After Lexington and Concord . . .

Second Continental

Congress meets in May 1775

Appoints George Washington to lead colonial

militia at Boston

Chosen for political reasons

Explain the political reason for selecting George Washington as the commander of the Continental Army.

•He was from Virginia, which was the largest colony in America.•He was from the Southern colonies, which feared the

mostly New England militias•He was already wealthy, so he was not seeking wealth•He was part of the ruling, wealthy class.

Conflicts in the Early War

Fort Ticonderoga

•Guns and powder are used at Bunker Hill

Bunker (Breeds) Hill

•American’s winning till they run out of gunpowder•Forces British to leave Boston

Invasion of Canada

•Contradicted claim that colonies were fighting for rights as English subjects

Reluctant Revolutionaries

• Fighting in the early war were unusual because America was in open revolt, yet still desired a peaceful resolution with Great Britain.•Olive Branch Petition sued for peace and affirmed American loyalty• After Bunker Hill, King George III refused to read petition• Britain hires German mercenaries to fight in America called

Hessians• Americans view this as bringing in someone outside of the family

and moved towards supporting the war against Great Britain.

Why were the Americans reluctant?

• Many colonists still felt a strong sense of loyalty to Great Britain, the mother country.• This loyalty was strengthened by the Anglican Church and economic

ties with Great Britain.• The colonies lacked unity, despite the Albany Plan and the Stamp Act

Congress.• Britain had the most powerful navy and army in the world. Open

rebellion might fail.

In response to this reluctance, Thomas

Paine writes Common Sense

I urges Americans to openly revolt against the king

It was written for the average

person

Sells 120,000 copies in a few

months

Thomas Paine’s arguments

• The only lawful states were those that derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed”• The reluctance of the colonists to separate went against

common sense.• Britain was too small to control the much larger American

colonies.•Without independence, we could not receive foreign

assistance.

Republicanism and the American Colonies

•Thomas Paine and others called for America to be a republic.• In a republic, government power comes from the consent

of the people governed.•This is radically different from the monarchies of the day

who ruled by divine right. The will of the people were subject to the will of the monarch.•Some Americans argued for an “aristocracy of talent”;

they feared the possibility of rule by the lower classes.

American’s Face Tough Odds

•15%- 25%, not counting slaves and Native Americans, support Great Britain• Typical Tory or Loyalist•Many educated and wealthy members of society• Anglican Clergy• People who worked for the crown• Older generation

•More Loyalist regions: NYC, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern

So why do we win?

1.Conviction2.Superior Leadership3.Superior knowledge of the land4.Foreign support

1. Conviction

• American’s were fighting for their homes, as opposed for a king.• Failure meant death – We are committing treason• “We must all hang together, or we most certainly will hang apart.”

~Benjamin Franklin• Ideological Advantage – Enlightenment ideas and thinkers• These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and

the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.

~ The American Crisis, Thomas Paine

2. Superior Leadership

•George Washington• Doesn’t win many battles, but excellent

leader and visionary.• Better at escaping and “hit and run” like

Trenton•Benedict Arnold• Brilliant attacks win the Battle of Saratoga

•Daniel Morgan• Excellent use of militia at Saratoga and in

the Southern theater.

3. Knowledge of the Land

•Fort Ticonderoga is taken by surprise from a land attack•Washington escapes Long Island•Battle of Saratoga•Southern Theater – Morgan avoids pitched battle with Cornwallis

4. Foreign Support

• From the very beginning of the war, France supports the American cause.•After Saratoga, both Spain and France officially

recognize America and join the war•Battle of Yorktown would not have been won without

the French Navy.• France will lend America so much money that it will

bankrupt Louis XVI.

