3.5 The American Revolution

10/6/21

Learning Objective: Explain how various factors contributed to the American victory in the revolution

Theme Focus: America in the World

Patrioits vs Loyalist

• Whigs vs Tories

• Whigs = Patriots

• Tories = Loyalists

• Rebels treated Loyalists poorly

• Tarred and feathered, hung, imprisoned

• Some fled to British lines

Advantages vs Disadvantages for Britain and America in the War

Three Fun Facts

• During the Boston Tea Party, the colonists dumped about $1 million worth of tea into the water.

• They boycotted British products by enforcing the everyone to boycott by threatening them like government

• The declaration got rid of about ¼ of Jefferson’s original Declaration through editing

• There weren’t many non-monarchial forms of government in the world

• Better sense of equality after the Revolution

The War

• Lexington and Concorde (April 1775)

• British troops were sent to seize gunpowder and rebel leaders

• Rebel minutemen resisted, ending in bullets exchange

• Became the first battle of the war

• Bunker Hill was seized by colonists (June 1775)

• Just outside Boston

• Gave colonists access to the British soldiers in the city

• Eventually forced to abandon the hill

• Battle of Long Island (August 1776)

• Major British success

• Untrained Americans on the retreat from British Army

• On Christmas Day 1776, George Washington crossed Delaware

• December 26: surprised and captured almost 1000 Hessians (Germans)

• 1777: British attempted to cut off New England from the Rest of the colonies

• Attempt thwarted by Patriot General Benedict Arnold

• Tried to cut off the colonies by taking their quartz in New England

• British General William Howe attempted to capture Philadelphia and quickly gave up

• Purposely got himself up to prison so he could be warm in prison and have enough to eat instead of outside in the winter with the troops

• Winter at Valley Forge

• British General John (“Gentlemen Johnny”) Burgoyne was forced to surrender his command at Saratoga (Oct 17, 1777)

• British General Charles Cornwallis fell back to Yorktown to await supplies & reinforcements

• French and American forces attacked

• Cornwallis surrendered 7,000 men on Oct. 19, 1781

• Beginning of the end, even though the British continued fighting for more than a year

A Word War

• Help from France

• Treaty negotiated by Ben Franklin

• French fears of reconciliation between British and Colonies pushed them to join the American cause (1778)

• They didn’t want the British to have more wealth and resources and power

• France hated the British for losing a lot of land from the 7 Years War

• Spain and Holland also entered the war against Britain [a]

• Didn’t send soldiers but sent resources and money

• “Armed Neutrality” by Catherine the Great of Russia

• Remained neutral countries exhibited “passive hostility” towards Britain

• Didn’t help America but didn’t want Britain’s to win

• British use of Hessians (Germans)

• Hessians do not care about who wins the war

• The American cause was helped by the fact that this became a worldwide war, too big for the British to handle

• Britain cannot handle all of the other countries supporting the Colonies

• Britain attempted to take the colonies one by one starting with the south (more Loyalists)

• First Georgia than South Carolina

• Had better support in the south

French in the War

• 6,000 French troops arrived in 1780

• Troops

• Resources

• Higher morale

• Americans were wary but eventually became willing partners in the alliance

The West

• Native Americans supporting the British in an attempt to keep their land

• 1784: forced to sign Treaty of Fort Stanwix the first treaty between the US and an Indian nation

• Forced to cede of their land

• Excuse for colonies to take more land

• Revenge for helping Britain out

• British more susceptible to attack in rule areas

• No roads, getting lost, fight in very strict formations that are very predictable in open plains

• Native Americans could hide better and demolished many British forts

The Sea

• Tiny American naval force making a dent against the huge British navy

• Destroying merchant shipping

• Privateers: privately owned armed ships

• Did so on the basis of patriotism and greed

• Could get wealthy from smuggling

• Most of our navy was based on them

• Loaded u their small boats with guns and gunpowder

Women in the War

• Maintained farms and businesses while men fought

• Camp followers: women who accompanied the troops, cooking, and sewing for them

• Wanted to be patriotic, might have loved ones, sometimes got paid but not a priority, given rations and clothes

• Women’s education increased after the war

• Women needed to know enough to maintain business and other things in case this ever happened again (and it did)

African-Americans in the War

• Initially banned from serving[b]

• Neither free nor enslaved were allowed to

• More than 5,000 by the end of the war, most from the north

• Most volunteered

• Some fought for the British side as well, in exchange for promises of freedom

• Would evacuate some of the slaves to Britain to save them

Traitors

• Profiteers: selling goods and information to the British in exchange for gold

• Tried to make a profit by selling colonial resources

• Very easy to see who was one at the end because they were wealthier than most people since the economy was very bad

• General Benedict Arnold (1780)

• Sold out West Point for money

• Elite Military Academy in New York

• One of the only places where you could get training to fight[c]

• Very important

• Plot detected in the nick of time

• Fled to England after the war

• In reality, a minority of colonists supported the independence movement

The End of the War

• John Adams, Ben Franklin, and John Jay represented America at peace talks in Paris

• France wanted a weak America

• Frances whole point in fighting in the war to become the biggest superpower instead of England

• France didn’t get what they want out of the war[d]

• Treaty of Paris (1783)

• Recognized American Independence with generous geographical boundaries

• Loyalists no longer to be persecuted

• Opportunity to pay back British debts

• Didn’t want America to take place of Britain

• Extended land line further west past the Appalachian

• Accepting defeat when they did not allow Britain the chance to build back up its navy and army and not lose their world power status

[a]What problems did Holland have against Britain?

[b]If we didn't allow them to serve because they weren't "humans" then why did colonists not care if they died?

[c]Where else could you go to get military training?

[d]How did France react to not getting what they wanted?