Chapter 6 – The American Revolution

1. Chapter 6 – The American Revolution Washington Crossing the Delaware - 1851 oil-on-canvas painting by German American Artist Emanuel Leutze

2. Ch 6.1 - Fighting Begins in the North Print by A.H. Ritchie.

3. How the American Revolution Started • 4/19/1775 - British soldiers march from Boston to Concord, MA to seize colonist’s weapons • On the way, they clash with militia in Lexington, MA • “the shot heard ‘round the world” • Colonial militia force the British soldiers to retreat back to Boston after fighting in Concord

4. Now what do the colonists do? • Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, PA on May 10, 1775 to decide what to do • New arrivals to the group of delegates: • Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson

5. Olive Branch Petition • The delegates, or representatives from each colony, decided that their main goal was peace. • They wrote the OBP to King George III • Declared their loyalty to the king and Britain • Asked the King to repeal, or take back, the Intolerable Acts • Not all delegates agreed In Western culture, derived from the customs of Ancient Greece, the olive branch symbolizes peace or goodwill.

6. Patriots – those who favored war with Britain Loyalists (Tories) – colonists who remained loyal to Britain Peace or War? – Opposing Sides Of the total population of the colonies, roughly 1/3 considered themselves Patriots, 1/3 Loyalists, and 1/3 undecided

7. Patriot Advantages • Many owned rifles and were good shots • Washington was chosen by the 2nd Continental Congress to command a Continental Army. • He was an experienced leader • Fighting a defensive war • Determined to defend their homes and property • Knowledge of local geography and land • Learned guerilla warfare tactics from Native American allies • AKA “hit and run” tactics

8. Patriot Disadvantages • Militias and soldiers were disorganized and untrained • Few cannons, little gun powder, and no navy • Few colonists enlisted for long terms of service

9. British Advantages • Highly trained, experienced army • Best navy in the world • Many colonists still supported them • They were called ________.

10. British Disadvantages • Armies were far from home • News and support took months to travel from Britain • Did not know the geography and land • Risked attacks once they left cities and marched into the countryside

11. Colonial Rebels TakeFort Ticonderoga • In May 1775, Ethan Allen led the Green Mountain Boyson a surprise attack on the southern tip of Lake Champlain in northern NY • There were cannons in the fort that the colonists could use! • And the fort was not well-defended by the British On whose authority!?! In the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress!

12. Setting Up An Army! • By May 1775, a makeshift army had gathered around Boston.

13. Who should lead the army? • The 2nd Continental Congress sets up the Continental Army in June 1775 • John Adams proposes George Washington as commander • Congress appoints him and he rides to Boston to organize the troops • Why George? • Tall, imposing presence • Experience from F and I War • From the South and this would help southern support of the fighting in Boston

14. Why The Early Action Centered Around Boston • Many Patriots lived there • They were angry and had felt the full force of the Intolerable Acts • Much of the protests happened there …so the British began to concentrate their soldiers on containing the rebellion in Boston….

15. The Siege of Boston – Summer 1775 • British occupied Boston & wanted to take control of Charlestown, which overlooked Boston • Patriot militia built fortifications on Bunker Hill & vulnerable Breed’s Hill • At dawn on June 17th, British ships opened fire on fortifications, then troops began marching up the hills

16. Battle of Bunker Hill – 6/17/1775 • British General William Howe commanded the British up Breed’s Hill Patriots “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!” Video • The British “redcoats” were turned back twice before taking the hill and forcing a Patriot retreat • Americans ran out of powder • The British had bayonets and the Patriots did not British

17. Effects of Bunker Hill • 1st major battle of the American Revolution, but strategically pointless bloodletting • Although the British won, it was a costly victory • The British lost 1,000; the Patriots lost 400 • 2 Effects: a. It proved colonists could fight hard and b. that the British would be tough to beat

18. CAUSE Washington arrives in Boston to take command of the Continental Army in late 1775. Cannons taken from Fort Ticonderoga are aimed down on the British troops in Boston in March 1776. Surprise! EFFECT British troops leave Boston but King George orders a blockade of all colonial ports. King hires mercenaries from Germany to help fight the Patriots. Oh, it’s on now. The British Leave Boston!

