Securing Independence, Defining Nationhood

1
Chapter 6

• Securing Independence, Defining Nationhood
• 1776-1788

2
Introduction

• 1.) What were the different conflicts contained
  within the American Revolution?
• 2.) How did the Revolution affect relationships
  among Americans of different classes, races, and
  genders?
• 3.) How did the state constitutions and Articles
  of Confederation reflect older political ideas?

3
Introduction (cont.)

• 4.) How did the Constitutions proponents address
  Americans concerns about concentrated political
  power?

4
The Prospects of War

• Introduction
• The Revolution was a war of the American people
  against the British
• and a civil war between American supporters of
  independence and Americans who were opposed to
  breaking with the mother country

5
Loyalists and Other British Sympathizers

• About 20 of all whites opposed the Revolution
• Loyalists
• Allegiance to the crown
• Aka Tories
• Hated by patriots (revolutionaries)
• Largest of loyalists were in NY and NJ
• Recent British immigrants and French Canadians
  tended to be loyalists

6
Loyalists and Other British Sympathizers (cont.)

• Thousands of southern slaves escaped to the royal
  army
• African-Americans in the North were more likely
  to support the Revolution
• Indian tribes were divided and many wanted to sit
  out the conflict
• Majority sided with the British

7
The Opposing Sides

• Advantages of the British
• Outnumbered the Americans 11 million to 2.5
  million
• Largest navy
• One of the best professional armies
• Disadvantages of the British
• Difficulty in recruiting soldiers (employed
  21,000 loyalists and 30,000 Hessians)
• Supplying armies 3,000 miles across the ocean
• Financial strain
• English domestic support for the War waned

8
The Opposing Sides (cont.)

• Americans mobilized their smaller population
  behind the war more effectively
• After 1778 they had French and Spanish assistance
• Mostly veteran European officers

9
The Opposing Sides (cont.)

• American problems
• 1/3 of population were slaves or opposed to the
  Revolution
• State militias did well in guerrilla raids but
  lacked training for battles
• Few experienced officers
• Raw recruits
• Americans did not have to conquer redcoats
• Rebels just had to keep resisting until the
  British public tired of the struggle

10
The Opposing Sides (cont.)

• George Washington was the logical choice as
  commander of the American army
• VA tobacco planter
• Member of the House of Burgesses
• Representative at the Continental Congress
• Former military leader of the colonists

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12
War and Peace, 1776-1783

• Introduction
• Until mid-1778, fighting remained in the North
• Each side won important victories
• American forces prevailed over British troops and
  their Native American allies to gain control of
  the trans-Appalachian West
• The War was finally decided in the South
• American and French forces won at Yorktown, VA in
  1781
• In the peace treaty, Britain acknowledged
  American independence
• http//www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd
  /american_revolution.jpg

13
Shifting Fortunes in the North, 1776-1778

• New York
• 130 British warships carrying 32,000 royal troops
  landed near NY harbor in summer of 1776
• Led by General William Howe and Admiral Richard
  Howe
• 18,000 American soldiers
• Led by Washington
• By end of 1776, British forced Americans to
  retreat from NY across NJ and the Delaware River
  into PA

14
Shifting Fortunes in the North, 1776-1778 (cont.)

• During the winter of 1776-1777, Washington struck
  back at Trenton and Princeton
• Recoats pulled back to NY
• In NJ, the Whigs forced loyalists remaining in
  the state to pledge allegiance to the Continental
  Congress

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Shifting Fortunes in the North, 1776-1778 (cont.)

