Chapter 2 Lesson 3 and 4
The War for
Independence
The Opposing Sides
 British in New York Harbor.
 32,000 men
 British troops called
“redcoats”
 Disciplined, well trained and
well equipped
 Continental Army was
inexperienced and poorly
equipped. 230,000 men,
20,000 at a time
 Continental Congress
issued paper money.
“Continentals” not
backed by gold, or silver.
 Robert Morris, wealthy
Pennsylvanian merchant
and banker pledged large
amounts of money for
the war effort.
Opposing Sides
 Convinced Congress to
create a Bank of North
America to finance the
military.
 Militia’s used guerrilla
warfare that was difficult
to defeat.
 British are not united at
home.
 Many British merchants and
members of Congress opposed
the war.
 British had to win quick and
cheap.
 US didn’t have to beat the
British they just had to survive
till British went broke.
 French, Dutch, and Spainsh
were all eager to exploit
Britain’s problems.
 Patriots could find allies.
Opposing Sides
 British had to convince
the American’s they were
hopeless.
 British also had to make it
safe to surrender.
 British General Howe had
a 2 part strategy:
 1) Large number of troops to
capture New York City. This
would separate New England
from the South and demonstrate
to Americans that they could not
win.
 2) Diplomatic: he invited
delegates from the Continental
Congress to a peace conference.
Anyone who surrendered and
served their loyalty to the King
would be pardoned. Howe had
no power to negotiate.
Battles in the North
 British capture New York
City and use it as their head
quarters.
 Washington sent Capt.
Nathan Hale to spy on the
British. He was caught by
the British and hanged. Hale
stated “I only regret that I
have but one life to lose for
my country.”
Crossing the Delaware
 Washington tried a winter
attack
 This was not common
considering the weather and
scarce supplies.
 Dec. 25, 1776 Washington led
24,000 men across the
Delaware River and attacked a
camp at Trenton.
 Washington forces scattered 3
British regiments near
Princeton.
Philadelphia Falls
 House defeated Washington
at the Battle of Brandywine
Creek and captured
Philadelphia.
 Failed to destroy the
Continental Congress and
the Continental Army.
 Continental Army was set
up at Valley Forge for the
winter. Marquis de
Lafayette joined
Washington at Valley Forge.
 Helped train and boost
morale.
 Weather and food
shortages killed 2,000
men.
The Battle of Saratoga
 June 1777 General
Burgoyne and about
9,500 troops marched
from Quebec to New
York.
 900 troops head to St.
Lawrence river
 1,000 Iroquis also joined
to head toward Albany
The Battle of Saratoga
 Burgoyne seized Fort
Ticonderoga.
 The Congress fired that
regions commander and
replaced him with General
Horatio Gates.
 British troops and Iroquois
forces driven back by
Benedict Arnold: who was
at this time an American
General.
 Burgoyne retreats to
Saratoga
 October 17, 1777 Burgoyne
surrenders to Gates.
 5,000 plus British taken as
POW
 Ben Franklin goes to France
in September to ask for
troops.
 The French now convinced
Colonists could win.
The War in the West
 1778 Patriot General George
Rogers Clark took 175 troops
down the Ohio River and
captured several troops.
 By Feb. 1779 British
surrendered
 VA and North Carolina
British defeated
 Militias set fire to hundreds
of Cherokee towns
The War at Sea
 Fought at sea as well as
land.
 American warship
attacked British merchant
ships.
 Millions of dollars of
cargo had been seized
harming Britain’s trade
and economy.
 American naval officer
John Paul Jones: attacked
the British warship
Serapis but Jones nearly
got sunk. Jones did not
surrender. Jones replied,
“ I have not yet begun to
fight.” The British
surrendered.
 British defeat at Saratoga,
General Howe resigned.
 Washington orders
soldiers at Valley Forge to
intercept the British.
