CHAPTER 8: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION “America Secedes from the Empire

George Washington   Selected by the 2nd Continental Congress   Never risen above the rank of colonel   Would lose more battles than he would win   So…Why George?

 1. Powers of leadership and strength of character  2. Patience, courage, self-discipline

 3. Would be a symbol and a rallying point- great moral force

 His selection also political  From Virginia (largest colony) and part of aristocracy  Would not be accused of being a fortune seeker

Bunker Hill and the Hessians   May 1775

 Tiny Am. Force led by E. Allen and B. Arnold captured Ticonderoga and Crown Point (gun powder and artillery to use in Boston)

  June 1775  Colonists seize Bunker Hill  Colonists eventually abandon the hill (lack of

gunpowder)  More British casualties than American

  July 1775  Olive Branch Petition

 Congress professed Am. Loyalty to the crown and begged King George III to prevent more aggression

 King George III- “Battle of Bunker Hill = no hope for reconciliation”

  August 1775  King George III announces- “Colonies in rebellion”

  Sept. 1775  George III hired thousands of German troops to crush

rebellion  Most German troops from German principality of

Hesse = Hessians  Hessian soldiers shock the colonists

 Reputation for butchery

The Conquest of Canada   Late 1775

 American leaders- “a successful assault on Canada would add a 14th colony and would deprive Britain of a valuable base for striking at the colonies”

 Contradiction that we are fighting a defensive war

Conquest of Canada   Outcome of Canada

 General Richard Montgomery captured Montreal, but is later killed in Quebec

 B. Arnold is wounded, his army retreats  Canadians do not welcome colonists- “no desire for

anti-Catholic invaders”

  March 1776-  British evacuate Boston, head to New York.

Thomas Paine   Paine- “not only independence, but also the creation

of a republic”  Power from the people, not a monarch   Individuals in a republic needed to sacrifice their

personal self-interest to the public good.

  Not all agreed…  Some favored a republic led by “natural aristocracy”  Lower class thought it was a way to “level” the social

classes

Jefferson and his “Explanation”   Richard Henry Lee of Va. Spoke to Congress about

declaring their independence   Congress decided to have a group draft the

declaration- Jefferson in charge of writing.

Reasons for Independence   1. Colonists outraged by British military conduct and by

use of Hessian troops   2. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense   Am. Forces had fared well against the British- Bunker

Hill   Colonial leaders believed independence would help the

colonies receive assistance from European powers

Basic Ideas of the Dec. of Ind.   1. Jefferson based many ideas on those of English

philosopher John Locke   Philosophy of government

  “All men created equal” and unalienable rights- “Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness”

  To secure these rights, “governments are started by men, deriving their powers from the consent of the governed”

List of Grievances   “injuries and usurpations” committed by King

George against the colonists

Conclusion of Dec.   “These united colonies are, and of right ought to be,

free and independent states.”

Wartime Problems Facing the Colonies

  1. Providing a government   2nd Continental Congress acted as a central gov.   1775-1781: one objective- win the war  Congress was handicapped in several ways

  Lacked gov. powers- could only “request” men, money, and cooperation of the colonies

  Inexperienced and inefficient procedures  Some members fought each other over politics

Achievements of the 2nd Cont. Congress

  1. Held all 13 colonies together   2. Authorized an army and appointed Washington   3. Created a navy   4. Issued Dec. of Ind.   5. Arranged military alliance with France   6. Raised funds for the war effort

Raising Funds   Congress issued paper $ called “Continentals”

worth 250 million  Money became worthless as British victories early in

war.

Raising Funds   Congress requested funds from the colonies- FAILED-

colonies would not send $   Congress floated loans- Netherlands, Spain, and

France   Patriotic Americans

 Robert Morris- signer of Dec., superintendent of finance, guaranteed govt loans w/his personal credit

Raising an Army   During most of the war, Continental Army did not

number more than several thousand men  Volunteers usually signed up for short-term enlistments  Most troops not properly trained/equipped

Dealing w/the Loyalists   Population of 13 colonies were divided:

 1/3- organized Patriots  1/3- undecided, waited to see how the war developed  1/3- Tories/Loyalists- completely loyal to Britain and

king  Tories consisted of more prosperous and conservative group

(landowners & officeholders)

