The gentry class was defined as a class by its relation to and with the “lower” classes, which mainly consisted of the Indigenous people, the merchants, and the laboring class, both free and enslaved. (Ezra C.)

Holton appears to have a thorough understanding of native communities in the 18th century and the roles they played. He can clearly articulate the influence of politics on various native nations and works at removing the myth that nations were spiritual rather than political by discussing the importance of speeches, peace, & diplomacy as institutional elements across different native cultures and governmental traditions. He also focuses on the communication that is happening among tribes, showing more agency in the period and early elements of globalization among native peoples in the 18th century. (Chiara)

Thomas Jefferson and George Washington realized the importance of wealth and real estate in Virginia. Gentlemen such as Jefferson and Washington's ability to profit from the sale of Western land depended on their entrepreneurial skills and political influence.(Suzanne Ferraro).

The British wanted to limit expansion west which the Native Americans wanted as well to protect their land. For example, Thomas Jefferson, in 1769-1770 ,wanted to buy 17,000 acres of land west of the Appalachians (e.g. Kentucky) for the newly formed government. The Native Americans were focused on strongly defending that land and the British agreed and supported them with policy limiting westward expansion. During the same time the upper Ohioans decided to start an anti-British coalition because British policies prevented them from expanding west which would benefit them economically.(Connor H.)

Many people argued that the Proclamation of 1763 was not actually a cause of the American Revolution, which is worth considering, though it's true that it definitely was something that disposed the gentry and/or speculators against England. (Ezra C.)

Shawnee diplomats urged Northern Ohioan tribes to accept gifts of Wampum under the guise that “All Indians should stick together because they were all members of the same race;” this notion is somewhat different than what was previously assumed by Native Americans in the eighteenth century. Previously, the idea of Native Americans tribes acting as a united front under the guise of being all of the same race was rarely accepted or practiced, but under Shawnee insistence, the transition of tribal to racial identity gave way to Native Americans as a united racial front. (Scarlett).

Holton makes the point of how important land speculation was for revolutionary support in Virginia. Due to increasing restriction by England to move west, such as the Proclamation Line, land speculators weren't allowed to sell land. People were still crossing over and claiming the land, but because speculators couldn't legally obtain the land and sell it, they were no longer able to make a profit. They felt that their land was getting stolen from them and it was in large part due to British policies. - Emma Galvin

One of the biggest reasons as to why England didn't allow westward expansion, was due to how expensive it came to be. Skirmishes were often fought between colonists and Native American tribes, which would cause a great monetary headache for Britain. These skirmishes costed money, especially when developed into wars, such as the French and Indian War. The land was technically Native land, and while England could care less about indigenous sentiment, they did care about saving the most amount of money possible.- Emma Galvin

Holton explains that the revolution could not have been started by the Proclamation of 1763. This was because is was just on paper, denying legal titles. This “opened” the door for colonists to simply ignore the proclamation, leading to an increase in squatters beyond the line. This proclamation did anger the speculators greatly though. - Keller

The threat of the unification of the Native Americans was enough to deter the British and remain steady with their decision to leave Kentucky land alone. They did not want to have to support colonists in another conflict. The colonists were angered again and proceeded to essentially look for a reason to start a conflict, to add Kentucky because of war. - Keller

Land speculation among the Virginia elite was a crucial economic factor in their status as wealthy. The Gentry class would speculate land West of the Appalachian mountains, but the Proclamation Line of 1763 made it so the royal government wouldn’t grant these claims. This made the Gentry mad, because it didn’t stop people from moving to the frontier, just voided their claims on it. - Ewan H

The American Revolution was a tax revolt in some respects. However, it was also a class conflict pitting Virginia tobacco growers against the British merchants. Virginia tobacco growers had to develop a production and export strategy to keep prices high and to protect their income stream. Several people who had debt killed themselves as a result of the pressure of the debt. Colonists viewed debt and British taxes as a form of extreme control and enslavement. This comparison of debt and taxation to enslavement was important to the causation of the American Revolution. (Suzanne Ferraro).

Debt was a significant problem for Virginians like Chiswell, Robinson, and William. They tried different ways to get out of debt like creating a mining company in order to mine lead near the new river on the frontier of Virginia. This was an effort to get them out of debt with Britain and give them some “personal independence.”(Connor H.)

For a while, the Navigation Acts, which imposed strict restrictions on colonial trade,were not criticized publicly by the colonists because they found ways around them. However, they ultimately became a symbol of the financial burden British policies put on the colonists. (Connor H.)

