent Paul Revere to ride to Portsmouth and warn the patriot leaders there that a British force was on its way. After getting Revere’s message, patriot leaders in Portsmouth, led by a man named John Sullivan, stormed Fort William and Mary before the British ships arrived. They tied up the few British soldiers already stationed at the fort, and they took all the gunpowder stored there and moved it in case they ever needed it to fight the British.

King George described the raid as a “flagrant outrage,” which means he thought it was a terrible insult to the British Crown. Though local officials investigated the leaders of the raid, no one was charged with a crime because the authority of the British had been weakened by the attack. The British later abandoned the fort during the war.

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Biography

John Sullivan

1740–1795

Caption:

John Sullivan was a well-known general from New Hampshire during the American Revolution. After America won its independence, Sullivan became an important political figure in New Hampshire. In fact, he helped convince the people of New Hampshire to ratify the U.S. Constitution in 1788. Sullivan was born in Somersworth and became a lawyer when he was a young man. When Americans grew unhappy with being ruled by Great Britain, Sullivan supported the patriots. He even led the raid on Fort William and Mary in 1774, when patriots took control of a British fort in Portsmouth. When America and Britain began fighting the American Revolution, Sullivan became a general in the American army. After the American Revolution was over, he became one of New Hampshire’s first governors. When the people of New Hampshire were deciding whether or not to support the new U.S. Constitution, Sullivan used all his influence to convince them that the Constitution created a good system of government for the new country.

Image Credit: Le Major Général Sullivan (1775). Prints, Drawings and Watercolors from the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.

The Wentworth Family

Throughout these years when New Hampshire was coming closer to rebelling against British rule, the royal governor was John Wentworth. He came from an old New Hampshire family, and his uncle Benning Wentworth had been governor before him for many years. The Wentworths represented the British government in New Hampshire, and Governor John Wentworth tried to enforce British laws, which made people angry.

By the spring of 1775, the people of New Hampshire were so angry at the British government that they started ignoring Governor Wentworth. He no longer had any authority over the government in New Hampshire. In the summer of 1775, he fled from Portsmouth with his wife and baby. He never came back to New Hampshire.

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Biography

John Wentworth

1737–1820

Caption:

John Wentworth came from an old, wealthy New Hampshire family. His uncle, Benning Wentworth, was New Hampshire’s first royal governor. In 1767, John became New Hampshire’s second—and last—royal governor. He tried to keep the best interests of New Hampshire and its people in mind. But he was loyal to the king and tried to enforce the British laws, which made people angry. By the spring of 1775, New Hampshire patriots started ignoring Governor Wentworth, and he couldn’t do his job anymore. In the summer of 1775, he fled from Portsmouth with his wife and baby. He never returned to New Hampshire. During the war he lived in New York and then Canada, where he again was a royal governor.

Image Credit: Engraving by Hezekiah Wright Smith after a painting by John Singleton Copley, New Hampshire Historical Society

New Hampshire Constitution

Once Governor Wentworth left New Hampshire, the government was no longer considered to be under British control, but there wasn’t officially any system of government to replace it. The colony’s political leaders decided to create their own governing body, which they called the Provincial Congress. They held their meetings in Exeter, and they elected a president of the congress named Meshech Weare.

In January 1776, the Provincial Congress adopted a written constitution that outlined a new system of government for New Hampshire. The state of New Hampshire would be governed by a legislature that had been elected by the people, and there would be no governor.

New Hampshire was the first of the American colonies to form a new government during the American Revolution, one that didn't include the British. Since the New Hampshire constitution did not mention Great Britain at all or give Great Britain any role in the new government, the people of New Hampshire were declaring their independence. They were now an independent state.

America Declares Independence

Six months later all the colonies followed New Hampshire’s lead and adopted the Declaration of Independence, which announced that they were no longer British colonies but a new, independent country—the United States of America. Three men from New Hampshire signed the Declaration of Independence: Josiah Bartlett, Matthew Thornton, and William Whipple. The colonies were now states, and each state again followed New Hampshire’s lead and wrote a constitution to list the powers of its government. The United States would also write a constitution, although not until several years later.

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Biography

Josiah Bartlett

1728–1795

Caption:

Josiah Bartlett was one of the three signers of the Declaration of Independence from New Hampshire. He was a doctor who lived in Kingston. Bartlett was a patriot and held secret meetings with other patriots in his attic. His house was even burned down once by people who opposed the patriots. He was on the N.H. Committee of Correspondence and was chosen to be in the Continental Congress. He was the second person to sign the Declaration of Independence. After the war, Bartlett continued to work as a doctor and even served as governor of New Hampshire at one point.

