Chapter%20Seven

1
Chapter Seven

• The American Revolution, 1776 -1786

2
Part One

• Introduction

3
Chapter Focus Questions

• What were the major alignments and divisions
  among Americans during the American Revolution?
• What were the major military campaigns of the
  Revolution?
• What were the Articles of Confederation and what
  role did the Confederation Congress play during
  the Revolutionary War?
• How did the states serve as the setting for
  significant political change?
• What was the economic crisis in the aftermath of
  the American Revolution?

4
Part Two

• A National Community Evolves at Valley Forge

5
Building a Community at Valley Forge

• Drawn from all parts of the country,
  approximately 11,000 men (including 1,000 African
  Americans) and 700 women gathered in Valley
  Forge.
• Amid the suffering, the men and women at Valley
  Forge created a a common identity and strong
  bonds among themselves.
• Leaving Valley Forge six months later, Washington
  commanded a much stronger and united army.

6
Part Three

• The War for Independence

7
The Nature of American Resistance

• The British falsely assumed the colonial
  rebellion was the work of a small group of
  disgruntled conspirators.
• Resistance was widespread and geography stymied
  British strategy.
• 1500 miles of coast and 100 miles deep
• Resistance popped up when one area defeated

8
The War for Independence

• Colonials Advantages
• Fighting on home ground
• Good generals
• Fighting for their rights
• Alliance with France

• British Advantages
• Well supplied and well trained army
• Lots of resources and capacity to boost further
• Strong Central Government
• 9 million to colonist 2.5 million

9
The War for Independence

• Colonial Disadvantages
• Untrained soldiers, small army
• Food and ammunition lacking
• Weak and divided government
• Little
• No uniforms for soldiers

• British Disadvantages
• Fighting on foreign turf
• Fighting far away from resources
• Half hearted domestic support for war
• Reluctance to spill more blood
• Enemies closer to home so will fight harder

10
The Patriot Forces

• American victory required a disciplined force
  able to stand up to the brutal assaults of the
  professionally-trained British adversaries.
• Regiments of the Continental Army suffered
  casualty rates as high as 40. 100K served.
  Others in militia
• 350K men, 200K saw action. lt25K engaged at a time
• Both Continentals and militias played political
  roles, pressuring Congress when shortages of food
  and pay erupted.
• 25K died in War.

11
Mutinies

• Penn. Line 1781, enlisted men killed officer and
  marched from NJ to Philly to demand resources.
  British agents tried to get them to join but
  hanged the Brits instead
• Needed food and clothing in winter

12
The Role of Women in the Revolution

• Women remained at home and ran the family farms
  and businesses. Abigail Adams.
• Many women joined their men in the military
  camps. camp followers
• On rare occasions, women played roles on the
  battlefields. Molly Pitcher

13
The Loyalists (Tories)

• About one-fifth of the colonial population
  remained loyal to the Crown. Most new immigrants,
  some dependent on Brits for payment, most fearful
  of political or social upheaval.
• Patriots cracked down on Loyalists.
• Prohibited speaking or writing against
  Revolution.
• Swear allegiance or lose property and civil
  rights
• Tar and feather grand Tory ride
• As many as 50,000 fought for the king and 80,000
  fled the country after the Revolution.

14
Benedict Arnold

• Hero early in war for Patriots
• Disgruntled 1779
• West Point on Hudson River
• Brigadier General for British
• Citizens destroyed gravestones

15
The Campaign for New York and New Jersey

• The British plan was to cut off New England from
  the rest of the colonies by
• Marching north from New York and
• Marching south from Canada.
• General Burgoyne lead army from Canada toward
  Albany
• Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger went Eastward
  toward Albany from Lake Ontario
• General Howe leading 3rd force up Hudson River

16
MAP 7.1 Campaign for New York and New Jersey,
177577
17

• Battle of Long Island- Howe over Washington
• Attacked NYC directly and let English escape to
  the north
• Washington marched south to New Jersey thereafter
• Washington, Our troops will not do their duty,
  I think the game is pretty much up
• Dec 1776 Washington crossed Delaware River for
  moral victory against the hated Hessians
• Boost to American morale

Gen Howe
18
Northern Campaigns 1777

• In 1777, the British tried to achieve the goal of
  cutting new England off from the rest of the
  colonies.
• General Burgoyne's large army was surrounded at
  Saratoga and surrendered. Video
• Important for ally of France
• American forces in Pennsylvania were forced to
  retreat into Valley Forge. 40
• By the end of 1778, the war remained a stalemate.

