Chapter 8 America Secedes from the Empire 1775-1783

APUSH Part 1 Founding the New Nation c. 33,000 BCE - 1783 CE

Who were the minutemen?

They were members of the colonial militia during the American Revolution.

What was the Second Continental Congress like?

They met at Philadelphia on May 10, 1775. THis time all the colonies went. There was still no well-defined sentiment for independence—merely a desire to continue fighting in the hope that the king and Parliament would consent to a redress of grievances. Congress hopefully drafted new appeals to the British people and king—appeals that were spurned.

What did Congress make George Washington do?

He was to head the improvised army besieging Boston. However, people doubted this choice due to his lack of military knowledge. But Washington was gifted with powers of leadership.

Why did the Congress choose Washington?

It was due to political reasons. Americans began to distrust the New England army being collected around Boston. A commander from Virginia, the largest and most populous colony, would be a smart choice. As a man of wealth, Washington couldn’t be accused of being a fortune-seeker and as an aristocrat, he could be counted on by his peers to check “the excesses of the masses”

Did Americans truly want independence in the beginnings of the war?

No, they still affirmed their loyalty to the king. This lasted from April 1775 to July 1776, fourteen months, after that they began wanting for independence.

What happened at Bunker Hill?

In June 1775, the colonists took control of a hill, now known as Bunker Hill (though it was actually Breed's Hill), from which they could threaten the British forces in Boston. Instead of cutting off the colonists' retreat by attacking from the sides, the British made a costly mistake by launching a direct frontal assault with 3,000 men. The colonists, numbering around 1,500 and well entrenched, used sharpshooting tactics to mow down the advancing British soldiers, causing heavy casualties. However, the colonists eventually ran out of gunpowder and were forced to retreat from the hill in disorder.

What was the Olive Branch Petition?

In July 1775, the Continental Congress adopted the Olive Branch Petition, professing American loyalty to the crown and begging the king to prevent further hostilities. But following Bunker Hill, King George III slammed the door on all hope of reconciliation.

What did King George III do on August 1775?

He proclaimed the colonies in rebellion; it was treason, a hanging crime.

What did the rebels want to do with Canada?

American leaders mistakenly believed that the French inhabitants of Canada would rise up against British rule if given the chance. They thought that a successful attack on Canada would not only add a fourteenth colony but also remove a strategic base the British could use to strike the American colonies. However, this plan contradicted the colonists' claim that they were only fighting defensively to address their grievances. By launching an assault into Canada, the Americans were clearly engaging in offensive warfare, not just defending their territory.

Were the Americans successful in taking over Canada?

They failed. General Richard Montgomery was able to capture Montreal, but after going to Quebec and joining the army of General Benedict Arnold, they launched an assault in 1775. The assault on Quebec failed and the remnants of the troops retreated. The French Canadian leaders, who had been generously treated by the British in the Quebec Act of 1774, showed no real desire to welcome the plundering anti-Catholic invaders. Montgomery was killed and Arnold wounded

Why did Americans continue to deny any intention of independence?

Loyalty to the empire was deeply ingrained; many Americans continued to consider themselves part of a transatlantic community in which the mother country of Britain played a leading role; colonial unity was poor; and open rebellion was dangerous, especially against Britain.

Why did Americans decide to separate from the crown?

It was due to the harsh acts by the British such as the burning of FAlmouth and Norfolk, and especially the hiring of the Hessians. Many colonists were outraged when King George III hired about 30,000 German soldiers (Hessians) to fight against them. This made it clear that Britain saw them as rebellious subjects rather than citizens with rights, hardening the desire for independence.

What was Common Sense?

It was a book published by Thomas Paine in 1776. The book convinced the colonists that their true cause was independence rather than reconciliation with Britain. This was the foundational document of not only American independence but also American foreign policy. The book called not simply for independence, but for the creation of a new kind of political society, a republic, where power flowed from the people themselves, not from a corrupt and despotic monarch.

Who was Thomas Paine?

He was a radical and used to be a corset-maker’s apprentice that had come over to America from Britain. He believed that the only lawful states. were those that derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.

What did Americans believe a republican government would be like?

Because political power no longer rested with the central, all-powerful authority of the king, individuals in a republic needed to sacrifice their personal self-interest to the public good.

What did Richard Henry Lee of Virginia do on June 7, 1776?

As a member of the Philadelphia Congress (and from Virginia), he said that the colonies should be free and independent states. After considerable debate, the motion was adopted nearly a month later, on July 2, 1776.

How did America cut ties with Britain after Lee’s resolution?

They declared their independence. However, they need to explain why so. Congress appointed a committee to prepare a more formal statement of separation. The task of drafting it fell to Thomas Jefferson, a Virginian lawyer. This statement of separation became known as the Declaration of Independence, which was approved by the Congress on July 4, 1776.

