Chapter 7 The American Revolution: - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Chapter 7

The American Revolution:

(1775 – 1783)Slide2

The Early Years of the War:

American were divided when it came to the war

20 to 30 percent of Americans were Loyalists, 40 to 45 percent were Patriots, and the rest were

neutral

– not favoring any side

The American people were torn from north to south about the war

Some Quakers were Loyalist, but are

pacifists

– opposed to all violence

African Americans were offered their freedom if they joined the British forces, but in the North nearly 5,000 African Americans were in the Continental Army, but some feared that giving them arms would lead to slave revolts

Native Americans also sided with both America and British troops, it was also the largest Indian War in American historySlide3

Preparing for War:

The new nations army was formed from state militia, who were untrained and undisciplined volunteers, who were not prepared for a long war

Washington’s main goal was to keep the Revolution going, winning what they could no matter how small the battle, but always trying to avoid a crushing defeat

In the beginning, Congress asked men to enlist for a year, then they could go home, giving Washington 17,000 men

Supplies were lacking as well: blankets, shoes, food, and guns and ammunition

Many women followed their husbands into the war, helping with the cooking, laundry, were nurses, but most stayed to work the farm or business while their husbands were awaySlide4

Preparing for War:

British troops faced similar struggles, though their army was experienced and professional

Many British officer refused to fight the Americans

Britain hired

mercenaries

– a professional soldier hired to fight for a foreign country, called Hessians, that were mainly from GermanSlide5

War in the Middle States:

Washington had the British retreat from Boston, but knew they would head to New York

The British goal was to occupy every costal city to land troops and keep supply chains open

In July, General William Howe arrived in New York with a large army, including some 9,000 Hessian mercenaries

Washington had to retreat through New Jersey into PennsylvaniaSlide6

War in the Middle States:

In late December, 1776, Washington’s troops rowed across the Delaware River into New Jersey

The Americans captured or killed more than 900 Hessians and gained needed supplies

8 days later they won at Princeton, before setting up camp for the winter in Morristown, New JerseySlide7

Britain’s Northern Strategy:

The British were pursuing a strategy – an overall plan of action, by seizing the Hudson River Valley, they believed the New England states were the cause of the rebellion and cutting them off from the rest would stop the war

General

John Burgoyne

would lead a force south from Canada

Lt. Colonel Barry St. Leger would come down the Mohawk Valley

General William Howe would follow the Hudson north from New York City

Burgoyne left Canada in 1777, captured fort Ticonderoga and continued south

Burgoyne soon learned that he was fighting not an army, but entire people, as trees were cut to slow progress, crops were burned, cattle drove off, leaving not food or supplies for him to useSlide8

Britain’s Strategy Unravels:

Nearing the

rendezvous

– meeting place, with St. Leger and Howe in Albany

Getting a message that Howe was trying to take Philadelphia, Howe would not be coming north

Washington learning of Howe’s intentions headed to Philadelphia, losing a battle at Brandywine, again Washington attacked Howe at Germantown, and again losing

Burgoyne received that St. Leger was having his own troubles, at fort Stanwix, with Iroquois, and Mohawk leader

Joseph Brant

,

Thayendanegea

, Brant was promised that the British would protect his peoples lands

American General

Benedict Arnold

led an army up the Mohawk River to chase the British away from fort Stanwix, Arnold spread rumors that they had captured a large group of Loyalists and Iroquois, and that he had a large army

It work as the British retreated to fort Oswego, now Burgoyne was on his ownSlide9

Saratoga: A Turning Point:

Running low on supplies, Burgoyne sent raiding parties into Vermont, but were defeated

Despite these setbacks, Burgoyne moved south

General

Horatio Gates

blocked Burgoyne on a ridge called Bemis Heights, near Saratoga, New York

There Tadeusz Kosciusko help the Patriots build fortifications of earthen walls

Burgoyne attacked in September, Benedict Arnold lad an attack the British

Despite heavy casualties the British, but retreated in October to a former camp at Saratoga

The Continental Army surrounded Burgoyne and fired on them day and night until he surrendered, the series of events that led up to the surrender are know as the –

Battles of Saratoga

A huge victory for the Americans, from keeping the British from dividing the states

It also showed Europeans that American might win their freedomSlide10

Formal Battle Tactics:Slide11

The War Expands:

The French still sore over losing the French Indian War, secretly gave aid to the Americans, not becoming an

ally

– a group that helps another to achieve a common goal, until the American's could prove that they could win a conventional battle against the British forces

After the victory of Saratoga, the French signed 2 treated with the United States, promising badly needed funds, supplies, and troops to America

The Spanish also help by capturing British strongholds of Natchez and Baton Rouge in the lower Mississippi Valley

With this happening the British were spread thin, having to fight on some many fronts instead of just one

Marquis de Lafayette

– a 19 year old French aristocrat wanted a military career, and volunteered to serve under Washington

He persuaded the king of France to send 6,000 troops to AmericaSlide12

Winter at Valley Forge:

Washington after defeat at Philadelphia, camped a Valley Forge

Many men only had blankets, not shoes, and no supplies

A quarter of Washington’s men died from malnutrition, exposure, or diseases such as smallpox and typhoid fever

Private citizen help the troops from time to time, bringing clothes and much needed food

Under circumstances some soldier would

desert

– or leave the military without permission

Baron von Steuben

, helped train the troops at Valley Forge, teaching them to handle weapons properly and showed them how to fight the formal battles favored by the British Slide13

Frontier Fighting:

In 1775, Daniel Boone helped build the

Wilderness Road

– a trail into Kentucky

Kentucky was claimed by Virginia,

George Rogers Clark

persuaded Virginia’s governor to capture British outpost on the Western Frontier

In May, 1778, Clark led a group to Kaskaskia, a British fort guarding the Mississippi River, and captured it without a fight