  As war progressed, total of 80,000 Tories fled to Canada/England

  Patriots confiscated Tory estates, sold to pay for war

  Civil war between Patriots and Tories (2nd aspect of Am. Rev. War)- represented a struggle for a greater democracy

1776   July 1776- Patriots leave Boston- focus major

efforts in New York  500 ships  35,000 soldiers

Late Summer/Fall 1776   Washington outgeneraled and outmaneuvered, lost

Battle of Long Island   Washington barely escapes to Manhattan (fog)   Would continue to New Jersey, taunted by British-

fox-hunting calls

Late Summer/Early Fall   British General Wm. Howe not hunting Washington

w/speed  Leader at Bunker Hill (does not want to get slaughtered

again  Winter approaching   In need of supplies/troops  Comfy w/his mistress (wife of one of his officers)

Dec. 1776   Washington in Trenton, NJ   Decides to cross Delaware R. on Christmas Day to

fight Hessians   Take 1,000 Hessians by surprise   1 week later- defeats small British detachment at

Princeton  These victories motivate American cause

Saratoga   Upstate NY, Americans (Horatio Gates) defeated

and captured Gen. Johnny Burgoyne and his entire army (where is Howe?)

  British trying to sever New England from the rest of the colonies- paralyze American cause

Importance of Saratoga   Saratoga is major turning point of the war

 Convinced French gov. that America had a chance at winning the war

 B. Franklin convinces French to sign military treaty in 1778

Valley Forge: Winter 1777-1778   British take control of Philadelphia   Washington retreats 20 miles NW of Philadelphia

to Valley Forge- strong, hilly position for the winter   Troops- little food, no clothes, frostbite   Arrival of Prussian drillmaster Baron von Steuben

Colonial War Becomes a World War   Aid to American cause for independence:

 France, Spain, Holland

 War fought in:  N.A., S.A., Europe, Asia, Caribbean   IMPOSSIBLE for America to gain independence w/o aid of

European powers

  Addition of France in war forced G.B. to change strategy  Leave Philly for NY

 Britain’s blockade and supply lines now in jeopardy

War in the South   Part of British forces led by Gen. Charles Cornwallis

moved southward  Numerous Loyalists in the South (Charleston)  British win several battles and took seaports of

Savannah and Charleston  Cannot crush Am. Forces led by Gen. Nathanael

Greene- “Fighting Quaker”

War in the South   Early 1781- British suffer losses in the interior of

Carolinas, Cornwallis withdrew to Virginia

American Victory in the NW Territory   George Rogers Clark

 Led a force of less than 200 frontiersmen down the Ohio R.

 Capture British forts in Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes

 This ends British control of the NW territory and established Am. Claims to the area

John Paul Jones   Most famous sea commander of America’s infant

navy   US Navy- little contribution in war- attack British

merchant ships   Main contribution from privateers- legalized pirates

 Raised American morale w/victories, captured gold

Yorktown (1781)   Cornwallis fallen back to Yorktown, Va. To await

supplies/reinforcements   French Admiral de Grasse moves Northward from

W. Indies   Washington marches 300 miles from NY to VA

Yorktown   Cornwallis cut off by land and sea   Surrenders his entire forces of 7,000 men   King George III not convinced war is over, orders

fighting to continue for 2 more years

Reasons for American Victory   Am. Fighting on own soil, for their own homes, and

their own freedom   Americans were superior wilderness fighters   Led by courage, determination, and ability

 Washington, Rogers Clark, Greene, J.P. Jones

  Foreign volunteers  Marquis de Lafayette (Washington’s staff)  Baron de Kalb (French Army)  Baron von Steuben (Prussia)  Casmir Pulaski (Poland)

Treaty of Paris   American negotiators- B. Franklin, J. Adams, J. Jay   Britain recognized the 13 American states as

independent  North- Canada and Great Lakes  South- Spanish owned Florida  East- Atlantic Ocean  West- Mississippi R.

Treaty of Paris   Americans retained their rights to fish on the banks

off Newfoundland   US agreed to “recommend” to the various states the

restoration of confiscated Loyalist properties and the payment of debts owed to British merchants (state govt. paid little attention)