Chapter 5
The American Revolution
1763 - 1783
Reform and Resistance, 1763 - 1773
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At the end of the French and Indian War,
Britain realized that they had been lax in
enforcing imperial policies in the American
colonies
Americans had gotten used to “Salutary
Neglect”
England slowly began to tighten its grip on
the colonies to make sure the colonies
weren’t costing them money
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They wanted:
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Civil Service Reform - make sure officials
enforced policies
To Stop Smuggling - make sure taxes were paid
Limit Areas of Settlement - Proclamation Line
should be enforced so that British could more
easily control Colonists
Revenue Reform - British felt Americans should
help pay down the debt incurred during the
French and Indian War
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The British felt these were reasonable goals
These goals proved difficult to achieve
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British leaders changed every few years and so
did their policies
Colonists’ negative reactions to more stringent
policies
Civil Service Reform
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Sometimes officials didn’t actually occupy
their posts
They often got substitutes
Privy Council, advisors to the King, said
officials actually had to occupy their posts –
no substitutes
Stop Smuggling
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The British Navy was told to stop the
smuggling
Crews were promised a reward
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2/3 the value of the cargo
Proclamation Line 1763
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Imaginary line drawn down the Appalachians
A way to limit the area open to settlement and
to avoid future conflicts with Native
Americans
If colonists lived closer to the east coast, they
might be more inclined to buy British goods
Hard to enforce because some colonists
already lived beyond the line, and others
didn’t want to be restricted
Revenue Reform
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Britain felt it was time for Americans to pay
for British protection
They tried to enforce a number of acts to
raise this revenue
George Grenville, Prime Minister and
Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1763 urged
Parliament to pass revenue raising acts
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Revenue Act (Sugar Act), 1764 -- made ships’
captain fill out paperwork about their cargoes,
called a cocket and register with port master
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There would be no more bribing of customs
officials
This act lowered the tax on molasses from 6
pence per gallon to 3 pence per gallon
If people didn’t comply with the law and continued
to smuggle, then they would be tried in viceadmiralty courts, a court without a jury; local
courts could not try these cases
This act did not cause great protest because it didn’t
affect all people; colonists didn’t like these courts
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Grenville then got the Currency Act enacted
which outlawed colonial paper money -some grumbling occurred
In 1765 Grenville had the Stamp Act passed
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It required tax stamps (embossing) on most
printed materials – legal documents, newspapers,
playing cards, pamphlets, handbills, bills of sale,
licenses, deeds, insurance policies, and contracts
The stamp indicated the tax to be paid
Violators tried in vice-admiralty courts
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Colonial opposition to the Stamp Act was
great
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Protests throughout the colonies
Tax collectors were intimidated
Businessmen refused to use the stamp
There was active defiance
The Stamp Act affected more of the people in all
parts of the colonies
And they had to pay in British currency
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Many colonists began to question Britain’s
right to tax the colonies
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No actual representation
Parliament had no right to levy internal taxes
Britain said colonists were represented in Parliament
by virtue of being British – Virtual Representation
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Articles appeared in the paper
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Ex. – James Otis of Massachusetts said “there
should be no taxation without representation”
Patrick Henry said that only the state of Virginia
had the right to tax Virginians
John Adams of Massachusetts, Daniel Dulaney of
Maryland, and Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania
spoke out against the Stamp Act
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The colonists were willing to stand up for their
rights. However, they were not seeking
independence. Not at that time.
They wanted their local assemblies and their
self-government
Not all agreed with the colonists
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Lt. Governor Thomas Hutchinson of
Massachusetts believed Parliament was the
supreme power
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Many in England felt the Americans just didn’t
want to pay taxes like they had to.
