The Revolutionary War

1
The Revolutionary War

• Unit III
• Part 2

2
Lexington and Concord

• Since 1774 Boston was occupied by British under
  General Gage (also Royal Governor of Mass.)
• Gage received orders from Britain to seize
  colonial military supplies at Concord and to
  arrest troublemakers Sam Adams and John Hancock

3
April 1775

• Gage, with 700-1000 soldiers went secretly to
  destroy American military supplies at Concord
• Minutemen were alerted by Revere, Dawes, and
  Prescottalso warned Adams and Hancock
• 70 American minutemen were waiting for the
  British at Lexington (on the way to Concord)

4
Lexington

• Shots were exchanged and 8 Americans were killed
• Both Brits and Americans said the other side
  fired first
• Brits had been slowed down
• By the time they reached Concord supplies had
  been moved

5
Concord

• British retreated back to Boston
• Were harassed by Americans and 250 Brits killed
• Gage had to send for an additional 1500 to secure
  retreat

6
Colonial Mobilization

• News of Lexington and Concord spread rapidly
• Colonists came from all over New England to aid
  Boston
• May 1775 the Green Mountain Boys (Vermont) led by
  Ethan Allen took British forts at Crown Point and
  Ticonderoga. Took British ammo too

7
The Second Continental Congress May 1775
(Philadelphia)

• Assumed the powers of a central government
• Took steps to carry out the war
• Voted to ask the colonies for supplies and troops
• Set up a committee to ask for foreign assistance
  (everything was run by committee. John Adams was
  on 80 committees!)

8
The Second CC

• Encouraged rebellion of French Canadians
• Voted to call the army the Continental Army
• Voted Washington as Commander-in-Chief (this was
  a smart move because there were more loyalists in
  the South and a Southern commander might persuade
  more Americans to become patriots)

9
The Second CC

• Most delegates probably would have preferred
  commonwealth status to separation
• Sent the Olive Branch Petition asking for relief
  and blaming George IIIs ministersBut it was
  ignored
• Issued paper to pay for the war but way too
  much. It became worthless quickly

10
The Second CC

• The greatest obstacle of the war was the
  difficulty in raising for munitions and
  supplies
• The greatest danger in the war was the lack of
  unity
• More patriots in New England
• More Loyalists in the South
• At the height of the war 1/3 loyalists, 1/3
  Patriots, 1/3 didnt care

11
Bunker Hill

• Fought on Breeds Hill
• June of 1775 The heaviest casualties suffered
  by the British in the war but still a win for the
  Brits as they held the hill in the end

12
1775 Americans took Montreal under leadership of
General Montgomery

• Then Montgomery and Benedict Arnold tried
  (unsuccessfully) to take Quebec. Montgomery died
  here
• Franklin headed a civilian commission to Canada
  to win them over. He failed

13
March 1776

• General Gage took his troops and loyalists in
  Boston to Nova Scotia
• Was replaced by William Howe
• George III became more inflexible
• British merchants supported Americans but British
  landowners supported the king (who was ready to
  teach the Americans a lesson)

14
Howe Brothers were sent with an offer of
reconciliation

• Repenters would be forgiven BUT they had to turn
  over John Hancock and Sam Adams.
• We did not
• (William Howe headed the British army in America.
  His brother, Richard was in charge of the
  British fleet here).

15
Common Sense by Tom Paine

• A corset-maker discovered in London by Franklin
  and brought here to write propaganda for the war
• 150,000 copies sold
• Explained the advantages of separation
• Appealed to ones sense of liberty

16
Spring 1776

• March 1776 American privateers v British
  merchant ships
• April 1776 American ports open to foreign
  shipping
• May 1776 Second CC encouraged states to write new
  constitutions

17
State Constitutions should include

• Freedom of Religion
• Abolition of Primogeniture and Entail
• Reapportionment of voting districts to represent
  Western interests

18
The Declaration of Independence

• Officially adopted July 4, 1776
• Written by Jefferson
• Edited by Franklin and John Adams
• Much influence by John Locke
• Purpose of government
• Right to revolution
• First American identity

19
The Declaration of Independence

• Not at all original
• Parts taken from one of Jeffersons earlier list
  of grievances
• Parts from the Virginia Bill of Rights
• Parts from Lees Resolutions to the Second
  Continental Congress

20
The Declaration of Independence had three parts

• PART 1
• Philosophy of human rights All men are created
  equal
• Emphasized the natural rights of man
  originally life, liberty and property
• Governments job to serve and protect the people
• Right to be free of foreign rule

21
Declaration of Independence

• Part 2
• Big list of grievances
• Blamed everything on George III (not his
  ministers or Parliament) Also not a fair,
  balanced account of who was at fault.
• Part 3
• Resolution of Independence

22
Influence of the Declaration of Independence

• An important tool in modern times
• All men are created equal has expanded to Blacks,
  women, job opportunities, education
• Influenced the French Revolution (1789) Life,
  Liberty, Brotherhood
• When the Southern states left they drew up their
  own declaration of independence
• Made war with England a certainty

23
The Declaration of Independence

• Was immediately followed by the conclusion of a
  treaty of alliance with France.
• NOTE one had nothing to do with the other.

24
British advantages

• Britain was the most powerful country in the
  world
• The American colonies were not really unified
• The Continental Congress had no legitimate power
• Britain had more money
• The CC had no power to tax
• The CC had no specie to back up currency
• Americans could not pay for supplies or troops

25
British Advantages

• British troops were more disciplined and had
  trained officers
• American militia was unruly and mutinous
• Loyalists sometimes joined British troops
• Britain had control of the seas

26
American Advantages

• Americans only had to hold out to win
• Guerrilla warfare
• Farms spread out great distances
• Most did not live in towns
• The Brits had to cross the Atlantic
• Was hard to keep in touch with commanders
• Difficult to move into the interior
• War was not popular in England
• Merchants, Irish

27
American Advantages

• British recruited mercenaries Hessians,
  vagrants, criminals who were not committed to the
  cause and often switched sides
• Many American Black slaves were given their
  freedom in exchange for fighting
• Americans were skillful with firearms

28
American Advantages

• American leadership was superior
• Too young to be corrupt
• Help from foreign countries and military leaders
• France, Spain, Lafayette, Koscuisko, Pulaski
• Washington commanded respect
• The lack of class distinction in America helped
  to bring about the Revolution

29
NOTE

• The CC had no power to draft or to tax
• Relied on the generosity of the individual
  colonies/states
• Many troops not paid
• Or paid with worthless currency
• Money was terrible inflated

30
NOTE

• Whig leaders in Parliament consistently opposed
  the war because THEY WERE THE OPPOSITION PARTY