19. Ch 6.2 – The Colonies Declare Independence Artist: John Trumbull; Oil on canvas, 12' x 18‘; Commissioned 1817; purchased 1819; placed 1826 in the Rotunda in the Capitol

20. Wait - Not Yet! • By mid 1776, many Patriots felt that their determination and courage at Bunker Hill and Concord would convince the King and Parliament to listen to their complaints • They wanted guaranteed rights and self-government while still belonging to Britain • King George and Parliament rejected the OBP • This upset many colonists Talk to the hand!

21. A Remarkable Pamphlet • Thomas Paine was a journalist working in Philadelphia • In January 1776 he published a plain, brief, but passionate argument for independence • 100,000 copies were printed and read in 1776! • He said the idea to separate from Britain was “Common Sense.”

22. Common Sense – Thomas Paine (1776) What it said - • The problem was not taxation, but the king! • He called the King a “Royal Brute” • The idea of having a king was wrong • Called for separation from Britain – • “Everything that is right or reasonable pleads for separation. ‘Tis time to part.”

23. Effects of Common Sense • Many colonists read and were sold on the idea of independence • Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduces a resolution, or statement, for independence to the Congress in June 1776. • The delegates in Congress debated declaring independence: • No turning back • If caught, they’d be hung as traitors

24. Writing a Declaration • The Congress set up a committee to create a declaration in late June 1776 • Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, John Adams, etc. • Their job is to tell the world why the colonies were breaking away from England • Thomas Jefferson is asked to write it • Great writer • July 2, 1776 – Congress votes that they will become “free and independent states.” • After peer-editing, the Declaration of Independence is adopted and printed on ___.

25. Declaration of Independence (1776) • Happy Birthday – USA! Four Parts • Preamble • introduction 2. Natural Rights • Stresses idea that people are born with rights that cannot be taken away by goverments 3. British Wrongs • List of what the Americans are upset about 4. Independence • The colonies are now the United States of America

26. Ch 6.3 Struggles in the Middle States1776-1777 In Battle of Long Island, 1858 by Alonzo Chappel, Lord Stirling leads the attack against the British with 250 troops while others swim into the marsh.

27. Patriots Continental Army marches south through New England to New York Leader and Army Washington thinks this is where the British will strike next 20,000 troops No navy British Sail north to Canada then south to New York to attack Patriots rebelling in New York Leader and Army Howe wants to destroy the Continental Army to end the revolution 34,000 troops/10,000 sailors, and a navy of ships to move them The Empire Strikes Back! (after Boston)

28. Battle of Long Island • British General Howe lands 15,000 on Long Island (near NYC) and attacks Washington’s 6,000 troops in August 1776 • Outcomes: • 1,400 Continental troops killed • Washington retreats to New York to save the Continental army

29. Losing New York • Washington is forced to retreat west to Manhattan (NYC) • By November, his army moves west again across the Hudson River to NJ, abandoning NY • Continental Army is chased by Howe and the British south to NJ Retreat to NJ! British land in New York City

30. Spies/Traitors - Who was Nathan Hale? • CT school teacher turned Patriot; 21 years old • Volunteered to spy for Washington during the Battle of Long Island against the British • Caught and before his execution by the British, made a “sensible and spirited speech” • Legacy • Nobly served and gave his life for his country "I only regret that I have but one life to give my country."

31. Victory in New Jersey • Things were not going well for the Continental Army by winter 1776 (lost in Long Island & NY) • Washington learns that Hessian (German) mercenaries are camped across the Delaware River in Trenton, NJ • Washington leads 2,000 soldiers and 40 cannon across in one night!

