1. Chapter 5 The American Revolution, 1776-1783

2. The Challenges of the Revolutionary War
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When actual fighting broke out in 1775 between American Revolutionaries and British Armies, no one in the world thought that the Americans had a chance against The Great British Empire. And yet both sides had real challenges in conducting the American Revolutionary War, the British, for example, fighting far from home. It was very difficult to communicate with the government at the same time that they were fighting a war America.
Their generals made tactical mistakes, often failing to follow up on victories by defeating the Americans completely. The Americans, on the other hand, they had no army. They had no navy. They had no government when the fighting broke out. They had to find weapons. They had to get cannons. They had to find gunpowder. They also, of course, were primarily farmers. And so farmers suddenly, overnight, had become soldiers. And that required training and that required discipline and that required leadership, none of which they had in great numbers. So both sides faced tremendous challenges as the war began. And in both cases they adapted as the war unfolded to deal with those challenges.

3. Fighting for Independence
British confident of victory
Four times larger population, more resources
Strongest Navy in world
Britain’s tasks
Supply troops an ocean away
Crush the popular spirit of independence
British underestimate Americans’ commitment to their political ideology and have poor war strategy 21

4. Building a Professional Army
Washington wants professional army – rejects guerrilla warfare strategy
Continental army is to be a fighting force and symbol of the republican cause
Militia’s role minor but they do maintain political control in areas not occupied by British troops

5. Common Sense Common Sense
Thomas Paine’s inspiring pamphlet was originally published anonymously because of its treasonous content.

6. 1776: Washington’s Narrow Escape
Washington Faces Largest British Army Ever
Battle of Long Island
Battle of Trenton, Christmas 1776
Battle of Princeton
Winter at Morristown-
Washington uses Princeton and Trenton to invigorate army and train
The year 1776 was one of near disaster for the colonial army. General Howe would assemble the largest British army ever to find and defeat it. While trying to get time to train his soldiers, Washington would fight a series of retreats. At the end of the year, after the British had entered winter camp, Washington would cross the Delaware River, strike at Trenton, and enter winter camp himself at Morristown, where the colonial army would be trained for the next spring’s battles.

7. Testing the American Will
Summer 1776—fighting shifts to New York
American army routed on Long Island
New York City captured
Washington forced to retreat through New Jersey
British think rebels will soon capitulate 22

8. “Times That Try Men’s Souls”
General Howe issues pardon for all who swear loyalty to Britain
3000 accept
Washington’s bedraggled army needs win
December 25, 1776—Washington captures 900 Hessians in Trenton
January 3, 1777—Washington captures Princeton 23

9. Major Campaigns in New York and New Jersey, 1776–1777
Why did Washington lead his army from Brooklyn to Manhattan and from there to New Jersey? How could General Howe have ended the rebellion in New York? What is the significance of the Battle of Trenton?

10. The American Revolution, 1775–1781

11. George Washington at Princeton
George Washington at Princeton by Charles Willson Peale

12. American Society at War
Choosing Sides- Tories, Patriots, and none
Militia and Army
Militia- fought for states
Army for enlisted men
Problems of Finance and Supply
Contrary to popular belief, the entire nation did not rise up to protest the American Revolution. Colonial society was split between three groups, the Tories, the Patriots, and those who were disinterested.
The colonial army was divided into two groups, the army, whose soldiers enlisted, and the militiamen, who were sent by their states to fight.
Any war effort requires money, and the United States was rich only in resources. It needed to find outside sources to provide much-needed supplies. Until it won a major victory, the Continental army would have grave difficulties meeting its needs.

13. Building a Professional Army
African Americans in the Revolution
New England militias attract slaves with promises of emancipation
Southern slaves more likely to side with British

14. Four Soldiers (ca. 1781)
This sketch of militiamen by a French soldier at Yorktown, Virginia, shows an American frontiersman turned soldier (second from right), and it is also one of the earliest depictions of an African American soldier.

