Download Beyond Yorktown: Outcomes and Expectations

Activities: Guided Readings/Secondary
Beyond Yorktown: Outcomes and Expectations
On October 19, 1781, British General Lord Cornwallis surrendered his army
to the American and French forces at Yorktown, which ended the American
Revolution. In reality, the war would drag on for another two years with several
small skirmishes throughout the colonies as well as a number of battles at sea. The
war finally ended on September 3, 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.
While this treaty marked the beginning for the now free and independent United
States, it was only the start of the long struggle to forge a new and viable nation
from the ashes of eight long years of fighting.
Many of the American patriots who had fought so bravely against the British
went home after the war to resume their lives as farmers. After enduring
unimaginable hardships during the war, some veterans were shocked to learn they
would be required to pay taxes to offset the
country’s $80 million war debt. The burden of
these taxes forced some veterans into debtors’
prison and forced others to relinquish their land to
pay the taxes. For men who had sacrificed so
much, it was clear that this was not what they
anticipated at the end of their battle for liberty.
Daniel Shays led a large group of farmers on a raid
on the armory at Springfield, Massachusetts, where guns and ammunition were
stored. A state militia was able to quell the rebellion; however, the need for a
stronger national government with the power to raise an army was clear.
Returning veterans were not the only ones who dealt with hardships after the
war. Loyalists who had supported the British faced bitter treatment at the hands of
patriots who seized their property and constantly harassed them. Among the
approximately 100,000 loyalists who left the colonies (most traveling to Canada)
were American Indians and free blacks who had supported and fought with the
British during the Revolution. Former slaves who had been lured to the British side
by guarantees of freedom now faced the prospect of a return to slavery, and
American Indians who had sided with the British saw Americans take their land to
expand the new country’s territory. Loyalists, however, were not the only people
disillusioned after the war. African Americans, American Indians, women, and
landless white men who had supported the patriot cause were still treated as
second-class citizens and had no influence in the formation and governance of the
new nation.
CICERO © 2010
1
Activities: Guided Readings/Secondary
Until the Revolutionary War, the British had protected the colonies from
European powers looking to expand their own empires. In fact, many loyalists had
argued throughout the war that without the protection of the British, America
would soon fall under the control of one of these nations. The United States had to
unite in order to remain free and independent. At first, the outcome was not certain.
Structured around the Articles of Confederation, the new government was
weak and ineffective. Among the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation was
the national government’s inability to levy taxes, which prevented it from putting
the nation’s financial business in order. The Articles also placed most political
power in the hands of the states. As a result, some states promoted their own
interests above those of the other states; and the national government was
powerless to do anything about it.
The tax rebellion in Massachusetts in May 1787 motivated fifty-five
delegates from several states to meet in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to amend the
Articles. Instead, they began drafting a new framework for government. From the
beginning, delegates argued over the balance of power between the federal
government and the states. After months of debate and compromise, they were able
to draft a document to bring the new nation together around a strong, centralized
government. The concept that the United States would always strive to become “a
more perfect union” drove the creation of this new model of government.
CICERO © 2010
2
Activities: Guided Readings/Secondary
Name: ______________________________
Date: __________
Beyond Yorktown: Outcomes and Expectations
Discussion Questions:
1. What did most returning veterans do for a living?
2. What would happen to a person who could not pay his taxes?
3. How were loyalists treated after the war?
4. Which group(s) of American patriots during the war were without political
power after the war?
5. (Open Ended) The Declaration of Independence, which stated the causes for
independence, included the phrase “All men are created equal.” Do you believe
the new nation was true to this belief after the war? Why or why not?
CICERO © 2010
3