The Forgotten Foundational Document: The Articles of Association. [15:21]

--> YouTube-Generated Transcript <--
0:04 · as we approach the 250th anniversary of
0:07 · the signing of the Declaration of
0:08 · Independence we putting more focus on
0:10 · America's foundational documents but one
0:12 · of those the articles of Association
0:14 · seems to be very nearly forgotten even
0:16 · though it explains perhaps better than
0:18 · any of the others the political and
0:19 · economic factors that were driving the
0:21 · American colonies to Rebel the articles
0:24 · of Association were passed by the First
0:25 · Continental Congress on October 20th
0:28 · 1774 200 50 years ago today and while
0:32 · often overlooked they are critical part
0:34 · of the story and a window into the
0:36 · colonial mind what would lead the
0:38 · colonies into open Rebellion it is
0:41 · history that deserves to be remembered
0:44 · the First Continental Congress convened
0:46 · on September 5th
0:47 · 1774 the purpose of the Congress which
0:50 · included representatives of 12 of the
0:51 · original 13 colonies with Georgia not
0:54 · sending Representatives was to address
0:56 · grievances that had Arisen over Colonial
0:58 · Administration those grievances had both
1:01 · spurred the December 1773 Boston Tea
1:04 · Party and had been exacerbated by the
1:06 · response by the British government to
1:07 · that event the Congress didn't call for
1:09 · Independence but rather for measures to
1:11 · resolve ongoing disputes the primary
1:14 · goal was to seek repeal of what were
1:16 · called in the United Kingdom the
1:17 · coercive acts and in the United States
1:19 · called The Intolerable Acts these were a
1:22 · series of four acts intended to punish
1:24 · Massachusetts colonists for the Defiance
1:26 · of crown Authority evidence in the
1:27 · Boston Tea Party the Congress issued Ed
1:30 · a petition to the king and passed a
1:31 · declaration and resolves of the First
1:33 · Continental Congress passed on October
1:35 · 14th the Declaration was essentially a
1:37 · list of colonial grievances passed 4
1:40 · days later the articles of Association
1:43 · represented an agreement among the
1:44 · colonies to an economic boycott intended
1:46 · to pressure Parliament and the King into
1:48 · addressing the colony's
1:50 · concerns the call for boycott was not at
1:52 · all new but organized economic
1:54 · resistance required agreement as the
1:56 · office of the historian of the United
1:58 · States Congress explains Merchant
2:00 · communities were reluctant to
2:02 · participate in such a boycott unless
2:03 · they were mutually agreed upon terms and
2:06 · a means to enforce the boycotts
2:07 · provisions boycott required Unity this
2:11 · is in itself significant while there was
2:13 · unrest in many places in the colonies
2:15 · there had previously been little Unity
2:17 · of cause the First Continental Congress
2:20 · represented an early attempt to
2:21 · coordinate a colonial response to
2:23 · grievances but it was the need for
2:25 · agreement in order to enforce boycott
2:27 · which at the time was really the only
2:29 · way for the col to pressure Parliament
2:30 · and the King that transformed the
2:32 · disperate complaints into a unified
2:35 · cause the Continental Association was
2:37 · not only important for the boycott that
2:39 · it desired but because it represented an
2:41 · actual Association perhaps the First
2:44 · Nation example of the United States of
2:47 · America the Continental Association was
2:50 · intended as an economic sanction much as
2:52 · Nations still use today to try to compel
2:54 · the behaviors of other nations but the
2:56 · details in this lesser known document of
2:58 · the Revolution are very telling as to
3:00 · the true drivers of the Patriots cause
3:02 · even though the goal at the time was Far
3:04 · short of revolution in fact the very
3:06 · first words of the document are we his
3:09 · Majesty's most loyal subjects and to
3:11 · devow our allegiance to his majesty our
3:14 · affection and regard for our fellow
3:15 · subjects in Great Britain and elsewhere
3:18 · the association was presented in the
3:20 · form of 14 agreements that the
3:22 · inhabitants of the several colonies whom
3:23 · we represent firmly agree and Associate
3:26 · under the sacred ties of virtue honor
3:28 · and love of our country
3:30 · The First Agreement was the boycott
3:32 · itself an agreement not to import any
3:34 · Goods wees or merchandise whatsoever
3:36 · from Great Britain or irand as well as
3:38 · goods from elsewhere in the Empire
3:40 · beginning on the 1st of December the
3:42 · association specified some Goods to
