the american revolution · 2014. 9. 17. · •more boycotts . boston massacre – march 1770 • a...
TRANSCRIPT
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The American Revolution
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Concord Hymn”
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Stamp Act
• 1765 – revenue stamps on
most printed items
• First direct tax on users!
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Boycotts
• Most effective means
of protest
– Economic impact
– 1765-1766
• Even before Stamp act
in effect!
– London merchants
demanded relief
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Townshend Acts
• Passed to raise
revenue that was not
coming in because of
the failure of the
Stamp Act
• “Writs of Assistance”
• Salaries of crown
officials
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More Protest
• Letters – Farmer in PA &
Mass. Circular
• More boycotts
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Boston Massacre – March 1770
• A group of colonists taunting
soldiers guarding the customs
house
• Wanted customs official sent
out to be tarred and feathered
• Additional soldiers arrived to
help
• Soldiers were in Boston to
help enforce tax laws
• 5 deaths; at least 6 more
wounded
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Moving towards Revolution
• Conspiracy?
– During the period of peace from 1770 to 1772, Samuel
Adams and a few others tried to keep alive the view
that British officials were deliberately conspiring to
suppress colonial liberties
• Committees of Correspondence
– Initiated by Samuel Adams beginning in 1772
– Connected Boston and other Massachusetts towns
– exchanged letters describing suspicious or potentially
threatening British actions
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• Inter-Colonial Committees
– Initiated by the VA House
of Burgesses in 1773
– Same as Committees of
Correspondence but
throughout the colonies
– Allows Virginia and others
to be aware of the events in
Massachusetts and New
York (and others) The Alternative of Williamsburg by
Philip Dawe, 1775
Armed patriots in Williamsburg, Virginia,
obtain a merchant's written agreement not to
import British goods. The "alternative" is
the containers of tar and feathers hanging in
the background. (Library of Congress )
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The Gaspee - June 1772
• A Customs ship sent to
enforce various acts of
Parliament (and catch
smugglers) was chasing a
sloop full of smuggled goods
• Lured into running aground
on a sandbar off the coast of
Rhode Island
• Colonists boarded the ship
and burned it
•A British investigation
revealed nothing about who
was involved and responsible
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Boston Tea Party
• December 16, 1773
• Dozens of Bostonian “Sons of Liberty,” including
Samuel Adams, boarded three ships loaded with
East India Tea (and subject to the tax from the Tea
Act) **See poster & pgs 158-163 in Rise to Rebellion
• The tea was still on board the ships because all the
warehouses were full since no one was buying
East India Tea (even though it was the cheapest
available - even cheaper than smuggled tea)
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• Disguised as
Indians, they
dumped 342
chests of tea
into Boston
Harbor
• Reaction in the colonies was mixed
– Some supported it as a justifiable defense of
colonial liberties (more tea parties)
– Others saw destruction of private property as too
radical
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Response: Intolerable Acts
• Coercive Acts - March-June 1774
– Boston Port Bill
– Massachusetts Government Act
– Administration of Justice Act
– Expansion of the Quartering Act
• Quebec Act - June 1774
– 3 provisions
– 3 reactions
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*First Continental Congress • Sept 1774
• Every colony except Georgia met in Philadelphia
• Purpose was to decide how to react to the threat to
rights and liberties presented by the Intolerable Acts
• Delegates mostly one of three types:
– Radicals – demanded concessions (Patrick Henry, S. & J.
Adams)
– Moderates (G. Washington, John Dickinson)
– Conservatives – mild protest (John Jay)
– NOTE: No loyalists (Tories) were present!
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*First Continental Congress
• Actions:
– Suffolk Resolves
– Declaration of Rights and Grievances
– Continental Association
– Promised to meet again in May 1775 if
Parliament did nothing (or didn’t start to
address the problems to the American’s liking)
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March 23, 1775
Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions
of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth,
and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us
into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great
and arduous struggle for liberty? ... For my part, whatever
anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the
whole truth; to know the worst and to provide for it.