19
The French Alliance and the Spanish Borderlands

• During the first two years of conflict, French
  and Spanish loans helped finance the American
  cause.
• The victory at Saratoga led to an alliance with
  France. One year later, Spain joined the war,
  though without a formal American alliance.
• Both France and Spain worried about American
  expansion.
• The French entry into the conflict forced the
  British to withdraw troops from the mainland to
  protect their Caribbean colonies.
• The war at sea was mainly fought between British
  and French vessels, but Continental ships raided
  the British merchant shipping.

20
Britains European enemies sent assistance.

• Benjamin Franklin persuaded France to send
  supplies and, after Saratoga, troops and a navy.
• French nobleman Marquis de Lafayette volunteered
  to help Washington.
• Baron Von Steuben, a German, volunteered to train
  and drill Washingtons men in 1777.
• The Spanish in New Orleans kept the British from
  entering the Mississippi River in 1779.

21
Indian Peoples and the Revolution

• Although many Indians preferred a policy of
  neutrality, their fears of American expansion led
  many to side with Britain.
• British gave them weapons and ammunition
• Vicious fighting in South and Wilderness
• George Rogers Clark 146

22
The War in the South

• Maps Fighting in the South
• By the late 1770s, the British had shifted their
  focus to the South.
• Capturing Savannah then Charleston in 1780, the
  British attempted to gain control of south by
  implementing pacification that failed.
• Violence between Loyalists and Patriots created
  unrest.
• General Greene harassed British forces and they
  had to march to Yorktown where they were trapped
  by Washington's army the British Army
  surrendered.

23
MAP 7.4 Fighting in the South, 177881
24
End of War

• Washington learned French fleet headed for
  Chesapeake. Maneuver troops to Yorktown might
  lock Cornwallis in.
• Pleading illness, Cornwallis sent 2nd in command
  to surrender
• Event of incalculable importance

25
Washington was lucky. The French fleet arrived
in time to trap the British.
26
Peace of Paris 1783

• Spains hopes-limit American expansion beyond
  Appalachians
• France- did not want US to become too powerful to
  soon
• Britains hopes-US said GB would be better off
  with US(free trade)
• Under the table-France did not want US to make a
  deal with Brits due to enemies, US went ahead
  secretly
• Franklin gained more territory for the United
  States than the Americans actually won on the
  battlefield.
• End Result-Acknowledged the US-Great Lakes,
  Miss River, 31 North latitude or N
  Florida-British to take out troops ASAP-prevent
  property confiscation and prosecutions of Tories

27
British Mistakes

1. Underestimated Patriots
2. Misunderstood political nature of conflict
3. Patriots were highly motivated and benefited from
   George Washingtons leadership
4. Patriots received critical assistance from France

28
Part Four

• The United States in Congress Assembled

29
The Articles of Confederation

• The Articles of Confederation was the first
  constitution of the United States.
• It created a loose union of autonomous states.
• Congress had limited central power, reserving
  powers such as taxation to the states.
• Maryland held up ratification for three years
  until the eight states with western land claims
  ceded them to the national government.

30
Weaknesses in the Confederation

• No common currency, not regulating commerce, levy
  taxes
• In 1784 the nation began to experience a
  depression
• Congress needed 2.5 mill, had 400k
• 1781-86 Congress received 1/6th from states
• Britain worsened the economic crisis by flooding
  the U.S. with inexpensive goods
• Amendment for 5 duty imported goods failed twice
• Shays Rebellion-farmers shut down debtor courts
  stopped property auctions-caused many to
  believe the U.S. needed a more powerful government

31
Financing the War

• Though benefiting from foreign subsidies,
  Congress and the states financed the revolution
  mainly by issuing paper currency that caused
  runaway inflation.
• States printed own totaling 200 million
• Secretary of Finance, Robert Morris, met interest
  payments on the debt through Bank of North
  America in Philly. Paper backed by gold.
  Restored confidence

32
Negotiating Independence

• Peace negotiations began in 1782 and resulted in
  a series of separate treaties between Great
  Britain and the United States, France, and Spain.
  
