Transcript (rule by the people through elected representatives).

America Secedes from the
Empire, 1775-1783
Congress Drafts George
Washington
• After Lexington and
Concord-April-1775,
20,000 “minute men”
swarmed around Boston
• The Second Continental
Congress met the next
month in Philadelphia on
May 10, 1775 (second
meeting). All 13 colonies
were represented
• The Congress, at first,
was not promoting
separation but an
address of their
grievances.
• The Congress chose George
Washington to head the
army besieging Boston. This
was a political move as well
since Washington was from
Virginia, a Southern state,
the Congress was showing
that the fight was not just a
“New England” battle.
Washington was wealthy and
could not be accused of as a
fortune seeker. As an
aristocrat, he could be
counted on by his peers to
“check the masses”-not let
the commoners control.
• Washington was from
Virginia, a Southern state,
the Congress was
showing that the fight was
not just a “New England”
battle. Washington was
wealthy and could not be
accused of as a fortune
seeker. As an aristocrat,
he could be counted on
by his peers to “check the
masses”-not let the
commoners control.
Bunker Hill and Hessian Hirelings
• The clash between the
colonists and the British
lasted 14 months from April
1775 to July 1776 before
separation was declared.
• May 1775-Ethan Allen and
Benedict Arnold (the traitor)
captured the British garrisons
at Fort Ticonderoga and
Crown Point of Upper New
York. This gave gunpowder
and artillery to the colonists
at the Boston siege.
• Though the colonists lost the
battle of Bunker Hill (Breed’s
Hill), they punished the
British soldiers severely.
• July 1775-the Second
Continental Congress offered
King George III an “Olive
Branch Petition”, thus
begging the king to prevent
further hostilities.
• August 1775, the King
formally proclaimed the
colonies as rebellious.
September, 1775, the King
hired thousands of German
Hessians.
• The colonials felt this was a
“family” matter and not one
with a foreign country. Many
Hessians eventually stayed
in America and became
respected Citizens.
The Abortive Conquest of Canada
• The colonials erroneously
believed that the French
Canadians would fight against
the British. They were mistaken
since Britain had acted
generously toward them in the
Quebec Act of 1774.
• Colonial General Montgomery
captured Montreal but was killed
when raiding Quebec with
General Benedict Arnold. Arnold
was wounded in the leg and his
army retreated up the St.
Lawrence River from whence
Montgomery had come.
• The British was forced to leave
Boston in March of 1776.
Evacuation Day is still celebrated
annually in Boston.
Thomas Paine Preaches Common Sense
• Why did Americans continue to deny
any intention of independence? Loyalty
to the empire was deeply ingrained;
colonial unity was poor; and open
rebellion was dangerous.
• Americans were shocked by Britain’s
harsh acts like burning of Falmouth,
Maine and Norfolk, Virginia, and the
hiring of the Hessians.
• Thomas Paine published Common
Sense in 1776. It was one of the most
influential pamphlets ever written.
• Paine stated that nowhere in the
physical universe did the smaller
heavenly body control the larger one. So
why should the tiny island of England
control the vast continent of America?
• Common Sense called, not only for
independence, but for the creation of a
new kind of political society, a
democratic republic (rule by the
people through elected
representatives).
• The colonists’ experience
with governing themselves
had prepared them well for
Paine’s summons to create a
republic.
• Many of the settlers,
particularly New Englanders,
had practiced a kind of
republicanism in their
democratic town meetings
and annual elections, while
the popularly elected
committees of
correspondence during
1774-1775 had
demonstrated the feasibility
of republican government.
• Because political power no
longer rested with the central
government (the king),
individuals in a republic
needed to sacrifice their
personal self-interest to the
public good. The rights of
“the people” mattered more
than the private rights of any
one person.
• Many colonial aristocrats
feared that an all out republic
led by the “lower orders” of
society would destroy the
republic. They favored a
social hierarchy, not a
hereditary aristocracy.
Jefferson’s “Explanation” of
Independence
• On June 7, 1776, Richard
Henry Lee of Virginia moved
that “These United Colonies
are, and of right out to be, free
and independent states…”
• The motion was adopted
nearly a month later, on July 2,
1776.
• Thomas Jefferson had the
main responsibility of writing
the Declaration of
Independence. It was formally
approved by the congress on
July 4, 1776.
• The Declaration of Independence:
– Gave his appeal universally by
invoking the “natural rights” of
humankind-not just British rights
– Since the king had flouted these
rights, the colonials were justified
in cutting their connection.
– The Declaration gave a long list of
grievances against the Kingimposing taxes without consent,
no trial by jury, abolishing lows
without consent, dispensing with
trial by jury, burning towns, hiring
mercenaries
– “We mutually pledge to each
other our lives, our fortunes and
our sacred honor.”
Patriots and Loyalists
• Loyalists were colonials loyal to the king
while Patriots were the American rebels.
Loyalists were called “Tories” after the
dominant political factions in England,
whereas Patriots were called “Whigs,”
after the opposition factions in England.
• The American Revolution was a minority
movement. Many colonists were
apathetic or neutral, including the Byrds
of Virginia who sat on the fence.
• Loyalists numbered about 20 percent of
the American people. Conservative and
older Americans remained loyal to the
king; Anglican clergy and their
congregations remained loyal and had
been taught to obey the king; New York
City, Charleston, Quaker Pennsylvania
• Loyalists were least
numerous in New England,
where self-government was
especially strong and
mercantilism was especially
weak. Rebels were the most
numerous where
Presbyterianism and
Congregationalism
flourished, notably in New
England.