3:44 · apparently both make their boycott
3:46 · explicit and to demonstrate to the crown
3:47 · the potential economic impact notably in
3:50 · the third agreement from this day we
3:52 · will not purchase or use any tea
3:55 · imported on account of the East India
3:57 · Company this was of course a reference
3:59 · to the Boston Tea Party and an
4:01 · opposition to attack specifically on tea
4:03 · and a complaint that the crown had given
4:05 · the East India Company a monopoly on tea
4:07 · sales to the American colonies but there
4:09 · was another intent here Britain was
4:12 · desperate to sell the East India
4:14 · companies tea while the British East
4:16 · India Company was a private company it
4:18 · was hugely indebted to the British
4:20 · government the company was facing a
4:22 · crisis on multiple levels including
4:24 · political turmoil in India an
4:26 · overvaluation of company stock that
4:28 · resulted in a financial crash in 1769
4:31 · and a global reduction in the demand for
4:32 · the company's most important export
4:34 · product T the company had a glut of both
4:38 · debt and tea and the crown to save the
4:42 · company and protect the debt the company
4:43 · owed to it really really needed to sell
4:47 · that tea the Boston Tea part is
4:50 · generally seen as a tax protest a
4:52 · complaint that the British attempt to
4:53 · ditch cheap Indian tea in America was a
4:55 · ruse to get the colonies to accept the
4:57 · Townson duties but there was more it the
5:00 · tea was of particular economic
5:02 · importance to the Empire part of the
5:04 · Empire that the British likely valued
5:06 · even more than the American colonies
5:08 · themselves the tea party and the boycott
5:11 · of East India Company tea was not just a
5:13 · tax protest but economic Warfare based
5:16 · on the understanding that America was
5:17 · part of a broader Empire and could
5:20 · economically damage that Empire we were
5:23 · kicking George III right in the tea
5:26 · kettle where we knew it would hurt and
5:28 · more peculiarly has given an agreement
5:30 · eight which essentially banned
5:32 · entertainment from shows and plays to
5:34 · horse racing and cockfighting to buying
5:36 · nice clothes for a funeral there were
5:38 · multiple motives here including
5:40 · portraying British culture as frivolous
5:41 · and corrupt but there was also the
5:43 · motive of Simply being Frugal an
5:45 · agreement that frugality was needed to
5:47 · endure the boycott of British goods the
5:49 · fourth agreement was if issues were not
5:51 · resolved to likewise refuse to export
5:54 · goods or Commodities to Great Britain or
5:56 · Ireland however in the earnest desire we
5:58 · have not to injure our our fellow
6:00 · subjects in Great Britain Ireland or the
6:01 · West Indies the restriction on exports
6:04 · would not begin until 10 September
6:07 · 1775 so why the gap between Banning
6:10 · Imports and banning exports well on face
6:12 · there was a selfish reason well both
6:14 · banss would hurt the colonies as well as
6:16 · the crown Banning Imports would
6:17 · obviously hurt British merchants more
6:20 · while Banning exports would deny
6:21 · American Merchants business but the
6:23 · difference reaches to something more
6:24 · fundamental the association had goals
6:27 · beyond the repeal of the Intolerable
6:28 · Acts among them to allow the colonies to
6:31 · develop an economy less dependent on
6:33 · Great Britain in fact the Continental
6:36 · Association was based on a series of
6:37 · agreements made in Virginia 5 years
6:39 · previously called the Virginia
6:41 · Association these agreements were
6:43 · presented as an economic sanction
6:44 · against a set of taxes imposed by
6:46 · Britain called the towns and duties but
6:48 · they had a deeper motive George
6:50 · Washington a large Plantation owner who
6:52 · had served in the British army during
6:53 · the French and Indian War originally
6:55 · proposed the idea to fellow planter
6:57 · George Mason the resolves Pres written
7:00 · by Mason were introduced into the
7:01 · Virginia House of Burgesses by
7:03 · Washington in many ways the resolves
7:05 · were no surprise they argued against the
7:07 · Townson duties and suggestion by the
7:08 · king that American citizens could be
7:10 · taken to Britain for trial the boycott
7:12 · was not described as an attempt to
7:14 · injure the Empire so much as an attempt
7:15 · to demonstrate to the crown the economic
7:17 · importance of Virginia but left out of
7:20 · the document another point was argued
7:22 · before the House of Burgesses Washington
7:25 · argued that the boycott might actually
