7-4 Notes: The Legacy of the War

Why the Americans Won• November 1783 – last British ships, troops

leave New York City and American troops marched in – Washington bid an emotional farewell to his officers at a New York tavern

• Persistence was key to the American victory – it helped them overcome a lack of training, experience, supplies, and weapons

• Better leadership helped the Americans make smart decisions and learn from their mistakes (Washington developed the strategy of dragging the war out as the war continued), unlike the overconfident British generals

• Foreign aid (loans, military aid) from France etc. were essential

• Knowledge of the land helped Americans win the war – British controlled many major coastal cities but couldn’t control the countryside

• Americans were motivated (lives, property, liberty) than the British were

The Treaty of Paris• As the winners of the war, America won

favorable terms in the Treaty of Paris of 1783

1. United States was recognized as an independent nation

2. Boundaries of the country included the Mississippi River on the west, Canada to the north, and Spanish Florida to the south

3. U.S. received the right to fish off Canada’s Atlantic coast near Newfoundland and Nova Scotia

4. Each side was obligated to repay the debts it owed each other

5. British would return any slaves that they captured

6. Congress would recommend that the states would return any confiscated property seized from Loyalists

• U.S. did not repay prewar debts or return Loyalists’ property and the British did not return runaway slaves and refused to give up military outposts in the Great Lakes area, such as Detroit

Costs of the War• Estimated 25,700 Americans died, 1,400

missing, and 8,200 were wounded – some with permanent disabilities like amputated limbs

• British suffered around 10,000 military deaths

• Many soldiers who survived had no money (received little to no pay for their service) – some received certificates for land in the west from the government (many men sold those to acquire basic needs such as food)

• Congress and the states accrued a debt of around $27 million to finance the war

• Thousands of Loyalists lost their property – Between 60,000 and 100,000 left the U.S. during and after the war (including many slaves and Native Americans such as Joseph Brant)

• Most Loyalists went to Canada, where they settled new towns and provinces and brought English traditions to French land

Issues After the War• Americans replaced demand for rights as

English citizens with idea of republicanism, the philosophy that the people would rule instead of a king – Citizens would vote for representatives to form a government that was accountable to them

• People would therefore have to replace their own interests with the interest in the good of the country

• Only white men who own property could vote and hold public office

• Women could help by teaching their children honesty, duty, and the willingness to make sacrifices and other virtues that could benefit public life

• Americans began to call for more religious freedom with regards to practice and ability to hold political office, and to stop using tax money to uphold certain churches

• Vermont outlawed slavery and Pennsylvania began to free slaves gradually – the ideals of the revolution made slavery seem hypocritical to some

Other effects of the Revolution• Elizabeth Freeman sued for her freedom

in a Massachusetts court and won – her victory and others helped to end slavery in Massachusetts

• Preacher Richard Allen helped start the Free African Society, which encouraged African Americans to help each other

• Allen also founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first African-American Church in the United States

• The Declaration of Independence was widely circulated in France and helped to inspire the French Revolution in 1789

• Late 1700s – 1830s: Many Latin American revolutionaries from Central and South America also began to revolt against colonial rule

• Additionally, the new nation now faced the challenge of shaping a new national government that would protect citizens’ rights and provide economic freedom and security