The American Revolution1775-1783

The shot heard round the world..“By the rude bridge that arched the

flood,Their flag to April's breeze unfurled;Here once the embattled farmers stood;And fired the shot heard round the

world.”~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, Concord

Hymn

Lexington and Concord

• http://www.earlyamerica.com/shot_heard.htm

• Two brief skirmishes in April of 1775

• British were trying to capture ammo and Patriot leaders outside of Boston.

• Minutemen fought for the patriots.• Marks the beginning of the

Revolutionary War.

2nd Continental Congress

• Established May 1775 in Philadelphia, PA• Response to Lexington + Concord• Met throughout the war• All 13 colonies represented• Established Continental Army• Olive Branch Petition

• Written by PA moderate John Dickinson (Letters from PA Farmer)

• Refused by King George III, Nov. 1775

Battle of Bunker Hill, June 1775

• Patriot forces lay siege to British forces in Boston

• Colonial Army held high ground on two hills.• Breeds Hill and Bunker Hill

• Colonists lose the battle, but show they can fight! • Colonials kill almost 50% of British soldiers• British only kill & wound 400!

• Eventually, colonials bombard Brits out of Boston.

Common Sense

• January 1776• Written by Thomas Paine• No new ideas about independence, but

the pamphlet was written so everyone could understand it• “The period of debate is closed. Arms, as

the last resource, decide the contest…Every thing that is right or natural pleads for separation. The blood of the slain, the weeping voice of nature cries, ‘TIS TIME TO PART’.”

Enlightenment Philosophy

• Science, reason (critical thinking), intellect as ways to improve society

• Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau• Social contract theory

• Citizens give up some rights so they can live in harmony or order

• Thomas Hobbes, The Leviathan• John Locke, Second Treatise on Government• Natural rights

• Locke: life, liberty, property• Rule of law

January 1776

• The Congress wants to discuss separating from England

independence : (n)the freedom to govern on

one’s own.

declaration : (n)

an official statement

Committee of Five• Chosen by Congress

to write the draft• TJ did the writing• Benjamin Franklin-

PA• John Adams-MA• Robert R.

Livingston-NY• Roger Sherman-CT• Thomas Jefferson-VA

Declaration of

Independence•Both a formal statement of

independence and a declaration of war•Jefferson “borrowed” ideas from Enlightenment thinkers•John Locke, Second Treatise on Government•Three purposes

DOI con’t

• Preamble• Introduction• “When in the course of human events…”

• Declaration of rights• Natural rights, social contract• “We hold these truths to be self-evident…”

• Grievances against the king• Rule of law• “He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most

wholesome and necessary for the public good.”• Declaring independence

• “…That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, Free and Independent States…”

So far…• Spring 1774—Intolerable Acts• Sept. 1774—First Continental Congress• April 1775—Lexington and Concord• May 1775—2nd Continental Congress convenes in Philly• May 1775—Patriots capture Ticonderoga and the big

guns• June 1775—Bunker Hill (Breed’s Hill)• July 1775—GW commissioned to lead and train

Continental Army• Nov. 1775—Olive Branch Petition failed• January 1776—Colonel Henry Knox (GW right-hand

man) arrives in Boston with the guns of Ticonderoga• March 1776—British flee Boston to Halifax• July 1776—Declaration of Independence approved by

2nd CC

Patriots = Spartans?

Patriots = Spartans?

Strengths and Weaknesses:The British

• Strengths• Army

• Well-equipped• Well trained and

disciplined

• Navy• Other groups

• Loyalists (approx. 50,000)

• African Americans• Native Americans• Hessian mercenaries

• Weaknesses• War was unpopular in

Great Britain• Unknown, hostile

territory• Military leaders refused

to adapt strategy

Strengths and Weaknesses:The Americans

• Strengths• “home field

advantage”• Experienced in

guerilla warfare because of F&I War

• George Washington (Nathaniel Greene, Henry Knox)

• Weaknesses• Lack of supplies and

weapons• Inexperienced

“soldiers”

War for Independence, 1775-1778

Patriot Retreat from New York, Oct. 1776

• General Howe reappears in NYC• Washington’s troops are

inexperienced, poorly trained, and poorly equipped.

