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Chapter 6

Chapter 6. Securing Independence, Defining Nationhood 1776-1788. Introduction. 1.) What were the different conflicts contained within the American Revolution? 2.) How did the Revolution affect relationships among Americans of different classes, races, and genders?

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Chapter 6

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  1. Chapter 6 Securing Independence, Defining Nationhood 1776-1788

  2. Introduction • 1.) What were the different conflicts contained within the American Revolution? • 2.) How did the Revolution affect relationships among Americans of different classes, races, and genders? • 3.) How did the state constitutions and Articles of Confederation reflect older political ideas?

  3. Introduction (cont.) • 4.) How did the Constitution’s proponents address Americans’ concerns about concentrated political power?

  4. The Prospects of War • Introduction • The Revolution was a war of the American people against the British • and a civil war between American supporters of independence and Americans who were opposed to breaking with the mother country

  5. Loyalists and Other British Sympathizers • About 20% of all whites opposed the Revolution • Loyalists • Allegiance to the crown • Aka “Tories” • Hated by patriots (revolutionaries) • Largest % of loyalists were in NY and NJ • Recent British immigrants and French Canadians tended to be loyalists

  6. Loyalists and Other British Sympathizers (cont.) • Thousands of southern slaves escaped to the royal army • African-Americans in the North were more likely to support the Revolution • Indian tribes were divided and many wanted to sit out the conflict • Majority sided with the British

  7. The Opposing Sides • Advantages of the British • Outnumbered the Americans 11 million to 2.5 million • Largest navy • One of the best professional armies • Disadvantages of the British • Difficulty in recruiting soldiers (employed 21,000 loyalists and 30,000 Hessians) • Supplying armies 3,000 miles across the ocean • Financial strain • English domestic support for the War waned

  8. The Opposing Sides (cont.) • Americans mobilized their smaller population behind the war more effectively • After 1778 they had French and Spanish assistance • Mostly veteran European officers

  9. The Opposing Sides (cont.) • American problems: • 1/3 of population were slaves or opposed to the Revolution • State militias did well in guerrilla raids but lacked training for battles • Few experienced officers • Raw recruits • Americans did not have to conquer redcoats • Rebels just had to keep resisting until the British public tired of the struggle

  10. The Opposing Sides (cont.) • George Washington was the logical choice as commander of the American army • VA tobacco planter • Member of the House of Burgesses • Representative at the Continental Congress • Former military leader of the colonists

  11. War and Peace, 1776-1783 • Introduction • Until mid-1778, fighting remained in the North • Each side won important victories • American forces prevailed over British troops and their Native American allies to gain control of the trans-Appalachian West • The War was finally decided in the South • American and French forces won at Yorktown, VA in 1781 • In the peace treaty, Britain acknowledged American independence • http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/american_revolution.jpg

  12. Shifting Fortunes in the North, 1776-1778 • New York • 130 British warships carrying 32,000 royal troops landed near NY harbor in summer of 1776 • Led by General William Howe and Admiral Richard Howe • 18,000 American soldiers • Led by Washington • By end of 1776, British forced Americans to retreat from NY across NJ and the Delaware River into PA

  13. Shifting Fortunes in the North, 1776-1778 (cont.) • During the winter of 1776-1777, Washington struck back at Trenton and Princeton • Recoats pulled back to NY • In NJ, the Whigs forced loyalists remaining in the state to pledge allegiance to the Continental Congress

  14. Shifting Fortunes in the North, 1776-1778 (cont.) • Americans’ best hope for victory lay in French diplomatic recognition and military alliance • Louis XVI held back until he became convinced that the Americans had a chance of winning • October 1777 • Saratoga, NY • American forces surrounded British forces and forced 5,800 British troops to surrender

  15. Shifting Fortunes in the North, 1776-1778 (cont.) • French were impressed with the victory at Saratoga • Feb. 1778, France recognized the United States • June 1778, France declared war on England • Subsequently, the Spanish and Dutch Republic also declared war on Britain • Turning point in the war • The formation of this coalition against GB

