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Began May 1775 in Philadelphia Pa
Became the govt of the colonies during the Rev. War
Made Washington commander of army
Authorized paper money
Established a commitee of foreign relations |
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| The colonial militia that surrounded Boston |
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June 17 1775, Major Battle, Bloodiest
Brit Gen. Gage att. col. mil. on Breed's Hill, N of Boston with 2400 redcoats
Col. army had limited ammo so waited (for whites of eyes)
They fought until they ran out
Brit. had 1000 casualties, US had 311 embarressed |
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July 1775
Colonists offered to make peace with King George III and return to the former harmony between Britain and America |
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| The colonists fought British troops in upstate New York and Montreal – the colonists hoped Quebec would join the Revolution – they did not. |
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| in August 1775, declared that the colonists were in rebellion and issued a proclamation to suppress it |
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| early in the war there was fighting (civil war) throughout the colonies between supporters of the King (loyalists) and supporters of the Revolution (patriots). |
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Thomas Paine wrote this 43-page pamphlet, published in January of 1776.
He argued that America should become independent and form a republic – with social equality and equal economic opportunity for all citizens.
By spring 100’s of thousands of Americans had been influenced by Common Sense and had begun to favor American Independence. |
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- April 1775 ‘til March of 1776
- The militia under Washington surrounded Boston
- Henry Knox brought cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston, which were used to threaten the British Army & fleet
- in March ‘76 the British army finally withdrew from Boston to Canada
Win |
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| The Declaration of Independence |
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Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed Independence in June of 1776
- The Congress finally agreed and formed a committee to write a formal declaration
- The committee included Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams.
- Jefferson was appointed to write the document |
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The Declaration of Independence
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Jefferson based his argument for Independence on John Locke’s political philosophy & Enlightenment Ideals
- natural rights - Life, Liberty,
and the Pursuit of Happiness
- social contract - government
formed to protect rights
- citizens may abolish a
government that does not
protect their rights
- government draws its authority
from the consent of the governed
- “All men are created equal” –
equal political rights
- The signers were committing
Treason against Britain |
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- New York, August 1776 – The British forced Washington to
retreat from Long Island and Manhattan Island,
abandoning New York City to the British
- Washington’s army reduced from about 20,000 men to as
few as 5,000 after the retreat
Lost |
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a spy for Gen. Washington, was captured
during the New York campaign and before he was hanged said, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” |
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- Winter 1776
- Washington’s Army was in retreat from N.Y. and was on the verge of disintegrating.
- Thomas Paine wrote this pamphlet encouraging Americans to continue to fight – arguing that anything worth having would be difficult to obtain |
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Christmas 1776
- Washington won a surprise
victory by crossing the Delaware River into New Jersey, and
defeating Hessian mercenaries who had been celebrating the
holiday
- The victory convinced many troops, who could have left
the Army, to re-enlist |
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January 1777
Another Washington victory
against a small British force helped encourage the troops
and American patriots |
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- British moved against the ‘capital’ and Washington
delayed the British while the Continental Congress fled
The British occupied Philadelphia until mid-1778 |
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Major Battle, The Turning Point of the War
- British General John Burgoyne moved south down the Hudson River with a mixed force of Redcoats, mercenaries, and Mohawk – Summer/Fall 1777
- Burgoyne expected help from Howe in New York
- The British were constantly ambushed by American troops as they moved south
- October 1777 at Saratoga in upstate New York American Generals Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold defeated Burgoyne & forced a British surrender |
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Three important outcomes
Americans believed they could win
British realized they could lose, and began to focus on cities
3) France agreed to ally with America, giving America a chance to win |
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Washington’s Army spent the freezing winter of 1777-78
in terrible conditions in this Pennsylvania village
- The Army dwindled from about 12,000 to about 8,000 from death and desertion |
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young French aristocrat
- cared passionately for the American cause and served on
Washington’s staff
Joined in Valley Forge |
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Prussian (German) officer
- helped train the Continental Army to fight like a European
Army – to march, maneuver, and fire in an organized way
Helped in Valley Forge |
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General Benedict Arnold was an early hero of the Revolution
- He led a daring, but unsuccessful invasion of Canada,
built a Navy on Lake Champlain, stopping the British advance
was a leader at the capture of Fort Ticonderoga & at Saratoga
- He felt unappreciated & was accused of treason because of
his loyalist wife and friends
- Committed treason by offering to give up West Point on the
Hudson River |
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American military leader
with a small army he captured several British-held towns
along the Ohio River during 1778-79.
He secured the area for the Americans and strengthened
America’s claim to the region after the War |
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- the British occupied the city in December of 1778
- reinstated the British Royal Governor |
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| CharlesTown, South Carolina |
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Captured by the British in May of 1780
- Over 5,000 American troops were captured
- The worst defeat of the War for the Americans |
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Was made British military commander in the South
in the summer of 1780 |
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| Battle of King’s Mountain |
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October 1780
- British attacked on the frontier, backcountry colonists
- enraged ‘overmountain men’ raised a militia and
ambushed & defeated a British cavalry unit
- rural southerners began organizing Patriot militias |
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| Washington’s best remaining general was made American commander in the South |
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| sent by Greene into South Carolina to wear down the British by attacking supplies & small units |
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| “The Swamp Fox” most successful leader of hit-and-run raids against the British in South Carolina |
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(S.C.), January 1781
A small force under Daniel Morgan defeated part of Cornwallis’ British Army |
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(N.C.), March 1781
- Cornwallis & the British won the battle & forced Greene to retreat, but he continued to fight:
"We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again.”
- British casualties were so high, however, that Cornwallis
retreated to the coast and then decided to invade north
into Virginia
- Greene moved south and began reconquest of South Carolina
Win |
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September 1781
French Fleet defeated the British off the American coast and the French controlled the waters off Virginia’s coast |
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(VA), September- October 1781
Cornwallis positioned the British Army on the York-James
Peninsula, expecting British naval support
- Washington moved south, blocked Cornwallis onto the
peninsula and began bombarding the British Army
- The French fleet blocked Cornwallis by sea and began
shelling his army as well.
- October 17, 1781 – The largest part of the British Army,
led by Cornwallis, surrendered to Washington and the
fighting of the Revolutionary War was essentially over |
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American negotiators were John Adams, Ben Franklin, John Jay
Britain forced to recognize American independence
America took control of all territory between Canada and Florida (which went to Spain) and the territory between the Atlantic and the Mississippi River
Americans still had to pay their debts to British banks & businesses |
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