APUSH Chapter 6: Revolution and Republican Culture, 1763-1820

Hessians

Hessians were German soldiers hired by the British to fight the American rebels.

George Washington's Continental Army staged a successful surprise attack on Trenton, New Jersey, on Christmas night in 1776, forcing the surrender of 1,000 Hessian soldiers. This victory served as a significant morale boost for the Patriots.

Continental Army

The Continental Army was the main Patriot military force, commanded by General George Washington.

The army suffered early defeats at the hands of General William Howe and endured a brutal winter at Valley Forge, where it was transformed into a more disciplined force by Baron von Steuben

Its victory, with French help, at the Battle of Yorktown secured American independence

General William Howe

General William Howe was the commander of the British army early in the war, ordered by Lord North to capture New York City. His strategy was to seize the Hudson River to isolate New England Patriots from the southern colonies.

He defeated the Americans at the Battle of Long Island but did not try to destroy the

Continental Army, hoping for a political compromise. His decision to attack Philadelphia instead of coordinating with General Burgoyne contributed to the British defeat at the Battle of Saratoga

Battle of Saratoga

The Battle of Saratoga was the turning point of the war. In October 1777, American troops led by General Horatio Gates forced British General Burgoyne to surrender.

This decisive victory convinced France to enter into the Treaty of Alliance with the United States, providing crucial military and financial support.

Baron von Steuben

Baron von Steuben was a former Prussian military officer who joined the American cause. As inspector general of the Continental Army, he instituted a strict drill system during the winter at Valley Forge.

His training was essential in transforming the smaller, suffering army into a much tougher and better-disciplined fighting force.

Valley Forge

Valley Forge was the location where George Washington's Continental army suffered horribly during the winter of 1777.

It was during this dark time that Baron von Steuben began to train and discipline the troops.

The Treaty of Alliance (1778)

The Treaty of Alliance was a military alliance concluded between the Continental Congress and France in February 1778.

American victory at the Battle of Saratoga, specified that neither France nor the U.S. would sign a separate peace treaty with Britain. The alliance provided the Patriots with essential money, supplies, and troops

Philipsburg Proclamation (1779)

Philipsburg Proclamation was issued by the British in 1779 as part of their southern strategy. It declared that any enslaved person who deserted a rebel master would receive protection, freedom, and land from Great Britain. This proclamation, along with Lord Dunmore's earlier one, led some 30,000 African Americans to take refuge behind British lines, creating what was described as a "triangular war" in the South

Nathanael Greene

Nathanael Greene was an American general dispatched by George Washington to recapture the Carolinas. He took charge of local militiamen and unleashed them on British forces. His soldiers fought General Charles Cornwallis's army to a draw at Guilford Court House.

This war of attrition weakened the British, forcing Cornwallis to concede the Carolinas and move into Virginia, setting the stage for the Battle of Yorktown.

Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold was an infamous Patriot traitor. As a general in the British army, he commanded reinforcements sent from New York to bolster the ranks of

General Charles Cornwallis in Virginia during the summer of 1781. He sparred with American forces led by Lafayette near the York Peninsula just before the decisive Battle of Yorktown

General Charles Cornwallis

General Charles Cornwallis was a British general who assumed control of forces in the South, defeating General Horatio Gates at Camden. After a draining war of attrition against forces led by Nathanael Greene, he decided to move into Virginia. There, he was surrounded at Yorktown by George Washington's army and the French fleet, where he surrendered in October 1781, a defeat that broke the resolve of the British government.

Battle of Yorktown

Battle of Yorktown in October 1781 was the decisive Franco-American victory that ended the war.

George Washington, with General Rochambeau's French army and the French fleet, trapped General Charles Cornwallis's 9,500-man army on the York Peninsula. Cut off from reinforcement or retreat by sea, Cornwallis was forced to surrender. This victory broke the resolve of the British government and led to the Treaty of Paris.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

officially signed on September 3, 1783, formally ended the Revolutionary War. American diplomats Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay negotiated secretly with the British. The treaty granted the United States independence and gave the new nation control of all lands south of the Great Lakes and east of the Mississippi River.

Bicameral Legislature

bicameral legislature is a two-house legislative body. John Adams advocated for this structure in his Thoughts on Government, adapting the British theory of mixed government to a republic. He proposed a lower house with popular majorities and an upper house of substantial property owners to act as a check on democratic power. This model was adopted at the Philadelphia Convention in the form of the Senate and House of Representatives.

Articles of Confederation

first constitution of the United States, formally ratified in 1781. It created a weak central government, or confederation, where each state had one vote in a unicameral legislature. The government under the Articles lacked the power to tax and was nearly bankrupt by 1780. Its weaknesses were highlighted by Shays's Rebellion, leading to the Philadelphia Convention to revise it.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was a major achievement of the Congress under the Articles of Confederation. It created the territories that would eventually become the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The ordinance established procedures for these territories to become states, prohibited slavery in the region, and set aside funds from land sales for the support of schools.

Shays’s Rebellion

Shays's Rebellion was a 1786 revolt led by Captain Daniel Shays, a Continental Army veteran, in Massachusetts. Farmers protested high taxes and property seizures by closing courts by force. The rebellion, linked consciously to the Patriot movement, demonstrated the weakness of the government under the Articles of Confederation. It alarmed nationalists and spurred them to call for the Philadelphia Convention to create a stronger central government

Philadelphia Convention

took place in May 1787, with fifty-five delegates from every state except Rhode Island attending. Originally called to revise the Articles of Confederation, the convention, with George Washington presiding, instead created a new Constitution.

