The American Revolution

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The American Revolution

• 1775-1783

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Second Continental Congress

• All 13 colonies present -- delegates still not
  interested in independence but voicing grievances
• George Washington chosen to head the continental
  army

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Declaration of the Causes Necessity of Taking
Up Arms

• 2nd draft of appeals and grievances to the king
  and the British people
• A step toward the Declaration of Independence
• Adopted measures to raise money and to create an
  army and a navy

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Olive Branch Petition

• Last effort to prevent war
• Professed loyalty to the crown sought to restore
  peace
• Appealed the king and Parliament to reconsider
  the Intolerable Acts
• Result the king refused to recognize Congress
  and the war raged on

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Early Battles
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Ticonderoga and Crown Point -- May 1775 --

• Tiny forces under Ethan Allen and his Green
  Mountain Boys of Vermont Benedict Arnold of
  Connecticut surprised captured British
  garrisons

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Bunker Hill June 17, 1775

• Colonials seized Breed's Hill now they
  commanded a strong position overlooking Boston
• Over 1,000 oncoming redcoats were picked off by
  1,500 American sharpshooters
• Americans had 140 killed and 441 wounded

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Bunker Hill Continued

• American supply of gunpowder ran out and were
  forced to abandon the hill in disorder
• Viewed as an American victory for the frightful
  British casualties inflicted
• Bloodiest battle of the War for Independence
• British Army left Boston to conduct the war from
  New York

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The Kings Response

• Following Bunker Hill, the King formally
  proclaimed the colonies in rebellion
• Equal to a declaration of war
• Hired 18,000 Hessians (German mercenaries) to
  support British forces
• Colonials were shocked that the king would hire
  forces known as butchers for the war between
  Anglo-Saxon cousins

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Declaration of Independence

• Most Americans did not desire independence proud
  to be British citizens
• Reasons for shift of loyalty
• 1. Hiring of Hessians
• 2. Burning of Falmouth Norfolk
• 3. Governor of Virginia promised slaves who would
  fight for the British would be freed, which
  persuaded many southern elite to join New England
  in the war effort

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Thomas Paines Common Sense

• Became an instant best-seller in the colonies
  effective propaganda
• Persuaded Congress to pursue independence
• The could not hope for aid from France unless
  they declared independence
• France not interested in colonial reconstruction
  under Britain

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Main Ideas

• Colonial policy was inconsistent independence
  was the only course
• America had a sacred mission moral obligation to
  the world to set up an independent, democratic
  republic, untainted by association with corrupt
  monarchical Britain

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Main Ideas Continued

• Nowhere in the physical universe did a smaller
  heavenly body control a larger one. Why should
  tiny England control huge North America?
• King was nothing more than the "Royal Brute of
  Great Britain."

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Philadelphia Congress

• June 7, 1776 Richard Henry Lee moved for
  independence
• "These United Colonies are, and of right ought to
  be, free and independent states..."
• Motion was adopted on July 2, 1776

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Committee on Independence

• Members included Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin
  Franklin, and John Adams, and others
• Purpose was to come up with an appropriate
  statement of independence

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Slavery Issue Already

• Debate especially over the slavery clause
• Jefferson had blamed England for continuing the
  slave trade despite colonial wishes (despite his
  owning slaves)
• Southerners in particular still favored slavery
  and dismissed the clause

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Approved

• The declaration was not addressed to England,
  because signers did not expect any response from
  the king
• The Declaration of Independence was formally
  approved on July 4, 1776

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Declaration Had 3 Major Parts

• Preamble (heavily influenced by John Locke)
• Stated the rights of colonists to break away if
  natural rights were not protected Life, liberty,
  and the pursuit of happiness (property)
• All men are created equal

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Declaration Had 3 Major Parts

• 2. List of 27 grievances of the colonies (seen by
  Congress as most important part)
• Charged the King with imposing taxes without
  consent, eliminating trial by jury, abolishing
  valued laws, establishing a military
  dictatorship, maintaining standing armies in
  peacetime, cutting off trade, burning towns,
  hiring mercenaries, inciting Indian violence upon
  colonies

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Declaration Had 3 Major Parts

• 3. Formal declaration of independence
• Officially broke ties with England
• "United States" was officially an independent
  country

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Result of the Dec of Independence

• Foreign aid could now be successfully solicited

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Patriots Loyalists
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"Tories" (loyalists)

• 20 of the American people
• Colonists who fought for return to colonial rule
  loyal to the king
• Usually conservative educated and wealthy
  fearful of mob rule.
• Older generation apt to be loyalists younger
  generation more revolutionary          