• Patrick Henry of Virginia
cried before the Virginia
assembly, “Give me liberty or
give me death!”
The Loyalist Exodus
• Before the Declaration of
Independence in 1776,
persecution of the Loyalists
was relatively mild.
• After the Declaration,
harsher methods prevailed.
– Loyalists were
imprisoned, hanged and
80 thousand were forced
to flee to British lines.
– 50 thousand Loyalists
volunteered for the British
– They served as spies and
incited the Indians against
the colonials.
General Washington at Bay
• With Boston evacuated in
March 1776, the British
concentrated on New
York as a base of
operations where
Loyalists were numerous.
• Washington, being
outnumbered barely
escaped Long Island,
thanks to a favoring wind
and a fog that
miraculously hid the
colonials.
Burgoyne’s Blundering Invasion
• Britain wanted to capture
the Hudson River Valley
and cut off the New
England colonies from
the rest of the country.
• The Main force was led
by General “Gentleman
Johnny” Burgoyne.
General St. Leger was to
meet Burgoyne from the
West. General Howe,
meanwhile was to travel
up the Hudson and meet
Burgoyne from the South.
• Howe left to attack
Philadelphia, the rebel
capital. St Leger’s force
was driven back and
Burgoyne had to surrender
at Saratoga to colonial
general Horatio Gates.
• This was one of the most
decisive battles of both
American and world
history. The victory
immensely revived the
faltering colonial cause
and more importantly
opened the door for
French aid which helped
ensure American
independence.
Strange French Bedfellows
• France, wanted to see Britain
lose its most valuable
overseas possessions, the
American colonies. This
would cause Britain to loose
its world dominance.
• During the first two and a half
years of the war, about 90
percent of all the gunpowder
used by the Americans came
from the French.
• After the humiliating defeat at
Saratoga in 1777, the British
Parliament passed a
measure that in effect offered
the Americans home rule
within the empire.
The Colonial War Becomes a
World War
• England and France came to blows
in 1778. The war had turned into a
global battle. Spain entered against
Britain in 1779, as did Holland.
Spanish and French fleets
outnumbered those of England.
• In 1780, Catherine the Great of
Russia organized the Armed
Neutrality, which lined up all the
remaining European neutrals
against Britain.
• The war was being fought not only
in Europe and North America, but
also in South America, the
Caribbean, and Asia.
• To England, struggling for its
very life, the scuffle in the
New World became
secondary. Independence
came when the conflict
erupted into a multipower
world war that was too big for
Britain to handle.
• From 1778 to 1783, France
provided the rebels with
large sums of money,
equipment, one-half of
America’s regular armed
forces, and practically all of
the new nations’ naval
strength.
• One-third of the Hessians
deserted
Blow and Counterblow
• Improving American morale
was shattered in 1780, when
General Benedict Arnold
turned traitor. Greedy and
feeling that his services were
not being appreciated, he
plotted with the British to sell
out the key stronghold of
West Point. The plot was
accidentally detected and
Arnold fled to the British.
“Whom can we trust now?”
cried General Washington.
The Land Frontier and the Sea Frontier
• 1777 was known as “the
bloody year” on the frontier.
• Two nations of the Iroquois
Confederacy, the Oneidas
and the Tuscaroras, sided
with the Americans. The
Senecas and many other
members of the powerful Six
Nations of the Iroquois joined
the British.
• Mohawk chief Joseph Brant, a
convert to Anglicanism aided
the British.
• 1784- the pro-British Iroquois
were forced to sign the Treaty
of Fort Stanwix, the first treaty
between the United States
and an Indian nation. Under
its terms the Indians ceded
most of its land.
• George Rogers Clark (Lewis
and Clark) seized the British
forts down the Ohio river.
• John Paul Jones, a young
Scotsman became famous
for naval battles.
• Privateers-privately owned
armed ships (70,000
American sailors) were
called “sailors of fortune.”
• The privateers brought in
gold, harassed the enemy,
and raised American morale
by providing victories.
Yorktown and the Final Curtain
• 1780-1781 was one of the darkest
periods of the war. Inflation was
high and the government was
virtually bankrupt.
• British General Cornwallis fell into
a trap. Having fallen back to
Yorktown on the Chesapeake Bay,
he waited for British
reinforcements. Admiral de
Grasse, of the French West Indies
fleet, offered his services to
Washington. Defeating the British
fleet and trapping Cornwallis by
sea, Washington trapped him by
land.
• Cornwallis surrendered 7,000
troops-October 19, 1781.
Peace at Paris
• Paris Peace Treaty-1783
• John Jay sensing that
France would try to take land
west of the Allegany's defied
the Congress’ position of
making a treaty with France.
He negotiated with Britain.
The following resulted:
– America was independent
– All land to the Mississippi
on the west, Great Lakes
on the north, and Spanish
Florida on the south
(Spain had captured
Florida from Britain
A New Nation Legitimized
• The enormous transAllegheny area was thrown
to the Americans as a
virtual gift. Why? England
was trying to seduce
America from its French
alliance, so it made the
terms as alluring as
possible. The Whigs in
power for a short time, was
generous to America.
• The British was to enter
another war with AmericaThe War of 1812.
• France slipped into
bankruptcy and revolution1789.
• Americans had been
extremely favored.