They felt Americans wanted a free ride
Americans did have an ally in Parliament, William
Pitt. He said Parliament shouldn’t set internal
taxes in America and worked for the repeal of the
Stamp Act
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Colonists took organized action against the
Stamp Act
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They formed the Sons of Liberty
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Wealthy, elites who organized people to protest,
especially in Boston
There was mob destruction of Lt.-Governor Thomas
Hutchinson’s house because he enforced the Stamp Act
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The Stamp Act controversy drew lower class
people into American politics for the first time
Politics were discussed on the streets
Demonstrations were so widespread that the
Stamp Act could not be enforced
American merchants organized nonimportation agreements to put pressure on
the British – don’t import British goods
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Violators had their published in newspaper
Stamp Act Congress
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Held in New York City in October, 1765
9 colonies were represented
Sent a letter to Parliament saying the
colonies recognized Parliament as a ruling
body, but the colonists wanted actual
representation
No taxation without representation
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Boycotts and protests were effective
Many in Parliament called for the repeal of the
Stamp Act
The Marquis of Rockingham said they couldn’t
enforce the law and boycotts hurt British business
The Stamp Act was repealed in 1766
Grenville was out as Prime Minister
Rockingham was to be the new Prime Minister
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However, Rockingham approved the
Declaratory Act in 1766 that asserted
Parliament’s ability to tax and legislate for the
American colonies in all cases by virtue of
being British
In 1766, Charles Townshend became
Finance Minister and instituted new taxes on
the colonies in 1767
Townshend Acts, 1767
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It levied taxes on trade goods like paper,
paint, glass, lead, and tea
It levied taxes on items imported from Britain,
not from foreign countries
It was designed to raise money
This money would then be used to pay the
salaries of royal officials, thereby challenging
the power of colonial assemblies
The power of the purse was gone
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Protests
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Merchants reinstated non-importation agreements
Massachusetts tried to organize a unified protest
John Dickenson wrote” Letters from a Farmer in
Pennsylvania” asserting “no taxation without
representation”
Daughters of Liberty made homespun cloth and
drank coffee and water rather than import tea and
fine cloth from England
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Townshend Acts were repealed in 1770,
supported by Lord North, Britain’s new Prime
Minister – all but the tax on tea
Loyal colonists began losing their feelings of
allegiance to the British king and to Britain
1770-1773, Parliament avoided provoking the
colonies as much as possible
Tensions eased a bit
Imports were on the rise
Boston Massacre - 5 March 1770
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Under an outward calm, a storm was brewing
A few weeks before this date several boys
were throwing rocks at a customs informer’s
house
An 11-year old boy was shot and killed by the
customs informer
5 March, British soldiers were patrolling
Boston’s streets near the Customs House
Some boys began to heckle the soldiers
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A crowd formed and snowballs were thrown
at the redcoats
Boys dared the soldiers to fire on them
The redcoats did fire when they had been
pushed up against the wall
3 colonists were killed immediately and 3
others died later from their wounds
Boston was shocked
7 soldiers were charged with murder
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John Adams and John Quincy, both
opponents of the Stamp Act and the
Townshend Acts, agreed to defend the
soldiers
Adams told court that British policy and an
unsavory mob were to blame
All but 2 soldiers were acquitted
These 2 were found guilty of manslaughter
and branded on the thumb
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Redcoats were disliked by Americans
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Resented supporting them; food, shelter, grog
Disliked being near them on streets or in taverns
Didn’t like competing with them for casual work
(second jobs)
Found them to be rough, crude, and sometimes
even criminals
Brutally treated by their own army
Redcoats felt isolated in colonies
The Gaspee - June 1772
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British schooner, part of the Colonial Coast
Guard was patrolling Narragansett Bay in
Rhode Island looking for smugglers
They thought they saw a ship smuggling and
followed it to Providence
This Coast Guard ship, the Gaspee, ran
aground 7 miles off the coast
That night 8 boats approached the Gaspee,
removed the crew, and set fire to the ship
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It was seen as an act of rebellion because
the Gaspee was a royal ship
John Brown was believed to be the ring
leader
He was tried and let go for lack of evidence
The Boston Tea Party
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Brought the “semi-quiet” years to an end
May 1773 Parliament enacted the Tea Act of
1773
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Designed to save the British East India Company
that was nearly bankrupt
This company had 17 million pounds of tea in a
London warehouse and no buyers
The choice was to dump it or sell it to the colonists
in America