7:26 · be beneficial to the American economy or
7:28 · at least that the benefits would
7:29 · outweigh the costs an issue was the lack
7:32 · of colonial manufacturing the issue had
7:34 · become more acute because there had been
7:36 · a series of poor harvests in Virginia
7:38 · but also because of price fluctuations
7:40 · in their most important cash crop
7:42 · tobacco this had caused suffering among
7:44 · the planter class which was then
7:46 · exacerbated by the new taxation in the
7:48 · boycott Washington and Mason saw an
7:50 · opportunity to reduce dependence upon
7:52 · British manufactured goods thus
7:54 · encouraging the development of domestic
7:55 · manufacturing and diversifying the
7:57 · economy the goal of boycott was not just
7:59 · to pressure the British government over
8:01 · policy but also to help the development
8:04 · of local
8:05 · industry and this ties to one of the
8:07 · most surprising agreements in the
8:09 · Continental Association brought over
8:11 · from the Virginia Association the second
8:13 · agreement that we will neither import
8:16 · nor purchase any slave part of this was
8:19 · purely economic coercion the importation
8:22 · of enslaved people from Africa was an
8:23 · important business in the United Kingdom
8:25 · and critical to the operation of
8:26 · plantations in other British colonies
8:29 · was probably political an attempt to
8:31 · shift moral responsibility for the trade
8:33 · to the British but a significant
8:35 · motivation was diversification of the
8:37 · American economy historian Bruce
8:39 · Ragsdale explained in his 1996 book a
8:42 · planter Republic the search for economic
8:44 · independence in Revolutionary Virginia
8:46 · reduced tobacco cultivation and an end
8:48 · to slave purchases would provide the
8:50 · capital and labor to the development of
8:52 · Home manufacturers and indued British
8:54 · manufacturers to settle in Virginia to
8:57 · Washington the importation of slaves
8:58 · contributed to the dependence of
8:59 · Virginia on the tobacco trade preventing
9:02 · the economy from
9:04 · diversifying the idea that the
9:05 · association was not just an economic
9:07 · boycott but an attempt to diversify the
9:09 · American economy was further Illustrated
9:10 · in the seventh agreement we will use our
9:13 · utmost Endeavors to improve the breed of
9:15 · sheep and increased their number to the
9:17 · greatest extent us was dependent upon
9:20 · English wool and the agreement which
9:22 · banned the sale of us sheep to foreign
9:23 · entities and tried to kill them as
9:26 · sparingly as may be was clearly designed
9:28 · not so much to harm Britain economically
9:30 · as to develop American
9:32 · industry while many of the 14 agreements
9:34 · were designed around enforcing the
9:36 · boycott the 14th agreement and we do
9:39 · further agree and resolve that we will
9:41 · have no trade Commerce dealings or
9:43 · intercourse whatsoever with any Colony
9:46 · or province in North America which shall
9:47 · not accede to or shall not Hereafter
9:49 · violate this Association it's very
9:52 · important put simply any of the American
9:55 · colonies who did not fully participate
9:57 · in the boycott would face boy cot of its
10:00 · own this was a practical necessity the
10:03 · Virginia Association had largely failed
10:05 · because some Merchants refused to
10:06 · participate but while the Continental
10:08 · Association demonstrated that the
10:10 · original complaint was based on
10:11 · practical economic goals it was the need
10:14 · for Unity in order to make economic
10:16 · sanctions effective that brought
10:17 · together the American cause the British
10:20 · response would further Galvanize
10:21 · Colonial opposition but it was this
10:23 · drive for Unity that would slowly
10:25 · transform economic grievances into a
10:27 · revolutionary cause rather idea such as
10:30 · taxation without representation and the
10:31 · ideals expressed in the Declaration of
10:33 · Independence that all men are created
10:35 · equal they weren't so much its original
10:38 · cause but the result of the response to
10:40 · much more practical and less idealistic
10:43 · economic concerns which itself uncovers
10:46 · another truth we tend to see the
10:47 · American Revolution in local terms but
10:49 · it was largely the result of world
10:51 · events between 1756 and 1763 there had
10:55 · been a global conflict of Empire called
10:57 · the Seven Years War the American Theater
10:59 · of the war had been the French and
11:00 · Indian War in which American colonists
11:02 · and British Red Coats had fought side by
11:04 · side the war had resulted in Victory for
