the american revolution
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The war for American IndepeTRANSCRIPT
The Revoluti onary War
The Early Years
What challenges did the American revolutionaries face at the start of the war?
The Early Years
Thoughts on the War
One thing that the British and the Patriots had in
common was that both felt the Revolutionary War
would be short.
The Patriots thought they could win by holding on
long enough that the British wouldn’t care
anymore (War of attrition).
The British thought that they could win by using
their mighty army and navy to crush the rebellion in
the colonies.
The Might of the Briti sh Empire
The British had the strongest army and navy in the world.
The British were well-equipped and were well-trained. Their army knew how to fight.
The British Empire stretched across the world, which meant that the British had the
money to spend on fighting a war.
The British also outnumbered the Americans in population, with 8 million people living in Britain and only 2.5 million in the colonies.
T h e M i g h t o f t h e B r i ti s h E m p i r e
The Uphill Batt leThe Patriots faced disadvantages at the beginning of the Revolution.
They had no real regular army to face the British redcoats. Militia only fought near home and for short amounts of time.
There was no American navy in existence.
Weapons and ammunition were also in short supply.
A Deep DivisionNot every American colonists was a
Patriot.
Some were neutral like the Quakers. They were pacifists and would not fight in the
conflict.
Others were still loyal to the British crown. They were called Loyalists or
Tories.
Between 1 in 5 and 1 in 3 Americans was a Loyalist.
Loyalists were more popular in the South.
Some people remained loyal because they were Anglicans, and the King was the
head of their church.
American AdvantagesThe Patriots did have some
advantages in the Revolutionary War:
• They fought on their own terrain.
• Their supply lines were short.
• Patriots were fighting for their freedom, the Hessian mercenaries were fighting
for money.
• The Americans had George Washington
A m e r i c a n A d v a n t a g e s
George WashingtonGeneral Washington was an
extraordinary leader.
Washington had courage, honesty, and admiration in
larger amounts than any other military officer.
Almost all the delegates to the Congress had approved of his appointment to command the
Continental Army.
Washington mastered the tactical retreat during the
Revolution.
The Conti nental ArmyThe Continental Army was always struggling for men and
supplies.
The Congress could do little to force the states to plan together to fight the British.
In essence it was like 13 separate wars were being fought at times.
The militias would fight the British, but only for a short time or near their homes.
The Continental Army only enlisted their men for a year.
The states had to recruit men into the army.
Washington asked for and got the Congress to grant three year enlistments to keep soldiers in the army longer.
Finally, most officers were veterans of the French and Indian War, or were younger men who stood out.
The Fighti ng Gets WorseIn 1776, British General Howe came to the U.S. with 32,000
British troops.
He hoped to use his large army to destroy the Patriot rebellion.
Washington met the British on Long Island in New York.
He was defeated badly by the British, and forced to retreat.
Nathan Hale, a schoolteacher, was caught and hung as a Patriot spy at Long Island. Before he was executed he
uttered his famous words: “I only regret that I have but one
life to give for my country.”
Winter ComesIn the winter of 1776-1777, the
Continental Army almost dissolved.
Most armies in the 18th Century didn’t fight during the winter.
Soldiers finished their enlistments, and others deserted the army.
Washington begged the Continental Congress for more troops and asked for
even freed African Americans to help fight.
He said if the army wasn’t put back together soon, that “the game is pretty
near up.”
Southern states were not comfortable with African Americans being armed and
allowed to serve in the army.
African AmericansAs many as 5,000 African Americans may have served in the Continental Army.
Every state sent some African Americans except South Carolina.
A f r i c a n A m e r i c a n s
Victory in New JerseyThe British stayed in New York during the
winter.
Some troops were left in Princeton and Trenton, New Jersey.
General Washington was in Pennsylvania, and saw a chance to attack a smaller force
of 1,400 Hessian troops.
Washington and 2,400 troops crossed the Delaware River on Christmas and
captured Hessian soldiers at Trenton.
Washington then marched to Princeton where he forced the British to retreat.
Washington wanted to attack before his men’s enlistments were up.
The Hessians were drunk when Washington found them.
C r o s s i n g t h e D e l a w a r e
The Batt le of SaratogaThe first major victory for the
Americans was won at Saratoga.
The British had planned a 3-prong assault on Albany, to destroy resistance and to
separate the New England and Southern Colonies.
Generals Howe and Burgoyne, as well as Lt.
Colonel St. Leger were to move in on Albany from three
sides, surrounding and capturing it.
The goal was to destroy any resistance in New York.
Results…The British were defeated after they didn’t follow through on their plan.
Burgoyne was forced to surrender to General Horatio Gates.
The French realized that the Americans may be able to win the war, and declared war on Great Britain too.
