revolutionary war strengths british strengths o well-disciplined o well-equipped o well-trained o...
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Revolutionary War StrengthsRevolutionary War Strengths
British StrengthsBritish Strengths
o Well-DisciplinedWell-Disciplined
o Well-EquippedWell-Equipped
o Well-TrainedWell-Trained
o Help from Loyalists, African Help from Loyalists, African Americans, Native Americans, Native Americans, and MercenariesAmericans, and Mercenaries
o World Strongest NavyWorld Strongest Navy
Colonial StrengthsColonial Strengths
o Fighting on Own TerritoryFighting on Own Territory
o Fighting TechniquesFighting Techniques
o Good LeadershipGood Leadership
Revolutionary War WeaknessesRevolutionary War Weaknesses
British WeaknessesBritish Weaknesses
o War Not Popular in BritainWar Not Popular in Britain
o Had to Fight in Hostile Had to Fight in Hostile ConditionsConditions
o British Commanders Would British Commanders Would Not Adapt Fighting Not Adapt Fighting Techniques to American Techniques to American EnvironmentEnvironment
Colonial WeaknessesColonial Weaknesses
o Poorly EquippedPoorly Equipped
o Less Stable Fighting ForceLess Stable Fighting Force
o Poorly DisciplinedPoorly Disciplined
o Division Within ColoniesDivision Within Colonies
Lord Dunmore’s Offer
-Lord Dunmore: Royal governor
of Virginia
-November 1775: Issued
proclamation promising freedom to
defecting, able-bodied slaves who
would fight for Britain
-1778: 30,000 black Virginians
defected from slavery
-Used only for manual labor
-Not fed and clothed well
-Washington made same offer, with 5,000 becoming Patriots
African Americans of the American Revolution
Early Defeats
-British capture all major colonial cities
New York
Philadelphia
Boston
Charleston
-Washington’s army in retreat and many desert
Battle of Trenton
Patriot Victories
-A few victories helped keep morale up
-Dec. 26, 1776 at Trenton
-Washington crosses Delaware into New Jersey
-Surprise attack on 2400 German mercenaries
-Raised morale of the Patriots and put Washington on offensive
Jan. 1777 at Princeton
-Left campfires burning to fool British
-Slipped away, attacked British, and gained supplies
Washington Crossing the Delaware River
Surrender of the Hessians at Trenton
“Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and show the
whole world that a Freeman, contending for liberty on his own ground, is superior to any slavish
mercenary on earth.”
George Washington
Turning Point
-Large British force defeated at Saratoga Oct. 1777
- Colonials led by Horatio
Gates and Benedict Arnold
- First decisive colonial victory
-Kept British near the coastline
-Helped colonists get French help in the war effort
-Wanted to weaken Britain
-Had been secretly giving
America weapons and money
since beginning of war
-After Saratoga, open ally
-Turning point of the war
Valley Forge
-Camp site of Washington’s army during winter of 1777-78.
-British forces occupied nearby cities
-Many soldiers died of cold and starvation
-Congress struggled to gain supplies for the army
-lack of central gov’t
Valley Forge
“To see men without clothes to cover their nakedness, without blankets to lay on, without shoes….marching through frost and snow…and submitting to
it without a murmur, is a mark of patience and obedience which in my opinion can scarcely be paralleled.”
George Washington at Valley Forge
“Thousands were without blankets, and were obliged to warm themselves over fires all night…It was not uncommon to track the march of the men over
ice and frozen ground by the blood from their naked feet.” Colonial Soldier, 1777
Civilian Life
-Inflation
-Shortage of goods
-Women took over the work of men
-Some women helped the military effort
Nurses, Uniforms, Flags
Foreign Help
-Foreign military leaders offered professional training for the army
-Marquis de Lafayette
led volunteer army from France
-Friedrich von Steuben
Prussian officer who trained patriot soldiers
“The moment I knew she was
fighting for freedom, I burnt
with the desire of bleeding for her.”
Marquis de Lafayette
He arrived at the camp on February 23, 1778.
One soldier’s first impression of the Baron was “of the ancient fabled God of War … he seemed to me a perfect personification of Mars. The trappings of his horse, the enormous holsters of his pistols, his large size, and his strikingly martial aspect, all seemed to favor the idea.”
Southern Campaign
-British strategy changed to splitting the colonies
- Focused attention on the
South because of high loyalist
population
-Charleston (SC)
Captured by Cornwallis
-Kings Mountain (NC)
Patriot Victory
Patriots v. Loyalists
-Cowpens (SC)
Patriot Victory
Benedict Arnold
“Traitor”
Giving British information on troop movements and supplies
Gained command of West Point, which guarded Hudson River and New York
Caught giving layout of fort to British
Escapes to Britain before found guilty of treason
War’s End
-Guilford Courthouse
costly British victory
- Nathaniel Greene v. Lord
Cornwallis
- Over 2,300 men killed or
wounded total
-retreat to Yorktown
-surrounded by French and Americans
French navy blocks Cornwallis in Virginia
Washington blocks him on land
Cornwallis surrenders Oct, 1781
British play “The World Turned Upside Down”
On a scrap piece of paper…
If the American Revolution ended today, what song would be the
victory song?
The World Turned Upside Down
If buttercups buzz'd after the bee,If boats were on land, churches on sea,If ponies rode men and if grass ate the cows,And cats should be chased into holes by the mouse,If the mamas sold their babiesTo the gypsies for half a crown;If summer were spring and the other way round,Then all the world would be upside down.
Treaty of Paris
-Treaty of Paris 1783
-recognized U.S. independence
-set boundaries to the Mississippi
-some provisions of the treaty will lead to trouble later
"Thus the great and hazardous enterprise we have been engaged in is, God be praised,
happily completed. A few years of peace will improve, will restore and increase our
strength; but our future will depend on our union and our virtue. Let us, therefore, beware of being lulled into a dangerous
security; and of being both enervated and impoverished by luxury; of being weakened
by internal contentions and divisions."
Benjamin Franklin, from Paris, 1784,just after signing the Peace Treaty
America after the Treaty of
Paris
Symbol to the World
-liberty
-freedom
-equality
-opportunity
-belief in a greater cause
-set a precedent for the American future
A Symbol for the World