11:06 · Britain around the world but
11:08 · particularly in North America where
11:09 · Britain had acquired control of Canada
11:12 · but the victory came at Great cost the
11:13 · British government was left with a
11:15 · massive amount of debt the greatest in
11:17 · its history meanwhile the American
11:19 · colonies faced a significant recession
11:20 · following the war owing to the sudden
11:22 · decrease of wartime demand that taxes
11:25 · had become such a bone of contention was
11:27 · largely a British attempt to coup costs
11:30 · and pay debts but Americans were in a
11:33 · poor position to pay more and the taxes
11:35 · exacerbated the already difficult
11:37 · economic conditions but there was more
11:40 · freedom from global war allowed the
11:41 · British to more strictly enforce tariffs
11:43 · and restriction of foreign trade that
11:44 · had been previously largely ignored
11:46 · American Merchants were faced with the
11:48 · double whammy of decreased trade due to
11:50 · the end of the war and greater
11:51 · restriction on tradeability the debt
11:54 · caused stress upon the economic system
11:55 · uncovering flaws in the British banking
11:57 · system which then resulted in a
11:59 · Financial collapse in London in 1772
12:01 · that spread around the continent the
12:03 · debt drove further banking regulations
12:05 · in the United Kingdom that then impacted
12:06 · the ability for British firms to advance
12:08 · credit to Americans something that
12:10 · notably affected trade in cotton in the
12:12 · South as the economy tightened in
12:15 · England in response to the debt Banks
12:16 · called in debts but American businessmen
12:19 · especially in the South lacked hard
12:20 · currency their wealth tied up in land
12:22 · and enslaved people this not only
12:24 · disrupted trade it caused more economic
12:26 · hardship and thus more resistance to
12:28 · taxation
12:29 · in London Bank collapses and
12:31 · bankruptcies dramatically increased
12:32 · putting more financial strain on the
12:34 · system what has been described as the
12:36 · world's first International credit
12:38 · crisis caused recession which among
12:40 · other things caused a decrease in the
12:42 · world demand for tea in many ways the
12:45 · Grievances that drove resistance in
12:47 · America were part of a broader worldwide
12:50 · economic
12:51 · downturn as a final note the Continental
12:53 · Congress had rejected a compromise the
12:56 · plan of Union offered by Pennsylvanian
12:57 · Joseph Galloway the plan would
12:59 · essentially have created a subordinate
13:01 · American Parliament called the Grand
13:02 · Council it isn't clear if Britain would
13:04 · have accepted such a proposal but the
13:06 · Continental Congress did not tbling the
13:09 · motion and choosing the more radical
13:10 · move of economic boycott Galloway and
13:13 · other moderates were disappointed
13:15 · Galloway so much so that he would side
13:16 · with the British as a loyalist following
13:18 · the Declaration of Independence and
13:19 · finally relocate to Great Britain that
13:22 · is to say even his Majesty's most loyal
13:24 · subjects were already drawing the lines
13:26 · between Patriot and Loyalist that Civil
13:30 · War that was also part of the war for
13:32 · independence the forces that drove
13:34 · America Into Revolution were far more
13:36 · complex than Give me liberty or give me
13:39 · death as we consider our foundational
13:41 · documents the articles of association
13:43 · should be remembered alongside the
13:44 · Declaration of Independence they
13:47 · shouldn't be forgotten they remind us
13:49 · that our original cause was much more
13:51 · economic and practical than it was
13:54 · idealistic and philosophical they show
13:57 · us that America was as interested in
13:59 · developing its own economy as it was in
14:01 · fighting taxation they help us
14:04 · understand the Revolutionary cause in
14:06 · the context of broader world events
14:08 · rather than just as a local political
14:11 · issue and they show us how the disperate
14:14 · colonies were first brought together to
14:17 · eventually become States United and they
14:21 · raise an interesting question was
14:24 · Revolution already inevitable
14:29 · I hope you enjoyed watching this episode
14:31 · of the history guy and if you did please
14:32 · feel free to like And subscribe and
14:34 · share the history guy with your friends
14:36 · and if you also believe that history
14:37 · deserves to be remembered then you can
14:39 · support the history guy as a member on
14:41 · YouTube a supporter on our community and
14:44 · locals or as a patron on patreon you can
