the american revolutionary war unit 4. key ideas
TRANSCRIPT
Key Ideas
• Americans won their independence because the British got tired of fighting the war
• Benjamin Franklin negotiated treaty with French
• Washington kept his army out of any situation that could cripple them
Patriots-Strengths
• Familiar with area - home field advantage
• Excellent leadership from Generals
• They were fighting for Independence
Patriots-Weaknesses
• Untrained and undisciplined soldiers
• Not enough food or ammunition
• No government to enforce policies
• Weak Navy
British-Strengths
• Well trained, strong army and navy
• Government with lots of money
• Help from Loyalist and Native Americans
British-Weaknesses
• Far from home and troops didn’t know the area
• Military leaders were weak
• Some British sympathized with Patriots
Questions
• Did the colonists need to overthrow the king to win the war?
• How would you use your soldiers if you were the commander of the Continental army based on the strengths and weaknesses of each army?
Lexington and Concord
• First shots fired during the Revolutionary War
• Paul Revere rode to Lexington to warn the men there that the British were on their way
• 8 Patriot Minutemen were killed
Bunker Hill
• Patriots were outnumbered by 1,000 men
• British were held off for two charges until the patriots finally retreated on the third
• British sustained heavy losses with 226 men killed and over 800 injured
2nd Continental CongressSpring 1775
• Sent Olive Branch Petition• Appointed committee to write Declaration of
Independence• Appointed George Washington Commander
and Chief of the new Continental Army.
July of 1776
• Declaration of Independence was signed
• 34,000 professional soldiers arrived from Great Britain in New York
• Washington was forced out of New York and moved back to Pennsylvania
Trenton
• On December 25, 1776, Washington took 2,500 men and crossed the ice filled Delaware river
• He caught the British (mostly Hessian mercenaries) sleeping and killed over 100 men while taking nearly 1,000 prisoner
• Major boost in morale for Patriots
General George Washington crossing the Delaware at the Battle of Trenton on Christmas night 1776 by Emmanuel Leutze
Princeton
• After defeat of British at Trenton, Washington lead his troops into Princeton
• Another morale boosting victory for Washington and his men
Brandywine
• Battle of Brandywine tied up British troops so they could not join up with General Burgoyne
• Burgoyne was then driven back twice and was not able to capture the Hudson River
Saratoga
• Key turning point in the war
• General Burgoyne attacked the Patriots for the third time and finally was defeated. British army surrendered
• Outcome: The major victory helped convince the French to join us against the British.
Valley Forge
• General Washington and his troops spend the winter of 1777-1778 in Valley Forge, about 25 miles from Philadelphia
• Men living at Valley Forge were underclothed and underfed.
1780
• Benedict Arnold commits treason and moves to the British side
• British move the focus of the war to the south
Benedict Arnold During Revolutionary War
• The British believed they would find support from Loyalists in the South
• They were surprised to find that most people sympathized with the Patriots in the North
• During this period of the war, the French forces began to arrive, and their navy was beginning to interfere with British efforts
• The Continental Army was growing in experience and in numbers.
Yorktown
• Following hit-and-run tactics by Continental General Greene, Cornwallis and his troops were pushed back to Yorktown
• Continental and French troops trapped Cornwallis and bombed him until on Oct. 19, 1781, Cornwallis and his 8,000 troops surrendered to the Patriots