Native Americans and the Revolution•Most Native tribes side with Great Britain. Chief Joseph

Brandt• They hope that a British victory will stop the flow of

colonists westward into Native lands.• Natives will attack frontier settlements until defeated in

1779.• Sign a separate peace agreement with America known as

the Treaty of Fort Stanwix. Forced to give up their land.• This is the first treaty between America and an Indian

nation

Treaty of Paris, 1783

• Great Britain was forced to seek peace because of loses in Europe• Rock of Gibraltar almost falls to France and Spain• Armed Neutrality led by Catherine the Great• Britain lost many of its holdings in India and the West Indies

• The Treaty recognizes America as a sovereign nation• Also gives America all of the land east of the Mississippi and

South of the Great Lakes.• Britain was generous in order to separate the Americans

from their French allies. It works.

Treaty of Paris, 1783

•America agrees to return stolen Loyalist property and to not persecute Loyalists who remain.•States were to pay the debts owed to British creditors•We do neither.

Movement toward equality

•Effects on society

•Effects on slaves and the institution of slavery

•Effects on women

New State Constitutions

•Power to the people

•Massachusetts innovation

•Common characteristics

A Shaky Start

•No longer British• No Navy• No trade agreements

•The ties that bind• States shared same

government•Had similar

constitutions

A Shaky Start

• NO RESPECT internationally• Britain wouldn’t trade• France demanded money• Spain incited Native

Americans• Britain hangs on in North

America• Refused to vacate territory

ceded to US• Incited Native Americans

Articles of Confederation

• “The chief apple of discord”•Western Lands•War Debts

• Chief components of the Articles of Confederation• Congress is supreme• Each state gets one vote•Weak central government• No judicial or executive• Controls foreign policy

Land Ordinance of 1785

• The Northwest Territory will be sold to pay off the debt from the Rev. War• Surveyed to prevent

lawsuits or confusion• Set aside a portion to help

build schools and government buildings.

Northwest Ordinance

• Solved the problem of how to add new states to the United States•Northwest Territory would become no less than three

and no more than five states•As population increases, territories would gain more

autonomy over their affairs. Eventually becomes state.•Most importantly, it prohibited slavery in the new states.

Shay’s Rebellion

• In the Summer of1786, Captain Daniel Shays (farmer/ veteran) leads an armed rebellion in western Massachusetts.

• Farmers react violently to loss of land and arrest for non-payment of debts.

• Chief complaints: high state taxes, imprisonment for debt, & lack of paper money.

• Elites shocked and dismayed by “mob rule.”

Calls for reform.• Following Shay’s Rebellion many

demanded Congress have power to address nation’s difficulty.

• Washington’s and John Jay’s correspondence demonstrate concern– “I am told that even respectable characters speak of a monarchial form of Government without horror.”

• “It is time to clip the mad wings of democracy”—General Henry Knox.

• Annapolis Convention > decide to meet in Philadelphia to amend the Articles.

Who were the delegates?

• The delegates from 12 states. (Rhode Island boycotts).

• Most delegates were young, wealthy, and well educated.

• Planters, lawyers, merchants, slave owners.

• Conservative Takeover?Maybe? They support creditor’s rights and feared the anarchy of democracy.

*Washington elected President of the Convention.*Franklin elder statesman.*Momentous decision to scrap the Articles.

Issues at the Constitutional Convention

•Democracy vs. Republicanism•Representation in the government for large states vs small states.•Southern states vs. Northern States•Strong national government vs. state’s rights

Madison had a plan; he set the agenda.

-The Connecticut Compromise

•Insulates government from the people; forms a republic not a democracy

The Federalist Papers• James Madison, John

Jay, & Alexander Hamilton collaborate on a series of articles to sway New York.

• They argue:– Minority rights will be

protected in a large diverse republic.

– Political factions (parties) are dangerous

– Checks and balances will prevent tyranny.

The Anti-Federalists• Concentrated too much

power in remote centralized government.

• Preferred strong states• No bill of rights. • Against standing army in

peacetime.• Congress, because of the

`necessary and proper clause,' wielded too much power.

• No mention of G-d in the Constitution; no religious requirement- a Catholic or Jew could hold office.