Download File - Gracie Magyar

USHC 1: The student will demonstrate an
understanding of the conflicts between region and
national interest in the development of democracy in
the United States.
USHC 1.3: Analyze the impact of the Declaration of
Independence and the American Revolution on
establishing the ideals of a democratic republic.
Why did the Revolutionary War begin?
1. American colonists believed the British taxes imposed
on them were unconstitutional, which led to protests
against British law such as the Stamp Act and the
Intolerable Acts.
2. The Boston Tea Party led to strict law enforcement by
the British crown, which the colonists rejected.
3. The hostilities between Great Britain and the colonies
led to a shot fired in what came to be known as The
Battle of Lexington and Concord, and the official start of
the Revolutionary War.
The Revolutionary War began as a war between Great
Britain and its American colonies, but expanded into a
global conflict when France, Spain and the Netherlands
allied with the colonists.
How did the Revolutionary War begin?
1. Battle of Lexington and Concord (1775):
– The first battle of the Revolutionary War
– The British military was given orders to secretly capture
and destroy colonists’ military supplies supposedly stored
in Massachusetts
– The colonists had previous knowledge of the British plans,
so supplies had already been moved
– Paul Revere’s Ride: “The British are coming, the British are
coming!”
– The confrontation between the British troops and colonial
militia led to the first shots of the Revolutionary War
Other Major Battles:
1. Battle of Saratoga (1777):
– Turning point in the war for the colonists
– The British wanted to take control of the Hudson River
Valley to cut off New England from the other colonies
– British troops attacked colonial militias three times, and on
the third at Saratoga were defeated and forced to
surrender
– this American victory was instrumental in France’s decision
to ally with the colonies, and also contributed to Spain’s
decision to support the Americans in the revolution
2. Battle of Yorktown (1781):
– The colonists were able to force Cornwallis and his troops
to Yorktown, Virginia
– The French navy arrived in the Chesapeake Bay shortly
after, attacking and defeating the British navy
– French troops began attacking British forts, trapping the
British troops between the French and the colonists
– Cornwallis was forced to surrender when his troops began
running out of food and ammunition
– This major loss motivated the British government to
negotiate a cease-fire, as they became concerned they
were going to lose the war
By declaring their independence, the Americans made it
possible to enter into an alliance with other nations.
Alliance: a formal agreement or treaty between two or more
nations to cooperate for specific purposes
The French king did not support the ideals of democracy, but
following the Battle of Saratoga, the French government
began to believe that the colonists might be successful against
the English, the traditional enemy of France.
Why were England and France enemies?
France and Great Britain have a long history of disputes,
mainly over territorial gains:
1. 100 Years War: a series of conflicts waged from 1337 to
1453 between the Kings of France and the Kings of England
and their various allies for control of the French throne
2. Overseas Expansion: from the 1650s, the New World
increasingly became a battleground between the two powers
3. The Seven Years War: the war was later described by
Winston Churchill as the first "world war", because fighting
took place on several different continents over territorial
gains; The French and Indian War was part of the Seven Years
War
The French treaty provided the Americans with
French naval support and supplies which proved
invaluable to victory at Yorktown.