The American Revolution

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The American Revolution

• 1775-1783

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How it started.

• Tensions were still left over from the
  Intolerable Acts.
• General Gage became Governor of Massachusetts.
• 4,000 Soldiers were stationed in Boston.

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Lexington and Concord

• Boston-fighting broke out between British and
  American troops.
• Boston occupied by British forces under the
  command of General Thomas Gage.
• April 18, 1775-700 British soldiers were secretly
  sent to destroy military supplies the colonists
  had collected.

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The British Are Coming
Paul Revere William Dawes make their midnight
ride to warn the Minutemen of approaching British
soldiers.
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The Shot Heard Round the World!
Lexington Concord April 18,1775
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LEXINGTON

• Skirmish took place
• 70 minutemen were waiting
• British then moved on to Concord
• News spread about what happened-colonists were
  MAD!!!

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2nd Continental Congress

• May 1775
• John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin
• Authorized an army, George Washington is the
  Chief
• Olive Branch Petition-remove obstacles for
  reconciliation

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• Secure neutrality of the interior Native American
  Tribes
• Issued paper money
• Created a postal system
• Approved a military hospital.

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Fort Ticonderoga

• Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys
• Fort was on Lake Champlain

http//YouTube - Schoolhouse Rock - The Shot
Heard 'Round the World
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Bunker Hill

• Rebel controlled 2 hills outside Boston
• Breeds Hill British advanced 3 times, on the
  3rd time they took the hill
• Managed to take Bunker Hill (smaller hill)
• Gave colonists a boost of confidence. WHY?

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The Colonies in "open and avowed rebellion"

• The King rejected the Olive Branch Petition
• 20,000 more troops sent
• Congress actions were now treasonable offenses
• Would you follow them??

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The People Split

• Common Sense by Thomas Paine split the colonists.
• Radical pamphlet
• Would propel the colonists even further into
  Revolution

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Declaration of Independence

• Declaration was first proposed by Richard Henry
  Lee in June 1776.
• Congress sent a committee to work on it
• Thomas Jefferson was the head of it
• Declaration of Independence

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The War in the North

• British General William Howe decided to leave
  Boston
• Moved to NYC
• Central Location
• Water way
• Middle Atlantic States

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George Washington

• Mid-Atlantic coloniesLoyalist territory
• Couldnt beat the British at NYC

Call me G. Dubs ?
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Back in England

• George III told the Howe brothers try to
  reconcile with the colonists
• Howe brothers demanded revocation of the Dec. of
  Independence
• Colonists said

NO!
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Middle Colonies

• War moves to NJ and PA
• Colonists are in survival mode
• Things are looking bad for the colonists until
  Trenton and Princeton

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Trenton, NJ

• December 25- G. Dubs and his men cross the
  Delaware River to NJ
• Hessians were at Trenton fighting for the British
• G. Dubs surprised them and won the Battle of
  Trenton

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Princeton, NJ

• 1/3/1777
• Colonists defeat the British
• Send them back towards New Brunswick
• Washington establishes his winter headquarter in
  Morristown

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• Washington realized his troops were no match for
  the British
• Would avoid major battles with the British, and
  protect civilians
• September 1777
• After the British seize Philadelphia, Congress
  flees

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Saratoga

• Oct. 1777
• 1st major colonial victory
• Generals Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold defeat
  General Burgoyne
• Turning point of the war
• French came to help us

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The Congress

• Revolution forced the colonies to work together
• June 20, 1776 headed by John Dickinson of PA
• Goal come up with a plan of perpetual union
• Came up with a draft of the Articles of
  Confederation

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Articles of Confederation

• Debate over how strong the central govt should
  be
• Didnt want a powerful King-like person
• End resultCompromise

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Articles Cont'd

• Article 9 Congress has the sole authority to
• regulate foreign affairs
• Declare war
• Mediate boundary pursuits b/w states
• Post office
• Indian Affairs
• National citizen

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• Congress did not have broad powers over the
  states
• Congress could not raise troops or taxes, but
  COULD ask the states to support this
• Article 2 states get powers not expressed to
  Congress
• Articles could only be amended by unanimous
  decision of all 13 colonies
• Each state only had 1 vote

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• Sent to the states for ratification in November
  1777.
• Not ratified until March 1781!!!!
• Maryland would not ratify until western land
  disputes were resolved
• Did not happen until 1780.

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• Congress was not that effective
• Washington was getting annoyed at this
• 1778-Congress asked Washington to manage the war
  on his own

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War in the South

• Final years
• British wanted to invade the South
• Heard there were many Loyalists
• Slave rebellion

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The Targets

• Georgia was the 1st target
• Savannah fell in in December 1778
• The Carolinas
• After a 1 month siege Charleston fell in 1780
• 5,400 men were captured-costliest defeat

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Tactics

• British stay along the coast
• Camden, S.C, 1,000 colonists killed 1,000
  captured
• British found it more difficult moving inland
• Too much distance
• Too little support

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Nathanael Greene

• Sent by Dubs into the South
• Guerilla tactics
• At Wilmington, NC
• Colonists lost
• Greene was successful in pushing Cornwallis out
  of NC

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The End is Near

• Cornwallis forces the VA legislature to flee
• Realizes he doesnt have the ability to move
  inward
• In August , 1781-he reaches YORKTOWN

Not Yorktown!!
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The French

• After Saratoga-the French sign a treaty with the
  Colonies in 1778
• They send their navy to the West Indies
• After much urging the French arrived in the
  Chesapeake Bay (outside of Yorktown)

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The End is Near

• Washington was coming down South from PA.
• The French blocked off the British from the sea
• The British were stuck

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"Oh,God! It is all over."