France began to send help to the U.S. to fight off the British and remain independent.
S a r a t o g a
The War Conti nues
How did the United States gain allies and aid during the Revolutionary War?
R e v i e w
Review
VS 1
Figure 1a
FranceAfter the Battle of Saratoga, the Patriots attracted the attention of the other large
European powers.
Ben Franklin had been in Paris since late 1776.
Franklin was able to use his charm to get the French to help fund the war effort secretly.
In February, 1778, after the Battle of Saratoga, the French decided to help the Americans openly, publicly announcing their support.
An alliance formed between the French and Americans, and they sent money, equipment,
and troops to the U.S.
France also declared war on the British in February, 1778. F r a n c e
SpainSpain also declared war on Great Britain in 1779. They did so mostly because they
hated the British.
The Spanish governor of Louisiana formed an army and attacked the British in
Florida and the surrounding area.
This fighting distracted the British from the main goal of defeating the Patriots, and forced some of their troops to be busy fighting
unimportant battles.
Valley ForgeGeneral Howe stayed in Philadelphia
for the winter of 1777-1778 after not going to Albany.
George Washington and the Continental Army set up camp at Valley Forge, about 20 miles away
from the British.
The winter was brutal. The troops didn’t have enough food, clothing,
tents, or medicine.
Washington’s army was falling apart.
Many men deserted the army.
As winter ended however the army began to grow and become stronger
again. Va l l e y F o r g e
Foreign Help at Valley Forge
One of the leaders at Valley Forge was a Frenchmen named the Marquis de Lafayette.
He learned of the Declaration of Independence and came to help the Patriots.
Washington made him an assistant, and he helped to run the army.
Casimir Pulaski, a cavalry officer from Poland, helped train the troops at Valley Forge.
Friedrich von Steuben, a German army veteran, also joined Washington army.
Von Steuben drilled and trained the troops, making them into a professional army.
Sti ll No MoneyEven though money was coming from the French and the Spanish, more was
needed to continue to pay for the war.
The Continental Congress could not tax the states, only ask them for
money.
To try to pay debts, the Congress began to print money.
These dollar bills had no gold or silver to back them, making them more and
more worthless.
Inflation quickly set in and made anything that had little or no value
“worthless as a continental.”
The Thoughts of the PeopleThe question of the equality of
women was quickly brought up. Women believed they should start to educate girls the same as boys.
Slavery was questioned from the beginning of the war.
Many states began to think about abolishing slavery. Not much was
resolved however.
Loyalists still supported the British and helped them to fight the
Patriots.
Some Patriots went as far as to arrest or even execute confirmed
Loyalists.
The War Moves West and South
Section 3-Essential Question
How did fighting in the West and South affect the course of the Revolutionary War?
S o u t h e r n S t r a t e g y
Figure 1a
Figure 4
Indian Relati onsAs the Revolution continued the Native Americans began to be caught up in the war.
Most Native Americans helped the British and the Loyalists.
The Native Americans thought the British were less of a threat.
Figure 3
Briti sh/Nati ve Att acksThe British allied with the Native Americans to raid and attack American settlements in the
West.
Joseph Brant was the leader of the Mohawk tribe. He led his warriors against the Americans in Pennsylvania and New York.
Henry Hamilton led British forces against the Americans in Detroit. He paid Native Americans for the scalps of American settlers.
The Americans RespondGeorge Rogers Clark, from
Virginia, led about 200 men along the Ohio River to attack the
British in the West.
They captured Kaskaskia in Illinois, and then Vincennes in
Indiana.
Clark lost Vincennes after he captured it, but recaptured it
again a few months later.
He forced Henry Hamilton to surrender, and made sure the
Americans had firm control in the West.
G e o r g e R o g e r s C l a r k
Naval WarfareThe British Navy had been blockading American ports, not letting anyone in or out.
Because of the blockade, the Americans could not get
supplies or reinforcements.
The Continental Congress began to approve the building of a navy, but only two ships
made it into battle before being captured.
To continue to have ships that were able to fight at sea, the Continental Congress allowed
for the outfitting of approximately 2,000
privateers.
T h e A m e r i c a n N a v y
PrivateersPrivateers are merchants ships that
are privately armed to fight.
These ships acted like legal pirates.
They would be commissioned (approved) by the Continental
Congress and would sail looking for enemy naval and merchant ships.
Privateers tried to capture the enemy ship and claim it as a prize. They then got to keep the ship and anything on
board.
Anything that could be sold was sold and then the crew of the ship divided
up the money based on seniority.
The American Navy The Americans did manage
to take the fight to Great Britain.
John Paul Jones, an American naval officer,
raided British ports and ships around Great Britain.