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There was a problem – Americans had been
buying the cheaper Dutch tea
The tea tax was the only thing left over from
the Townshend Act
Lord North decided to lower the tax to 3
pence a pound, so the total cost of the British
tea would be less than the Dutch tea
England would then see if colonists would still
buy the more expensive tea and uphold their
ideal of “no taxation without representation”
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Or would they buy the cheaper tea and show
their greed
Ships delivering tea met with defiance:
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In Charleston – tea was quickly locked up
In N.Y and Philadelphia – ships told to return to
England
In Annapolis, Maryland – a tea ship was set on fire
In Boston – they had a party
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Governor of Massachusetts, Thomas
Hutchinson, planned to seize the tea for nonpayment of a port tax (hoax), so he could get
the tea ashore
The day before the tea was to be seized,
Samuel Adams met with 1/3 of Boston’s
population at a protest meeting
It was followed by 60 Sons of Liberty
dressing up like Mohawk Indians
Boston Tea Party
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They boarded the ships and dumped 342
chests of tea into the harbor
The tea was worth 9,659 pounds
Instead of trying to find the culprits, Lord
North decided to punished the city of Boston
That is how you treat rebels
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Between 1770 and 1773, attitudes towards
the British changed dramatically
There was distrust and division
British saw colonists as ungrateful
Colonists saw British government as
tyrannical
Conflict lay ahead
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Parliament decided to punish Boston by
passing the Coercive Acts in 1774
To Americans, they were the Intolerable Acts
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Port of Boston would be closed until the city paid
for the spoiled tea
An army general named Thomas Gage was
named governor
Elected bodies of government lost their power
Any soldiers accused of killing a colonist would be
returned to England for trial
Soldiers would once again be housed in private
homes
Instead of controlling the colonies, these acts just
made them mad and more rebellious
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England passed the Quebec Act
-there would be no elected assemblies in Canada
- French was recognized as the language and
Catholicism as the religion of Quebec
- Canadian border extended south to Ohio River
Valley
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This act scared Americans
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They thought England would take away their
remaining assemblies
It put the Ohio Valley out of their reach
Colonists discussed how they would resist
-boycotts?
-petitions?
-military force?
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By the summer of 1774, colonists began to
organize and coordinate their protests
A congress was called to discuss the colonial
response to the Coercive Acts:
The First Continental Congress
-held in September, 1774
-12 colonies met in Philadelphia
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The representatives spoke of loyalty to the
King, but still resisted Parliament’s authority
All 56 delegates were angry
They had never met before but had a
common cause – they wanted to work out a
solution to their problem with Britain
They adopted the Suffolk Resolves
They weren’t advocating independence
Suffolk Resolves
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Stated the Coercive Acts were invalid
Called for a boycott of trade
Colonies were urged to set up militias
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The First Continental Congress tried to keep
a delicate balance
The Congress adjourned although it would
meet again in 1775
Resistance
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General Thomas Gage disbanded the local
assemblies in Massachusetts
Colonists set up their own assemblies again
defying the law
Counties closed their courts rather than have
the governor appoint a judge
Colonists stockpiled ammunition and guns in
different locations – away from Boston – just
in case
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Other colonies did the same
Tensions continued to grow in 1775
3,000 colonists were ready to fight to defend
Boston
Gage ordered redcoats to build fortifications
across a strip of land connecting Boston to
the mainland
Fighting Styles
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Europeans stood in a line in close formation facing
the opposing army
If someone got shot, his space was filled by another
soldier
They were well-disciplined machines
Marksmanship was not important because everyone
was so close together; they were bound to hit
something
Colonists & British would meet in armed conflict for
the first time at Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington and Concord
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Lord Dartmouth, England’s Secretary of State
for the American Colonies, ordered Thomas
Gage to arrest the principal figures in
Boston’s elected assembly
Gage felt protests would increase if he did
that
Instead, Gage decided to confiscate
Americans military supplies at Concord,
Massachusetts
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19 April 1775, Gage sent John Pitcairn and
700 troops to seize the munitions and arrest
John Hancock and Samuel Adams if
discovered
Americans were warned about this by Paul
Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott
70 armed, nervous farmers waited for Pitcairn
to get to Lexington
Pitcairn ordered them to disperse twice
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When they started to disperse a shot was
fired
By whom? No one knows.
