The American Revolution

1. The American Revolution Chapter 2

2. The Decision for Independence • Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson. • Natural rights had been “endowed” to all persons “by their Creator.” • No need to claim “rights as Englishmen” • Blamed King George III • Americans no longer considered themselves English • Upheld the right of the people to overthrow oppressive rule. • Based its argument primarily on the contract theory of government developed by John Locke: power comes from the consent of the people.

3. The Declaration of Independence • The Continental Congress passed the resolution on July 2, 1776 • On July 4, 1776, each member of the Second Continental Congress signed the document.

4. Choosing Sides • 1/3 American Loyalists (Tories) • Often lived in urban and coastal areas. • 1/3 Patriots (actively supported) • 1/3 Did not care enough to fight • Not just a war between the British and Americans; truly a civil war.

5. Military Resources • British (far more resources) • Manpower • Navy • Professional armies and mercenaries • Colonial • Short supply lines • Familiarity with area • George Washington • French • Willing to sustain war

6. The Revolutionary War • Congress struggled to provide the army with adequate supplies. • Inability to control colonies, raise money, draft men, etc. • “Regulars” versus the militia • Washington designed a defensive strategy to compensate for weakness. • The Americans lost most of the battles in the Revolutionary War.

7. Turning Points • On Christmas night, 1776, Washington slipped across the Delaware River at Trenton (New Jersey) with 2,400 men and surprised the drunken Hessians, killing or capturing over a thousand. • 6 American casualties.

8. Turning Points • Victory at Saratoga (October 1777) • Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold capture John Burgoyne and 9,500 British • Saratoga changed everything • Franco-American Alliance

9. Turning Points:Alliance with France • In Paris, the French celebrated the Battle of Saratoga as a French victory. • The French had already been sending military supplies to the colonists • Most gunpowder in the first years of the war came from France. • On February 6, 1778, France and America signed two treaties: • A Treaty of Amity and Commerce (Recognition of U.S.) • A Treaty of Alliance

10. Turning Points • The American Revolution became a global war. • Britain was fighting wars with America, France, Spain, and Dutch • Other theaters of war included India, the West Indies, and Florida. • British realized the rest of the empire at stake

11. The Struggle in the South • English politicians & generals believed that the war could be won in the South. • Loyalists were numerous in the backcountry • Planters could not afford to turn their guns away from their slaves • Capture Savannah (1778) & Charleston (1779)

12. The Struggle in the South • Neighbors and even families fought and killed one another. • Both sides burned farms, tortured prisoners, etc. • White fears of rebellion • African American quests for liberty (1/3 of population) • Disagreement among British over freeing slaves • Kings Mountain (1780) • American victory over British • Turning point of war in the South • Followed by victory at Cowpens (January 1781) • British became convinced that they could not put down the rebellion in the South.

13. Turning Points • Battle of Yorktown (Virginia) • October 19, 1781 • Lord Charles Cornwallis surrounded by French fleet and surrenders to Washington • Over 7,000 British and Hessians became prisoners • Added to setbacks in other parts of the world, the British decided to end the war.

14. Peace of Paris (1783) • An important factor in the conclusion of peace negotiations with Britain was the American decision to negotiate separately with the British. • Terms • U.S. political independence recognized • Mississippi River recognized as western border of the United States • Congress would not prevent the British merchants from collecting debts owed to them by Americans • Florida was given to Spain

16. Results of the American Revolution: Social effects • Spirit of equality weakened old habits of deference • Example: voting qualifications were lowered • Higher education increased • Example: 14 colleges founded in 1780s and 90s to go with the 9 before Revolution

17. Results of the American Revolution: Social effects • Complete freedom of religion • Transition from the toleration of religious dissent to a complete freedom of religion in the separation of church and state • Legislative representation for the backcountry was increased • Weakened the major Indian tribes along the frontier / cleared the way for rapid settlement of the trans-Appalachian West

18. Results of the American Revolution: Slavery • British army freed thousands of slaves; others escaped • 55,000 slaves fled to freedom during the Revolution • Slaves who fought for the colonies were given their freedom • Northern states began to outlaw slavery • Only Georgia and South Carolina continued to import.

19. Results of the American Revolution: Political • Most political experimentation between 1776 and 1787 occurred at the state level with new state constitutions • The Articles of Confederation were ratified by the states in 1781; before then the Continental Congress operated as an extralegal body • Articles of Confederation (1781) • Weak central government with little authority • Congress was not intended as a legislature, nor as a sovereign entity unto itself, but as a collective substitute for the monarch – a plural executive rather than a parliamentary body