Image Credit: Portrait by John Trumbull, 1790, New Hampshire Historical Society

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Biography

Matthew Thornton

1714–1803

Caption:

Matthew Thornton was one of the three signers of the Declaration of Independence from New Hampshire. He was born in Ireland and immigrated with his parents to New England as a young child. He became a doctor and lived in Londonderry. He supported the patriots and was one of the first people to argue that America should not be a British colony. He helped write New Hampshire’s first constitution in January 1776 and was elected president of the New Hampshire Provincial Congress. In September 1776, he was chosen to be in the Continental Congress, and he signed the Declaration of Independence in November 1776. After the war, he was the first president of New Hampshire’s House of Representatives and a judge. He also operated a ferry, called Thorntons Ferry, that took people and goods across the Merrimack River.

Image Credit: Painting by Nahum Ball Onthank, New Hampshire Historical Society

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Biography

William Whipple

1730–1785

Caption:

William Whipple was one of the three signers of the Declaration of Independence from New Hampshire. His father was a sea captain, and as a young man, Whipple went to sea as well, sailing back and forth between the Caribbean and New England, shipping wood, rum, and slaves. Later, he and his brother were successful merchants in Portsmouth. Whipple supported the patriots and was in the Continental Congress. He signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. He was also a general in the New Hampshire militia and commanded troops at an important Revolutionary War battle, the Battle of Saratoga. After the war, he freed his slaves, including Prince Whipple. He also served in the New Hampshire legislature and on the Supreme Court of New Hampshire.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

New Hampshire Fights

What did the British think about the Americans wanting to be independent?

Even before the Americans declared their independence from Great Britain in July 1776, the two sides had begun fighting because the British were not willing to let the Americans go. The Revolutionary War began in April 1775, and the fighting lasted until October 1781. A peace treaty between Britain and America wasn’t signed until September 1783.

Four months after the attack at Fort William and Mary, Paul Revere made his famous ride to warn the people of Concord and Lexington, Massachusetts, that the British were coming. Hundreds of Americans went to fight the British, including men from New Hampshire. Although the battle was over by the time the New Hampshire soldiers got there, they stayed in the area for months afterward and helped the Americans form an army.

From then on, New Hampshire soldiers served in every major battle of the Revolutionary War, from upstate New York to South Carolina. They served in the military throughout the eight years that the war lasted.

There were two battles in which the New Hampshire soldiers played a particularly important part.

The first was the Battle of Bunker Hill, which was fought on June 17, 1775, outside of Boston. More than half of the American soldiers were from New Hampshire, and they were under the command of a man who became New Hampshire’s most famous Revolutionary War general, John Stark.

The New Hampshire troops faced down three waves of attack by a much larger number of British soldiers. The British eventually won the battle, mainly because the Americans ran out of bullets and gunpowder. But the British lost far more men than the Americans had. British leaders began to realize that the Americans might not be as easy to beat as they thought.

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Biography

John Stark

1728–1822

Caption:

John Stark is one of New Hampshire’s most famous military leaders. He was born in Londonderry. He was a farmer, hunter, and trapper. As a young man he was captured by Native Americans and spent about a year living with an Abenaki family in Canada, until he was sent back to New Hampshire. When fighting broke out between the patriots and the British in 1775, he raced to Massachusetts to defend the colonies. He fought in important battles like the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Battle of Trenton, where he helped George Washington. Stark was eventually promoted to general and in 1777 he led New Hampshire troops to victory at the Battle of Bennington. This victory helped save New England from a British invasion. Stark is still known as the “Hero of Bennington.” In 1809 he wrote a letter to some of the soldiers he had served with and used the phrase: “Live free or die; death is not the greatest of evils.” Those words, “Live free or die,” later became the state motto.

Image Credit: Portrait of John Stark by Ulysses Dow Tenney, 1876, Courtesy of the State of New Hampshire

The Battle of Bennington

The second was the Battle of Bennington, which was fought on August 16, 1777, outside of Bennington, Vermont.

John Stark was again in command of the New Hampshire men, who made up most of the American force. They surprised a group of British soldiers who had been sent out to gather food and supplies for a large British army. The Americans won a complete victory over the British troops, which weakened the larger British force.

Two months later, the main British army suffered a massive defeat at the Battle of Saratoga in New York. Stark and his men were at that battle as well, part of a large American army. The British loss at the Battle of Saratoga was the turning point of the war, which means that after that point it looked more and more like the Americans would win the whole thing.

The war went on for several more years, though, before the Americans finally won.

Building Ships

New Hampshire also contributed to the Americans’ military success by building ships.

Portsmouth had a very deep harbor, which allowed skilled craftsmen to build large, oceangoing ships for the new American navy. In fact, the very first ship of the new American navy, the U.S.S. Raleigh, was built in Portsmouth. It is the ship on the New Hampshire state seal.

