Chapter Seven
The American
Revolution, 1776 1786
Part One
Introduction
Chapter Focus Questions
What were the major alignments and divisions
among Americans during the American Revolution?
What were the major military campaigns of the
Revolution?
What were the Articles of Confederation and what
role did the Confederation Congress play during the
Revolutionary War?
How did the states serve as the setting for
significant political change?
What was the economic crisis in the aftermath of the
American Revolution?
Part Two
A National Community Evolves
at Valley Forge
Building a Community at Valley Forge
Drawn from all parts of the country,
approximately 11,000 men (including 1,000
African Americans) and 700 women gathered in
Valley Forge.
Amid the suffering, the men and women at Valley
Forge created a a common identity and strong
bonds among themselves.
Leaving Valley Forge six months later,
Washington commanded a much stronger and
united army.
Part Three
The War for Independence
The Nature of American Resistance
The British falsely assumed the colonial
rebellion was the work of a small group of
disgruntled conspirators.
Resistance was widespread and geography
stymied British strategy.
1500 miles of coast and 100 miles deep
Resistance popped up when one area
defeated
The War for Independence
Colonials Advantages
British Advantages
1.
1.
Fighting on home
ground
2. Good generals
3. Fighting for their rights
4.
Alliance with France
Well supplied and well
trained army
2. Lots of resources and
capacity to boost further
3. Strong Central
Government
4. 9 million to colonist 2.5
million
The War for Independence
Colonial Disadvantages
British Disadvantages
1.
1.
2.
Untrained soldiers, small
army
2. Food and ammunition
lacking
3. Weak and divided
government
4. Little $
5. No uniforms for soldiers
3.
4.
5.
Fighting on foreign turf
Fighting far away from
resources
Half hearted domestic
support for war
Reluctance to spill more
blood
Enemies closer to home
so will fight harder
The Patriot Forces
American victory required a disciplined force able to
stand up to the brutal assaults of the professionallytrained British adversaries.
Regiments of the Continental Army suffered casualty
rates as high as 40%. 100K served. Others in militia
350K men, 200K saw action. <25K engaged at a time
Both Continentals and militias played political roles,
pressuring Congress when shortages of food and pay
erupted.
25K died in War.
Mutinies
Penn. Line 1781, enlisted men killed officer
and marched from NJ to Philly to demand
resources. British agents tried to get them to
join but hanged the Brits instead
Needed food and clothing in winter
The Role of Women in the Revolution
Women remained at home and ran the family
farms and businesses. Abigail Adams.
Many women joined their men in the military
camps. “camp followers”
On rare occasions, women played roles on the
battlefields. “Molly Pitcher”
The Loyalists (Tories)
About one-fifth of the colonial population remained
loyal to the Crown. Most new immigrants, some
dependent on Brits for payment, most fearful of
political or social upheaval.
Patriots cracked down on Loyalists.
Prohibited speaking or writing against Revolution.
Swear allegiance or lose property and civil rights
Tar and feather; “grand Tory ride”
As many as 50,000 fought for the king and 80,000 fled
the country after the Revolution.
Benedict Arnold
Hero early in war for Patriots
Disgruntled 1779
West Point on Hudson River
Brigadier General for British
Citizens destroyed gravestones
The Campaign for New York and New
Jersey
The British plan was to cut off New England from the
rest of the colonies by:
Marching north from New York; and
Marching south from Canada.
General Burgoyne lead army from Canada toward
Albany
Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger went Eastward
toward Albany from Lake Ontario
General Howe leading 3rd force up Hudson River
MAP 7.1 Campaign for New York and New Jersey, 1775–77
Battle of Long Island- Howe over Washington
Attacked NYC directly and let English escape to the north
Washington marched south to New Jersey thereafter
Washington, “Our troops will not do their duty,” “I think the game
is pretty much up”
Dec 1776 Washington crossed Delaware River for moral victory
against the hated Hessians
Boost to American morale
Gen Howe
Northern
Campaigns 1777
In 1777, the British tried to
achieve the goal of cutting new
England off from the rest of the
colonies.