James Madison set the agenda, debating proposals like the Virginia Plan and New Jersey Plan and creating compromises such as the Three-Fifths Compromise.

James Madison

younger nationalist from Virginia who insisted on increased national authority at the Philadelphia Convention. He devised the

Virginia Plan, which became the basis for the Constitution. To support ratification, he co-authored

The Federalist Papers, including the influential Federalist #10, which argued that a large republic would protect against the dangers of factions.

Virginia Plan and New Jersey Plan

devised by James Madison, proposed a strong national government with a bicameral legislature where representation was based on population. Competing models of gov proposed at Philadelphia convention

New Jersey Plan preserved the Articles of Confederation's structure of a unicameral legislature with equal representation for each state but gave the government new powers to raise revenue and control commerce

Great Compromise resolved differences between these plans

Three-Fifths Compromise

solution to the debate at the Philadelphia Convention over how to count enslaved people for representation. Southerners demanded that slaves be counted fully to increase their representation, while Northerners opposed this. The delegates agreed that each enslaved person would count as three-fifths of a free person for purposes of both representation and taxation. This compromise helped southern planters dominate the national government until 1860

Federalists

Federalists were supporters of the proposed Constitution and its strong national government. During the ratification debates, they seized the initiative by calling themselves

Federalists and writing The Federalist Papers to make their case. They argued that the separation of powers would prevent tyranny.

Federalists were typically from coastal areas and included merchants and commercial farmers.

Anti-Federalists

Anti-Federalists were opponents of the Constitution who feared that a strong central government would threaten state power and individual rights. They were concerned the Constitution lacked a declaration of individual rights and that the central government would be run by wealthy men.

Anti-Federalists were often from backcountry areas. Their demands led directly to the promise and eventual adoption of the Bill of Rights

The Federalist Papers

The Federalist Papers were a series of 85 essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay to defend the proposed Constitution during the New York ratification convention. In

Federalist #10, Madison argued that a large republic would be more stable and protect against factions. The essays explained how the principles of separation of powers and checks and balances would preserve liberty

Ratification Conventions

The Constitution was submitted to state

ratification conventions rather than state legislatures for approval. The

Federalists declared it would take effect once ratified by nine of the thirteen states. These conventions featured heated debates between

Federalists and Anti-Federalists. The promise of a bill of rights was crucial for securing ratification in key states like Massachusetts, Virginia, and New York.

Battle of Long Island

took place in August 1776. In this battle,

General William Howe defeated the American forces and forced their retreat to Manhattan Island. It was a significant early defeat for the

Continental Army, which was outgunned and outmaneuvered, leading to a series of retreats across the Hudson River to New Jersey

Currency tax

hidden tax that financed the American military victory. Because both the Continental Congress and individual states printed so much paper money to finance the war, the currency rapidly depreciated from inflation. Every paper dollar held for even a week lost value, imposing this small, hidden

Pennsylvania constitution of 1776

highly democratic constitution that alarmed many leading Patriots. It abolished property ownership as a qualification for voting and granted all taxpaying men the right to vote and hold office. It created a powerful unicameral (one-house) legislature with no governor to exercise a veto. 

Mixed government

ritish Whig theory of sharing power among a monarch, the House of Lords, and the Commons. John Adams adapted this theory for a republican society in his

Thoughts on Government. He argued for separating power among legislative, executive, and judicial branches and creating a

bicameral legislature with an upper house of elites and a lower house of common citizens to create checks and balances

Federalist #10

from The Federalist Papers, written by James Madison. In it, Madison challenged the conventional wisdom that republics could only work in small territories. He argued that a large republic would "take in a greater variety of parties and interests," making it more difficult for a single faction to form a majority and "invade the rights of other citizens".

George Washington

George Washington was the commander of the Continental Army. He pursued a defensive strategy to maintain the morale of his troops through years of difficult warfare. He led the army through the harsh winter at Valley Forge and executed the plan to trap Cornwallis at the Battle of Yorktown. His leadership was essential to the Patriot victory, and he was later elected as the presiding officer of the Philadelphia Convention.

General Horatio Gates

General Horatio Gates was an American general who led the troops that defeated the British at the pivotal Battle of Saratoga in 1777. After this major victory, he was defeated by General Charles Cornwallis at Camden, South Carolina, in 1780, in a major setback for the Patriot cause in the South

Robert Morris

Robert Morris was the superintendent of finance for the government under the Articles of Confederation starting in 1781. A nationalist, he tried to expand the Confederation's authority by chartering the Bank of North America and creating a bureaucracy to manage finances. He also urged Congress to enact a 5 percent import tax to raise revenue, but the proposal was rejected by Rhode Island and New York.

Judith Sargent Murray

Judith Sargent Murray was one of the most accomplished female essayists of the Revolutionary era. In her 1779 essay "On the Equality of the Sexes," she argued that women had equal capacities for memory and superior imaginations compared to men. She conceded that women were inferior in judgment and reasoning only because of a lack of training and education. Her work was part of a larger, though mostly unsuccessful, push by women for greater legal and educational rights in the new republic