Developing Alliances

Gaining Alliances Late 1777, Ben Franklin had been in France for a year Wanted French as allies Franklin used the victory at Saratoga to convince the French February 1778 - France declares war on Great Britain Spain declared war on Great Britain in 1779

Winter at Valley Forge British General Howe still occupied Philadelphia Washington made a base nearby at Valley Forge Soldiers lacked supplies Snowstorms delayed supplies Volunteer (including Washington’s wife) made clothes for the soldiers to stay warm A large number of men either died or deserted However, when Spring came around, more soldiers joined the cause

Foreigners Help on the Battlefield Marquis de Lafayette - French - worked without pay and was a top aide to Washington Thaddeus Kosciuszko - Polish - Built key defenses for colonists Friedrich von Steuben - Prussian - Trained the Patriot troops to be more disciplined Juan de Miralles - Spanish - Loaned money to the Patriot cause Many immigrants joined the Continental Army

Life on the Homefront Wives took care of husband’s property Children lived their lives without fathers

Economic Concerns Continental Congress had no way to raise money Got small amounts of money from foreign nations Congress started printing more money and quickly lost value Amount of paper money > amount of gold and silver = inflation Congress then stopped printing money America had no way to finance the war

Women question their roles Abigail Adams - Wife of John Adams “I can not say that I think you [are] very generous to the Ladies, for whilst you are proclaiming peace and good will to Men, Emancipating all Nations, you insist upon retaining an absolute power over Wives.”

Slavery is Questioned NJ Governor William Livingston asked his government to end slavery Believed slavery went against his beliefs as a Christian and a human African Americans in NH argued the same thing 1780 - PA legislature adopted a plan to gradually free all enslaved people (first legislature in the world to do this) Issue of slavery would still continue to be debated through the nation’s history

Treatment of Loyalists Thousands of loyalists in the colonies fought for the British Many loyalists left the colonies Loyalists who remained were either shunned, arrested, attacked, and sometimes executed