In The News

Statesville, NC — "Governor Dobbs, the French Indian War and Fort Dobbs" is the subject of the library's next 250th Celebration program Tuesday, May 19, at 6 p.m. Roger Roark, who helped in the construction of the new French and Indian War-era fort, will be discussing the building of both the original and the newly completed fort, Gov. Arthur Dobbs and the strategic significance of Fort Dobbs during the French and Indian War. The State of North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources maintains and operates the area as Fort Dobbs State Historic Site. A newly built visitor center was opened on April 17. Fort Dobbs receives an average of 20,000 visitors a year and is the only historic site in the state related to the French and Indian War. The site is located at 438 Fort Dobbs Road, a little over 3.5 miles from where the library is located at 201 N. Tradd St. So, what does a French and Indian War fort constructed in 1755 and 1756 have to do with a Revolution that doesn’t start until 1775? Everything! The French and Indian War is the root cause for the American Revolution. The French and Indian War takes place in North America between 1754 and 1763 and is basically a war between the French and her Native American allies and Great Britain and her colonies. The war was fought over what parts of North America belonged to Britain and what parts belonged to France. The French claimed ownership of the entire Mississippi River basin, which the British disputed. Then in the early 1750s the French begin building a chain of forts in the Ohio River Valley which the colonists see as a threat. The war’s outbreak can be traced to May 28, 1754, when Lt. Col. George Washington (it would be him) leading Virginia militia attacked a French patrol of 35 French Canadians under the command of Joseph Coulon de Jumonville. Some claim that Washington fired the first shot. In any case, Jumonville was killed and the war began. The French and Indian War is only one part of a larger global war known as the Seven Years’ War between Great Britain and Prussia on one side and France and Austria on the other. Winston Churchill referred to the Seven Years’ War as the “First World War,” as other countries such as Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Russia also became involved. In North America, the British and her colonies were victorious, with Great Britain acquiring nearly all of France’s possessions, including New France (Canada) and all French territory east of the Mississippi River in the Treaty of Paris signed Sept. 3, 1763. The French and Indian War lasted over nine years and the British, who at one point had over 45,000 regular soldiers in North America, lost around 25,000 men including 3,000 regulars, provincial troops, local militia and Native allies. The British national debt doubled because of the cost of the war. The British parliament, attempting to pay down their national debt, began placing taxes on the American colonies such as the Stamp Act and the tax on tea. The colonists reacted with outrage and protest, and both sides grew increasingly argumentative. The British were maintaining an army of 10,000 soldiers in North America partially to protect the colonists. The average American was paying about 1 to 1.5 shillings or about $15 a year in taxes. The average British citizen in England was paying 26 shillings or $400 per year. Economists point out that the Americans had the highest standard of living in the world at that time. Now consider if you were the average British citizen who has no chance of ever owning land the way the Americans do. You’re paying 26 times more in taxes than an American and you lost your son in the war fighting to protect these Americans from their perspective, the Americans were being unreasonable. The Americans pointed out that they had no representation in the British Parliament. They were being taxed without representation or have a say in how they were being governed. The British insisted that taxes had to be paid in British silver or gold coins, which the average American had little of. The Americans were using a barter system of trading goods rather than cash in transactions. Plus, there were no banks to issue coin money. Many of the local officials were resenting the Crown were corrupt. In North Carolina, this anger over local corruption and unfair policies leads to the Enfield Riots in 1759 and finally to the Battle of Alamance in 1771. The anger over taxes and lack of government representation led to the importance of remembering that the desire for independence from the Crown develops over a 20-year period. In the beginning, the Americans were seeking better terms with the British government. They considered themselves to be loyal British citizens and proud to be a part of Great Britain and its over 2,000-year history. It was not uncommon for men in taverns to raise a toast to the King with their mugs. Gradually, though, what began as a dispute with the government considered true liberty, what meant complete separation from Great Britain and the English Crown. Other factors were coming into play as well. In 1775 there were 2.5 million people in America and 7.5 million in England and Wales. England was about the same size as the state of North Carolina, with both being between 48 and 50,000 square miles. America was growing and expanding in size and population, and it was only a matter of time before America would become the more dominant in terms of economy and influence. By the time the war starts, Americans have become a distinct people separated from the places they originated from in Great Britain and Europe.