Contextualization

• British vs American Army

  • British: Well-organized, 3x the population size, wealth, large army, ample supplies & weaponry, strongest navy

  • US Army: Relied on minutemen/militias (called minutemen because should be prepared to fight within a minute’s notice); Short of supplies, poorly equipped, rarely paid, not officially trained (volunteers)

• Patriots (40%)

  • Mostly in New England and Chesapeake

  • African Americans- promised freedom if they fight in the war

• Loyalists/Tories (25%)

  • Mostly upper class, wealthy, and Anglicans

  • Supplied redcoats with arms and food

  • Supported by Native Americans

• Majority of colonists were neutral

Battles

• Lexington & Concord (1775)

  • British get word that there is a stockpile of colonial weapons in Lexington- try to seize

  • Paul Revere rides to warn Minutemen in Lexington

  • Near Concord, several Minutemen from small towns group together to defend against the British

  • Impact: Shot heard around the world—American Revolution begins; Americans win and inflict heavy casualties on British troops as British retreat to Boston

• Battle of Bunker Hill (1775)

  • Americans inflicted heavy losses on the British

• What was crucial turning point for American Revolution was the alliance of foreign nations

• Winter at Valley Forge

  • Terrible winter with many dying but Washington kept his troops there and trained all winter long

  • Tough times created more unity amidst American army

• Battle of Saratoga (1777)- Most important battle of the Revolution

  • Surprise victory of the revolution

  • Impact: Turning point—Gained French support contributed French Navy + supplies

• Treaty of Paris (1782)

  • British must fully recognize the US as a nation

  • Established the western border of the US as the Mississippi River

• Post War Society

  • Loyalists/tories

    • Most (over 80,000) fled to Canada or England

    • Lost property- immigration affected colonies

  • Religious Groups

    • Anglicans (Loyalists) & Quakers (non-violence many move away from Quaker Church to fight in the war) weakened

    • Roman Catholics strengthened (French)

  • Slavery

    • Slaves exposed to liberty

    • Revolutionary sentiment pushes for anti-slavery thought in the North

    • Southern plantation owners believe slavery necessary to their economy

  • Native Americans

    • Supported the British because promise of stopping expansion—now with new western border take away land largely settled by natives

    • Natives continue attacking western settlers with westward expansion

  • Women

    • Large contributors during war; Daughters of Liberty boycotts

    • Women take on roles tending to laundry, cooks, nurses, work in factories, helping in the war

    • Education- Republican Motherhood

    • Abigail Adams- “Remember the Ladies”

  • Economy

    • Self-sufficient economy—not government controlled

    • Traded finished American goods

• State Governments- created during the war, most consisted of:

  • Limiting executive power

  • Republicanism- democracy in practice a form of government allowing citizens to directly vote or elect representatives

  • Citizen rights

  • Separation of Powers (Separate Legislature and Executive branch)

  • Voting (White males, held property)

  • Concept of equality—for white landowning males

  • Later on, the separation of church and state

• Articles of Confederation

  • Adopted in 1777 ratified 1781-

  • Weak central government unable to perform necessary government functions

  • No executive power, Congress operates national government

  • Congressional Powers:

    • Conduct wars, foreign relations, territory

  • Non-Congressional Powers

    • Unable to draft an army or collect taxes and regulate trade

    • Had 913 states unanimous approval to amend the Articles and 9/13 states to pass new laws

• Territory Ordinances

  • National government must organize territory—overcrowding in Eastern coast of the US

  • Decide to sell off territory (in the Ohio River Valley)

  • Land Ordinance of 1785

    • Ohio territory was surveyed, sold, and marked into grids called townships

    • Always reserved land for public schools

  • Northwest Ordinance 1787

    • Ways to become a state

    • 60,000 apply for statehood must abide by the Constitution

    • Freedom of religion, trial by jury, prohibit slavery

    • Northwest ordinance opposed by Southern states—giving power to Northern states in Congress

• Shay’s Rebellion 1786

  • Large debt due to the war

    • Articles of Confederation has no power to tax, thus states increase taxes

    • Federalism division of power between Federal Govt and States

  • Daniel Shay organizes rebellion in Mass

    • Daniel Shay was owed money for fighting in war but did not receive any—states had debt thus raised taxes

    • Rebellion made of ex-soldiers and debtors

    • Increase paper money, tax relief, suspend debts

    • Attempt to seize arsenal

    • State militias put down rebellion

  • Importance

    • Showed the lack of power of the Confederation and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

• Creating a new government

  • Hamilton pushes for a national convention —> Anapolis Convention 1786 only 5 state representatives present

  • Thought of how to get all 13 states at the convention

  • Agree to meet in Philadelphia next year

• Constitutional Convention 1787

  • Virginia Plan (Bigger State)

    • 3 branches

    • Legislature 2 houses (upper and lower determined by state population)

  • New Jersey Plan (smaller states)

    • 1 house legislature (Continental Congress) equal representation from every state

    • Expand powers to tax and regulate commerce

• Great Compromise/Connecticut Plan

  • 3 branches of government

  • Bicameral legislature with two houses (upper house (senate) 2 representatives each; lower house (house of representatives) based on population)

  • 3/5 compromise- Lower house based on pop. since Southern states have larger populations due to slaves; Each slave counted as 3/5 for population

• Potential Problems

  • Government interferes with the Southern economy

  • Agreed for slave trade to stop in 20 years—law ends up getting vetoed

  • No individual rights yet

• Federalists

  • Supporters of the Constitution and a strong central government

  • Need to convince people to support (Federalist Papers- 85 essays written by John Jay, Hamilton,)

  • Else would lead to anarchy

• Anti-Federalists

  • True defenders of the principles from Revolution

  • Problems with the Constitution—lack of a bill of rights

• State Convention

  • Need 9 states to ratify

  • Constitution gets ratified by 1789

• Whiskey Rebellion (1794)

  • Farmers refused to pay excise tax and terrorized tax collectors

  • Govt knows citizens enjoy drinking whiskey so taxes whiskey distillers often from western Pennsylvania

  • Militia assembled and were supported by the Continental Army intimidated rebels so they stopped tax evasion

  • Comparable to Shay’s Rebellion

• Neutrality with Foreign Nations

  • French Revolution

    • Debate over whether US should support, not support, or stay neutral; Thomas Jefferson supports, and George Washington neutrality, believe we should focus on America before assisting France

    • French minister “citizen” Genet broke all rules of diplomacy by appealing DIRECTLY to American citizens to support the French cause—Washington asked French to remove him and Genet eventually becomes a citizen in the US due to his party being overthrown

  • Jay’s Treaty (1794)

    • Finish out the Treaty of Paris 1783

    • British army would impress (raid and capture) American seamen (sailors) into the British Navy (British and French war after French Revolution)

    • US drive away British influence in Northwest

    • US neutral in British-French conflicts