• Americans best hope for victory lay in French
  diplomatic recognition and military alliance
• Louis XVI held back until he became convinced
  that the Americans had a chance of winning
• October 1777
• Saratoga, NY
• American forces surrounded British forces and
  forced 5,800 British troops to surrender

17
Shifting Fortunes in the North, 1776-1778 (cont.)

• French were impressed with the victory at
  Saratoga
• Feb. 1778, France recognized the United States
• June 1778, France declared war on England
• Subsequently, the Spanish and Dutch Republic also
  declared war on Britain
• Turning point in the war
• The formation of this coalition against GB

18
Shifting Fortunes in the North, 1776-1778 (cont.)

• Fall of 1777, the British inflicted defeats on
  Washingtons army at Brandywine Creek and
  Germantown, PA
• British occupied Philadelphia
• Forced Continental Congress to flee
• Winter of 1777-1778
• Royal in Philadelphia (comfortable)
• Washingtons troops at Valley Forge (froze and
  under supplied and equipped)

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Valley Forge
20
Shifting Fortunes in the North, 1776-1778 (cont.)

• Battle of Monmouth Court House
• NJ
• June 1778
• Continentals defeated British
• British escaped to NY
• Protected by British Navy
• Washington hovered across the Hudson River
  keeping an eye on them

21
The War in the West, 1776-1782

• Although the number of people involved in the
  frontier battles was small, the skirmishes were
  deadly
• British, Americans, and Indians realized that the
  victor of the West would control the area west of
  the Appalachian Mountains

22
The War in the West, 1776-1782 (cont.)

• The battles began in the South
• Cherokees attacked from VA to GA
• By 1777, the frontiersmen had crushed the
  Cherokees
• forced the Cherokees to cede much of their land
  in the Carolinas and TN

23
The War in the West, 1776-1782 (cont.)

• Expeditions led by George Rogers Clark, John
  Bowman, and Daniel Brodhead inflicted heavy
  losses on hostile Ohio Indian tribes
• Ohio Indian tribes would continue to fight until
  1780s
• Joseph Brant led the Iroquois on deadly raids
  against the western NY and PA settlers until he
  was stopped at a battle near Elmira, NY

24
The War in the West, 1776-1782 (cont.)

• By wars end, the Iroquois population had dropped
  by a 1/3
• Not greatly influencing the outcome of the war
• These battles played a major role in the
  development of the future American nation

25
Victory in the South, 1778-1781

• After 1778, the British shifted their attention
  to the South
• 1st victory at Savannah
• 1780
• British took Charles Town, SC
• General Charles Cornwallis led British
• Nathaniel Greene led Americans

26
Victory in the South, 1778-1781 (cont.)

• Cornwallis led English forces into the Carolina
  backcountry
• British victories
• Camden and Guilford Courthouse
• American victories
• Kings Mountain and Cowpens
• British suffered heavy casualties in the Carolina
  backcountry though
• Cornwallis decided to head back to VA

27
Victory in the South, 1778-1781 (cont.)

• Cornwallis established a new base on Virginias
  Yorktown Peninsula
• Battle of Yorktown
• American and French armies
• French fleet
• Cut off and surrounded British
• October 19, 1781 Cornwallis surrendered
• The fighting in the Revolutionary War ended

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Battle of Yorktown Surrender
29
Peace at Last, 1782-1783

• Treaty of Paris
• John Adams, John Jay, Benjamin Franklin
  represented America
• Began in June 1782
• Signed in Sept. 1783

30
Peace at Last, 1782-1783 (cont.)

• British recognized American independence
• British promised to remove all troops from
  American soil
• Mississippi River became the western boundary of
  the new nation
• New Orleans and the outlet of the river to the
  Gulf of Mexico as well as East and West Florida
  went to Spain

31
Peace at Last, 1782-1783 (cont.)

• Notably absent from the Treaty was any reference
  to Native Americans
• Native Americans refused to acknowledge American
  sovereignty over their territories
• The Confederation agreed to compensate loyalists
  for their property losses and repay British
  creditors
• several states later refused to comply
• In retaliation, the British did not evacuate
  forts they sill held in the Northwest

32
Peace at Last, 1782-1783 (cont.)

• American victory had been costly
• At least 5 of free males between 16 and 45 died
  in the war
• Many loyalists and former slaves fled to Canada,
  Britain, and the West Indies
• The War did not address 2 important issues
• 1.) what kind of society America was to become
• 2.) what sort of govt. the new nation would
  possess