• Howe captures the city, and holds it for the remainder for the war.

• Things look bad for the colonial rebels…

• Members of Congress flee Philadelphia

Thomas Paine’s The Crisis

• “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it NOW, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”

New Jersey: Crossroads of the Revolution

• Crossroads of the American Revolution Guide

Trenton and Princeton

• GW launches a surprise attacks against Trenton and Princeton in Dec 1776/Jan 1777.

• Both attacks successful.

• While of little strategic importance, these battles boosted Patriot morale and gained the patriots more supporters and soldiers.

Is this painting historically accurate?

• Emanuel Leutze (1816–1868) Washington Crossing the Delaware, 1851 Oil on canvas; 149 x 255 in. (378.5 x 647.7 cm) Gift of John Stewart Kennedy, 1897 (97.34)

• Currently displayed in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met)

• What's wrong with this picture?

Washington’s Strategy

• Keep an army in the field, and survive to fight another day!• He avoids situations that

might destroy his army.• His leadership kept army

together even when defeat seemed inevitable.

• Although the British had seized New York, Philadelphia, and almost every other important colonial city, George Washington knew that the Americans would win the war because they had the determination to outlast their rulers.

• Guerilla warfare throughout history!! What happened in Viet Nam?

Battle of Saratoga, Oct. 1777

• British seek to cut off New England from colonies.

• Colonial General Horatio Gates defeats large British force at Saratoga.

• Convinces the French that colonials have a chance to win.

• French become open allies!

• Major turning point in the war!!

All about the Benjamin (Franklin)

• Continental Congress sent Franklin to Paris to work for an alliance.

• France sent money and supplies in secret, but no public support.

• After Saratoga, Franklin signed a Treaty of Alliance with France.

• Feb. 6, 1778

Other Allies

• Spain (1779), Netherlands (1780) join after France.

• Why would these countries become allies?

• Other nation’s citizens fight:• France: Marquis de Lafayette• Spain: Bernardo de Galvez• Germany: Johann de Kalb

Baron Friedrich von Steuben — CA

drillmaster • Poland: Thaddeus Kosciusko

Americans Endure Hardships

• Both the Continental Army and regular citizens had many challenges to deal with.

• The CA suffered through 2 brutal winters: 1777-78 in Valley Forge, PA, and 1779-1780 in Morristown, NJ.• Why was the CA always out of equipment, food, clothing,

not getting paid?• The British blockade devastated colonial

trade (value of imports/exports fell from £2,700,000 in ’75 to £110,000 in ’77)

• Profiteering; GW said profiteers should be hanged.

• Inflation reduced buying power (MA, bushel of corn was <$1 in ’77, =$80 in ’79)

Battle of Yorktown (1781)

• Huge force under British General Cornwallis is trapped on a peninsula, backed up against water.

• French Navy blockades York River• British cannot re-supply or escape.

• French and Colonial troops surround town.• After several small battles, Cornwallis

surrenders on October 19, 1781• The last major battle of the war.

Battle of Yorktown

Treaty of Paris (1783)

• Ends the Revolutionary War• Negotiations took almost

two years (5 nations at work)

• John Adams, Ben Franklin, and John Jay negotiate for the U.S.

• **Britain recognizes the United States as an independent nation**

• Sets the borders of the United States (Mississippi River)

• Florida back to Spain• Britain will remove all

remaining troops• Congress agrees American

loyalists will have property restored• Americans ignore this order.

Impact of the War

• Idea of liberty spreads throughout the world, leading to revolutions ever since.

• This was a radical concept in a world that long accepted the idea of human inequality.

• In the US, only white males gain true freedom.• However, seeds of change are planted for

women and slaves.• Indians make out terrible, pushed farther

west.