The American Revolution: 1775-1783

1. The American Revolution: 1775-1783

2. Performance Objectives • PO 2. Describe the significance of key events of the Revolutionary War: • major battles (e.g., Lexington, Saratoga, Trenton) • aid from France • surrender at Yorktown

3. More Performance Objectives • PO 3. Describe the impact of the following key individuals on the Revolutionary War: • Benjamin Franklin • Thomas Jefferson • George Washington • Patrick Henry • Thomas Paine • King George III

4. Causes of the War • British defeat French in French/Indian War • Defeat of Indians removes colonists’ perceived need for British protection • War costly for Brits and need add’l income • Stamp, Navigation, and Revenue Act force colonists to pay for protection • 1770 Boston Massacre – 5 dead after protesting taxation without representation

5. Causes of the War (cont.) • Quartering Act • Colonists forced to house British troops • 3rd Amendment of the Constitution • Real Causes • Colonists had intellectual differences with British government • Spirit of independence brought about by frontier life • Belief in democracy over oligarchy

6. On the Eve of the Revolution ?

7. Military Strategies The Americans The British • Break the colonies in half by getting between the North & the South. • Blockade the ports to prevent the flow of goods and supplies from an ally. • “Divide and Conquer”  use the Loyalists. • Attrition [the British had a long supply line]. • Guerilla tactics [fight an insurgent war  you don’t have to win a battle, just wear the British down] • Make an alliance with one of Britain’s enemies. • Rely on love of home to keep men fighting

8. Loyalist Strongholds

9. Washington’s Headaches • Only 1/3 of the colonists were in favor of a war for independence [the other third were Loyalists, and the final third were neutral]. • State/colony loyalties. • Congress couldn’t tax to raise money for the Continental Army. • Poor training [until the arrival of Baron von Steuben].

10. Phase I:The Northern Campaign[1775-1776]

11. Fort Ticonderoga • Ethan Allen, a blacksmith, leads the Green Mountain boys of Vermont against the fort which had many cannon. • There was one guard and the officers were sleeping. • The commander had to turn over 100 cannon and gunpowder.

12. Second Continental Congress • 13 colonies send delegates to Philadelphia. • Many do not want a war. • The Olive Branch Petition is sent to King George asking him to repeal the Intolerable Acts. • The Continental Army is created with George Washington as Commander-in-Chief.

13. Bunker (Breed’s) HillJun 1775 • New “Continental Army” takes position on Breed’s Hill • They are told, “Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes!”because they have only a small amount of gunpowder • British conduct frontal assault • Poor judgement – flanks/rear exposed • 40% casualties for Brits (1,100 dead) • Colonials repel two assaults but run out of ammunition.

14. Bunker Hill (June, 1775) The British suffered over 40% casualties.

15. Results of Bunker Hill • Colonists convinced standing army was unnecessary • Showed colonial determination • Gen Howe forever failed to press victories • New colonial tactics: • Simple defensive • Hold at the Hudson

16. Brits Leave Boston • By January 1776, the Continental Army surrounded Boston. • The cannon captured at Ticonderoga were placed on Dorchester Heights, a hill overlooking Boston and its harbor. • Seeing that they were trapped, General Howe ordered his troops to go to Halifax, Canada.

17. Common Sense • Many colonists remained loyal to Britain, even while patriots were fighting for freedom. • Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet called Common Sense. • This pamphlet asked anyone to “show single advantage this continent can reap by being connected with Britain. • Hundreds of thousands of copies were sold. • Many loyalists changed their thinking because of Paine’s arguments.

18. Declaring Independence • Delegates to the Continental Congress came to believe that declaring independence was necessary. • Richard Henry Lee of Virginia offers a resolution that “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.” • From that moment, delegates were considered traitors to their country. A traitor is one who betrays his or her own country.

19. A committee is formed to write the declaration. • John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman and Thomas Jefferson undertake this task. • Jefferson is asked to write the document explaining to the world why the colonies were taking such a drastic step. • On July 4th, 1776, the Congress voted that the 13 colonies were “free and independent States. • Fireworks were invented later 

20. The Declaration • The first part explains the basic rights on which the nation is founded. Finish this phrase, “We hold these truths to be self-evident………………… • The second part list the wrongs committed by Britain • The last section declares that the colonies had become “the United States of America.”

21. Phase II: NY & PA[1777-1778]

22. New York • Gen. Howe (Brit) heads to New York City. • Washington takes the Continental Army to defend the city. • Howe has 34,000 troops, 10,000 sailors, 30 warships and 400 smaller boats. • Washington has 20,000 men and no navy. • Losing the battles for New York, the Continentals retreat to New Jersey. • Nathan Hale, a young Connecticut spy is captured behind British lines. • “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country” were his last words…

23. New York City in Flames(1776)

24. Trenton and the Crossing • Discouraged with losing, the Continentals are cold, hungry, deserting and many are due for re-enlistment • A victory is badly needed. • Washington plans a surprise attack on Hessian troops (German mercenaries) in Trenton , New Jersey. • He gets his troops across the frozen Delaware River in the dead of night on Christmas. • On Dec. 26, the Continental Army takes over 1400 Hessians prisoner without losing a single soldier!

