Empire and Liberty

In April 1754, a French expedition from Canada seized a partially built fortress near the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania, igniting a global conflict between Great Britain and France that culminated nine years later with a treaty granting Britain control of all North America. However, the birth of the first British Empire was accompanied by American discontent, as the colonists, steeped in a political philosophy emphasizing liberty and a distrust of power, began to challenge British authority. During the Great War for Empire (1755–1763), the actions of British generals, who exercised sweeping powers under the Crown, exposed Americans to what they perceived as arbitrary power. Embargoes, forced quartering of soldiers, press gangs, and the subordination of colonial political bodies to military authority all clashed with the colonists' belief in their rights as Englishmen. Although the colonists often resisted these measures, there was no legal recourse to limit the power of the British army, fostering a widespread fear of imperial overreach. After the war, unresolved tensions grew more acute as Britain imposed new economic and political restrictions, prompting American leaders to formalize their opposition to British rule. This book examines the impact of the war on American colonies through illustrative examples, highlighting how experiences of British military and imperial authority during this period sowed the seeds of rebellion.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1974.