• The United States wanted recognition for
  independence, withdrawal of British troops from
  NA, right to fish in N. Atlantic waters, push for
  western territory (French)
• Americans promised British pay back pre-war
  debts, stop taking Loyalist property, compensate
  Loyalists by state
• Spain neutral but closed down Mississippi R and
  received Florida from Britain

33
MAP 7.6 North America after the Treaty of Paris,
1783 The map of European and American claims to
North America was radically altered by the
results of the American Revolution.
34
The Crisis of Demobilization

• Congress had neither paid the soldiers nor
  delivered the officers their promised postwar
  bounties or land warrants.
• General Horatio Gates
• Several officers stationed at Newburgh
  contemplated action if Congress failed to act,
  but they were shamed into accepting civilian rule
  by George Washington.
• Congress passed bill anyway
• Washington as dictator???

35
The Problem of the West

• Western land settlement raised new issues,
  including
• land losses for several Indian tribes.
• tens of thousands of Americans rushing into the
  newly acquired Ohio River Valley.
• British and Spanish governments plotting to woo
  the settlers.
• British not leaving until debts paid

36
The Land Ordinance of 1785

• Three land ordinances provided for organizing the
  land for settlement, self-government and eventual
  statehood.
• They also provided for orderly division of land
  into townships, regular land sales, and the
  abolition of slavery in the Northwest Territory.

37
The Northwest Territory

• North of Ohio River, west of Penn to Miss River
• Feared Native American attacks or secession
• Land Ordinance 1785- dispensing land to settlers,
  townships 6 sqm, 1 sqm (640 acres), 1 an acre,
  speculators

38
MAP 7.7 The Northwest Territory and the Land
Survey System of the United States The Land
Ordinance of 1785 created an ordered system of
survey (revised by the Northwest Ordinance of
1787), dividing the land into townships and
sections.
39
The Land Ordinance of 1785 created an ordered
system of survey (revised by the Northwest
Ordinance of 1787), diving the land into
townships and sections.
40
Northwest Ordinance of 1787

• Government for Ohio area
• Slavery prohibited
• Congressionally appointed court of judges and
  governor
• 5,000 citizens meant assembly
• Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin

41
Part Five

• Revolutionary Politics in the States

42
The Broadened Base of Politics

• Most states had greatly expanded the electorate.
• By eliminating Tories from politics, there was a
  shift to the left.
• Many Americans accepted a new democratic ideology
  that asserted that governments should directly
  reflect popular wishes.
• Conservatives argued for balanced government,
  fearing majority tyranny could lead to a
  violation of property rights.

43
The First State Constitutions

• Fourteen states adopted constitutions between
  1776 and 1780.
• The new state constitutions were shaped by the
  debates between radicals and conservatives.
• Democrats had seized power in Pennsylvania in
  1776 and drafted a constitution that placed all
  power in a unicameral assembly elected by all
  free male taxpayers.
• Conservatives controlled Maryland who maintained
  high property requirements for office-holding.
• Other states drafted constitutions between these
  extremes.

44
Declaration of Rights

• Virginias Declaration of Rights provided the
  model for other state guarantees of such rights
  as freedom of speech, assembly, and the press.
• State bills of rights were important precedents
  of the United States Bill of Rights.
• The 1776 New Jersey constitution enfranchised
  women, but most questions regarding women were
  related to the family.
• Led by Thomas Jefferson, states abolished
  aristocratic inheritance customs and established
  religious freedom.

45
African Americans and the Revolution

• More than 50,000 slaves were taken away from the
  South by the British.
• Thousands of others fought for the Patriots and
  won their freedom.
• Recognizing the contradiction between a
  revolution for liberty and the continued support
  for slavery
• northern states began to abolish slavery and
• the Upper South relaxed its bans on emancipation.
• A free African American community emerged with
  racially defined churches, schools and other
  institutions.
• Several African American writers became prominent.

46
Part Six

• Conclusion

47
The Creation of the United States 17761786

• Media Chronology