15. Victory in a Year of Defeat
British strategy
Cut off New England from other colonies
Lure Continental army into decisive battle
The plan for cutting off New England
Burgoyne’s army moves in from Canada
Howe’s army moves up from New York
They meet in Albany 24

16. 1777: Setbacks for the British
The Campaign of 1777
Would launch a three-pronged attack on New York
Prong One, south from Canada
Prong Two, east from western New York
Prong Three, up the Hudson River from New York City
The Alliance with France
The importance of Saratoga- John Burgoyne is captured and surrenders over 7000 troops Oct 17,1777.
Showed allies they could hold their own.
The British plan in 1777 was to divide and conquer. By dividing New England from the middle and southern colonies, the British hoped to kill the rebellion. This plan was filled with overconfidence and poor communication. All three ended in defeat for the redcoats.
The largest failure was the Battle of Saratoga, in which British general John Burgoyne was captured. This was the first major victory for the United States. It showed potential allies that it could stand against the world’s strongest army and hold its own.
Because of the victory at Saratoga, the American Revolution became a world war. France would enter into the conflict and provide war material and much needed ships to the war effort.

17. The French Alliance
French help colonists to get back at Britain for defeat in Seven Years’ War
Benjamin Franklin essential to alliance with France
Effects of Saratoga
Convinces France that colonists are serious enough to become formal allies
British sue for peace to prevent Franco-American alliance 25

18. Major Campaigns in New York and Pennsylvania, 1777
What were the consequences of Burgoyne’s strategy of dividing the colonies with two British forces? How did life in Washington’s camp at Valley Forge transform the American army? Why was Saratoga a turning point in the American Revolution?

19. General John Burgoyne
Commander of Britain’s northern forces. Burgoyne and most of his troops surrendered to the Americans at Saratoga on October 17, 1777.

20. Actions on the Frontier
1778: Both Sides Regroup
War in the East in 1778
General Clinton replaces Howe
Washington winters in Valley Forge
Colonial army is shaped into a professional army.
Actions on the Frontier
After the debacle at Saratoga, General Howe would be replaced with General Henry Clinton. This would be a common theme among the British during this war; when one failed, another would take his place with new ideas and strategies.
While Washington was in winter camp at Valley Forge, the colonials there were shaped into a professional army.
At the same time that major battles were being fought in the colonies, British soldiers were stirring up Native American forces in the Ohio River Valley. These actions were intended to result in support from the colonial army, and thus divided, it would be easier to conquer. But things did not end up that way.

21. The French Alliance
British offer repeal of all laws since 1763, respect for colonial taxation rights
February 1778—Alliance with France concluded 25

22. Western Campaigns, 1776–1779
How did George Rogers Clark secure Cahokia and Vincennes? Why did the American army destroy Iroquois villages in 1779? Why were the skirmishes between settlers and Indian tribes significant for the future of the trans-Appalachian frontier?

23. Savannah and Charleston- Brits rout colonials.
The War in the South
Reasons to Move South
British try to find Tories in the South to assist.
Pillage and rape of colonials did not help.
Savannah and Charleston- Brits rout colonials.
Battle of Camden, Brits defeat Horatio Gates. Replaced by Nathaniel Greene
The Carolinas- Greene rallies troops and is followed by Lord Cornwallis away from protection.
The Battle of Yorktown
The result- French and Washington surround Cornwallis and force surrender.
The British moved south to try and locate the Tory base that they believed would rise up and support them against the colonials. However, their actions of raping and pillaging the colonials they found did not endear themselves to whatever Tories were still in the area.
At the Battle of Camden, the British would defeat the colonials and the hero of Saratoga—Horatio Gates, commander of colonial forces—would flee for his life. He would be replaced by Nathaniel Greene.
Greene would lead Cornwallis away from his supply base up north, closer toward Greene’s own support network. Cornwallis took the bait and soon found himself on the Yorktown peninsula, surrounded. He would surrender his army, and with that, the war came to a conclusion.