General Burgoyne's large army
was surrounded at Saratoga and
surrendered. Video
Important for ally of France
American forces in Pennsylvania
were forced to retreat into Valley
Forge. :40
By the end of 1778, the war
remained a stalemate.
The French Alliance and the Spanish
Borderlands
During the first two years of conflict, French and Spanish
loans helped finance the American cause.
The victory at Saratoga led to an alliance with France. One
year later, Spain joined the war, though without a formal
American alliance.
Both France and Spain worried about American expansion.
The French entry into the conflict forced the British to
withdraw troops from the mainland to protect their
Caribbean colonies.
The war at sea was mainly fought between British and
French vessels, but Continental ships raided the British
merchant shipping.
Britain’s European enemies sent
assistance.
• Benjamin Franklin persuaded France to send supplies
and, after Saratoga, troops and a navy.
• French nobleman Marquis de Lafayette volunteered to
help Washington.
• Baron Von Steuben, a German, volunteered to train and
drill Washington’s men in 1777.
• The Spanish in New Orleans kept the British
from entering the Mississippi River in 1779.
Indian Peoples and the Revolution
Although many Indians preferred a policy
of neutrality, their fears of American
expansion led many to side with Britain.
British gave them weapons and ammunition
Vicious fighting in South and Wilderness
George Rogers Clark 1:46
The War in the South
Maps: Fighting in the South
By the late 1770s, the British had shifted their focus to
the South.
Capturing Savannah then Charleston in 1780, the
British attempted to gain control of south by
implementing pacification that failed.
Violence between Loyalists and Patriots created
unrest.
General Greene harassed British forces and they had
to march to Yorktown where they were trapped by
Washington's army; the British Army surrendered.
MAP 7.4 Fighting in the South, 1778–81
End of War
Washington learned French fleet headed for
Chesapeake. Maneuver troops to Yorktown might
lock Cornwallis in.
Pleading illness, Cornwallis sent 2nd in command
to surrender
Event of incalculable
importance
Washington
was lucky.
The French fleet
arrived in time to
trap the British.
Peace of Paris 1783
Spain’s hopes-limit American expansion beyond Appalachians
France- did not want US to become too powerful to soon
Britain’s hopes-US said GB would be better off with US
(free trade)
Under the table-France did not want US to make a deal with Brits
due to enemies, US went ahead secretly
• Franklin gained more territory for the United States than the
Americans actually won on the battlefield.
End Result
-Acknowledged the US
-Great Lakes, Miss River, 31 North latitude or N Florida
-British to take out troops ASAP
-prevent property confiscation and prosecutions of Tories
British Mistakes
1. Underestimated Patriots
2. Misunderstood political nature of conflict
3. Patriots were highly motivated and
benefited from George Washington’s
leadership
4. Patriots received critical assistance from
France
Part Four
The United States in Congress
Assembled
The Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was the first
constitution of the United States.
It created a loose union of autonomous states.
Congress had limited central power, reserving
powers such as taxation to the states.
Maryland held up ratification for three years until
the eight states with western land claims ceded
them to the national government.
Weaknesses in the Confederation
No common currency, not regulating commerce, levy
taxes
In 1784 the nation began to experience a depression
Congress needed $2.5 mill, had $400k
1781-86 Congress received 1/6th $ from states
Britain worsened the economic crisis by flooding the U.S.
with inexpensive goods
Amendment for 5% duty imported goods failed twice
Shay’s Rebellion-farmers shut down debtor courts &
stopped property auctions-caused many to believe the U.S.
needed a more powerful government
Financing the War
Though benefiting from foreign subsidies,
Congress and the states financed the
revolution mainly by issuing paper currency
that caused runaway inflation.