Jones commanded the Bonhomme Richard, and is famous for his battle with
the British warship Serapis.
After hours of fighting, the British asked Jones to surrender, to which he
responded “I have not yet begun to fight!”
J o h n P a u l J o n e s
The War in the SouthThe British were losing their grip
on the colonies, and they decided to begin a new offensive in the South.
The British wanted to use their navy and Loyalist support in the
South to win victories.
The Americans were defeated and lost the cities of Savannah
and Charles Town.
Thousands of American soldiers were captured at Charles Town.
General Charles Cornwallis was left to command the British
troops in the South.
D e f e a t a t C h a r l e s To w n
Guerilla WarfareAs the British tried to spread out to control the South, they
met small bands of soldiers who would ambush them.
The Patriots would attack and then disappear to regroup and
attack suddenly again.
This type of fighting, using hit-and-run tactics is known as
guerilla warfare.
Francis Marion was the leader of one of these groups. He
fought in the swamps of South Carolina and became known as
the “Swamp Fox.”
G u e r i l l a Wa r f a r eF r a n c i s M a r i o n
The Spanish Help
The Spanish governor of Louisiana loaned money and weapons to the
Patriots.
In 1779, Spain declared war on Britain. The Spanish formed an army and fought
the British on the lower Mississippi River.
Victories in the SouthNathaniel Greene was the commander of American
troops in the South.
Greene divided his army in half, and won a victory at Cowpens, South Carolina.
After reassembling the army, Greene fought the British at
Guilford Courthouse in South Carolina.
The British won tactically, but the Americans won strategically. The British
suffered heavy losses.
N a t h a n i e l G r e e n eC o w p e n s
Briti sh RetreatCornwallis knew if he didn’t do
something soon, the French would show up to help the Americans.
More troops and supplies were also headed South.
Cornwallis moved into Virginia, and almost managed to capture Thomas
Jefferson and the Virginia legislature.
Washington sent troops under Lafayette and General Anthony
Wayne to meet Cornwallis.
Cornwallis set up his army at Yorktown, Virginia, and waited for
new orders.
The War is Won
Escalati onIn July of 1780, French troops
arrived under the command of Comte de Rochambeau.
These troops were accompanied by a French fleet sent to help the
Americans.
The British Navy also sent more ships and trapped the French ships
in Rhode Island.
General Washington was watching General Clinton in New York City, and also kept an eye on General Cornwallis in Yorktown, Virginia.
A New PlanWashington learned that another French fleet
led by Francois de Grasse was headed to Virginia.
Washington decided to leave General Clinton alone in New York City and instead attack
General Cornwallis in Virginia.
General Rochambeau had linked up his troops with Washington, and both would head to
Yorktown secretly.
Washington and Rochambeau, Lafayette, and de Grasse’s forces would all meet up at
Yorktown.
F r e n c h H e l p
SiegeThe allied American and French forces
numbered 14,000.
They trapped Cornwallis and his 8,000 men inside of Yorktown.
The French fleet under de Grasse made sure the British did not escape by sea.
The French and the Americans fired cannons into Yorktown, bombing the city.
After holding out for about a week, Cornwallis was short on supplies and men,
and was forced to surrender.
The French band played “Yankee Doodle” at the surrender ceremony, while the
British band played “The World Turned Upside Down.” T h e S u r r e n d e r
Yo r k t o w n
PeaceAfter Yorktown, the British
realized it would be too costly to win the war.
Both the British and the Americans sent delegates to
Paris to discuss peace.
Ben Franklin, John Jay, and John Adams went to Paris to agree on the Treaty of Paris.
The Congress ratified the treaty on September 3, 1783,
officially ending the war.
The Treaty of ParisThe Treaty of Paris
recognized the United States as an
independent nation.
The British agreed to remove their troops
from the U.S., and allow Americans to fish in the
waters of Canada.
The U.S. agreed to let the British collect debts
owed to them and to ensure Loyalists were
given back any property taken from them.
General WashingtonAfter the fighting stopped, General Washington had to turn his leadership toward keeping his
men happy.
The men were upset about not being paid yet for fighting. They wanted to use force on the Congress, but General Washington managed to keep them calm.
Soon after he resigned from the army, and planned to return home.
Why the Americans WonThe Americans had managed to defeat the most powerful military in the world.
They fought on their own land, which gave them a place to stay, supplies, and the strength to defend their homes.
Their knowledge of their lands allowed them to set up ambushes and choose the best places to fight.
The fact that other nations were willing to help the Americans led to their eventual victory.
Legacy
The ideas of the Americans involving
liberty and the rights of man would
influence the French.
The French Revolution began in 1789. The French
believed in the same ideas as the
Americans.