It was the shot heard round the world
There was a small skirmish
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8 Americans were killed
10 Americans were wounded
1 redcoat was wounded
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British moved on toward Concord where
large groups of militia men waited for Pitcairn
Americans allowed the British to enter the
town and then they surrounded and attacked
the British
They thought the town had been set on fire
3 British soldiers were killed
 9 British soldiers were wounded
These were the first British casualties of the war
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On the 16 mile retreat to Boston, the British
were attacked from behind rocks, trees, &
houses
The British had 70 dead and 203 wounded,
so 273 were out of commission
Bunker Hill / Breed’s Hill
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20,000 Americans surrounded Boston
Lord North sent 1,000 more troops to Boston plus 3
generals: Burgoyne, Clinton, and Howe
Americans moved in around Bunker Hill and Breed’s
Hill
1600 Americans were on Breed’s Hill; they fought off
Howe’s troops twice
Americans waited to see the whites of their eyes
because supplies were limited
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Third attempt to take Breed’s Hill was
successful; Americans were running out of
ammunition
Howe’s men used bayonets against
Americans
Cost of battle was high for Howe:
200 dead
 1,154 dead and wounded out of 2,200 men
More victories like that would destroy British army
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Ticonderoga
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After Lexington and Concord in the spring of
1775, Benedict Arnold was sent by the
Massachusetts Committee of Safety to raise
an army and attack Fort Ticonderoga on Lake
Champlain in New York
On the way Arnold met up with Vermont’s
Green Mountain Boys led by Ethan Allen who
were planning to attack Fort Ticonderoga
They unwillingly joined forces
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They captured the fort on 10 May 1775
They then captured several other smaller
forts
The British were taken by surprise; they didn’t
know the rebellion had begun
Americans were forced to now take sides
There were Loyalists, Active Patriots,
Neutralists, Blacks, and Native Americans
Loyalists
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About 1/5 of all white Americans
Loyal to the British throne
They were:
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British appointed officials
Merchants who continued to deal with Britain
Anglicans, both lay and clergy
Some former British military
Scottish and tenant farmers
Persecuted religious sects and Back county
southerners
Active Patriots
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About 2/5 of all white Americans
They were:
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Yeoman farmers
Protestant sects
Chesapeake gentry
Merchants dealing in American goods
City artisans
Elected office holders
Many of English descent
Neutralists
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About 2/5 of white Americans
They were:
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Pacifists like the Quakers
Some shifted allegiance depending on who was
winning
Those who cared little for politics
Scotch-Irish
Blacks
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They faced a dilemma; Which side would
free them from their servitude?
In the early days free blacks joined the
American side
Other blacks told British they’d help their side
if they could gain their freedom
Colonists feared slave conspiracies and this
had an effect on the South where blacks
outnumbered whites
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South Carolina was 60% black
Patriots used this fear to promote unity and
had them join together under the
revolutionary banner to keep slaves loyal to
their masters
Native Americans
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They didn’t like Americans moving in on their
land
Many tried to ally themselves with the British,
but the British didn’t use this alliance
effectively
Patriots sought Native American neutrality,
and most tribes during the Revolutionary War
followed this course of non-alignment
Second Continental Congress
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Delegates were less cautious than those at
the First Continental Congress
A new young militant had officially joined
them from Virginia – Thomas Jefferson
Opened armed rebellion was a reality at this
point and they had to deal with it
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George Washington was named to command
the Continental Army
He was not a New Englander which was important
for unifying the colonies
 He was dignified and conservative
 He had a commanding presence
The Second Continental Congress organized the
colonies for war
It acted as the inter-colonial government
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It authorized:
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the printing of money
a committee to supervise relations with foreign
nations
the strengthening of the militias
the appointment of generals like George
Washington
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Royal authority in the colonies was
disintegrating
Governors fled to British warships
More and more Americans were raising their
voices for independence
Colonists began to notice an inconsistency:
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Shooting at royal soldiers while avowing lyalty to
the King
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Thomas Paine
Helped the cause for independence with the
writing of “Common Sense”
 He arrived from England in 1774
 He observed the situation in the American
colonies and wrote that King George was a tyrant
and all Kings were vile!