Determined to take fort Sackville, again, from Henry Hamilton, he attacked in February 1779

Hamilton not expecting an attack because the woods were flooded

Clark threatened the British by killing some Indian allies in plain sight

Threatened the British surrenderedSlide14

War on the Waves:

By 1777, Britain had over 200 warships off the coast of America, which allowed Britain to control the Atlantic trade routes and markets

The American navy was small and weak, Congress encouraged American

privateers

– privately owned ships granted permission to attack enemy merchant ships, to attach British ships

America commissioned more than 1,000 privateers, capturing hundreds of merchants ship, causing them to ask their government to end the war

John Paul Jones

– Continental Navy officer, sailed to Britain and attacked British ships along the coast of Britain

In 1779, Jones ship, the

Bonhomme Richard

, closed in on a British convoy, the British captain sure of a victory demanded Jones surrender, Jones relied “I have not yet begun to fight”

After a 3 and a half battle Jones won, but the

Bonhomme

was so damaged that they had to sail away in the

SerapisSlide15

The Path to Victory:

After 3 years of fighting in the north, the British were still no closer to winning the war, even after taking important costal cities, they were run to thin to control the countryside

In 1778, British strategy changed and decided to move south where there were more Loyalist and thousands of slaves, who if joined were expecting freedomSlide16

Savannah and Charles Town Fall:

In 1778, the British captured the port of Savannah, Georgia, and conquered most of Georgia

In 1780, General Henry Clinton landed in South Carolina, and trapped American forces in Charles Town, the largest southern city

The Battle of Charles Town

– ended when the city surrendered, the worst American defeat of the war, because it lost

a

lmost all of its southern army

General Horatio Gates, fresh off his victory at Saratoga, was to head south and form an army to challenge

British general Lord Cornwallis

In 1780, Gates ran into British troops outside Camden, untrained and tired militia fled as soon as fighting began, Gates term as head of an army had ended

Francis Marion called the “Swamp Fox” lead rebel guerrilla forces, attacking messengers, supply lines, and troops throughout the southSlide17

General Greene Take Charge:

After Gates defeat at Camden, Washington put Nathanael Greene in charge of the southern army

In 1781, Greene sent part of his army to confront Cornwallis in a formal linear battle, the American’s won at Cowpens

Now Cornwallis pursued Greene up into North Carolina, Greene had a strategy to let the British wear themselves out, as Greene’s men knew the landscape

When they did fight, they made sure the British suffered heavy losses

After the Battle of Guilford Court House, Cornwallis had to retreat to Wilmington, and realized that there were more active Patriots than Loyalists, and their strategy failedSlide18

The End of the War:

Frustrated with setbacks in the Carolina’s, Cornwallis moved north without orders to set up base in Yorktown, from there he could receive supplies from New York

This gave Washington the opportunity to set a trap, Washington joined forces with General Jean Rochambeau’s French forces and headed south

A large French fleet arrived and blocked British supplies, preventing the British from leaving Yorktown

The

Battle of Yorktown

had begun, the British tried encircling the town with

redoubts

– small forts, to keep the American’s artillery at a distance

As American troops captured each redoubt, it just brought their artillery closer and closer, turning Yorktown to rubble

In October, 1781, Cornwallis surrendered, with about 8,000 troops under his control

This would be the last major battle of the warSlide19

Why the Americans Won:

Despite many obstacles: untrained forces, soldiers that served limited time, lack of proper food, weapons, and supplies the American’s still won

The British were not prepared to fight a popular war

Wars in Europe people not enlisted, fled or bid before advancing forces came, but they soon found out that larger parts of the population were actively involved

In late 1783, the last British ships and troops left New York CitySlide20

The Legacy of the War:

8 years of fighting took a toll on American’s, an estimates 25,700 Americans died, 1,400 remained missing, over 8,200 wounded

British losses suffered estimated about 10,000

Many soldier were never paid or paid little, so the government gave them land certificates for land in the west

The nations debt of about $27 million, would prove difficult to repay

Between 60,000 and 100,000 Loyalists left during and after the war

And left bitter memories for all Patriots and Loyalist likeSlide21

The Legacy of the

War

Cont

…:

In 1780, Benedict Arnold, betrayed his country by handing over an American fort to the British, and throughout history his name has meant traitor

1783, in September, the

Treaty of Paris

– which ended the Revolutionary War, was signed and the terms follow:

The United States were independent

Boundaries would be from the Mississippi River west, Canada on the north, and Spanish Florida on the south

Rights to fish off the Canada’s Atlantic coast, near Newfoundland and Nova Scotia

Each side would repay debts it owed the other

The British would return any enslaved persons they had captured

Congress would recommend that the states return any property they had seized from LoyalistsSlide22

Boundary Disputes:

The Treaty of Paris led to boundary

disputes

– disagreements, with Spain who claim the Mississippi River for 100 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico

British refused to give up

outpost

– bases, in the Great Lakes area, such as fort Detroit

And the boundaries gave little though or concern to the Native American interestSlide23

Creating a New Nation:

By 1777, all the former colonies had adopted written constitutions

The Continental Congress had drafted a plan:

The Articles of Confederation

, these articles gave very little power to the central government besides the ability to wage war and sign treaties

Slavery was also changing in some parts, Vermont outlawed slavery, which Pennsylvania's law was to gradually free them

Elizabeth Freeman

, sued for her freedom in Massachusetts and won, and eventually ended slavery in Massachusetts

In Philadelphia,

Richard Allen

helped start the Free African Society, a

nondenominational

group that encouraged people to help each other

In 1777, Thomas Jefferson proposed his Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, he claimed that people have a “natural right” to freedom of opinion including religious opinion, which would later become the basis for the religious rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights in the Constitution