Chapter 7
th
7 Grade
Section 7.1
The Early Years
of the War
• Support for the Revolution- most Americans
did not support the war.
• Benjamin Franklin was a patriot.
• His son, William Franklin, was a loyalist.
George Washington
• George Washington was a patriot.
• Washington was the commander of the Continental
Army.
• Washington faced difficulties:
1. turning his volunteer fighters into well-trained
soldiers
2. preventing his troops from deserting during hard
times
3. keeping his troops supplied with food and clothing
• Mercenary – a professional soldier hired to
fight for a foreign country
• Britain hired about 9,000 Hessians from the
German states
The Battle of Trenton
• Fought December 25, 1776
Britain’s Strategy
• Strategy- an overall plan of action – to seize
the Hudson River Valley
• It called for a rendezvous, or a meeting, of 3
British armies at Albany, NY
Saratoga: Turning Point of the
Revolution
• Why did the Patriots win at Saratoga?
• Fortifications helped the Patriots fight and
daily, heavy firing exhausted British troops.
Benedict Arnold
Even today, the name Benedict Arnold is used to mean traitor.
• Reasons he betrayed the Patriots:
– He married a Loyalist
– He wanted more honor for his heroic actions
– His wife influenced his decision
Section 7.2
The War
Expands
Help From France
• After hearing of the American victory at Saratoga,
King Louis XVI of France recognized U.S.
independence and in 1778, France signed two
treaties of alliance with the U.S. and went to war
with Britain
• Alliance - an agreement to help each other
• France was our main ally
• France sends us badly needed funds, supplies, and
troops
Europeans Help General Washington
• Marquis de Lafayette- 19 year old French nobleman
volunteered to serve in the Continental Army
– He used his own money to buy warm clothing for his
ragged troops
– He fought in many battles and persuaded the French king
to send a 6,000 man army to America
•Baron von Steuben- a German trained the
Continental Army
–Trained men to use bayonets, how to move in
lines and columns, and to locate latrines far from
camp and the kitchen areas.
Revolution turns into a world war! Spain and Russia both aid
in the cause!
War on the Frontier
George
Rogers Clark
captures
British
outposts on
the American
frontier
without firing
a shot.
George Rogers Clark
• In 1777, a 24-year old frontiersman walked into the
office of Virginia’s governor and said he had come
to take part in defending the Western frontier.
• He lived in Kentucky, which was claimed by Virginia.
• He wanted Virginia to defend that region against
British soldiers and their Native American allies in
what is now Indiana and Illinois.
• He led some frontiersmen to fight in present day
Indiana and Illinois.
War at Sea
• privateer - a privately owned ship that a
wartime government gives permission to
attack an enemy’s merchant ships.
– After capturing a British merchant ship, the crew
of a privateer sold its cargo and shared the money
– As a result, a desire for profit as well as
patriotism motivated privateers.
A Naval Hero
• John Paul Jones was an American naval
officer who won the sea battle against the
British warship Serapis
• He is known for saying, “I have not yet begun
to fight.”
Section 7.3
The Path to
Victory
Savannah and Charles Town
• Geography helped the Patriots win the
Revolution because the colonies were too
large an area for the British army to control
The Swamp Fox and Guerrilla Fighting
•One guerrilla band had a leader who
was called the Swamp Fox
•Guerrillas are small bands of fighters
who made hit and run attacks
•Both sides used guerrillas during the
Revolution
The Tide Turns
Pacifist- a person who
opposed war
The End of the War
The Battle of Yorktown was the
fighting that marked Great
Britain’s defeat in the
Revolution
•Lord Cornwallis’ surrender
signaled Great Britain’s defeat
in the American Revolution
Section 7.4
The Legacy of
the War
Why the Americans Won
•Patriot Advantages
•Better leadership
•Knowledge of the land
•Motivation
•NOT money and supplies
The Treaty of Paris
•The Treaty of Paris of 1783 ended the Revolutionary War
•Conditions included in the treaty:
1. The U.S. was independent
2. Its boundaries would be the Mississippi River on the
west, Canada on the north, and Spanish Florida on the
south.
3. The U.S. would receive the right to fish off Canada’s
Atlantic Coast, near Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.
4. Each side would repay debs it owed the other.
5. The British would return any enslaved persons they had
captured.
6. Congress would recommend that the states return any
property they had seized from Loyalists.
Costs of the War
Look at the chart on p. 197
•The British had about 10,000
military deaths
•The Americans had an estimated
25,700 deaths.
Issues After the War
•republicanism- an idea that stated
that instead of a king, the people
would rule
•Only Northern states ended slavery
after the war. In the North, slavery was
not as important a part of the
economy as in the South.