He made converts by the thousands and sold
150,000 copies in 3 months – one for every 17
Americans
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George III refused to listen to any
suggestions from Americans on the subject of
peace
He hired Hessians – German mercenary
soldiers – to crush the rebellion
In the Spring, 1776, colony after colony
formally nullified the King’s authority within its
boundaries
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Members of the Second Continental
Congress were instructed by the colonies to
vote for independence
7 June 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia
proposed that “these united colonies are, and
of right ought to be free and independent
states”
It was debated for 3 weeks
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New England and Southern colonies were for
it
Middle Colonies were reluctant
New York abstained
Delaware gave the deciding vote
Legal ties were formally broken with the
acceptance of the Declaration of
Independence written primarily by Thomas
Jefferson
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It was accepted on 4 July 1776
Then the signing began
All had signed by November 1776
It stated George’s crimes but best
remembered for its statements about the
rights of human beings
The Revolutionary War
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After the colonies declared their
independence, they faced a very angry King
who saw them as traitors
King George III also thought putting down this
rebellion would be easy; he had both British
troops and Hessian mercenaries
1775 – Britain had 32,000 troops sent to
America plus 400 ships
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1776 – Britain brought over 18,000
mercenaries; that number would grow to
30,000
During the course of the war, Britain had
more than 50,000 troops in the American
colonies
British had skill and trained troops, but the
Americans still had an advantage
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They were fighting on their own soil
All they needed was to wear down the British
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The British thought that if they captured the
major cities, the rest of the country would
follow
They went after New York City, Boston,
Philadelphia, Charles Town, and Savannah
where there were British sympathizers
This didn’t work because most Americans
lived in the countryside
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Another problem for the British was that they
had to ship all their provisions for war to the
colonies – even grain and horses
In England Parliament’s sentiments were split
Edmund Burke was a member of Parliament
with pro-American feelings
Spain and France, who didn’t like the British,
proved helpful to the Americans
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From May 1776 onward, France funneled
money and arms to colonies through the aid
of a secret agent, Pierre de Beaumarchais
At first, aid from France was under the table,
unofficial
Eventually, France supplied Americans with
80% of their gunpowder
French Support
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Why?
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French didn’t like the British
They were fascinated by the idea of the “noble
savage” as played up by Ben Franklin
They like the back-to-nature ideas of JeanJacques Rousseau
They saw the Americans living the life advocated
by Rousseau
Leaders on Both Sides
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George Washington
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American commander of the Continental Army
Dignified, standing 6’ 2’’ tall
Athletic and rugged
Aristocratic-looking
Military experience began at age 22
Made mistakes, lost battles, but learned from
them
Knew the dangers of overconfidence and the
need for determination
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He treated his troops with respect
He fought with his troops – led by example
He was the first one in and the last one out of
the battle
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General William Howe
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Commander of British troops in the American
colonies
A meticulous planner and very cautious
Fought by the book
He moved from Boston to New York when in
March, 1776 the American Henry Knox moved
artillery from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston, and
Washington was gathering more and more troops
in Boston
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There were also more loyalists in New York
If Washington followed him there, then Howe
would be on more friendly turf
Summer 1776 General William Howe and his
brother, Admiral Richard Lord Howe had 130
warships carrying 32,000 royal troops land
near New York Harbor
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Washington had only 18,000 poorly trained
troops and a few fishing boats
27 August 1776, the Battle for New York
began
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15,000 British troops against 10,500 Americans
stationed on Long Island
Americans were overwhelmed and losing, so
Washington had his 9,500 remaining troops
retreat at night to Manhattan
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1,000 American casualties and fewer than 400
deaths for the British
Washington took the last boat out during the
retreat
Washington’s troops were then caught in
Manhattan by Howe who captured 3,000
American troops
The first 6 months of the war were demoralizing for
the Americans marked by defeats and retreats,
but that would change during the winter of 1776
Battle of Trenton
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Howe had fallen back to winter quarters in
New York where he planned to party away
the winter
His Hessians were left to man small
garrisons in Trenton and in Princeton, New
Jersey
Washington took advantage of this situation
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On Christmas night 1776, Washington and his
troops entered New Jersey by crossing the
Delaware River
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He launched a surprise attack on the Hessians at
Trenton after midnight 26 December 1776
Hessians were either drunk or passed out from
celebrating Christmas
Both the New Jersey Patriots and the Loyalists
backed Washington in this attack because the
Hessians had plundered their town and raped
their women
On 3 January 1777, Washington successfully
attacked and took Princeton while avoiding troops
sent out by Howe
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Victories at Trenton and Princeton raised
American morale but did little to change
Howe’s position of strength
Howe did have to move his garrisons from
New Jersey to New York
Any remaining Loyalists in New Jersey also
moved to New York
The Turning Point
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The French , who had been giving secret
support to the colonies, said they would make
their support official if Americans won a major
battle
That occurred during the summer of 1777
P. 150 - Map
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British were planning a 2-pronged attack on
New York
They were hoping these attacks would bring
New York totally under their control, thus
cutting New England off from the rest of the
colonies
Lt. Colonel Barry St. Leger would enter New
York from Lake Ontario and attack central
New York from Ft. Oswego
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General John Burgoyne and his troops would
enter New York from Quebec through Ft.
