Unit 2: The Revolutionary War Ch. 6 Recreating America: Independence & a New Nation, 1775-1783

1. Unit 2: The Revolutionary WarCh. 6 Recreating America: Independence & a New Nation, 1775-1783

2. British Advantages & Disadvantages • Advantages • 7.5 million Britons to 2.5 million colonists • Professional army • George III had the money to hire professional soldiers (30,000 Germans called Hessians) • American Loyalists & Indians on their side

3. British Advantages & Disadvantages • Disadvantages • France, bitter from its recent defeat, wanted revenge • Many Britons had no desire to kill their American cousins • Fighting 3,000 miles from home • America’s geographical advance was enormous • No urban nerve center

4. American Advantages & Disadvantages • Advantages • Leaders such as G. Washington & B. Franklin • Received foreign aid from France • Fighting on familiar terrain

5. American Advantages & Disadvantages • Disadvantages • Colonists were badly organized & still struggled to unify • Militiamen were highly unreliable & lacked military skills • Few basic military supplies • Economic difficulties – Congress couldn’t tax to raise money for the army • Food & clothing shortages occurred • Only 1/3 of colonists were in favor of war for independence

6. Map of Loyalist Strongholds

7. Turning Point: Battle of Saratoga • Oct. 1777 American forces were able to cut off the British charge on New England • This convinced the French of America’s military viability

8. Turning Point: Battle of Saratoga • France entered the war in 1778, followed by the Spanish (1779) & the Dutch (1780) • England was faced with a world war • The French offered guns/equipment, money, troops, & naval strength

9. Diplomacy Abroad • Ben Franklin was sent to France in Dec. 1776 to negotiate an alliance with the French • After the British defeat at Saratoga, Parliament prepared a peace offer for Congress • If Congress agreed to a British compromise, France would gain nothing

10. Diplomacy Abroad • Franklin played skillfully on French fears of an Anglo-American reconciliation • He warned that France must act quickly • Feb. 1778 France signed a treaty of alliance with the Americans

11. Treaty of Paris 1783 • Ben Franklin, John Adams, & John Jay were the American peace negotiators • Formally recognized the independence of the U.S.

12. Treaty of Paris 1783 • Granted Americans land west to the Mississippi, north to the Great Lakes, & South to Spanish Florida • Americans given a share of the fisheries in Newfoundland • Britain kept Canada but had to give Florida to Spain • States were to return confiscated property to the Loyalists • American govt. would not interfere with collection of prewar debts owed to the British

13. Treaty of Paris 1783

14. Republican Expectations • In a republic, power resides in the people who then elect representatives to govern them • Protection of individual rights • Provide an expanded suffrage • Educate its citizens

15. Republican “Motherhood” • The republic would rely on wives & mothers to sustain its values & raise a new generation of concerned, patriotic citizens • Reflected Enlightenment ideas