New Hampshire on the Home Front

What happened in New Hampshire while the war was going on elsewhere?

With so many men from New Hampshire serving with the American military, the people who stayed at home had even more work to do to keep their farms and businesses going. Throughout the war, New Hampshire sent supplies to the American army, things like food, clothing, blankets, bandages, and weapons.

These efforts were organized by committees of safety, which were started in every New Hampshire town and run by the townspeople. The committees of safety also made sure that the soldiers’ families had some support during the war, especially for the families of soldiers who were killed.

Committees of safety were also in charge of making sure that everyone in the towns supported the war. Although most Americans were patriots, there were loyalists throughout the country, who believed that America would be better off to stay under British rule. Many loyalists fled to Canada when the war started, but some stayed and were often treated badly.

In New Hampshire, there were fewer loyalists than elsewhere in America, and they were treated fairly well as long as they didn’t openly support the British.

Freedom Petition

Loyalists weren’t the only ones who questioned the American fight for independence.

In 1779, a group of 20 enslaved people in Portsmouth sent a petition to the state legislature, asking for their freedom. Although slavery was more common in the American South, it existed even in northern states like New Hampshire at this time.

The petition was written by an enslaved man named Nero Brewster, who was a leader in Portsmouth’s African-American community. Brewster argued that if Americans really believed that all men were created equal, as the Declaration of Independence says, then they could not allow slavery to continue and the people enslaved in New Hampshire should be freed.

One of the men who signed the petition was named Prince Whipple. The man who owned him, William Whipple, had signed the Declaration of Independence, representing New Hampshire. But even after signing the Declaration, William Whipple didn’t free people he had enslaved until many years later. Lots of people had a hard time believing that African Americans really were equal at that time. Slavery had never been popular in New Hampshire, though, so there were very few enslaved people in New Hampshire by the American Revolution. The legislature did not want to consider the petition by the enslaved people. Instead, they ignored it.

Although some of the enslaved people did gain their freedom eventually, most of the people who signed the petition remained enslaved for the rest of their lives, even though slavery gradually died out in New Hampshire.

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Biography

Nero Brewster

circa 1711–1786

Caption:

Nero Brewster was born in Africa. He was enslaved as a child and transported to New England. His enslaver was William Brewster, a tavern owner in Portsmouth who was involved in the patriot cause. It was common at that time for enslaved persons to use the last name of their owner. Nero Brewster was a leader in the African American community in Portsmouth, where he was known as “King Nero.” He was the leader of the group of enslaved men who sent a petition to New Hampshire’s government in 1779 asking for their freedom. When Brewster died in 1786, at the age of 75, he was a free man, but there is no record of when he was freed.

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Prince Whipple

circa 1750–1796

Caption:

Prince Whipple and his brother Cuffee were both born in Africa, enslaved as children, and sent to New England. Prince Whipple’s enslaver was William Whipple, a Portsmouth merchant who was a leader of the patriots in New Hampshire. It was common at that time for enslaved persons to use the last name of the slaveholder. Prince Whipple often traveled with William Whipple and was with him in Philadelphia when the Declaration of Independence was signed. He also fought alongside him during important battles of the Revolutionary War, like the Battle of Saratoga. He was one of the enslaved men who signed the freedom petition in 1779. In 1781, Prince Whipple married Dinah Chase, a free black woman, and in 1784, he was freed by William Whipple. Prince, his brother, and their wives Dinah and Rebecca lived in a house in Portsmouth where Dinah and Rebecca opened a school.

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Biography

William Whipple

1730–1785

Caption:

William Whipple was one of the three signers of the Declaration of Independence from New Hampshire. His father was a sea captain, and as a young man, Whipple went to sea as well, sailing back and forth between the Caribbean and New England, shipping wood, rum, and slaves. Later, he and his brother were successful merchants in Portsmouth. Whipple supported the patriots and was in the Continental Congress. He signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. He was also a general in the New Hampshire militia and commanded troops at an important Revolutionary War battle, the Battle of Saratoga. After the war, he freed his slaves, including Prince Whipple. He also served in the New Hampshire legislature and on the Supreme Court of New Hampshire.

Image Credit: New Hampshire Historical Society

War's End

How did the Revolutionary War finally end?

The Americans won a great victory over the British at the Battle of Yorktown in October 1781. After that, most of the fighting stopped. The British were tired of the war and no longer wanted to fight. They decided to let America go. For the first time in history, a group of colonies successfully rebelled against their mother country and formed a new country of their own, the United States of America.

Representatives from the American government and the British government met in Paris, France, in 1783 to agree on terms for peace. The two governments wrote the Treaty of Paris, which stated that Britain no longer claimed America as its own.

The 13 colonies had already come together to declare independence and fight the British, but now they had to form a new government for their country. What kind of government would it be?