33
The Revolution and Social Change

• Egalitarianism Among White Males
• There was no significant redistribution of wealth
  in American during the Revolution
• The Declaration of Independences bold assertion
  that all men are created equal did promote more
  egalitarian attitudes
• The upper class found it prudent to simplify
  their standards of living and treat common people
  with more respect

34
Egalitarianism Among White Males (cont.)

• Ordinary folks were less likely to defer to their
  betters or automatically leave governing to
  them
• Americans began to feel that political leaders
  should some from the natural aristocracy
• Men who demonstrated virtue
• accomplishments
• dedication to the public good

35
Egalitarianism Among White Males (cont.)

• The gains made through the advantage of family
  retreated before the republican principle of
  ability
• The new egalitarianism did not include women,
  blacks, Indians, and landless white men

36
White Women in Wartime

• During the Revolution, the assumptions about
  women barely changed
• Women were dependent on fathers and husbands
• Had no public role to play

37
White Women in Wartime (cont.)

• However, in the midst of war
• women took on added responsibilities
• served visibly in support of the fighting men
• Raised for the troops
• Some even served incognito
• The gains and rights they deserved for this and
  other social responsibilities would be up for
  discussion in the new republic
• Abigail Adams would led fight for change

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Abigail Adams
39
A Revolution for Black Americans

• In 1776, blacks accounted for 20 of U.S.
  population
• Almost all of them were enslaved
• Majority in the South
• 5,000 blacks served in the Continental Army
• The Declaration of Independences words about
  equality made the Whigs uneasy about slavery
• The Quakers had taken the lead in attacking
  slavery

40
A Revolution for Black Americans (cont.)

• Between 1777 and 1810
• All northern states instituted gradual
  emancipation
• No southern states outlawed bondage
• Several southern states did make the voluntary
  freeing of slaves easier
• By 1790, about 5 of VA and MD blacks had been
  freed

41
A Revolution for Black Americans (cont.)

• Most free blacks remained poor laborers,
  domestics, or tenant farmers
• Some blacks and whites began to advocate the idea
  that freed slaves might be better off being
  returned to their homelands in Africa (Prince
  Hall)
• Most states granted freedmen certain civil rights
• Blacks continued to be treated as 2nd class
  citizens

42
Native Americans and the Revolution

• Native Americans suffered the worst of any group
  during the War
• For many whites the republics promise of equal
  opportunity meant moving west to obtain their own
  land
• Moving into Indian territory
• The tribes of the Ohio Valley were especially
  vulnerable
• Between 1754 and 1783, war and uprooting had
  reduced the Native American population east of
  the Mississippi by nearly 50

43
Native Americans and the Revolution (cont.)

• Many Indians still living east of the River
  adapted some features of white culture, combined
  it with native customs, and created new
  lifestyles
• But they insisted on their right to control their
  own communities and lives

44
Forging New Governments

• From Colonies to States
• Certain beliefs inherited from the colonial era
  stood in the way of a thorough democratization of
  politics
• Most Whigs believed that voting and office
  holding must be tied to property ownership
• They frowned on political parties as
  strife-causing factions
• They did not see the need for apportioning seats
  in a legislature on the basis of population

45
From Colonies to States (cont.)

• Whigs were wary of unchecked executive authority
• Inclined to augment the role of elected
  legislatures
• Interested in framing government institutions
  that would balance the interests of different
  classes to prevent any one group from gaining
  absolute power

46
From Colonies to States (cont.)

• The 1st state constitutions reflected both the
  radical and traditional features of Whig thought
• Except for PAs, they did not provide for
  election districts that were equal in population
• 9 of the 13 state reduced property qualifications
  for voting
• But none abolished them entirely
• By 1784, all state constitutions included a bill
  of rights

47
From Colonies to States (cont.)

• The state constitutions provided for frequent
  elections and stripped the governors of most of
  their powers
• In 1780s, many states revised their
  constitutions to strengthen the executive branch
  and increase the political power of wealthy elites