I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that
is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of
the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish
to know what there has been in the conduct of the British
ministry for the last ten years, to justify those hopes with
which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House? ... Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed
with a kiss. ... Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so
unwilling to be reconciled, that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir.
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These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask
gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can
gentlemen assign any other possible motives for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of
the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are
meant for us; they can be meant for no other. … Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves
longer. Sir, we have done everything that could be done, to avert the storm which is now coming on.
We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before
the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and
Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence
and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from
the foot of the throne. … There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free—… we must
fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us!
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... There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations; and who will raise up
friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant,
the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it
is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat, but in submission and slavery!
Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is
inevitable—and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come!
... Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen
wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the
price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may
take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!
Patrick Henry to the Virginia House of Burgesses
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Lexington and Concord (1) The British held the City of Boston under military rule but they
did not control the surrounding countryside and rebel
militias began to form there. The Colony of Massachusetts
was declared to be in a state of rebellion by the British.
Because of Britain's unequal treatment of the American
colonies, the rebels just needed a spark to arouse the
colonists.
On April 18, 1775, the British commander in Boston, General
Thomas Gage, sent a detachment of 1000 troops to seize a
store of gunpowder being kept by the colonists in Concord.
He also wanted his troops to find the ringleaders of the
rebellion, Samuel Adams and John Hancock, and arrest
them.
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Lexington and Concord (2) When the rebels got wind of the British plan, they sprang into
action. Paul Revere and a companion, William Dawes, set
out to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams (who were at
Lexington) and the rest of the countryside that the British
were advancing. They were joined by Dr. Samuel Prescott.
All three then left for Concord, taking different routes.
A brief stop in Charlestown allowed Revere to place a back-up
signal in a church steeple. He then began his ride from
Charlestown to Concord that is immortalized by Ralph
Waldo Emerson’s poem The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.
Both Dawes and Revere were captured en route to Concord.
Prescott escaped capture by leaving the road and making his
way to Concord by way of the countryside.
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The Route to Lexington &
Concord
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So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,—
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.
From “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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Lexington
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Lexington Approximately 77
minutemen gathered
at Buckman Tavern
to display American
patriot resolve to the
advancing British.
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Minutemen,
armed militia
members that
can be ready to
fight at a
moments notice,
fire on British
troops at the
Battles of
Lexington and
Concord. It is
unknown which
side fired the
first shot.
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Lexington Green
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Lexington
The Nelson
House, located at
Lexington Green
– oversaw the
fighting at the
Battle of
Lexington
between 77
Americans and
about 800 British.
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Fighting on the town common at Lexington.
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Lexington
They were ordered to disperse, as they did, a shot rang out. Who
fired the shot is unclear. The British responded with a volley of
shots. Eight colonists lay dead, several more colonists and one
soldier were wounded. After the bloody skirmish, the British
determined that John Hancock and Samuel Adams had fled. The
British pushed on to the arsenal (and confrontation) at Concord.
British units reached
Lexington at dawn on
April 19, 1775. A
group of about 70
armed townsmen were
gathered on the town
common.
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Lexington
After the clash, the
British began their
search for John Hancock
and Samuel Adams with
the goal of arresting
them.
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John Hancock & Lexington
After searching
John Hancock’s
family home (the
home of his
father), it was
determined that he
had fled so the
British resumed
their trek to
Concord
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The Road to Concord
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Concord Bridge
The British
encountered
very
organized
American
resistance at
the old
“North
Bridge”
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An early tapestry depicting the fighting at Concord.
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As the British approached Concord, they were met by more
“Minutemen.” The clash left the British with 273 casualties
while the Colonists sustained “only” 95. The British were
forced to retreat back to Boston and the colonists began a
siege of the city in an attempt to drive the troops out.