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"Tories" (loyalists)

• King's officers and other beneficiaries of the
  crown
• Anglican clergy and a large portion of their
  followers most numerous of the loyalists
• Well entrenched in aristocracy
• Least numerous in New England
• Ineffective at gaining allegiance of neutral
  colonists

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Patriots

• Sometimes called "Whigs" after British opposition
  party
• American rebels who fought both British soldiers
  and loyalists
• Most numerous in New England
• A minority movement

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The Loyalist Exodus

• Loyalists regarded by Patriots as traitors
• About 80,000 loyalists were driven out or fled
  the colonies
• Estates confiscated and sold helped finance the
  war
• 50,000 fought for the British

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Patriot/Loyalist InterpretationsBenjamin
Franklins Political Cartoon
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The War in 1776-1777
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Battle of Long Island

• Washingtons army allowed to escape from Long
  Island to Manhattan and then NJ
• British lost a great opportunity to crush the
  Americans early

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Battle of Trenton

• Washington crossed the ice-clogged Delaware River
  on Dec. 26, 1776
• At Trenton, surprised and captured about 1,000
  Hessians who were sleeping off  their Christmas
  partying

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Battle of Princeton

• One week after Trenton, Washington defeated a
  smaller British force at Princeton
• British forced to pull outposts back to New York
• Trenton and Princeton was a gamble by Washington
  to achieve quick victories to revive the
  disintegrating Continental Army

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Battle of Saratoga

• Most important battle of the American Revolution
• British sought to capture New York and sever New
  England from rest of the Colonies
• Benedict Arnold saved New England by slowing down
  British invasion of New York

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Battle of Saratoga

• General Burgoyne surrendered entire command at
  Saratoga on Oct. 17,1777 to American General
  Horatio Gates

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Outcome of Saratoga

• One of history's most decisive battles
• Made French aid possible which ensured American
  independence
• Spanish and Dutch eventually entered and England
  was faced with world war
• Revived the faltering colonial cause

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Valley Forge

• Washington retired here for the winter of 1777-78
• Supplies were scarce food, clothing
• Army whipped into shape by the Prussian
  drillmaster Baron von Steuben
• Episode demonstrated American determination
  despite horrible conditions

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Benedict Betrays America

• Arnold frustrated with his treatment by his
  superiors despite his heroic service
• Persuaded Washington to make him head of West
  Point
• Plotted with the British to sell out the key
  stronghold of West Point commanding the Hudson
  River
• Plot discovered by Washington

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Benedict Arnold - a traitor

• A major blow to American morale
• "Cut off your right leg, bury it with full
  military honors, and then hang the rest of you on
  a gibbet.

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Article of Confederation Drafted

• Set in light of emergency needed to organize a
  nation and an army maintain civil order and
  establish international recognition and credit
  defend territory from the British and resolve
  internal quarrels and competition

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Articles of Confederation

• Adopted in 1777
• Did not go into effect until 1781
• 1st constitution in U.S. history lasted until
  1789 when the Constitution was adopted
• Congress had power to conduct war, handle
  foreign relations secure loans, borrow money

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France Becomes an Ally

• French eager to exact revenge on the British for
  the Seven Years War
• Saw Revolutionary war as an opportunity to stab
  England in the back
• New World colonies were England's most valuable
  overseas possessions

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Secret Supply to the Americans

• France worried open aid to America might provoke
  British attacks on French interests
• Americans Silas Deane and Benjamin Franklin
  arranged for significant amounts of munitions
  and  military supplies to be shipped to America

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Marquis de Lafayette

• Significant in helping Americans gain financial
  aid from France

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What Convinced France?

• Declaration of Independence a turning point for
  French aid
• Showed Americans meant business
• Victory at Saratoga displayed an excellent chance
  for defeating England

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Franco-American Alliance

• France offers U.S. a treaty of alliance
• Promised Americans recognition of independence
• Both sides bound themselves to wage war until the
  US won its freedom or until both agreed to terms
  with Britain

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Reluctance

• Many Americans reluctantly accepted the treaty 
• France a strong Roman Catholic country
• France had been the traditional enemy of Britain
  for centuries, so the feared prolonged conflict

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World War?