What did the Declaration of Independence entail?

Jefferson invoked the natural rights of humankind. He argued that because the king had flouted these rights, the colonists were justified in cutting their connection. He then set forth a long list of the presumably tyrannous misdeeds of George III. The overdrawn bill of indictment included imposing taxes without consent, dispensing with trial by jury, abolishing valued laws, establishing a military dictatorship, maintaining standing armies in peacetime, cutting off trade, burning towns, hiring mercenaries, and inciting hostility among the Indians. It proclaimed that “all men were created equal.”

What were foreign relations like after America declared independence?

Because they became independnet, foreign assistance could now be solicitied with greater hopes of success.

What was the “shout heard round the world”?

It was the Declaration of Independence, which inspired countless revolutionary movements against arbritary authority.

What was the Declaration of the Rights of Man?

It was a French declaration of independence inspired by the original declaration.

Whow were the loyalists?

Colonials loyal to the king. They were called Tories, after the dominant political factions in Britain. They were usually most numerous where the Anglican Church was strongest.

Who were the Patriots?

American rebels fighting against the British. They fought against the royalists and British redcoats. They were called “Whigs,” ” after the opposition factions in Britain. They were the most numerous where Presbyterianism and Gongregationalism flourished.

What was the general consesus of the American Revolution by the colonists?

Many colonists were apathetic or neutral.

Where was Britain’s base of operations?

It was centered on New York, where there was a splendid seaport and whree the king could count on coperation from Loyalists.

What was the Battle of Long Island?

In 1776 the Americans were losing to the Briitsh and so they and Washingotn escaped to Manhattan Island by crossing the Hudson to New Jersey and finally to the Delaware River.

What was the Battle at Trenton?

By late 1776, Washington was on the verge of being defeated, but he made a bold move by secretly recrossing the ice-filled Delaware River. On December 26, 1776, he launched a surprise attack on a group of Hessian soldiers in Trenton, capturing about a thousand of them while they were recovering from their Christmas celebrations. Just a week later, using the clever tactic of leaving his campfires burning to deceive the British, Washington slipped away and dealt a sharp defeat to a smaller British force at Princeton. These two victories in New Jersey saved the American cause and demonstrated Washington’s military genius, earning him the nickname "Old Fox."

How did Britain plan to capture the Hudson River valley in 1777?

If they were successful they could sever New England from teh rest of the states. They wanted General John Burgoyne to push down the Lake Champlain route from Canada and then General HOw'e’s troops in New York could advance up the Hudson and meet Burgoyne near Albany. Then Colonel Barry St. Leger would come in from the west.

What did General Howe decide to do that was questionable?

Instead of moving up the Hudson River from New York as planned, he chose to join the main British army in attacking Philadelphia, the rebel capital. His goal was to engage Washington’s army in a major battle and defeat it, clearing the way for Burgoyne’s advance. He believed he had enough time to return and help Burgoyne if necessary, but this decision ultimately contributed to the failure of the British strategy.

What happend to Burgoyne that led to the plan of capturing the Hudson to fail?

He bogged down north of Albany when American militiamen swarmed about him. THe British army was trapped. Americans had driven back ST. Leger’s force at Oriskany. Burgoyne was forced to surrender at Saratoga on Oct. 17, 1777 to general Horatio Gates.

What were the effects of the battle of Saratoga?

It was a decisive battle that revived the faltering colonial cause and made possbible the foreign aid from France, which hleped ensure American independence .

Why did France help the rebels?

The saught revenge against britain after the 7 Year’s War.

What was the Model Treaty?

It was drafted by the Continental Congress in 1776 to guide the American comissioners it was aboutto dispatch to the French court. One of the treaty’s chief authors, John Adams, described its basic principles: “1. No political connection. . . . 2. No military connection. . . . 3. Only a commercial connection.” However, the idea that mutual commercial interests would guarantee peaceful relations was naive.

How did Benjamin Franklin present himself when he went to Paris to negotiate the treat y with France?

He hoped his appearance should herald the diplomatic revolution the Americans hoped to achieve. In his clothing and demeanor, he affected a persona that deliberately violated every norm of diplomatic behavior. Instead of the customary ceremonial sword, he toted only a plain white walking stick. Forsaking ermined robes and fancy wigs, he sported homespun garments and a simple cap of marten fur. But ordinary Parisians adored him as a specimen of a new democratic social order.

How was Franklin able to get an alliance with France?

He played on French fears of Anglo-American reconciliation.

What other countries fought against England in the REvolutioN?

Spain and Holland.

Why did Spain decide to fight against England?

France promised to help Spain take control of Gibraltar, which was still held by the Biritsh.

What was Armed Neutrality?