 Clinton began a campaign
in the South against the
Americans.
n the South
The Struggles in the Carolina’s
 Dec 1778 3,500 British
troops captured
Savannah.
 Capture South Carolina
 May 12, 1780 American
surrendered
 About 5,500 Americans
taken POWs.
 Greatest American defeat in
the war.
 Charles Cornwallis is in
command in the South of
the British troops.
 Continental Congress send
General Horatio Gates to
defend South Carolina. His
attempt to destroy the
British failed.
Battle of Yorktown
 1781 Cornwallis marched
into VA where he joined
forces with a traitor,
Benedict Arnold.
 British begin to conquer
VA.
 Cornwallis retreats to
Yorktown to protect his
men and supplies.
 Washington’s men march on
New York city with 6,000
French men. Washington
cancels attack after news the
French navy is coming to
attack after news the French
navy is coming to help.
 They head to Yorktown
instead.
 Cut off supplies to Cornwallis
and prevented him escaping by
sea.
Battle of Yorktown
 Sept 28, 1781 Yorktown was
surrounded by American’s
and French forces.
 October 14 Alexander
Hamilton led an attack the
captured key British
defense.
 3 days later Cornwallis
wants to negotiate
 Oct 19 British surrender.
Treaty of Paris
 John Adams, Ben
Franklin, John Jay
conducted most of the
negotiations for the US.
 Sept. 3 1783, 3 treaties
were signed Britain and
US, Britain and France
and Spain.
 Final agreements “Treay of
Paris:” Britain recognized
the United States of
America as an independent
nation, with the Mississippi
River as its western border.
 Florida goes back to Spain.
 France recieves colonies in
Africa and the Caribbean.
 Nov. 24, 1783 the final
troops leave New York City.
New Political Ideas
 The states est. a republic
 Elected officials
 Even with the
contradictions (race,
gender, class) republican
ideas begun to change
American society
New State Constitutions
 Adam’s Democracy:
society where the
majority rules. Feared
that in a pure democracy
minority groups would
not have their rights
protected.
 Government needs
“checks and balances”
 Separation of Powers
 Legislatures needs 2
house: Senate and an
Assembly
Voting Rights Expand
 Equality
 Men have the right to
vote
 Many states allowed all
white men who paid
taxes to vote.
 Some states you had to
own property
 Veterans got land grants
Freedom of Religion
 Thomas Jefferson wrote the VA Statue for Religious
Freedom, enacted in 1786. Declared that VA no longer
had an official church and that the state could not
collect taxes for the churches.
Women at War
 Contributed on both the home
front and the battle field.
 Ran family farms
 Traveled cooking, washing, and
nursing.
 Spies and couriers
 Some fought
 Could now easily get divorced
and gained access to
education. More women learn
to read.
African Americans
 1,000’s gained their
freedom
 Many planters freed
enslaved people who
agreed to fight the British
 Washington let African
Americans join the
Continental Army
African Americans
 North wants to end
slavery
 Some African Americans
sued to get Freedom
 Low level jobs
 Many African Americans
moved North to find jobs.
 South relied on enslaved labor
to sustain agricultural labor.
 South showed no interest in
ending slavery.
 VA took steps to end slavery.
 1782 State passed a law
encouraging manumission,
voluntary freeing of enslaved
people, especially those who
fought.
Native Americans
 Did not help most
 Iroquois Confederacy
weakened
 Not recognized fro
contributions
The Loyalist Flee
 Loyalist found themselves
shunned by friends,
neighbors, and state
governments seized their
property.
 100,000 left the United
States.
 Moved to British North
America (Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick, Quebec)
American Painters
 John Trumball and Charles Wilson Peale contributed
to American Identity.
 Trumball known for depiction of important events.
 Peale was a soldier known for his portraits of
Washington and other.
Changes in Education
 Public education is critical
 States funded universities
 Elementary schools
instituted an American
centered style of teaching
 Noah Webster believed
Americans needed to
develop their own
educational system.
American English.