As Holton alludes to, poorer classes tended to be more on board with joining the revolutionary cause. It took upper classes a bit longer to start supporting becoming an independent nation. Once of the biggest reasons in Virginia, was due to the restrictions on how they could make their money. Over the course of the 150 years before the war, the tobacco gentry of Virginia served as the middle man between poorer farmers and British merchants. With the increase of access the poorer farmers had to British merchants, the gentry got cut out. Along with that, the prices of tobacco started to plummet and with increasing taxes, it was hard to pay for the lifestyle they got used to. Land speculation and the restriction on that also attributed to many having debts they couldn't pay, leading many of the upper class to start blaming the British for their problems. -Emma Galvin

Many of the Gentry class of Virginia elites wanted to limit or cut off entirely the Atlantic slave trade into their colony. The price of tobacco had bottomed out in 1772, and there was the idea that if the labor force was limited that the price would go higher. There was also the ever present concern that the slaves, who made up 40% of the population, would revolt. The colonists got denied their wish, as the Atlantic slave trade was making British merchants too much money. - Ewan H

Holton states that nonimportation in the colonies was largely viewed as a domestic manufacturing support effort rather than favoring British merchants across the sea. There was an economic fear of being reliant on British goods—specifically luxury goods—because of claimed moral reasons, but the reality was that British goods caused colonists to go further into debt to afford or even obtain from across the Atlantic. The nonimportation movement was as much an economic bandaid as it was a political power play. (Chiara)

George Mason called on Virginians to boycott a list of British-manufactured items. They tried to explain it as individual frugality. George Mason's nonexportation proposal didn’t win much support. During the next few years, some colonists in both Virginia and Maryland proposed withholding their tobacco to drive up its price. Then, the bubble burst, and tobacco lost nearly half its value. When tobacco farmers could not pay their debts, they were frequently sued. (Suzanne Ferraro).

Virginia gentleman were dependent on luxury goods to maintain their status in society. Even if they were deep in debt, they continued to spend on luxuries. As George Washington said “to live genteelly was to spend money on oneself.” To try to spend more frugally Virginia gentleman communities would sometimes even make agreements to all spend less extravagantly so they took less of a social hit. Unfortunately, if one would “backslide” and start spending, it would trigger a chain reaction and all the others would follow. (Connor H.)

Some of the gentry advocates of the 1769 boycott hoped to not only reduce small farmers' debt loads, but also to knock the lower class down a peg. The availability of consumer goods meant that a gentleman who was incapable of spending too much money was in danger of being overtaken by certain smallholders in terms of having stuff. Many gentlemen were worried this would erase “every Distinction between the Poor and the Rich.” By pausing importation, everyone was temporarily frozen at the current level of gentility, meaning upstarts wouldn't be able to overtake struggling gentry consumers for the moment. (Guy)

The boycott in 1769 applied to many imports, though in practice it seemed to focus more on luxury goods. The thought was it would send a message to Britain as well as help bolster domestic manufacturing in the colonies. Some people at the time also wanted to halt exportation, though at the time that was less supported. The 1774 boycott, by comparison, covered more imports, such as ones that were in day-to-day use, which meant there was a great impact on and message sent to Britain. (Ezra C.)

Fear was a factor in the consideration for Slave tariffs in the colonies on account of slave insurrection plots and the thought of the continued importation of slaves would lead to eventual rise ups and civil war in the colonies, a notion which scared House of Burgesses members. The population on enslaved persons in the Virginia was estimated to exceed freemen by over 1/3 and became a source of tension for the House of Burgesses as they considered how slavery could account for the colony's downfall. (Scarlett).

The first boycott of British goods in 1768-1769 failed to accomplish anything substantial against the crown. It was only the elites participating in the boycott, and they were only not buying the most opulent and expensive things. The second boycott five years later would be much more successful, as the gentry united with smaller farmers to stop spending money on lots of British goods. One of the essential factors in understanding why one failed and the other succeeded is that the first boycott took place during a tobacco boom, whereas the successful boycott took place when the tobacco economy had crashed. - Ewan H

Chapter 4 discusses the economic struggles of Chesapeake tobacco farmers during the American Revolution and the use of a nonexportation strategy to improve tobacco prices. Although nonexportation failed to pressure Parliament to repeal the Coercive Acts, it helped improve the daily lives of Chesapeake tobacco farmers by ending the tobacco glut. Tobacco farmers decided to withhold their crops for a better price, and many Maryland courts delayed creditors' lawsuits, and Virginia courts closed their doors to lawsuits. Higher prices and a lower chance of being sued helped tobacco farmers. (Suzanne Ferraro).