Ticonderoga and Saratoga
The 2 men would then meet at Albany
In the meantime, Howe left New York to
gather glory for himself by trying to take
Philadelphia, the capital of colonies
Howe left only a small force to help Leger
and Burgoyne in New York
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Mistakes were made because they did not
coordinate their effort
St. Leger and his 1900 troops were stopped at Ft.
Stanwix on 23 August 1777
After 3 weeks, he retreated
On 6 July 1777, Burgoyne took Ft. Ticonderoga by
taking troops up Mt. Defiance and training their guns
down on the fort
He left 900 men there and then tried to move further
south
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Problems encountered:
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Dense forests
Many marshes and rivers to cross for which his
men had to build bridges
He carried too much stuff
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30 carts of personal things- fancy clothes, china, crystal,
wine, linen and some war materiel
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Burgoyne and his men took 1 month to go 23
miles
He was running low on supplies and sent
Hessians to Bennington, Vermont to get more
He had heard that most Americans in this
area were pro-British – they weren’t
His troops were attacked, had heavy losses,
and retreated
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When Burgoyne reached Saratoga, he was
surrounded by American militiamen, more
than Burgoyne thought existed
If one American fell. There were 7 ready to
take his place
Burgoyne was overwhelmed and surrendered
on 17 October 1777
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This formally brought France into an alliance
with the Americans
Formal Alliance was recognized in February
of 1778
So now the British also had to fight the
French – in Europe, in the Caribbean,
wherever
British troops and resources were spread
over a much bigger area
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Howe and Washington met at Philadelphia
They fought at Brandywine Creek on 11
September 1777 and at Germantown on 10
October
Howe won
Washington and his troops moved slowly
towards Valley Forge for the winter – without
enough food, shelter, or war materiel
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German soldier of fortune, Friedrich von
Steuben arrived and in 4 months time had
trained the American troops to be a strong
fighting army
Other foreigners came to help:
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Marquis de Lafayette – field commander
Casimir Pulaski – cavalry commander
Compte de Rochambeau – fought at Yorktown
Battle for the South
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Charleston fell to the British in 1780
Patriot General Nathaniel Greene rallied
South Carolina and won over loyalists and
neutrals
Greene fought battles and lost again and
again
He drew the British further into the
countryside and away from their supplies
British ahd to steal supplies from farmers
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Greene wore down British troops under Lord
Charles Cornwallis and they left the Carolina
backcountry
General Henry Clinton wanted Cornwallis to
remain in the South until South Carolina was
totally in British hands
After a hard-fought, hard-won battle in North
Carolina, Cornwallis’ troops had almost been
destroyed
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So Cornwallis disobeyed orders and went to
Yorktown, Virginia to Await supplies and
troops from New York
Greene then defeated the remaining British in
South Carolina
September, 1780 – Benedict Arnold ,
commander of West Point, offered to sell the
fort to the British and his services for 20,000
pounds; Traitor
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British accepted but didn’t get the fort
Arnold went to Yorktown to join up with the British
under Cornwallis
The plan was to attack Virginia and Pennsylvania
from Yorktown; they never got the chance
30 August 1781 – French ships dropped off troops at
Yorktown
Then Lafayette joined them with American troops
Washington made some attacks in New York to
keep Clinton from helping Cornwallis
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Then Washington moved his troops south
Cornwallis held off for 3 weeks; he had 6,000 troops
There were 8,800 Americans and 7,800 French
fighting against him
Cornwallis surrendered on 19 October 1781
British no longer wished to fight the Americans, the
French, the Spanish, and the Dutch who had all
joined together to helped in this drive for American
independence
Treaty of Paris, 1783
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Americans negotiated on their own; they did
not wish to be guided by the French
This disappointed the French; they had had
hopes of taking over the Americans
themselves
Terms:
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Americans got unconditional independence
They received generous boundaries
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North – to the present boundary with Canada
South – to the 31st parallel
West - to the Mississippi
Britain’s Native American allies were ignored at the
peace talks
Separate treaties were made with the French,
Spanish, and Dutch
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The price of independence was high:
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5% of all free white men aged 16 – 45 died in the
war
Today that would be comparable to 2.5 million
men
America was now independent, but what kind of
nation would we become? What kind of
government would we have?
Our work had just begun.