14:47 · also check out our great merchandise
14:49 · shop for book a special message from the
14:50 · history guy on cameo
14:54 · [Applause]
14:57 · [Music]
14:59 · go
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--> YouTube-Generated Transcript <--
0:04	·	as we approach the 250th anniversary of
0:07	·	the signing of the Declaration of
0:08	·	Independence we putting more focus on
0:10	·	America's foundational documents but one
0:12	·	of those the articles of Association
0:14	·	seems to be very nearly forgotten even
0:16	·	though it explains perhaps better than
0:18	·	any of the others the political and
0:19	·	economic factors that were driving the
0:21	·	American colonies to Rebel the articles
0:24	·	of Association were passed by the First
0:25	·	Continental Congress on October 20th
0:28	·	1774 200 50 years ago today and while
0:32	·	often overlooked they are critical part
0:34	·	of the story and a window into the
0:36	·	colonial mind what would lead the
0:38	·	colonies into open Rebellion it is
0:41	·	history that deserves to be remembered
0:44	·	the First Continental Congress convened
0:46	·	on September 5th
0:47	·	1774 the purpose of the Congress which
0:50	·	included representatives of 12 of the
0:51	·	original 13 colonies with Georgia not
0:54	·	sending Representatives was to address
0:56	·	grievances that had Arisen over Colonial
0:58	·	Administration those grievances had both
1:01	·	spurred the December 1773 Boston Tea
1:04	·	Party and had been exacerbated by the
1:06	·	response by the British government to
1:07	·	that event the Congress didn't call for
1:09	·	Independence but rather for measures to
1:11	·	resolve ongoing disputes the primary
1:14	·	goal was to seek repeal of what were
1:16	·	called in the United Kingdom the
1:17	·	coercive acts and in the United States
1:19	·	called The Intolerable Acts these were a
1:22	·	series of four acts intended to punish
1:24	·	Massachusetts colonists for the Defiance
1:26	·	of crown Authority evidence in the
1:27	·	Boston Tea Party the Congress issued Ed
1:30	·	a petition to the king and passed a
1:31	·	declaration and resolves of the First
1:33	·	Continental Congress passed on October
1:35	·	14th the Declaration was essentially a
1:37	·	list of colonial grievances passed 4
1:40	·	days later the articles of Association
1:43	·	represented an agreement among the
1:44	·	colonies to an economic boycott intended
1:46	·	to pressure Parliament and the King into
1:48	·	addressing the colony's
1:50	·	concerns the call for boycott was not at
1:52	·	all new but organized economic
1:54	·	resistance required agreement as the
1:56	·	office of the historian of the United
1:58	·	States Congress explains Merchant
2:00	·	communities were reluctant to
2:02	·	participate in such a boycott unless
2:03	·	they were mutually agreed upon terms and
2:06	·	a means to enforce the boycotts
2:07	·	provisions boycott required Unity this
2:11	·	is in itself significant while there was
2:13	·	unrest in many places in the colonies
2:15	·	there had previously been little Unity
2:17	·	of cause the First Continental Congress
2:20	·	represented an early attempt to
2:21	·	coordinate a colonial response to
2:23	·	grievances but it was the need for
2:25	·	agreement in order to enforce boycott
2:27	·	which at the time was really the only
2:29	·	way for the col to pressure Parliament
2:30	·	and the King that transformed the
2:32	·	disperate complaints into a unified
2:35	·	cause the Continental Association was
2:37	·	not only important for the boycott that
2:39	·	it desired but because it represented an
2:41	·	actual Association perhaps the First
2:44	·	Nation example of the United States of
2:47	·	America the Continental Association was
2:50	·	intended as an economic sanction much as
2:52	·	Nations still use today to try to compel
2:54	·	the behaviors of other nations but the
2:56	·	details in this lesser known document of
2:58	·	the Revolution are very telling as to
3:00	·	the true drivers of the Patriots cause
3:02	·	even though the goal at the time was Far
3:04	·	short of revolution in fact the very
3:06	·	first words of the document are we his
3:09	·	Majesty's most loyal subjects and to
3:11	·	devow our allegiance to his majesty our
3:14	·	affection and regard for our fellow
3:15	·	subjects in Great Britain and elsewhere
3:18	·	the association was presented in the
3:20	·	form of 14 agreements that the
3:22	·	inhabitants of the several colonies whom
3:23	·	we represent firmly agree and Associate
3:26	·	under the sacred ties of virtue honor
3:28	·	and love of our country
3:30	·	The First Agreement was the boycott
3:32	·	itself an agreement not to import any
3:34	·	Goods wees or merchandise whatsoever
3:36	·	from Great Britain or irand as well as