48
From Colonies to States (cont.)

• Most of the states also enacted social reforms
• For Example
• In VA, Thomas Jefferson framed legislation
  abolishing primogeniture (the right of the 1st
  child to inherit their parents property)
• Abolishing entails (to restrict inheritance of
  property in a will)
• the established churches
• guaranteeing religious freedom

49
Formalizing a Confederation, 1776-1781

• In 1777, the Continental Congress drafted a
  constitution called the Articles of Confederation
• http//www.usconstitution.net/articles.html
• 4 years passed before the states ratified the
  Articles of Confederation
• Disputes over states claims to western land and
  their representation in Congress

50
Formalizing a Confederation, 1776-1781 (cont.)

• There was a unicameral congress in which each
  state had 1 vote
• No national court system
• No executive branch
• Financial, diplomatic, and military affairs were
  managed by congressional committees
• The congress could request funds from states but
  could not tax the people directly or regulate
  interstate and foreign commerce

51
Formalizing a Confederation, 1776-1781 (cont.)

• The Articles affirmed the new nations attachment
  to decentralized power when it reserved to each
  state full sovereignty, freedom, and
  independence
• This left the national government severely
  limited in important respects

52
Finance, Trade, and the Economy, 1781-1786

• The confederation proved too weak to meet its
  greatest challenge (putting the countrys
  finances on a sound basis)
• Unable to tax the people or force the states to
  contribute funds
• the congress could not pay off it Revolutionary
  War debt
• Or meet its operating expenses

53
Finance, Trade, and the Economy, 1781-1786 (cont.)

• Nor could the government under the Articles win
  diplomatic concessions from the British, who
  badly hurt New England shippers and merchants by
  shutting them out of the West Indian trade and
  imposing steep customs fees on goods entering
  England

54
Finance, Trade, and the Economy, 1781-1786 (cont.)

• Declining exports depressed the economies of both
  New England and the South
• Its paper currency, the Continental, depreciated
  by 98

55
The Confederation and the West, 1785-1787

• The confederation also had to decide on the
  future of the trans-Appalachian west
• speculators and settles wanted to acquire these
  lands immediately
• Native Americans determined to keep their homes

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The Confederation and the West, 1785-1787 (cont.)

• The Confederation responded by forcing Indian
  leaders to sign treaties ceding western lands,
• the tribes, disputed the legitimacy of these
  American appointed Indian leaders
• repudiated the treaties

57
The Confederation and the West, 1785-1787 (cont.)

• Congress passed the Ordinance of 1785 and the
  Northwest Ordinance of 1787
• Set a successful pattern for surveying, selling,
  and administering western lands
• Provided the way for territories to become states
  with the same powers and privileges as the
  original 13 states
• Northwest Ordinance for the 1st time banned
  slavery from a territory
• http//www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestone
  s/ordinance/text.html

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The Confederation and the West, 1785-1787 (cont.)

• The British and Spanish governments made life
  difficult for western settlers.
• British
• refused to evacuate 7 forts in the Ohio Valley
• Supplied Indians in the region with arms and
  ammunition.

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The Confederation and the West, 1785-1787 (cont.)

• Spanish
• Sided with the Indians against American frontier
  families
• closed off New Orleans to western farmers who
  wanted to ship their produce down the Mississippi
  and out to eastern cities and Europe through New
  Orleans

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The Confederation and the West, 1785-1787 (cont.)

