Phases of the War and the Aftermath

1. Phases of the War and the Aftermath The American Revolution: A Story in Three Acts

2. Phase 1: • Where: New England, Boston • When: 1775-1776 (spring) • Key Battles: Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Invasion of Canada • Key Takeaways: NE had the most anti-British feelings, the geography of New England made it hard for the British to defend; made clear to British that this was not just a local conflict

3. Phase 2 • Where: Mid-Atlantic, New York • When: 1776-1778 • Key Battles: Trenton and the Crossing of the Deleware, Saratoga, • Key Takeaways: British are largely winning but they have yet to fully crush Washington’s army • After Saratoga (dec. 1777) Lord North offer total self rule within the British Empire if the Americans quit the war • France fears this so gives recognition to new American nation (Feb. 1778) and give funds and military assistance

4. Phase 3 • Where: The South • British hoped to find local support (more loyalists expected in the South) • When: 1778-1781 • Key Battles: King’s Mountain and Yorktown • Key Takeaways: British overestimated loyalist support, General Nathaniel Greene (American) was able to push Cornwallis to Yorktown where he was pinned against the sea.

5. Winners and Losers • Loyalists = Losers • 100,000 fled America • The Anglican Church = Losers • Many members were loyalists and they lost official church status in new state Constitutions • African Americans = ehh… • Runaways • Philosophical groundwork for abolitionism • War to prevent slave revolt? • Native Americans = Losers • Feared that the Colonists would replace the more trustworthy British • End of war opened up renewed drives for land

6. Gordon Wood - Republicanism • “It meant more than simply eliminating a king and establishing an elective system of government. It added a moral and idealistic dimension to the separation from England – a dimension that promised a fundamental shift in values and a change in the very character of American society” (91). • “Country” + Antiquity = Republicanism • What were deficiencies and provincial in American life, became symbolic and morally right • Consent of the Governed – power for the government comes from below • The small landowner become the ultimate citizen • It was this philosophical inspiration that created the confidence to break from Britain

7. Equality? • Republicanism created a sense of equality more encompassing than ever before but what did this mean in practice? • Citizens are those people free from dependence • Aristocracy of Merit – Jefferson • How did the leaders of our Revolution view “the people”? • “The grazing multitude” – Washington • “The unthinking populace” – Hamilton • “Common Herd of Mankind” – John Adams

8. Consequences of Revolution • Flight of Loyalists and the power vacuum • Rise of Merchants and Trade • The good, the bad, and the money • Continued population growth and movement west • Titles Mr. and Mrs. • “Self Made Man”

9. Efforts to Make Society More Republican • Colleges and Universities • 9 – 1776 • +25 – 1776-1801 • Organizations and Societies • Growth of newspapers • Anti-slavery • Initially aimed at ending the slave trade

10. The Articles of Confederation • What are the limitations of the Articles of Confederation?