One of the nonexportation strategies considered was the crop-withholding movement. Farmers were initially hesitant to withhold crops because they feared it would just result in them going deeper into debt and being sued. Richard Henry Lee tried to clear this obstacle with a simple solution—close the courts. If you close the courts, then creditors cannot sue debtors. He proposed a motion, which failed and was not adopted by his fellow lawmakers in the House of Burgesses. However, it did not die as it was still recognized as a way to get farmers to withhold crops. The burgesses ultimately found a way to close the courts without having to vote moving the crop-withholding movement forward.(Connor H.)

Tobacco prices dropped in 1773, causing many farmers to not want to sell their crop. Rather than selling their harvested tobacco at the price of 2 pence per pound, they decided to withhold selling it and instead store it till the price of tobacco rose back to the original price. However, this strategy would only work if other farmers stopped selling their tobacco as well. (Hank L.)

Taking collective action in the nonexportation plan did not go according to plan. During the signing of the plan, not only were tobacco farmers from the Chesapeake area taking a hit economically, but so were rice farmers from South Carolina. Though the farmers from the Chesapeake were willing to follow the document, South Carolinians were not. Many rice farmers from South Carolina were still doing well with their crops and did not want to take a hit economically. Because of this, the sale of rice to Great Britain was allowed in the nonexportation plan. (Hank L)

The volatile price of tobacco combined with debt from buying goods or land left many planters in a bad financial situation. This frequently resulted in planters suing merchants or vise versa to recover debts or break contracts. Like planters, Alexander Hamilton sued a lot of individuals. Some county courts protected debtors during the recession by taking their time reviewing the debtors' dockets. This infuriated Hamilton, who basically said he expected greater judgment. (Hannah E.)

Virginia farmers were ordered to stop selling tobacco in August 1775, and they were also prohibited from planting it. This had several reasons, including reducing production and encouraging different crops (like wheat) in support of the opposition to British policy. Those that grew tobacco might switch to wheat, since people were already doing so. (Hannah E.)

An important aspect of the withholding of crops was the fact that tobacco was good to keep. While this posed increased risk for loss, such as fires or improper drying techniques, this allowed a more effective withholding policy. Some farmers were also instructed to not even plant next years' crop as well, while some threatened to drop tobacco altogether, turning to grain. - Keller D.

Though most of the early fighting of the Revolutionary War had been confined to the northern colonies, by October of 1775, the British brought the war to the southern colonies when they attacked Hampton, Virginia. Some slaves saw their chance to escape custody of their owners by offering their aid to the British, including Lord Dunmore, who needed knowledge of the area to fight off the rebels that had gathered to fight the British, including a slave named Harris. Though the Patriots in Virginia would fight the British, one of the key things they wanted was the return of their slaves that were now aiding their enemies. -David Y.

Holton discussed that one of the reasons that pushed many Virginians to become revolutionaries in 1775 was that they were livid with Governor Dunmore for proposing to free enslaved people who joined him to create an army to combat Patriots. This proclamation would be extremely successful among enslaved people, which urged many Virginians to separate themselves from Britain and become Patriots due to fears of slave uprisings. (Lauren)

Holton discusses what turned Virginians from boycotters to revolutionaries. He argues that a large reason was that white Virginians had anger toward the British, specifically Lord Dunmore, for supporting Virginia slaves becoming free in exchange for their loyalty. Many of the white Virginians had become very uneasy about some of their slaves that they had owned, especially after Pontiac's Rebellion, where they saw Indians forming alliances with slaves. There was a fear that there might be a slave revolt in some of the colonies.(Connor H.)

Holton explained that due to the rising racial tensions among white and enslaved Virginians Governor Dunmore was concerned that a large altercation could occur from either side. His response to this concern was to take the gunpowder located in Williamsburg and bring it to a ship. This move of gunpowder alarmed Virginians as they saw it as Dunmore leaving them to be killed in a slave revolt. This would push Virginians to take arms and surround the governor's palace, hoping to force him to give the gunpowder back. (Lauren)

Often Afro-Virginians were the victims of interracial violence, rather than what was believed to be the perpetrators; with a population that was significantly more populated with enslaved persons compared to White colonist, white colonist often held fear over uprisings as enslaved persons retaliated against their treatment. Slave insurrections were especially common during the Seven Years War in what was assumed as allyship with native Americans. (Scarlett).