  16. Shifting Fortunes in the North, 1776-1778 (cont.) • Fall of 1777, the British inflicted defeats on Washington’s army at Brandywine Creek and Germantown, PA • British occupied Philadelphia • Forced Continental Congress to flee • Winter of 1777-1778 • Royal in Philadelphia (comfortable) • Washington’s troops at Valley Forge (froze and under supplied and equipped)

  17. Valley Forge

  18. Shifting Fortunes in the North, 1776-1778 (cont.) • Battle of Monmouth Court House • NJ • June 1778 • Continentals defeated British • British escaped to NY • Protected by British Navy • Washington hovered across the Hudson River keeping an eye on them

  19. The War in the West, 1776-1782 • Although the number of people involved in the frontier battles was small, the skirmishes were deadly • British, Americans, and Indians realized that the victor of the West would control the area west of the Appalachian Mountains

  20. The War in the West, 1776-1782 (cont.) • The battles began in the South • Cherokees attacked from VA to GA • By 1777, the frontiersmen had crushed the Cherokees • forced the Cherokees to cede much of their land in the Carolinas and TN

  21. The War in the West, 1776-1782 (cont.) • Expeditions led by George Rogers Clark, John Bowman, and Daniel Brodhead inflicted heavy losses on hostile Ohio Indian tribes • Ohio Indian tribes would continue to fight until 1780’s • Joseph Brant led the Iroquois on deadly raids against the western NY and PA settlers until he was stopped at a battle near Elmira, NY

  22. The War in the West, 1776-1782 (cont.) • By war’s end, the Iroquois population had dropped by a 1/3 • Not greatly influencing the outcome of the war • These battles played a major role in the development of the future American nation

  23. Victory in the South, 1778-1781 • After 1778, the British shifted their attention to the South • 1st victory at Savannah • 1780 • British took Charles Town, SC • General Charles Cornwallis led British • Nathaniel Greene led Americans

  24. Victory in the South, 1778-1781 (cont.) • Cornwallis led English forces into the Carolina backcountry • British victories • Camden and Guilford Courthouse • American victories • Kings Mountain and Cowpens • British suffered heavy casualties in the Carolina backcountry though • Cornwallis decided to head back to VA

  25. Victory in the South, 1778-1781 (cont.) • Cornwallis established a new base on Virginia’s Yorktown Peninsula • Battle of Yorktown • American and French armies • French fleet • Cut off and surrounded British • October 19, 1781 Cornwallis surrendered • The fighting in the Revolutionary War ended

  26. Battle of Yorktown Surrender

  27. Peace at Last, 1782-1783 • Treaty of Paris • John Adams, John Jay, Benjamin Franklin represented America • Began in June 1782 • Signed in Sept. 1783

  28. Peace at Last, 1782-1783 (cont.) • British recognized American independence • British promised to remove all troops from American soil • Mississippi River became the western boundary of the new nation • New Orleans and the outlet of the river to the Gulf of Mexico as well as East and West Florida went to Spain

  29. Peace at Last, 1782-1783 (cont.) • Notably absent from the Treaty was any reference to Native Americans • Native Americans refused to acknowledge American sovereignty over their territories • The Confederation agreed to compensate loyalists for their property losses and repay British creditors • several states later refused to comply • In retaliation, the British did not evacuate forts they sill held in the Northwest

  30. Peace at Last, 1782-1783 (cont.) • American victory had been costly • At least 5% of free males between 16 and 45 died in the war • Many loyalists and former slaves fled to Canada, Britain, and the West Indies • The War did not address 2 important issues: • 1.) what kind of society America was to become • 2.) what sort of govt. the new nation would possess

  31. The Revolution and Social Change • Egalitarianism Among White Males • There was no significant redistribution of wealth in American during the Revolution • The Declaration of Independence’s bold assertion that “all men are created equal” did promote more egalitarian attitudes • The upper class found it prudent to simplify their standards of living and treat common people with more respect

  32. Egalitarianism Among White Males (cont.) • Ordinary folks were less likely to defer to their “betters” or automatically leave governing to them • Americans began to feel that political leaders should some from the “natural aristocracy” • Men who demonstrated virtue • accomplishments • dedication to the public good