25. Washington Crossing the Delaware Painted by Emanuel Leutze, 1851

26. Princeton • After the Battle of Trenton, the British send General Charles Cornwallis to retake the city. • Outside of Princeton, he sees the lights of Washington’s campfires. • “At last we have run down the old fox and we will bag him in the morning.” • Washington had fooled Cornwallis by leaving the fires burning as he marched his troops behind British lines, winning another surprise victory. • The army has new hope and confidence.

27. Valley Forge • 20 miles NW of Philadelphia • Camp where the Continental Army spent the winter of 1777-1778. • Starvation, disease, malnutrition, and exposure killed over 2,500 American soldiers by the end of February 1778.

28. Baron von Steuben • Credited with training the soldiers of the Continental Army • Steuben picked 120 men from various regiments, to form an honor guard for General Washington, and used them to demonstrate military training to the rest of the troops. • Our military still uses many of his methods.

29. Marquis de Lafayette • French aristocrat and military officer who fought for the United States in the American Revolutionary War. • Close friend of George Washington • Later, he would play an important role in the French Revolution.

30. British Plan in Pennsylvania • General Burgoyne (British) convinces King George that if New England is cut off from the other colonies the war will end. • 3 British armies march on Albany, N.Y. from different directions. • General Howe must take Philadelphia before going to Albany. He takes too much time • General St. Leger (British) moves slowly due to baggage carts. • Burgoyne is surrounded in the village of Saratoga. • The 3 armies never reached Albany…

31. Saratoga • The American troops cut or burned down all of the bridges in the path of the British • Burgoyne sets off with an overbundance of supplies/equipment • Movement extremely slow (1 mile/day) • Guerillas could easily stay ahead and slow further • This made the British an easy target for the American soldiers.

32. Significance of Saratoga • Turning point of Revolution • French enter war, aligning with colonists • British now move their focus to the South • Spain and Holland soon join war • Bernardo de Galvez in Spanish Florida defeated British forces in Natchez and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

33. Saratoga: “Turning Point” of the War… A modern-day re-enactment

34. “The ball first cut off the head of Smith, a stout heavy man, and dashed it open, then took Taylor across the bowels; it then struck Sergeant Garret of our company on the hip, took off the point of the hip bone . Oh, What a sight it was to see within a distance of six rods those men with their legs and arms and guns and packs all in a heap!” Connecticut Soldier, 1777 A personal view of the American Revolution

35. Southern CampaignLate 1778 • More Loyalists live in the South • Southern resources more valuable • British win small victories but unable to pacify countryside • Nathanial Greene vs. Cornwallis • Greene sacrificed mass for manuever • Smaller forces more easily could live off land • Provided rally points for local militia • Tempted Cornwallis to split his forces • Militia kept Cornwallis in the South

36. Phase III:The Southern Strategy [1780-1781]

37. The Swamp Fox • In the southern battles, Americans began to employ hit and run, or guerrilla, tactics. • Francis Marion of South Carolina led a small band of men who slept by day and traveled by night. • He was known as the Swamp Fox because he appeared suddenly out of the swamps, attacked the British, and then retreated back to the swamps. • His actions kept the British off balance 

38. Banastre Tarleton • Known as “The Butcher” • He refused quarter (mercy) to surrendering men. • Leader of the Green Dragoons • Given the job of stopping the militia led by Francis Marion and failed

39. John Paul Jones • Although the American navy remained small, Americans attacked and captured British ships at sea. • John Paul Jones, in command of the Bonhomme Richard, finds a British warship, the Serapis, guarding 39 merchant ships in the North Sea off the coast of Britain. • He attacks, even though the Serapis is larger. • When told to surrender, Jones states, “I have not yet begun to fight!” • His men board the warship and defeat the men in hand-to-hand fighting.

40. Tale of a Traitor • By 1780, one of Washington’s most talented and successful generals, Benedict Arnold, was in command of the American fort atWest Point. • He was angry at what he felt was a lack of credit given to him for his victories. • He offered to turn the fort over to the British! • His plot almost succeeded but soldiers caught the messenger taking the offer to the British. • Arnold escaped and joined the British and, to this day, a synonym for traitor is a “Benedict Arnold.”

41. The French are helping the Continental Army with men, weapons and warships The Americans and the French will corner the British on a small peninsula and bombard them with cannon fire. The British will surrender and end the American Revolution. The colonists will win the American Revolution with this victory. The Battle of Yorktown, October 1781

42. The Battle of Yorktown (1781) Count de Rochambeau AdmiralDe Grasse

43. Impact of French • Anxious to regain international position • French repeatedly help American cause: • Loans of money • Use of French ports by American privateers • Protected American vessels near French waters • Made English uneasy at home • French Navy critical at Yorktown

44. Cornwallis’ Surrender at Yorktown: “The World Turned Upside Down!” Painted by John Trumbull, 1797

45. THE WAR ENDS WITH THESE CONDITIONS “free, sovereign and independent states” British must remove all troops from forts Boundary for United States is the Mississippi Loyalists would have rights and property protected captured slaves must be returned to owners The Treaty of Paris, 17839:11 – 18:45

46. North America After theTreaty of Paris, 1783