One thing that I find very interesting is that the Enslaved people would try and run from their farms to get a safe home with the British. Another interesting thing about it was that most of the people who were making it to the British lines were mainly women and children. (Jacob H)

Another thing from this chapter was the only reason that Governor Dunmore wanted to have emancipation if it would help him. He lost a fight with formerly enslaved people that then turned him to want to use them and he was able to grow his militia and build a unit of emancipated slaves. This is very interesting to me because everyone in Virginia was key on keeping slaves then he turned and wanted to take them and give them freedom if they fought for him and that made people upset.(Jacob Hardman)

One of the ways that white Virginians expressed anger with Dunmore was by making jokes he was having relations with black women. They sarcastically referred to the women that joined Dunmore “ladies,” a term they never used in regard to enslaved women. (Guy)

Before Dunmore threatened to liberate the slaves, black laborers convened to talk about ways take advantage on the divide between the whites. This struck me as intriguing and clever, essentially leveraging a separate conflict (rift) kind of viewing it as a vulnerability and using that as position for whites. (Hannah E.)

Many gentlemen during the years of 1774 through 1776 opposed independence and forming their own government. However, numerous gentlemen were afraid of insurrections and anarchy, mainly coming from farmers and lower people. This changed in 1776 when many gentlemen saw that it was time to declare independence based on the idea that it is time for the people to be governed and to live by law. (Hank L.)

At first, there was the thought that the independent volunteer companies, made mostly up of Virginia gentlemen, would supply the army to mobilize for the revolution and also to deal with local insurrections. This changed as the Virginia Convention was concerned that it would cost too much. Instead, it was decided that there would be a small army, and then minutemen who would be paid to train and only be used in emergencies. Many poor farmers filled the regular army slots, but it turned out to be a challenge to recruit the minutemen. Smallholders did not want to become minutemen and actually wanted them to be paid less because the pay disparity created “class” differences. (Connor H.)

To counter this problem, the Third Virginia convention wanted to restrain these independent companies and form up a single large great establishment where officers would be appointed as opposed to elected. As for building up an army, around 1000 slots were offered to poor farmers who can earn a living wage to help them out while they couldn't export their crops. As for forming minutemen battalions, that would prove to be a greater struggle, especially with finding people willing to fight and fearing that they would not have support. -David Y.

In this chapter Holton highlighted the landlord Richard Henry Lee of Fauquier County. Holton explained that Lee and many other landlords still expected their tenants to pay their rents during the Revolutionary War. Holton further explained that tenants forced to pay in paper currency were much more affected by the Revolutionary War than tenants allowed to pay with crops. The tenants who were forced to pay with paper currency were heavily effected by export markets closing due to boycotts. Lee did not want to receive paper currency however, as its value continued to lessen. Instead he wanted to receive payments in gold and silver as the amounts were set. (Lauren) When the New England Restraining Act took effect the first thing to run out was salt. Salt was essential for white Virginian's diets and livestock along with its ability to preserve meat. The lack of salt caused riots in December 1775. (Guy)

The chapter reflects that smallholders and poor whites in Virginia pushed for independence, expecting a new government more amenable to their influence. There was also a concern that the British government’s structure of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy could not be replicated in America. This led to concerns in Virginia, focusing on the legislature's lower house, but there was also a concern that without checks and balances, there would be instability. The idea was that mixed governments produce greater stability. (Suzanne Ferraro).

One conservative population segment worried that independence would bring about unequal property rights. They feared that a more democratic government would lead to an “equal division of property,” undermining the wealth and influence of the elites. Also, conservatives believed the masses lacked the public virtue necessary for self-governance and were easily corrupted. (Suzanne Ferraro).

Holton argues that Virginia gentlemen were worried about abandoning the monarchy and aristocracy to establish their own form of government, where the lower house of the legislature was supreme. According to Holton, they wanted a higher house like the British House of Lords to provide a “check” on the lower house. They worried that the lower house would be “too responsive to the will of the majority of the voters.” Holton also argues that Virginia gentlemen were worried that a legislature that was based on the will of the people would allow for ordinary farmers to gain political power, which then would result in the farmer seizing the land of the rich.(Connor H.)

There is a mention of Virginia smallholders who learned more of independence and its benefits and supported them for the same reasons that gentlemen had opposed the idea of independence. Thomas Paine's work 'Common Sense' , which appeared in 1776, was said to have done more than any other document to equate Independence and republicanism in the minds of the American People. The reason it helped aid Virginian's was that it lead farmers to the idea that Independence was a bridge to the greater say in the internal government of Virginia. -David Y.

Holton ends with the idea that the American Revolution was more than just about freedom and independence. It was about the people involved, including the “Indians, British merchants, smallholders, slaves, and gentlemen” and what their circumstances and interests were at the time. All of these groups, according to Holton, influenced, whether intentional or not, the decision of the colonists to revolt. (Connor H.)