32. December 25-6: Washington Surprises the Hessians in Trenton Washington Crossing the Delaware - 1851 oil-on-canvas painting by German American Artist Emanuel Leutze

33. Washington surprises the Hessian mercenaries Most Hessians are taken prisoner & there were no American losses! Washington asks his troops to fight on even though their enlistments are up on Dec 31st At Princeton, days later, they drive the British out of New Jersey Battle of Trenton (12/26/1776) Video

34. A Powerful Ally? • In mid 1776 the Continental Congress had sent B. Franklin to Paris to persuade the French king Louis XVI to help the Americans with weapons & other badly needed supplies • They also wanted help from France’s powerful navy • France resented Britain because of the F & I War • France’s king did not want to get involved until the United States could prove they could win the war. Ben Franklin bows before France’s King Louis XVI in Paris

35. Patriot victory here is a major turning point in the war British generals make huge strategic mistakes! This victory convinces France to join the war as an American ally France becomes the first nation to sign a treaty with the US First nation to recognize the US as an independent nation Battle of Saratoga (in NY)

36. Valley Forge • After fighting to defend Philadelphia, PA Washington and the Continental Army set up camp 25 miles outside the city before the winter of 1777-8 to keep the British away • Winter at Valley Forge, PA was difficult • - Lack of money and supplies, including food, clothing, firewood, and shelter

37. Help From Abroad • Marquis de Lafayette –French noble/soldier • fought alongside the Patriots. He became Washington’s aide at age 19 • Friedrich von Steuben – Prussian (German) military officer • helped train the Patriots in marching and drilling

38. Help From Abroad • Thaddeus Kosciusko - Polish freedom fighter/engineer • helped build forts and other defenses, including work at West Point and Ticonderoga • Bernardo de Galvez – Spanish governor of Spanish-controlled Louisiana • provided aid and prevented British from surrounding the Patriots in the south near Florida

39. Help From Abroad • Casimir Pulaski – Polish military officer • Trained Patriot cavalry (horse riders/fighters) • Died in battle in Savannah, GA in 1779 • Washington’s tribute: “Pulaski? Poland”

40. Ch 6.5 – Winning the War in the South Storming of redoubt #10 during the Siege of Yorktown, US Army Chief of Military Historians Office, Date unknown, by H. Charles McBarron

41. British Plans Change • The British decided to try to win the war in the south because many loyalists lived in the southern colonies • Daniel Morgan and Nathanael were Patriot generals who helped affect the outcome of the war in southern battles • Francis Marion was called the “Swamp Fox” because of his use of guerilla warfare tactics against the British • Mel Gibson in “The Patriot” (2000) Greene

42. Battle at Yorktown (1781) • British General G. Cornwallis thought that if he conquered Virginia, he would cut off supply routes to the south. • The Patriots forced the British to retreat to a town on peninsula in Virginia called Yorktown. • Trapped with no means of retreat on land or sea • French navy surrounds them on the sea, Americans on the land

43. Battle at Yorktown (1781) • Washington rides from NY to help trap Cornwallis

44. Cornwallis Surrenders • He sends his assistant O’Hara because he is “ill” • British formally surrender on October 17, 1781 • Major fighting is officially over Video

45. Peace Talks Begin • Talks began in Paris, France in 1782 • Congress sent Ben Franklin, John Adams, John Jay, Henry Laurens, and W. Temple Franklin Benjamin West painting titled "American Commissioners of the Preliminary Peace Agreement with Great Britain" also sometimes referred to as "Treaty of Paris" (unfinished painting). The British commissioners refused to pose, and the picture was never finished.

46. Treaty of Paris (1783) Terms of the Treaty 1. Britain recognizes the USA as an independent nation

47. Treaty of Paris (1783) 2. The borders of the USA are set up Northern border – the Great Lakes Eastern/Western borders – Atlantic Ocean to the MS River Southern border – stopped at Florida, which is returned to Spain

48. Treaty of Paris (1783) 3. Americans agreed to pay loyalists for the property they lost in the war. • Most states ignored the loyalists claims • Congress ratifies (approves) the Treaty on April 15, 1783 • The American Revolution is over!

49. Why the Patriots Won • Geography – Americans were familiar with the land and how to fight on it • Foreign Aid – France and Spain provided supplies and troops • “Spirit of ’76” – America’s ever-growing spirit of patriotism and love for the cause and country