In 1780 Catherine the Great of Russia took the lead in organizing the Armed Neutrality. It lined up almost all the remaining European neutrals in an attitude of passive hostility toward Britain. The war was now being fought not only in Europe and North America, but also in South America, the Caribbean, and Asia.

What was Britain’s plan now that France was helping the Americans?

They counted count on blockading the coast and decided to evacuate Philadelphia and concentrate their strength in New York City.

What did General Benedict Arnold do in 1780?

He became a traitor and plotted with the British to sell out the key stronghold of West Point, which commanded the Hudson River, for £6,300 and an officer’s commission. By the sheerest accident, the plot was detected in the nick of time, and Arnold fled to the British.

Which Indians sided with the Americans?

the Oneidas and the Tuscaroras, who were part of the Iroquois Confederacy.

Which Indians sided with the British?

The Senecas, Mohawks, Cayugas, and onondagas. They were urged on by Mohawk chief Joseph Brant, a convert to Anglicanism who believed that a victorious Britain would restrain American expansion into the West

What was the Treaty of Fort Stanwix?

the first treaty between the United States and an Indian nation. Under its terms, the Indians ceded most of their land. It was signed by pro-British Iroquois in 1784.

What were privateers?

Privateers were privately owned armed ships, essentially legalized pirates, authorized by Congress to attack enemy ships. While they helped disrupt British supply lines and brought in much-needed gold, they also had downsides. The use of privateers diverted manpower from the main war effort, and some Americans became involved in corruption and profiteering.

What happened at Yorktown?

British general Cornwallis had fallen back to Chesapeake Bay at Yorktown to await for supplies and reinforcements because he thought the British still maintained superiority of the seas. Admiral de Grasse, operating with a powerful fleet in the West Indies, advised the Americans that he was free to join with them in an assault on Cornwallis at Yorktown. General Washington then marched to the Chesapeake from New York, accompanied by Rochambeau’s French army, while de Grasse blockaded the British by sea after defeating the British fleet. Cornwallis surrendered on Oct. 19, 1781. This essentially caused the end of the American Revolution.

What happened after the Battle of Yorktown?

Despite George III’s obstinate eagerness to continue fighting, many Britons were weary of war and increasingly ready to come to terms. Lord North’s ministry collapsed in March 1782, temporarily ending the personal rule of George III. A Whig ministry, rather favorable to the Americans, replaced the Tory regime of Lord North.

Who were the American peace negotiators?

Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and john Jay.

What did Congress instruct the negotiators to do?

The three American negotiators were strictly ordered by Congress to make no separate peace (an agreement made between one country and an enemy without involving or consulting their allies) and to involve their French allies at every stage of the negotiations. However, they found these restrictions frustrating. They knew that Congress had written these instructions under heavy French influence, with the French Foreign Office subtly shaping the decision.

What did Spain want out of the war?

They wanted the trans-Allegheny area, where American pioneers were already settling.

What did John Jay do?

The French wanted to keep America in the east of the Allegheny Mountains to prevent them from being strong and to appease Spain. However, John Jay saw that the French could not satisfy the conflicting ambitions of both Americans and Spaniards. He therefore secretly made separate overtures to London, contrary to his instructions from Congress. The hard-pressed British, eager to entice one of their enemies from the alliance, speedily came to terms with the Americans.

What was the Treaty of Paris of 1783?

It was the peace treaty signed after the American Revolution where the British recognized the independence of the United States. In addition, they granted new lands, stretching to the Mississippi on the west, to the Great Lakes on the north, and to Spanish Florida on the south. (Spain had recently captured Florida from Britain.) The Yankees were to retain a share in the priceless fisheries of Newfoundland. The Americans had to agree that loyalists were not to be further. persecuted, and Congress was to recommend to the state legislatures that confiscated Loyalist property be restored. As for the debts long owed to British creditors, the states vowed to put no lawful obstacles in the way of their collection. However, they weren’t followed as London as hoped.

What were the effects of Britain’s acceptance of defeat in North America?

For Britain, accepting defeat in North America ultimately proved to be a smart move strategically. Continuing the war in the colonies could have drained Britain’s resources. However, by ending the conflict with America, Britain was able to rebuild its army and navy, which later helped it win the massive war against Napoleon. This allowed Britain to emerge as the leading global power in the 19th century.

Why were Britain’s terms so generous?

When the peace terms were being written, Britain was trying to lure America away from its alliance with France, so it made the terms as appealing as possible. The Whig government, which was only in power for a few months and was quite unstable, was more sympathetic to the Americans than the previous Tory government. The Whigs aimed to heal past tensions, reopen trade relations, and prevent future conflicts over the valuable lands west of the Appalachian Mountains. Unfortunately, their successors did not continue this forward-thinking approach.

Wat happend to France after the war?

The would eventually become bankrupt and a revolution would occur.