• 17,000 French and Colonial forces surrounded the
  British
• Gen. Cornwallis and the 7,000 troops surrendered
  on October 19, 1781.
• Military band played The World Turned Upside
  Down

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As a result

• February 27, 1782
• House of Commons cut off support for the war
• Lord North (British Prime Minister) was forced
  out of office by a vote of no confidence

Youre fired!
Im sad?
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The Peace

• Formal negotiations began in 1782
• On the British side Richard Oswald
• On the American side Ben Franklin, John Adams,
  John Jay
• Many nations were involved in the war
• France, Spain, Russia, Poland, and more

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Other World Powers

• League of Armed Neutrality protect their
  maritime trade from the British
• France and Spain helped the most

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Treaty of Paris 1783

• Britain must recognize independence of U.S.
• Boundary of U..S and Canada set
• Western Boundary was Mississippi River
• Florida was returned to Spain
• England would withdraw its troops
• U.S. said the property and rights of Loyalists
  would be returned. No further persecution.

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How did the colonists win?

• Determination
• G. Dubs
• Organizational skills

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ENGLAND

• England had all the advantages going into it
• Problems
• Miles of ocean to cross
• London didnt really know what was going on
• Had to live off the land-Americans did not like
  this

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Those who fought

• Est. 250,000 men at one time fought in the war
• Militias were not as trained as the Continentals
• Many soldiers were born in North America, but
  there were others who came from Europe

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The men who fought

• Many of the soldiers were poor
• Wealthy hired substitutes
• Towards the end25 desertion rate
• Dubs stepped up the discipline

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Problems

• Little supplies
• Camp followers-wives, servants, slaves, etc.
• Followed the men around and made the camp more
  disorganized
• Dubs not a fan

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Personal

• Hit and run tactics
• A CIVIL WAR
• As many as 50,000 colonists were Loyalists
• More men died from disease and infection than in
  battle

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Supplies for War

• How did the colonists get weapons?
• The French were secretly supplying the colonists
• French were hoping for revenge against the
  British.

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Civilian Life

• Many were displaced
• Cities
• British would take livestock, destroy land
• Loyalists would also occupy places colonists fled
• Burn cities
• Those inland moved East-Loyalist and Indian
  Attacks

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MONEY

• Congress produced paper money called Continentals
• Inflationbig problem
• Many wealthy individuals financed the war

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Loyalists

• Many fled to England, Canada, the West Indies
• Appeared before a British commission to receive
  Loyalist claims
• Lost their homes, occupations, etc.

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Cont'd

• Revenge by the Patriots
• Laws depriving them of voting
• Confiscated property
• Banished from homes
• Few were killed

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Native Americans

• Iroquois
• Wanted to remain neutral
• After Americans raided their home, they joined
  the British
• WHY? What was the benefit of joining with the
  British?

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Cont'd

• Iroquois and British raided areas in NY and PA
• Summer 1179 Gen. John Sullivan (colonist) led
  raids against Iroquois
• As many as 1/3 of the population died

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Other Native Americans

• Oneida and Tuscarora sided with the colonists
• Division of the Indian tribes meant tribes would
  fight against each other
• Indian tribes were not considered in peace
  negotiations

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African Americans and the War

• North
• Both free and enslaved black were used in the war
• South
• Southern colonists were fearful
• England was hoping to exploit the situation

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Cont'd

• Many began to question their own situation
• Why arent they free?
• Confusion of war will allow many to leave their
  plantations

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After the War

• Those who fought for the English
• Nova Scotia
• Sierra Leone
• Many were also returned to their masters

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POLITICS

• Many felt Revolution was destined by a higher
  authority
• Liberty rested in the hands of the colonists
• Many thought extreme mob action was uncalled for

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POLITICS

• All walks of life looked to apply liberty
• Farmers, artisans, workingmen
• Colonists felt government should be run by the
  peoples authority (republic)
• Citizens expected to put public good over private
  interest

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POLITICS

• Agreed on
• Popular consent
• Frequent elections
• Citizen vigilance of liberties

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POLITICS

• Debates over the new form of government started
• Connecticut and Rhode Island continued under
  their colonial charters and removed all
  references to England
• Other completely rewrote their state Constitutions

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POLITICS

• Many colonies elected representatives to attend
  special conventions to create new Constitutions
• Limit government power
• Authority resides in the people

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Republican Motherhood

• Women had no rights
• NJ had voting for a while, then dropped it
• Women wanted to get involved in the Revolution

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• Talked with each other about public events
• A few spoke publicly
• Raised children in republican virtue
• Spoke out in defense of their rights