3:38	·	goods from elsewhere in the Empire
3:40	·	beginning on the 1st of December the
3:42	·	association specified some Goods to
3:44	·	apparently both make their boycott
3:46	·	explicit and to demonstrate to the crown
3:47	·	the potential economic impact notably in
3:50	·	the third agreement from this day we
3:52	·	will not purchase or use any tea
3:55	·	imported on account of the East India
3:57	·	Company this was of course a reference
3:59	·	to the Boston Tea Party and an
4:01	·	opposition to attack specifically on tea
4:03	·	and a complaint that the crown had given
4:05	·	the East India Company a monopoly on tea
4:07	·	sales to the American colonies but there
4:09	·	was another intent here Britain was
4:12	·	desperate to sell the East India
4:14	·	companies tea while the British East
4:16	·	India Company was a private company it
4:18	·	was hugely indebted to the British
4:20	·	government the company was facing a
4:22	·	crisis on multiple levels including
4:24	·	political turmoil in India an
4:26	·	overvaluation of company stock that
4:28	·	resulted in a financial crash in 1769
4:31	·	and a global reduction in the demand for
4:32	·	the company's most important export
4:34	·	product T the company had a glut of both
4:38	·	debt and tea and the crown to save the
4:42	·	company and protect the debt the company
4:43	·	owed to it really really needed to sell
4:47	·	that tea the Boston Tea part is
4:50	·	generally seen as a tax protest a
4:52	·	complaint that the British attempt to
4:53	·	ditch cheap Indian tea in America was a
4:55	·	ruse to get the colonies to accept the
4:57	·	Townson duties but there was more it the
5:00	·	tea was of particular economic
5:02	·	importance to the Empire part of the
5:04	·	Empire that the British likely valued
5:06	·	even more than the American colonies
5:08	·	themselves the tea party and the boycott
5:11	·	of East India Company tea was not just a
5:13	·	tax protest but economic Warfare based
5:16	·	on the understanding that America was
5:17	·	part of a broader Empire and could
5:20	·	economically damage that Empire we were
5:23	·	kicking George III right in the tea
5:26	·	kettle where we knew it would hurt and
5:28	·	more peculiarly has given an agreement
5:30	·	eight which essentially banned
5:32	·	entertainment from shows and plays to
5:34	·	horse racing and cockfighting to buying
5:36	·	nice clothes for a funeral there were
5:38	·	multiple motives here including
5:40	·	portraying British culture as frivolous
5:41	·	and corrupt but there was also the
5:43	·	motive of Simply being Frugal an
5:45	·	agreement that frugality was needed to
5:47	·	endure the boycott of British goods the
5:49	·	fourth agreement was if issues were not
5:51	·	resolved to likewise refuse to export
5:54	·	goods or Commodities to Great Britain or
5:56	·	Ireland however in the earnest desire we
5:58	·	have not to injure our our fellow
6:00	·	subjects in Great Britain Ireland or the
6:01	·	West Indies the restriction on exports
6:04	·	would not begin until 10 September
6:07	·	1775 so why the gap between Banning
6:10	·	Imports and banning exports well on face
6:12	·	there was a selfish reason well both
6:14	·	banss would hurt the colonies as well as
6:16	·	the crown Banning Imports would
6:17	·	obviously hurt British merchants more
6:20	·	while Banning exports would deny
6:21	·	American Merchants business but the
6:23	·	difference reaches to something more
6:24	·	fundamental the association had goals
6:27	·	beyond the repeal of the Intolerable
6:28	·	Acts among them to allow the colonies to
6:31	·	develop an economy less dependent on
6:33	·	Great Britain in fact the Continental
6:36	·	Association was based on a series of
6:37	·	agreements made in Virginia 5 years
6:39	·	previously called the Virginia
6:41	·	Association these agreements were
6:43	·	presented as an economic sanction
6:44	·	against a set of taxes imposed by
6:46	·	Britain called the towns and duties but
6:48	·	they had a deeper motive George
6:50	·	Washington a large Plantation owner who
6:52	·	had served in the British army during
6:53	·	the French and Indian War originally
6:55	·	proposed the idea to fellow planter
6:57	·	George Mason the resolves Pres written
7:00	·	by Mason were introduced into the
7:01	·	Virginia House of Burgesses by
7:03	·	Washington in many ways the resolves
7:05	·	were no surprise they argued against the
7:07	·	Townson duties and suggestion by the
7:08	·	king that American citizens could be
7:10	·	taken to Britain for trial the boycott
7:12	·	was not described as an attempt to
7:14	·	injure the Empire so much as an attempt
7:15	·	to demonstrate to the crown the economic
7:17	·	importance of Virginia but left out of
