• Essential Question:
–What factors caused the British to
fail in what should have been an
easy campaign to subdue the
American rebels?
The Decision to Fight
For Independence
The Battle offor
Bunker
Hill (Breed’s Hill)
Decision
Independence
demonstrated
were
In early 1776,that
bothAmericans
Spain & France
willing
to stand
up supplies
to a pitched
battle
• Thebegan
Lexington
&war
Concord
skirmish
shipping
to colonists
was Despite
the 1st growing
of a series
of
conflicts
from
calls for independence,
1775 to
before
thetheAmerican
call
the1776
congress
issued
Olive Branch
for independence:
Petition to King George in July 1775
–Fighting erupted around Boston,
King
George
rejected
the
Olive
NY, Charlestown,
&
Quebec
Branch Petition in August 1775
–The 2nd Continental Congress met to
organize a war plan
–King George declared the colonists
in “open rebellion”
Battle
Bunker
Hill (Breed’s
Hill);
June 17,
With
overof1,000
casualties,
the British
suffered
their
greatest losses of the1775
Revolution at Bunker Hill
“A few more such victories would have shortly
put an end to British dominion in America”
—British General Henry Clinton
Decision for Independence
• By 1776, the 2nd Continental Congress
served as an
informal“royal
national
gov’t
Challenged
infallibility”
for thePersuaded
coloniesordinary people to sever
ties majority
with England
& its “royalwere
brute”
• But the
of colonists
undecided about independence
• Thomas Paine’s Common Sense proved
to be the key factor in convincing
Americans to support colonial
independence
On June 7, 1776
Richard Henry Lee of
VA introduced a
resolution to the
Continental Congress:
“that
United
Bythese
1776,
Colonies are, and of
colonial
right ought
to be, free
and
independent
sentiment
States...”
had
changed
After
several
days of
debate, Congress
appointed a committee
to draft a declaration of
independence
Declaration of Independence (1776)
Committee to draft the Declaration:
Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin,
John Adams, Robert Livingston,
& Roger Sherman
Decision for Independence
• On July 2, 1776, the Continental
Congress voted for independence
• On July 4, the Declaration of
Independence
was signed;
The
Democratic
ideals (republicanism)
Declaration’s
purpose
was
to:
Natural rights & individual liberty
–Justify the Americans’ desire to
separate from England
–Articulate the principles on which
the new nation would be
established
Independence Hall at the
Second Continental Congress
The Declaration of Independence
was NOT signed like this!
The Decision for Independence
• The colonists were divided about this
decision for independence:
–Supporters of independence were
called “Patriots” or “Whigs”
–Colonists that opposed
independence were called
“Loyalists” or “Tories”
–There were many “neutral”
colonists who were conflicted by the
prospect of independence
•
•
•
•
Patriots vs.
Loyalists
Where are the
Loyalists?
Why are
Loyalists near
cities?
Why is the
backcountry so
contested?
Why are Native
Americans
loyalists?
Fighting the War
for Independence
The Outbreak of Revolution
• The British entered the war confident
of a complete victory:
–Their army was 400% larger; welltrained solders, experienced officers,
& Hessian mercenaries
–Strong manufacturing base
–The world’s most dominant navy
• Believed the 1776 battles were a
“police action” & the show of force
would force rebels to submit
The Outbreak of Revolution
•
In reality, England faced an
impossible task:
– Their long supply lines across the
Atlantic would not be able to
provide timely provisions
– The American terrain was large
– To win, the English had to find &
defeat the Continental Army
– Underestimated the colonial
commitment to independence
The American
Revolution,
1775-1781
Where was the
American
Revolution
fought?