Concord
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Concord – North Bridge
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Concord Aftermath
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Special Notes on Tactics and Firepower
As you can see from paintings included in this section the
British marched and fought in organized formations. The
type of gun the British troops used was a smoothbore
musket and it was not very accurate. The British used these
tactical formations to bring massed firepower on their
enemies in similar formations.
The Americans had more accurate guns called Kentucky
rifles because they had rifling or spiral grooves in the
barrel. The grooves made the bullets spin as they were
fired and increased accuracy and range dramatically. They
also used different tactics - they hid behind trees and stone
walls and peppered the formations of the retreating British
troops with rifle fire.
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Concord
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Boston: The Focal Center of War
General Artemas Ward’s New England
Volunteers surrounded Boston and
blockaded the land approaches. General
Thomas Gage and 4600 British soldiers
held the city itself.
Critical to the occupation of Boston was
control of the hills on the Charles Town
peninsula. An army holding this position
overlooked both Boston and her harbor.
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Bunker and Breed’s Hill Colonel William Prescott, leading 1200 Massachusetts and
Connecticut soldiers was sent on the evening of June 16 to
fortify Bunker Hill (the dominant hill in Charles Town
above Boston). Instead, he dug in on a lower hill closer to
Boston called Breed’s Hill. The next morning, British
commanders awoke to find Breed’s Hill fortified by the
Americans. General Thomas Gage ordered the position
captured.
Major General William Howe was sent to capture the position
but was delayed by unfavorable tides. While he waited the
Americans built more fortifications. Between 2500 and
4000 New Englanders manned the lines.
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Charles Town peninsula in relation to the city of Boston.
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Bunker Hill On the morning of June
17,1775, Howe ferried
2200 British soldiers across
Boston harbor on barges.
Howe then led a contingent
of British troops around the
base of the hill to cut off
the retreat of the rebel
forces holding the high
ground on the hills. The
unspoken rule for the
colonials was to hold fire until they saw “the whites of their
eyes”, and to wait for the order to fire, to aim low and to most
especially target British officers. As the British tried to advance,
they were met with increasingly steady musket and rifle fire.
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The British advance up Breed’s Hill
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Their orderly march broke into confusion and they were
forced to retreat. The Americans, rapidly running out of
ammunition and supplies, abandoned the hill. This allowed
the British to advance in their wake and take control of
Bunker and Breed’s Hills. Essentially, it was a British
victory. It was a costly victory. The British had over a
thousand dead and wounded, while American losses at the
time were about 115-140 killed, 300 wounded, and only 30
captured. This meant it was also a moral victory for the
Americans - they had held off the British Army for as long
as they could and had caused them to lose half of their
fighting strength.
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The Continental
Congress, which had met
the first time September to
October 1774, met again
in May 1775. In June
1775, it commissioned
George Washington to
organize and be the
Commander of a
Continental Army.
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Thoughts of Independence • Even through these earliest battles, most Americans were
not thinking of independence from Britain
• Early in 1776, colonial leaders’ thoughts turned toward
independence when it became clear that Britain would
never grant colonial liberties
• Even as thoughts turned to independence and fighting
began, only about 30% of Americans could be considered
“rebels.” About 20% remained loyal to the crown and the
rest didn’t really participate one way or the other.
• Southerners tended to either NOT support independence or
to not participate either way...
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Southerners Join the Cause • The VA House Of Burgesses
supported the Bostonians and so
were disbanded in 1774. They
continued to meet anyway.
• The governor, Lord Dunmore,
fled to a ship in the Chesapeake
then announced (Nov 1775)
that all slaves who came to the
British cause would be freed.
• Southern planters were so
concerned by this
announcement (800 slaves did
run away) that they began to
support independence John Murray, Lord Dunmore
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Common Sense
In January, 1776, Thomas Paine
published his pamphlet
Common Sense. In it, he
questions whether “a continent
should continue to be ruled by
an Island.” At this point, only
the few loyalists, or Tories,
could defend keeping the
connection with England. His is
essentially propaganda for total
independence from Britain.
