THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION American History I - Unit 2 Ms. Brown

Review Important EventsYearBattles Boston ________________1770 Boston ________________1773 ____Continental Congress1774 _____ Continental Congress _____________ Petition 1775 April – _______________ June – ________________ _____________________ ____________________ 1776

Review Important EventsYearBattles Boston Massacre1770 Boston Tea Party st Continental Congress nd Continental Congress Olive Branch Petition 1775 April – Lexington & Concord June – Battle of Bunker Hill Common Sense Declaration of Independence 1776

2.3 – THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR IS WAGED

Military Strengths and Weaknesses Home turf Good leadership Inspiring cause – Independence Later – FRANCE’s help Untrained soldiers Shortage of food, ammo, supplies Weak navy No central government to pay troops and deal with foreign nations Continental Army Well-trained soldiers Strong navy Central government $$$ Support of Loyalists and Native Americans Unfamiliar with land England far away Weak leadership British Army

Battles Move into New York First battles of war after declaring independence - near Boston, Massachusetts Summer 1776 – 32,000 troops (Redcoats and German mercenaries) sailed into New York Harbor Mercenary – a soldier hired to fight for money. German mercenaries – “Hessians,” from the German region of Hesse. Washington tried to defend New York Harbor with 23,000 Continental soldiers  outnumbered and retreat with heavy losses

Battle of Trenton Late fall 1776 – American troops pushed back over the Delaware River into PA >8,000 Continental troops remained (captured, deserted, wounded, killed) Enlistment terms ended on Dec. 31, 1776  need a victory to keep troops from going home!

Battle of Trenton Dec 25-26, 1776 – Battle of TrentonBattle of Trenton Washington led 2,400 troops across the icy Delaware River in small rowboats, plus another 9 mile march in the snow to Trenton, NJ. Trenton held by Hessians (German mercenaries fighting for British) Hessians confused by ambush – still drunk from night before American Victory! 30 Hessians killed 918 Hessians captured 6 Hessian cannons taken Battle of Trenton + victory a week later in Princeton = Increased American morale

British Capture Philadelphia Spring/Summer 1777 – British troops led by General Howe set out to capture Philadelphia American capital at the time August 1777 – Philadelphia captured by British Continental Congress fled city Continental Army unsuccessful in stopping British Redcoats entertained by Loyalists in Philadelphia Caused more undecided Americans to resent British

Battle of Saratoga Fall 1777 British General Burgoyne develops plan to march Redcoats down from Canada into Albany, NY to meet with General Howe Isolate the coast and force Washington to surrender BUT… Burgoyne didn’t realize Howe was too busy capturing (partying in) Philadelphia to meet him in NY

Battle of Saratoga American General Horatio Gates gathered troops and Minutemen from New England  marched to Saratoga Burgoyne lost several hundred troops in each small skirmish with Gates Low British morale when Burgoyne realized Howe wasn’t coming from the South to meet him. Oct – Battle of SaratogaBattle of Saratoga Burgoyne surrendered to Gates – American victory! Turning point of war Americans started to win more victories British started to doubt their strengths France decided to aid Continental Army

Help from France France HATED England (remember French & Indian War!) Early 1776 – France secretly sent weapons to colonies Saratoga – American victory increased French confidence in America winning independence Feb France + America = ALLIES France would… Supply guns, ammunition, some troops, money Refuse peace deal with England until it recognized America as independent Not take any American land

Problems at Valley Forge Winter – Washington’s troops at Valley Forge (outside of Philadelphia) Freezing cold – amputations from frostbite Lack of food and clothing Diseases spreading through camp Decreased morale!!

Problems at Valley Forge Spring ,000 remained of 10,000 Supplies arrived! Friedrich von Steuben joined troops Prussian General and an expert in training troops Stand in attention Execute field maneuvers Fire and reload quickly Wield bayonets (knife attached to the barrel of a gun)

Tide Turns in Favor of Americans Summer 1778 – Things looking better for Americans… Higher moral Foreign aid France sent weapons, supplies, and $ Von Steuben – trained troops Marquis de Lafayette – young French aristocrat, survived Valley Forge – enthusiasm energized troops, later would help America win the war in Virginia British troops unhappy Low supplies Lowly paid Low morale – miss family Ready to end war

Colonial Life during the Revolution: Inflation Printed too much paper money called “Continentals”  Inflation! A decline in the value of money, accompanied by a rise in the prices of goods and services. Continental Congress borrowed money from wealthy investors AND foreign countries (France)  increase in debt! - Amount of printed $ - Prices - Value of printed $

Colonial Life during the Revolution: Profiteering The Continental Congress struggled to pay troops and buy supplies… Few weapons factories, British blockade on the coast Smuggled weapons from Europe, borrowed from France Illegal profiteering by some government officials Selling scarce goods for a profit Corrupt merchants sold defective goods (spoiled meat, cheap shoes, and defective weapons) Current example of war profiteering

Colonial Life during the Revolution: Women’s Changing Role Men at war… Women have new roles Still took care of family and household Faced the loss of a loved one (husband, son, brother, father) Managed farms Ran shops and businesses Made clothing for soldiers Made ammo from household silver Went to the battlefront to wash, nurse, and cook for troops Took combat roles when necessary Spies acting as cooks or maids for British troops

Colonial Life during the Revolution: African Americans White colonists – fight for economic freedom from England Black slaves – fight for physical freedom from slave owners Fought for whichever side they thought would offer this freedom Thousands escaped to freedom Northern cities to live as freed men Frontier to start a new life, some joined Native American tribes ~5,000 served in the Continental Army, hundreds more in the Navy Faced discrimination in respect and pay Many fought with the British British troops actively recruited slaves, especially those with Patriot masters Possibly freedom from masters if colonists lose – punishment of colonists