• Map of forts
• http//www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/exhibits/fra
  nco_ontarian/war.htm
• Some westerns saw independent negotiations with
  Spain as the best resolution
• Many westerns predicted a new independent western
  country would break away from the weak
  confederation

61
Toward a New Constitution, 1786-1788

• Shays Rebellion, 1786-1787
• 1786
• Massachusetts
• Led by Daniel Shay
• Farmers and debtors vs. the MA govt.
• State militia defeated Shays followers
• Results
• Some Americans feared that the govt. was unable
  to protect even domestic law and order
• Producers wanted a stronger govt. to regulate
  interstate and foreign commerce

62
Shays Rebellion, 1786-1787 (cont.)

• Merchants and shippers desired a govt. that could
  secure foreign trade opportunities for them
• Westerns hoped for better protection from the
  Indians
• 1786
• Meeting in Annapolis
• Originally meant to promote interstate commerce
• Instead called for a general convention of all
  the states to amend the Articles and create a
  more effective national govt.

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The Philadelphia Convention

• Spring and summer of 1787
• 55 delegates from every state besides RI
• The majority were wealthy, had legal training,
  and shared a nationalist rather than a local
  perspective
• Sessions were closed to the press and the public
• Decided to abandon the Articles and write a new
  constitution

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The Philadelphia Convention (cont.)

• The convention worked from a draft written by
  James Madison
• Virginia Plan

65
The Philadelphia Convention (cont.)

• Virginia Plan
• A national govt.
• Broad powers to tax, legislate, and use military
  force against the states
• 2 house congress
• Representation in both chambers based on
  population

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The Philadelphia Convention (cont.)

• Small states worried that they would always be
  outvoted
• Objected to the VA Plan
• Created the New Jersey Plan

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The Philadelphia Convention (cont.)

• New Jersey Plan
• Unicameral congress
• Each state, regardless of population, had an
  equal voice
• http//library.thinkquest.org/11572/creation/frami
  ng/va_nj_plans.html

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The Philadelphia Convention (cont.)

• The convention finally agreed to a compromise
• 2-chamber legislature
• Representation in the House based on population
• Representation in the Senate based on the
  principle of equality for each state

69
The Philadelphia Convention (cont.)

• The Constitution was finished in September 1787
• Federal govt. powers
• Levy and collect taxes
• Conduct diplomacy
• Protect domestic order
• Authority to coin
• Regulate interstate and foreign commerce

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The Philadelphia Convention (cont.)

• The Constitution carefully balanced state and
  federal power, the interests of one social group
  against another, and the authority of one branch
  of the national govt. vs. another
• Federalism, separation of powers, checks and
  balances

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The Philadelphia Convention (cont.)

• Many features of the Constitution were NOT
  democratic
• Recognized and in some ways protected slavery
  (3/5s clause)
• Allowed direct election only of members of the
  House of Rep.
• Democratic features
• It acknowledge the people as the ultimate source
  of political legitimacy
• Amendment process (allowed democratization of the
  govt. in years ahead)

73
The Philadelphia Convention (cont.)

• The delegates provided for ratification of the
  Constitution by special state conventions
  composed of delegated elected by the people
• Needed 9 conventions to approve the new
  Constitution

74
The Struggle over Ratification, 1787-1788

• During 1787 and 1788, the country divided into
  Federalists and Antifederalists
• Federalists supported the Constitution
• Antifederalists did NOT support it
• feared that the Constitution concentrated too
  much centralized power in the hands of a national
  elite
• that individuals freedoms would be trampled
  because the document contained no bill of rights

75
The Struggle over Ratification (cont.)

• Antifederalists lacked the leadership stature of
  prominent Federalists like George Washington and
  Benjamin Franklin
• Federalists promised to provide a bill of rights
• Federalist victory

76
The Struggle over Ratification (cont.)

• The Federalist Papers
• A series of articles
• an effort to win New Yorkers over to the
  Constitution
• Written by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and
  James Madison
• Valuable commentary on the Constitution and
  insight into the political philosophy of the
  Founding Fathers

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Federalist Papers

• http//www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/

78
Conclusion

• The final triumph of the nationalism born of the
  War of Independence came in late 1789 and early
  1790, when the last 2 reluctant states (NC and
  RI) ratified the Constitution and joined the new
  nation
• The Constitution did not create a democratic
  govt. for the U.S.A. but it did establish the
  legal and institutional framework within which
  Americans could struggle to attain democracy