States printed own totaling $200 million
Secretary of Finance, Robert Morris, met
interest payments on the debt through
“Bank of North America” in Philly. Paper
backed by gold. Restored confidence
Negotiating Independence
Peace negotiations began in 1782 and resulted in a
series of separate treaties between Great Britain and
the United States, France, and Spain.
The United States wanted: recognition for
independence, withdrawal of British troops from NA,
right to fish in N. Atlantic waters, push for western
territory (French)
Americans promised British: pay back pre-war debts,
stop taking Loyalist property, compensate Loyalists
by state
Spain: neutral but closed down Mississippi R and
received Florida from Britain
MAP 7.6 North America after the Treaty of Paris, 1783 The map of European and American
claims to North America was radically altered by the results of the American Revolution.
The Crisis of Demobilization
Congress had neither paid the soldiers nor
delivered the officers their promised postwar
bounties or land warrants.
General Horatio Gates
Several officers stationed at Newburgh
contemplated action if Congress failed to act,
but they were shamed into accepting civilian
rule by George Washington.
Congress passed bill anyway
Washington as dictator???
The Problem of the West
Western land settlement raised new issues,
including:
land losses for several Indian tribes.
tens of thousands of Americans rushing into the
newly acquired Ohio River Valley.
British and Spanish governments plotting to
woo the settlers.
British not leaving until debts paid
The Land Ordinance of 1785
Three land ordinances provided for
organizing the land for settlement, selfgovernment and eventual statehood.
They also provided for orderly division of
land into townships, regular land sales, and
the abolition of slavery in the Northwest
Territory.
The Northwest
Territory
North of Ohio River, west of Penn to Miss River
Feared Native American attacks or secession
Land Ordinance 1785- dispensing land to
settlers, townships 6 sqm, 1 sqm (640 acres), $1
an acre, speculators
MAP 7.7 The Northwest Territory and the Land Survey System of the United States
The Land Ordinance of 1785 created an ordered system of survey (revised by the Northwest
Ordinance of 1787), dividing the land into townships and sections.
The Land Ordinance of 1785 created an ordered system of survey (revised by the Northwest
Ordinance of 1787), diving the land into townships and sections.
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
Government for Ohio area
Slavery prohibited
Congressionally appointed court of judges
and governor
5,000 citizens meant assembly
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and
Wisconsin
Part Five
Revolutionary Politics in the
States
The Broadened Base of Politics
Most states had greatly expanded the electorate.
By eliminating Tories from politics, there was a
shift to the left.
Many Americans accepted a new democratic
ideology that asserted that governments should
directly reflect popular wishes.
Conservatives argued for balanced government,
fearing majority tyranny could lead to a violation
of property rights.
The First State Constitutions
Fourteen states adopted constitutions between 1776 and
1780.
The new state constitutions were shaped by the debates
between radicals and conservatives.
Democrats had seized power in Pennsylvania in 1776
and drafted a constitution that placed all power in a
unicameral assembly elected by all free male taxpayers.
Conservatives controlled Maryland who maintained
high property requirements for office-holding.
Other states drafted constitutions between these
extremes.
Declaration of Rights
Virginia’s Declaration of Rights provided the model
for other state guarantees of such rights as freedom
of speech, assembly, and the press.
State bills of rights were important precedents of the
United States Bill of Rights.
The 1776 New Jersey constitution enfranchised
women, but most questions regarding women were
related to the family.
Led by Thomas Jefferson, states abolished
aristocratic inheritance customs and established
religious freedom.
African Americans and the Revolution
More than 50,000 slaves were taken away from the South
by the British.
Thousands of others fought for the Patriots and won their
freedom.
Recognizing the contradiction between a revolution for
liberty and the continued support for slavery:
northern states began to abolish slavery; and
the Upper South relaxed its bans on emancipation.
A free African American community emerged with
racially defined churches, schools and other institutions.
Several African American writers became prominent.
Part Six
Conclusion
The Creation of the United States 1776–
1786
Media: Chronology