  33. Egalitarianism Among White Males (cont.) • The gains made through the advantage of family retreated before the republican principle of ability • The new egalitarianism did not include women, blacks, Indians, and landless white men

  34. White Women in Wartime • During the Revolution, the assumptions about women barely changed • Women were dependent on fathers and husbands • Had no public role to play

  35. White Women in Wartime (cont.) • However, in the midst of war • women took on added responsibilities • served visibly in support of the fighting men • Raised $$$ for the troops • Some even served incognito • The gains and rights they deserved for this and other social responsibilities would be up for discussion in the new republic • Abigail Adams would led fight for change

  36. Abigail Adams

  37. A Revolution for Black Americans • In 1776, blacks accounted for 20% of U.S. population • Almost all of them were enslaved • Majority in the South • 5,000 blacks served in the Continental Army • The Declaration of Independence’s words about equality made the Whigs uneasy about slavery • The Quakers had taken the lead in attacking slavery

  38. A Revolution for Black Americans (cont.) • Between 1777 and 1810 • All northern states instituted gradual emancipation • No southern states outlawed bondage • Several southern states did make the voluntary freeing of slaves easier • By 1790, about 5% of VA and MD blacks had been freed

  39. A Revolution for Black Americans (cont.) • Most free blacks remained poor laborers, domestics, or tenant farmers • Some blacks and whites began to advocate the idea that freed slaves might be better off being returned to their homelands in Africa (Prince Hall) • Most states granted freedmen certain civil rights • Blacks continued to be treated as 2nd class citizens

  40. Native Americans and the Revolution • Native Americans suffered the worst of any group during the War • For many whites the republic’s promise of equal opportunity meant moving west to obtain their own land • Moving into Indian territory • The tribes of the Ohio Valley were especially vulnerable • Between 1754 and 1783, war and uprooting had reduced the Native American population east of the Mississippi by nearly 50%

  41. Native Americans and the Revolution (cont.) • Many Indians still living east of the River adapted some features of white culture, combined it with native customs, and created new lifestyles • But they insisted on their right to control their own communities and lives

  42. Forging New Governments • From Colonies to States • Certain beliefs inherited from the colonial era stood in the way of a thorough democratization of politics • Most Whigs believed that voting and office holding must be tied to property ownership • They frowned on political parties as strife-causing factions • They did not see the need for apportioning seats in a legislature on the basis of population

  43. From Colonies to States (cont.) • Whigs were wary of unchecked executive authority • Inclined to augment the role of elected legislatures • Interested in framing government institutions that would balance the interests of different classes to prevent any one group from gaining absolute power

  44. From Colonies to States (cont.) • The 1st state constitutions reflected both the radical and traditional features of Whig thought • Except for PA’s, they did not provide for election districts that were equal in population • 9 of the 13 state reduced property qualifications for voting • But none abolished them entirely • By 1784, all state constitutions included a bill of rights

  45. From Colonies to States (cont.) • The state constitutions provided for frequent elections and stripped the governors of most of their powers • In 1780’s, many states revised their constitutions to strengthen the executive branch and increase the political power of wealthy elites

  46. From Colonies to States (cont.) • Most of the states also enacted social reforms • For Example • In VA, Thomas Jefferson framed legislation abolishing primogeniture (the right of the 1st child to inherit their parents property) • Abolishing entails (to restrict inheritance of property in a will) • the established churches • guaranteeing religious freedom

  47. Formalizing a Confederation, 1776-1781 • In 1777, the Continental Congress drafted a constitution called the Articles of Confederation • http://www.usconstitution.net/articles.html • 4 years passed before the states ratified the Articles of Confederation • Disputes over states’ claims to western land and their representation in Congress

  48. Formalizing a Confederation, 1776-1781 (cont.) • There was a unicameral congress in which each state had 1 vote • No national court system • No executive branch • Financial, diplomatic, and military affairs were managed by congressional committees • The congress could request funds from states but could not tax the people directly or regulate interstate and foreign commerce

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