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June 7, 1776 – Richard Henry Lee (VA) introduced a
resolution calling for independence from Britain
July 4, 1776 - A formal Declaration of Independence was
adopted in Philadelphia at the Second Continental Congress.
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The Declaration of Independence
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Every man who
signed the Declaration
knew that if the
colonies failed in the
rebellion they would
all be executed for
treason.
The document lists the
grievances of the
colonists toward their
king. It was written
not for themselves,
but to justify their
actions to the rest of
the world.
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Following the Battle at Bunker Hill and Washington’s
appointment as head of the Army, colonial troops engaged in
several battles with the British in upstate New York.
The colonists also attempted to capture British fortresses in
Canada in an attempt to drive the British out. In November of
1775, colonial forces attacked Montreal and were defeated. In
December, they attempted to take Quebec but again, were
defeated.
The British quickly authorized more troops be sent to the
colonies to put down the rebellion and arrive in New York in
July 1776. Engagements between the two forces at Long Island
in August and at White Plains in October result in two more
defeats for Washington and the Continental Army.
Early Stages of the War
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Desperate and Demoralized George Washington learned from the battles in New York that
the British Army could not be fought by conventional
methods. Washington had lost great numbers of men and
equipment at the two battles. The British Army led by
General William Howe was enormous and was backed up
by the British Navy which controlled the Atlantic ocean.
Washington fled into the countryside away from the British
Army and Navy. By now the army under Washington was
only about 500 men. The rest of his troops were in New
York. The troops under Washington were cold, hungry, and
demoralized. Their terms of enlistment were almost up.
Washington desperately needed a victory.
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Washington Crossing the Delaware (1851), by Emanuel Leutze
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Trenton
The British troops
defending Trenton were
led by Colonel Johann
Gottlieb Rall, a
mercenary soldier. This
means that he (and his
troops) were paid to be a
soldier for another
country. These British
troops were called Hessians, after the region of Germany they
were from. Because these troops didn't care who won the war,
they didn't always fight as hard as they could have. In the early
morning hours of Christmas Day, 1776, Washington attacked
Trenton. The defending Hessians, drunk and sleeping, after their
Christmas celebrations, were caught completely by surprise.
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Washington captured over 900 Hessians who were defending
the Trenton garrison. The cost to the Patriot troops was
four wounded men. That same night Washington led his
troops on a forced march to Princeton, New Jersey. Again
the British garrison was caught completely by surprise and
colonial forces prevailed.
These early victories enabled the rebel forces to gain valuable
ammunition, food and other important supplies which
proved crucial to survive the winter of 1777. By the time
the British Commander General Howe learned of the raids
the rebel army was long gone.
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The Crucial Year - 1777 1777 was crucial because the rebellion was entering its third
year. The British needed to prove that they could overwhelm
the Americans and weaken their resolve to continue.
The strategy of the British was to focus on isolating New
England - the hotbed of rebellion. To this end, General
William Howe left 3000 men in New York City and set out to
take Philadelphia with a force numbering about 20,000. He
would sail down the coast then up the Chesapeake to reach
the rebellion’s chief city.
Although the Congress had fled the city, Washington had to
meet the British - even outnumbered as he was.
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Battle for Philadelphia
The Continental Army tried to gain an
advantage by entrenching itself outside of
Philadelphia. However, first at the Battle of
the Brandywine on September 11 and again
at the Battle of Germantown on October 4,
the British troops were able to outflank the
colonists and force them to retreat.
The British then faced no challenge to the
occupation of Philadelphia. With winter fast
approaching, Washington (an imposing
figure at just about 6 feet tall) and his
approximately 11,000 troops retreated to the
safety of nearby Valley Forge.