• American Revolution turned into a world war that
  put severe stress on Britains resources
• Spain and Holland entered in 1779
• War raged in Europe, North America, South
  America, the Caribbean, and Asia

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League of Armed Neutrality

• Organized by Catherine the Great of Russia
• Lined up almost all remaining European neutrals
  in an attitude of passive hostility toward
  England as a result of England disturbing Baltic
  shipping

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Land Frontier Sea Frontier
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War Raged in the West

• Indian allies of Britain attacked American
  frontier positions
• 1777 known as "the Bloody Year" on the frontier
• Westward movement continued despite treacherous
  war conditions    
• Illinois country was taken from the British

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Joseph Brant

• Mohawk Chief, and leader of the Iroquois Six
  Nations, led Indian raids in Backcountry PA and
  NY.
• Forced to sign Treaty of Ft. Stanwyk -- 1st
  treaty bet. U.S. Indians
• Indians lost most of their lands

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Monster Brant

• He earned this title by committing horrible
  massacres, such as the Cherry Valley Massacre
• His actions will sour relations between Americans
  and Indians for the next 50 years

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George Rogers Clark

• A frontiersman who seized several British ports
  along the Ohio River by surprise
• Helped quiet Indian involvement
• His admirers' credit him for forcing the British
  to cede the whole Ohio region in the peace treaty
  of Paris after the war

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The American Navy

• John Paul Jones most famous American naval leader
  (Scottish born)
• Chief contribution was destroying British
  merchant shipping and carrying war into the
  waters around the British Isles
• Did not affect Britain's navy

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American Privateers

• Privately owned ships authorized by Congress to
  attack enemy ships
• More effective than the American navy
• 600 British ships captured British captured as
  many American merchantmen privateers
• Brought in gold, harassed the British, and
  increased American morale by providing American
  victories

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Major Naval Battles

• Between British, French, other European powers
• Mostly in the West Indies
• British overcome by French, Spanish and Dutch
• War continued until 1785 when British won last
  battle near India

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1778

• Britain changed its strategy and focused on
  former Southern Colonies

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The South is Falling! AHH!

• Savannah, Georgia taken in late 1778-early 1779
• Charleston, SC, fell in 1780 (4th largest city in
  America)
• Devastating loss to American war-effort
• Heavier loss to the Americans than Saratoga was
  to the British

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Southern Plans Go Bad

• Nathaniel Greene eventually succeeded in clearing
  Georgia and S.C. of most British troops
• Cornwallis forced to abandon the Southern
  strategy fell back to Chesapeake Bay at Yorktown

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Battle of Yorktown

• Last major battle of the war
• French Admiral de Grasse, head of powerful fleet
  in W. Indies, advised Americans that he would
  join them in an assault on Cornwallis at Yorktown

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The Battle

• Washington made 300-mile march to Chesapeake
  from NY
• Accompanied by French army, Washington attacked
  British by land as de Grasse blockaded them by
  sea after beating off the British fleet

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British Defeat

• Oct. 19, 1781, General Cornwallis surrendered
  entire force of 7,000 men
• War continued one more year (especially in the
  South)

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Surrender of Cornwallis
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Newburgh Conspiracy (1783)

• Cause Soldiers in the Continental Army were not
  paid regularly throughout the war and the money
  they did receive was often worthless due to
  inflation
• Several officers, Congressional nationalists,
  sought to impose an impost on the states for
  back-pay by threatening to take over the American
  government

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Ending the Conspiracy

• Horatio Gates was consulted about the possibility
  of using the army to force the states to
  surrender more power to the national government
• Washington appealed to the officers to end the
  conspiracy they agreed

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Peace at Paris
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Conditions

• British ready to come to terms after losses in
  India, West Indies, and Mediterranean
• Lord North's ministry collapsed in March 1782,
  temporarily ending the personal rule of George
  III
• Whig ministry (more sympathetic to Americans)
  replaced the Tory regime

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Dealing with France

• American diplomats Ben Franklin, John Adams, and
  John Jay sent by Congress to make no separate
  peace and to consult with France at all stages of
  negotiations

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Creation of a Weak US?

• Highly suspicious of France Spain
• John Jay believed France wanted to keep US  east
  of the Allegheny mountains and give western
  territories to its ally Spain for its help in the
  war

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Treaty of Paris of 1783

• Britain formally recognized US independence
• Granted US generous boundaries stretching to the
  Mississippi on the west, the Great Lakes in the
  north, and to Spanish Florida in the south (Spain
  had re-won Florida)

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Treaty of Paris of 1783

• Americans allowed to retain a share in the
  valuable Newfoundland fisheries
• British promised troops would not take slaves
  from America

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American Concessions

• Loyalists could not be further persecuted
• Congress was to recommend to state legislatures
  that confiscated Loyalist property be restored

