1. 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
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.

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

3. 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?

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

5. American Society at War
Choosing Sides
Militia and Army
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.

6. 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.

7. 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
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.

8. 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?

9. 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.

10. Actions on the Frontier
1778: Both Sides Regroup
War in the East in 1778
General Clinton replaces Howe
Washington winters in Valley Forge
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.

11. Valley Forge
During the winter of 1777–1778, Washington’s army battled starvation, disease, and freezing temperatures.

12. 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?

13. Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea)
This 1786 portrait of Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant) by Gilbert Stuart features the Mohawk leader who fought against the Americans in the Revolution.

14. Savannah and Charleston The Carolinas The Battle of Yorktown
The War in the South
Reasons to Move South
Savannah and Charleston
The Carolinas
The Battle of Yorktown
The result
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.

15. 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?

16. 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?

17. Surrender of Lord Cornwallis
Surrender of Lord Cornwallis by John Trumbull
The artist completed his painting of the pivotal British surrender at Yorktown in 1781.

18. Problems with Our “Allies”
The Treaty of Paris
Negotiators
Problems with Our “Allies”
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.

19. 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?

20. American Commissioners of the Preliminary Peace Negotiations with Great Britain
An unfinished painting from 1782 by Benjamin West. From left, John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens, and Franklin’s grandson William Temple Franklin.

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. The Fate of Loyalists (1783)
In the aftermath of the Revolution, Loyalists, or “Tories,” sought refuge from Patriot reprisals in the Caribbean and Canada. Here, Patriots are depicted as brutal “savages,” hanging and scalping Tories with abandon.

24. Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, in a 1766 pastel. Though an ardent patriot, Adams and other women like her saw few benefits from the new United States.

25. 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.

26. 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.