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Valley Forge The winter of 1777-1778 at
Valley Forge was one of
the bleakest times for the
American cause. An
extremely harsh winter
combined with a lack of
adequate clothing, poor
shelters, disease and hunger resulted in tremendous suffering. More than 2500 men
died of typhus, dysentery and pneumonia. Washington pleaded
with the Congress to send supplies but they were unable to get
the states to come to the aid of his men. The deaths, combined
with desertions, reduced the army to half its former size.
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*Ammunition and
Weapons • Muskets (center) were standard
weapons for both sides
• Soldiers made their own musket
balls while in camp using a
bullet mold and melted lead
• Cannon (artillery) was made in
several sizes and fired cannon
balls or “grape shot” (multiple
smaller balls loaded at once)
Musket
Bullet mold Cannon balls & grape shot
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*Medicine
• Medicine was primitive at best
as was care for the wounded
• Bullets were large (69 caliber
uses .69” diameter bullets) and
caused large wounds that could
destroy bones, internal organs
or lead to infection
• Cannonballs were meant to tear
limbs from bodies
• Generally the only treatment
was amputation (pictured)
Amputation surgery
Medical tools
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Action in the North As Howe was advancing on Philadelphia, British General
John Burgoyne would be on his own in facing the Americans
in the North.
Beginning in July 1777, Burgoyne set out to capture the
American stronghold of Albany. The New England militias
were able to take advantage of the under-provisioned British.
They killed or captured most of an 800 man force sent out to
secure supplies on August 16. Burgoyne decided to press on.
By mid-September, he was south of Saratoga and within
striking distance of Albany. However, American forces under
the command of General Horatio Gates were able to repel the
British assault.
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Saratoga The Americans
were able to bring
in substantial
reinforcements and
on October 7, were
able to repulse a
second British
assault.
Burgoyne retreated with his remaining troops to Saratoga where
they were surrounded by an ever increasing American force -
now numbering somewhere near 17,000. On October 17,
Burgoyne was forced to surrender his 5,800 troops. This would
be the first major military victory for the Americans.
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Saratoga - the Turning Point The victory at Saratoga was a turning point in the war because
the Americans were trying to obtain support from other
European nations - especially France.
They had proved they were able to defeat the British and so
the French, in 1778, decided to ally with the Americans. A
year later, Spain and Holland also joined the war against the
British.
This new alliance was a turning point because it meant that the
war had widened and Britain would have to divert military
resources away from America lest they be attacked at home.
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The Road to Victory Now that it faced a larger war, Britain decided to consolidate
its forces. They pulled back from Philadelphia and centered on
New York.
In the West, the Americans began attacking British forts to gain
control of vast amounts of the Ohio territory from 1778-1779 -
and they were successful.
In 1780, British focus shifted again - to the South - focusing on
Virginia and the Carolinas where the loyalists were numerous.
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Victory at
Yorktown –
October 19,
1781
The British General Lord Charles Cornwallis was hoping to combine troops with
an army led by American traitor Benedict Arnold and capture Virginia so that the
British could hold the Carolinas but was blocked by various American militias.
George Washington, backed by the French military and navy met up with
Cornwallis’ army at Yorktown, Virginia.
In the face of such opposition, Cornwallis was forced to surrender his entire
army to the Americans on October 19, 1781, effectively ending the war.
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*Yorktown
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The Treaty of Paris - 1783 In 1782, news of the defeat at Yorktown reached Britain, and
Lord North and the other Tory ministers resigned. Whig leaders,
who wanted to end the war, replaced them.
In 1783, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and John Jay met with
British leaders in Paris to negotiate a peace treaty.
The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783 provided for
the following: (1) Britain would recognize America as an
independent nation (2) the Western boundary of the new nation
would be the Mississippi River (3) Americans would receive
fishing rights off the coast of Canada (which stayed with
Britain) and (4) Americans would pay any debts owed to British
merchants and for any loyalist property that was confiscated
during the war.