24. Major Campaigns of the South, 1778–1781
Why did the British suddenly shift their campaign to the South? Why were the battles at Savannah and Charleston major victories for the British? How did Nathanael Greene undermine British control of the Deep South?

25. Yorktown, 1781
Why did Cornwallis march to Virginia and camp at Yorktown? How was the French navy crucial to the American victory? Why was Cornwallis forced to surrender?

26. Problems with Our “Allies”- France and Spain wanted to beat England.
The Treaty of Paris
Negotiators- Congress sends diplomats to secure peace. Adams and Franklin, Jay
Problems with Our “Allies”- France and Spain wanted to beat England.
America Enters into Solo Negotiations with Great Britain
The Treaty of Paris, 1783
As soon as the war had begun, the United States sent diplomats to England to work to end it and secure a peace. Although the negotiators would fluctuate throughout the war, they were led by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams.
As soon as the war in the New World ended, it became obvious to the diplomats that France and Spain were not interested in ending the war. England’s army was defeated, but not her navy nor her people. France wanted England beaten and was unwilling to broker negotiations with it for the United States. Spain had entered the war against England, but had never sided with the American colonies.
Franklin would enter into negotiations with England and secure the Treaty of Paris of 1783, which brought the war to an end.

27. Winning the Peace
American negotiators – John Jay, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams
Peace Treaty of Paris
U.S. independence recognized
U.S. gets all territory east of Mississippi River, between Canada and Florida
U.S. secures fishing rights in North Atlantic
U.S. will help British merchants and Loyalists collect debts 28

28. The Loyalist Dilemma
Loyalists see rebellion as endangering “life, liberty, and property”
More than 100,000 loyalists leave U.S. at war’s end
Loyalists came from all occupations and social classes
Loyalists treated poorly by both sides
British never fully trust Loyalists and treat them as second class citizens
Patriots seize property, imprison, execute some 27

29. North America, 1783 What were the terms of the Treaty of Paris?
Why might the ambiguities in the treaty have led to conflicts among the Americans, the Spanish, and the British?

30. War as an Engine of Change
Republican Ideology
State Constitutions
The Articles of Confederation
Was the American Revolution truly revolutionary? What had begun as a crisis for political rights had ended in a separation from the mother country. But once that separation was completed, the system of laws and standards remained as it was before the war.
One major change was the desire to codify the civil liberties and the powers of the states in the face of the national government.
This is seen in the crafting of our first system of national government, the Articles of Confederation, which created a loose network tying the states together, but only when necessary.

31. The Exodus of Loyalists Freedom of Religion Equality and Its Limits
The Social Revolution
The Exodus of Loyalists
Freedom of Religion
Equality and Its Limits
The Paradox of Slavery
The Status of Women
Native Americans and the Revolution
Those who had remained loyal to England during the war now found themselves ostracized from their communities. The war now over, they fled from the United States after losing much of their property.
It is important to remember that although this was a war fought for the independence of the American colonies and its citizens and that the Declaration of Independence declared that “all men were created equal,” after the war there was not much change for some groups.
While the strict class structure that existed in England had never fully developed in the colonies, what had been practiced was still in effect. Slavery was still practiced and would be a major political and social issue for almost another hundred years.
A major change in American society following the conclusion to the American War for Independence was the growth of non-Anglican churches. They would play a role in shaping the evolution of society and politics that will be carried out through the remainder of U.S. history.

32. Religious Development
The Congregational Church developed a national presence in the early nineteenth century, and Lemuel Haynes, depicted here, was its first African American preacher.

33. Emergence of an American Culture
Independence Day
America’s “Destiny”
The Revolution sparked a sense of nationalism amongst the newly freed colonies. It was not long after the Revolution that July 4 became the day set aside to memorialize the event.
Unlike the Old World, the United States did not have an ancient history to draw from for its national identity. Therefore, it became seen as a nation set apart by God for a higher purpose, to lead the world to greater liberty and freedom.

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This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for Chapter 5 The American Revolution,
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