7:20	·	the document another point was argued
7:22	·	before the House of Burgesses Washington
7:25	·	argued that the boycott might actually
7:26	·	be beneficial to the American economy or
7:28	·	at least that the benefits would
7:29	·	outweigh the costs an issue was the lack
7:32	·	of colonial manufacturing the issue had
7:34	·	become more acute because there had been
7:36	·	a series of poor harvests in Virginia
7:38	·	but also because of price fluctuations
7:40	·	in their most important cash crop
7:42	·	tobacco this had caused suffering among
7:44	·	the planter class which was then
7:46	·	exacerbated by the new taxation in the
7:48	·	boycott Washington and Mason saw an
7:50	·	opportunity to reduce dependence upon
7:52	·	British manufactured goods thus
7:54	·	encouraging the development of domestic
7:55	·	manufacturing and diversifying the
7:57	·	economy the goal of boycott was not just
7:59	·	to pressure the British government over
8:01	·	policy but also to help the development
8:04	·	of local
8:05	·	industry and this ties to one of the
8:07	·	most surprising agreements in the
8:09	·	Continental Association brought over
8:11	·	from the Virginia Association the second
8:13	·	agreement that we will neither import
8:16	·	nor purchase any slave part of this was
8:19	·	purely economic coercion the importation
8:22	·	of enslaved people from Africa was an
8:23	·	important business in the United Kingdom
8:25	·	and critical to the operation of
8:26	·	plantations in other British colonies
8:29	·	was probably political an attempt to
8:31	·	shift moral responsibility for the trade
8:33	·	to the British but a significant
8:35	·	motivation was diversification of the
8:37	·	American economy historian Bruce
8:39	·	Ragsdale explained in his 1996 book a
8:42	·	planter Republic the search for economic
8:44	·	independence in Revolutionary Virginia
8:46	·	reduced tobacco cultivation and an end
8:48	·	to slave purchases would provide the
8:50	·	capital and labor to the development of
8:52	·	Home manufacturers and indued British
8:54	·	manufacturers to settle in Virginia to
8:57	·	Washington the importation of slaves
8:58	·	contributed to the dependence of
8:59	·	Virginia on the tobacco trade preventing
9:02	·	the economy from
9:04	·	diversifying the idea that the
9:05	·	association was not just an economic
9:07	·	boycott but an attempt to diversify the
9:09	·	American economy was further Illustrated
9:10	·	in the seventh agreement we will use our
9:13	·	utmost Endeavors to improve the breed of
9:15	·	sheep and increased their number to the
9:17	·	greatest extent us was dependent upon
9:20	·	English wool and the agreement which
9:22	·	banned the sale of us sheep to foreign
9:23	·	entities and tried to kill them as
9:26	·	sparingly as may be was clearly designed
9:28	·	not so much to harm Britain economically
9:30	·	as to develop American
9:32	·	industry while many of the 14 agreements
9:34	·	were designed around enforcing the
9:36	·	boycott the 14th agreement and we do
9:39	·	further agree and resolve that we will
9:41	·	have no trade Commerce dealings or
9:43	·	intercourse whatsoever with any Colony
9:46	·	or province in North America which shall
9:47	·	not accede to or shall not Hereafter
9:49	·	violate this Association it's very
9:52	·	important put simply any of the American
9:55	·	colonies who did not fully participate
9:57	·	in the boycott would face boy cot of its
10:00	·	own this was a practical necessity the
10:03	·	Virginia Association had largely failed
10:05	·	because some Merchants refused to
10:06	·	participate but while the Continental
10:08	·	Association demonstrated that the
10:10	·	original complaint was based on
10:11	·	practical economic goals it was the need
10:14	·	for Unity in order to make economic
10:16	·	sanctions effective that brought
10:17	·	together the American cause the British
10:20	·	response would further Galvanize
10:21	·	Colonial opposition but it was this
10:23	·	drive for Unity that would slowly
10:25	·	transform economic grievances into a
10:27	·	revolutionary cause rather idea such as
10:30	·	taxation without representation and the
10:31	·	ideals expressed in the Declaration of
10:33	·	Independence that all men are created
10:35	·	equal they weren't so much its original
10:38	·	cause but the result of the response to
10:40	·	much more practical and less idealistic
10:43	·	economic concerns which itself uncovers
10:46	·	another truth we tend to see the
10:47	·	American Revolution in local terms but
10:49	·	it was largely the result of world
10:51	·	events between 1756 and 1763 there had
10:55	·	been a global conflict of Empire called
10:57	·	the Seven Years War the American Theater
10:59	·	of the war had been the French and