Building a Professional Army
• Washington’s task was to defend as
As long as England did not defeat the
much
territory
as possible:
Continental
Army,
England could not win
–Relied on guerrilla tactics & avoided
all-out-war with Britain
–Washington’s Continental Army
served as the symbol of the
“republican cause”
–But, colonial militias played a major
role in “forcing” neutrals to support
the Revolution
Slaves & Indians in the War
• Black slaves supported whoever
seemed likely to deliver freedom:
–Northern slaves supported the
colonists who offered freedom for
any slave who fought
–Southern slaves typically supported
Britain
• Native Americans feared colonial
expansion & overwhelmingly
supported Britain
Continental
Army had 2 all-black
TheThe
Variety
of Colonial
Soldiers
regiments composed of Northern slaves
Women in the War
• Women’s role in the revolution:
–Supported their husbands & sons in
enlisting in militias
–Ran business affairs & continued
boycotting English goods while men
fought (i.e. Abigail Adams)
–Created propaganda (political
satires by Mercy Otis Warren)
–Some helped in the battlefield
(“Molly Pitcher”)
Differing Military Strategies
The Americans
The British
• “Divide & Conquer”
• Win a war of
– Use Loyalists
attrition
– Encourage slave
– England had long
revolts
supply lines
– Seize property
– Colonials did not
have to “win” just • Break the colonies in
had to wear down half by dividing the
the British
North & South
• Guerilla tactics
• Blockade the ports
to prevent trade
• Make an alliance
with one of Britain’s with American allies
enemies
The Early Years: 1776-1777
• The initial battles of the revolution
went badly for Americans:
–British General Howe forced
Washington
to retreat
at New
York
Colonial militias
retaliated
against
thosethe
who
deserted theon
patriot
putting
Americans
the cause
run
–Gen Howe issued a “general
pardon” to all Americans who
swore an oath of allegiance to
George III; thousands did so
The
Howe
captured
Early
Years:
1776-1777
Captured
New York
Philadelphia
• The British strategy remained to fight
Washington’s army almost
a starved
“majorat &
decisive”
Valley
Forge battle; but
Continental Army was elusive
• Despite British
victories
&
1,000s
of
Took Trenton
Took Princeton
colonial “oaths of allegiance”,
Washington kept fighting
–Won small victories that renewed
American wartime morale
–“Won” at Saratoga in 1777
British
Seizure
&Valley
Burning
New
Crossing
TheStarvation
“Turning
the Delaware
Point”
in
of Forge,
route
theofRevolution:
toPA
a surprise
Near
at
inYork,
1778
attack
Trenton
& Princeton,
1776
1776
TheatBattle
of
Saratoga,
1777
The
French
Alliance
A lot ofAnd…England
these
points
were
now has to worry
turning
of the war!!
negotiated
byThe
none
other point
• Since
1775,
the
French
covertly
aided
about
a possible
(yet
remote)
than Ben
Franklin
invasion
of supplies
England by France
Americans
with
• But after the “victory” at Saratoga:
–France recognized America as a
new, independent republic
–France promised to pressure
England
to agreeoffered
to American
In 1778, England
to remove all
independence
after war’s
end
parliamentary
legislation
& vowed
never to
impose revenue
taxes on the
again
–France
relinquished
allcolonists
of its claims
The
ContinentalinCongress
refused the offer
to territory
America
The Final Campaign
• By 1781, Washington pushed the
Redcoats towards Yorktown (VA)
where General Cornwallis was caught
between the Continental Army & the
French navy
• On October 19, 1781 Cornwallis
surrendered; the English still
controlled NY & Charles Town but
the fighting virtually ended
American Victory at Yorktown
Cornwallis’ surrender was the
“day the world turned upside down”
The Loyalist Dilemma
• Loyalists believed in liberty too, but
feared that independence would
breed anarchy in America
• Loyalists were treated poorly:
–The English never fully trusted the
Loyalists
–Patriots seized their property;
imprisoned & executed others
• More than 100,000 Loyalists left
America when the war ended
The Treaty of Paris,
1783
The Treaty of Paris (1783)
• The Treaty of Paris in 1783 was
negotiated with England by Franklin,
John Adams, John Jay
• The terms included:
– Full American independence
– All territory east of Mississippi
River, between Canada & FL
– The removal of the British army
from U.S. claims in America
– Fishing rights in the Atlantic
North
America
after the
Treaty
of Paris,
1763
North
America
after the
Treaty of
Paris,
1783
Preserving Independence
• After 176 years of British rule, the
American Revolution began the
construction of a new form of
government
• But...will the new United States be a
government of the elite or a
government of the people?