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American Concessions

• American states were bound to pay British
  creditors for debts long owed
• U.S. did not comply with many of these
  concessions and it became partial cause of
  another war with Britain in 1812
• France formally approved the British-American
  terms (officially, no separate Franco-American
  peace)

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America Alone Gained from the War

• Britain lost colonies and other territories
• France got revenge but became bankrupt which
  caused French Revolution
• Spain gained little

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American Society During the War
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Militarily

• Over 250,000 American soldiers fought
• 10 who fought died largest of any American
  war in history (Civil War 2)
• British captured and occupied most major cities
  including Boston, NYC, and Philadelphia

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War Economy

• State and national governments created
• Men with military experience volunteered for
  positions in the army
• Some merchants loaned money to the army and to
  Congress. Others made fortunes from wartime
  contracts

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Who Fought?

• The poorest Americans -- Young city laborers,
  farm boys, indentured servants, and sometimes
  slaves
• African Americans fought on both sides
• 5,000 in the Continental army and nearly 30,000
  in the British army in return for promises of
  freedom

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Who Else Fought?

• Native Americas also fought with the British
  since they hoped to keep land-hungry Americans
  out of their territories
• Bitter feelings remained long after the war ended

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Women in the War

• Women managed farms and businesses while men
  served in the army
• Other women traveled with the Army as cooks and
  nurses
• Women became more politically active and
  expressed their thoughts more freely

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CHANGE IN SOCIETY DUE TO THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
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Birth of Democracy

• Many conservative Loyalists were no longer in
  America paved way for more democratic reforms in
  state governments

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Slavery Issue

• Rise of anti-slavery societies in all the
  northern states (plus Virginia) Quakers were the
  first to found such societies
• Slavery eradicated in most northern states by
  1800
• Quok Walker case in Massachusetts (1781)
  effectively ended slavery there

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Early Segregation

• Slavery not allowed above Ohio River in the
  Northwest Ordinance of 1787
• Slave trade to be abolished in 1808 according to
  Constitution
• By 1860, 250,000 free blacks lived in the North,
  but were disliked and discriminated against
• Several states forbade entrance of blacks, most
  blacks denied right to vote, and some states
  barred blacks from public schools

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In the South

• Thousands of slaves in the South were freed after
  the Revolution and became free blacks
• Slavery remained strong in the South, especially
  after 1793 (cotton gin)

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Stronger Emphasis on Equality

• Equality did not triumph until much later due to
  tenant farming, poor rights for women and
  children, slavery, and land requirements for
  voting and office holding (although reduced) were
  not eliminated
• Further reduction of land-holding requirements
  for voting began to occur in 1820s

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Primogeniture and Entail

• Ended before 1800
• Primogeniture eldest son inherits father's
  estate
• Entail Estates could not be sold off in pieces
  guaranteed large landholdings to a family and
  meant less land available for purchase to the
  public

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Separation of Church State

• Jeffersons Virginia Statute on Religious
  Freedom, 1786

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Separation of Church State

• Anglican Church replaced by a disestablished
  Episcopal church in much of the South.
• Congregational churches in New England slower to
  disestablish

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State Governments

• Three branches weak governors, strong
  legislatures, judicial branch
• Sovereignty of states, republicanism

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Indians

• Indians no longer enjoyed British protection and
  became subject to U.S. expansion westward
• Iroquois suffered significant losses after the
  war

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Women

• Women did not enjoy increased rights idea of
  Republican Motherhood took hold

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Gordon S. Wood

• The Radicalism of the American Revolution

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Thesis

• Revolution was the most radical and far-reaching
  event in American history

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Effects

• Made the interests and prosperity of ordinary
  people -- the pursuit of happiness -- the goal
  of government

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Effects

• Changed the  personal and social relationships of
  people
• Destroyed aristocracy as it had been understood
  for nearly two millennia
• Made possible egalitarian thinking subsequent
  anti-slavery and women's rights movements

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Effects

• Brought respectability and even dominance to
  ordinary people long held in contempt
• Gave dignity to their menial labor in a manner
  unprecedented in history

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More Effects

• Brought about an entirely new kind of popular
  politics and a new kind of democratic officeholder

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Further Effects

• Released powerful popular entrepreneurial and
  commercial energies that few realized existed
• Transformation occurred without the industrial
  revolution, urbanization, railroads

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AP Prep Essay Question

• The Revolution was effected before the war
  commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and
  hearts of the peopleThis radical change in the
  principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections
  of the people was the real American Revolution
• Explain the meaning of this 1818 statement by
  John Adams and assess its validity (300 words)