11:00	·	Indian War in which American colonists
11:02	·	and British Red Coats had fought side by
11:04	·	side the war had resulted in Victory for
11:06	·	Britain around the world but
11:08	·	particularly in North America where
11:09	·	Britain had acquired control of Canada
11:12	·	but the victory came at Great cost the
11:13	·	British government was left with a
11:15	·	massive amount of debt the greatest in
11:17	·	its history meanwhile the American
11:19	·	colonies faced a significant recession
11:20	·	following the war owing to the sudden
11:22	·	decrease of wartime demand that taxes
11:25	·	had become such a bone of contention was
11:27	·	largely a British attempt to coup costs
11:30	·	and pay debts but Americans were in a
11:33	·	poor position to pay more and the taxes
11:35	·	exacerbated the already difficult
11:37	·	economic conditions but there was more
11:40	·	freedom from global war allowed the
11:41	·	British to more strictly enforce tariffs
11:43	·	and restriction of foreign trade that
11:44	·	had been previously largely ignored
11:46	·	American Merchants were faced with the
11:48	·	double whammy of decreased trade due to
11:50	·	the end of the war and greater
11:51	·	restriction on tradeability the debt
11:54	·	caused stress upon the economic system
11:55	·	uncovering flaws in the British banking
11:57	·	system which then resulted in a
11:59	·	Financial collapse in London in 1772
12:01	·	that spread around the continent the
12:03	·	debt drove further banking regulations
12:05	·	in the United Kingdom that then impacted
12:06	·	the ability for British firms to advance
12:08	·	credit to Americans something that
12:10	·	notably affected trade in cotton in the
12:12	·	South as the economy tightened in
12:15	·	England in response to the debt Banks
12:16	·	called in debts but American businessmen
12:19	·	especially in the South lacked hard
12:20	·	currency their wealth tied up in land
12:22	·	and enslaved people this not only
12:24	·	disrupted trade it caused more economic
12:26	·	hardship and thus more resistance to
12:28	·	taxation
12:29	·	in London Bank collapses and
12:31	·	bankruptcies dramatically increased
12:32	·	putting more financial strain on the
12:34	·	system what has been described as the
12:36	·	world's first International credit
12:38	·	crisis caused recession which among
12:40	·	other things caused a decrease in the
12:42	·	world demand for tea in many ways the
12:45	·	Grievances that drove resistance in
12:47	·	America were part of a broader worldwide
12:50	·	economic
12:51	·	downturn as a final note the Continental
12:53	·	Congress had rejected a compromise the
12:56	·	plan of Union offered by Pennsylvanian
12:57	·	Joseph Galloway the plan would
12:59	·	essentially have created a subordinate
13:01	·	American Parliament called the Grand
13:02	·	Council it isn't clear if Britain would
13:04	·	have accepted such a proposal but the
13:06	·	Continental Congress did not tbling the
13:09	·	motion and choosing the more radical
13:10	·	move of economic boycott Galloway and
13:13	·	other moderates were disappointed
13:15	·	Galloway so much so that he would side
13:16	·	with the British as a loyalist following
13:18	·	the Declaration of Independence and
13:19	·	finally relocate to Great Britain that
13:22	·	is to say even his Majesty's most loyal
13:24	·	subjects were already drawing the lines
13:26	·	between Patriot and Loyalist that Civil
13:30	·	War that was also part of the war for
13:32	·	independence the forces that drove
13:34	·	America Into Revolution were far more
13:36	·	complex than Give me liberty or give me
13:39	·	death as we consider our foundational
13:41	·	documents the articles of association
13:43	·	should be remembered alongside the
13:44	·	Declaration of Independence they
13:47	·	shouldn't be forgotten they remind us
13:49	·	that our original cause was much more
13:51	·	economic and practical than it was
13:54	·	idealistic and philosophical they show
13:57	·	us that America was as interested in
13:59	·	developing its own economy as it was in
14:01	·	fighting taxation they help us
14:04	·	understand the Revolutionary cause in
14:06	·	the context of broader world events
14:08	·	rather than just as a local political
14:11	·	issue and they show us how the disperate
14:14	·	colonies were first brought together to
14:17	·	eventually become States United and they
14:21	·	raise an interesting question was
14:24	·	Revolution already inevitable
14:29	·	I hope you enjoyed watching this episode
14:31	·	of the history guy and if you did please
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14:54	·	[Applause]
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14:59	·	go
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