The American Revolution

“The First Blow for Liberty”

Gage Takes Command

• May 17th, 1774 British General Gage arrived in Boston as the new Governor and to enforce the Coercive Acts

• Gage closed Boston Harbor

• Local militias began to drill across New England

Revolutionary Ideals Spread

• New England’s spirit of resistance began to inflame other colonies

• In Virginia, Patrick Henry rose up in the House of Burgesses, “The war is inevitable – and let it come! . . . Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

Gage Makes His Move

• General Gage is ordered to crush the rebellion before it gets out of hand

• an expedition of 800 troops are sent to capture a large store of weapons in Concord and to arrest rebellion leaders

• warned by Paul Revere and William Dawes, colonial leaders escape and colonial militia gather

Lexington and Concord

• 70 militiamen gathered to block the British at Lexington – “The Shot Heard Around the World” (eight Americans died, ten wounded)

• at Concord, British find only 3 cannons and hundreds of militiamen

• after exchanging more fire at Concord, the British marched back to Boston under constant attack– 247 killed

“Votaries of Independence”

Washington Elected Commander-in-Chief

• Second Continental Congress meets to deal with the problems in Boston and the outbreak of war

• Washington is chosen to lead the Army

• moderates persuade congress to send the “Olive Branch Petition” for last attempt at peace

• King George III refuses to even read the petition

Move Towards Revolution Escalates

• June 16, 1775 – Battle of Bunker Hill; British troops take control of hill overlooking Boston – 450 American casualties, over 1000 British

• January 1776, Paine’s “Common Sense” is published. Colonists thinking independence

• Washington – Paine’s book was “working a powerful change in the minds of men.”

Colonies Ready to Declare Independence

• June 1776, Congress was ready for independence

• committee of 5 – J. Adams, Sherman, Franklin, Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson; “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

• when they signed the declaration, July 4th, 1776, the delegates knew they were pledging their lives – “We must all hang together, or we shall all hang separately”

African Americans’ View

• the declaration raised questions for black Americans – did “all men” mean all men?

• many joined the struggle in the hope of gaining their freedom under the ideals of the Declaration of Independence

“Washington Taking Command of the Army”

Washington Takes Over Ragtag Troops

• when Washington arrived in Mass. to take command of the Continental Army, he found 14,500 men he described as “a multitude of people under very little discipline, order or government.”

• army lacked supplies, uniforms, and weapons, especially heavy artillery

• ammunition was short - men were given only 9 cartridges apiece in case of a British attack

Washington Instills Discipline

• Washington attacked the discipline problem first

• “There is a great overturning in the camp as to order. Everyone is made to know his place and keep it, or be tied up and receive forty lashes. It is surprising how much work has been done.”

American Problems

• Britain was the most powerful nation in the world

• the Royal Navy controlled the waters off the coast and could land troops and supplies anywhere – America had no Navy

• British hired thousands of German mercenaries – Hessians

• most colonial soldiers enlisted only for a few months

British Problems

• great distance between Britain and America made it difficult to send troops, supplies, and communications

• the vast and unknown territory it had to conquer

• to defeat the Americans, the British would have to break their will to fight

“Washington Crossing the Delaware”

British Trapped in Boston

• the war began badly for the British in Boston

• Smallpox and food shortages took a toll on the soldiers

• after months of no action, the British awoke to find the hills over Boston bristling with cannons (March 4, 1776)

• Rather than risk bombardment, the British evacuate – the British Army with 1000 Loyalists leave to Canada

• Loyalists who remained were persecuted by Patriots

Continental Army in Crisis

• in the summer of 1776, British returned with 32,000 troops to New York

• Washington’s 19,000 troops were no match for the British – driven from New York across New Jersey to Pennsylvania

• Paine wrote The Crisis – “These are the times that try men’s souls”

Washington’s Desperate Move

• As the weather turned cold, desertions melted the army to less than 3000 men

• Unless more volunteers could be found Washington wrote “I think the game will be pretty well up”

• on December 25, while the Hessians were celebrating Christmas, Washington led his troops across the Delaware and silently marched into Trenton. After a brief battle the Hessians surrendered. News of the victory spread and thousands of volunteers joined the army

African American Contributions

• Out of the 30,000 soldiers who fought for independence, 5,000 were African Americans

• Some were slaves others free men who served in three all-black units

• most believed in the ideals of independence and fought to prove they belonged in the struggle

“The Second Battle of Freeman’s Farm”

John Burgoyne’s Sure-Fire Plan

• in 1777, British General Burgoyne came to America with a plan to win the war

• he would lead his troops from Canada down the Hudson River while General Howe would lead his troops up from New York – dividing the colonies

• it was a good plan but failed to account for the problems of distance, terrain, and communication

Burgoyne’s Plan Unravels

• Howe didn’t know about the plan until it was too late – he was invading Philadelphia

• while Indian groups begin supporting the British to save their lands, Burgoyne ignored their advice regarding the rough terrain

• by the time Burgoyne reaches Saratoga without Howe, he is outnumbered 3 to 1. He surrenders and France joins the war effort

“Mary Ludwig Hayes preparing cannon”

Winter in Valley Forge

• while Saratoga brought cheers difficult times lay ahead

• with Howe entrenched in Philadelphia, Washington retired to Valley Forge for the winter

• the months that followed were miserable – “Poor food, hard lodging, cold weather – I can’t endure it – Why are we sent here to starve and freeze?”

• Washington’s search for food and supplies were met with profiteering which made him furious

Spring Brings Good News

• Washington’s best spies were the washerwomen who told him the British were leaving Philadelphia

• by July, Howe was back in New York with Washington’s army surrounding the city – the war would move to the south and west

• women supported the war effort as spies, cooks, nurses, and some fought along side the men

“The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis”

The War Moves South

• by 1779, British forces led by General Cornwallis controlled most of Georgia and the Carolinas

• Nathanial Greene sent to slow the British

• in a series of hit-and-run attacks, Greene’s outnumbered forces harassed the British – “We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again”

• Cornwallis, tired of chasing Greene, took his army to Yorktown

British Attacked in the West

• George Rogers Clark leads a force of 200 men out west to attack the British in the Ohio River Valley

• Clark and his men surprisingly accomplish great things, capturing one British fort and bringing the Ohio River Valley firmly under American control

Battle of Yorktown – 1781

• Cornwallis settled in Yorktown knowing as long as Britain controlled the seas he was fine

• but France had sent 28 warships to America

• Washington secretly marched his troops south from New York, surrounding Yorktown

• the siege lasted more than a week before Cornwallis, cut off from supplies - surrendered

Treaty of Paris – 1783

• with the defeat of Cornwallis, Britain agreed to recognize its former colonies as an independent nation. It ceded all land east of the Mississippi between Florida and Canada to the new nation

• Washington wrote, “With our fate will the destiny of unborn millions be involved.”