Download New England Uprising

Four Separate Wars for
Independence
From Albion’s Seed by David Hackett Fischer.
1. Popular insurrection in New England (1775-1776)
2. Prolonged conflict in the Middle States and the
South (1776-1781)
3. The war within the war in the backcountry
(1779-1781)
4. The non-violent diplomatic and economic struggle
(1781-1783)
1. New England Uprising






British Army vs.
Yankee Militia
Sought to defend
their established ways
Paul Revere
Lexington and
Concord
Bunker Hill
Fort Ticonderoga
High Casualties demonstrate fierce
fighting in New England
Lexington and Concord
 British lost 30% of the force of 700.
 Minutemen lost 93
Bunker Hill
 1000
dead or wounded
 47% of the British force
 ”Don’t fire ‘til you see the whites of their
eyes!” --Israel Putnam or William Prescott
Loyalists
British officials, Wealthy
merchants and large
landholders
 Anglican ministers, blacks
and Indians
 Criticized British Actions-preferred peaceful
protests
 Feared violence would
lead to mob rule

 Dutch,
German and Quakers
 New York, New Jersey, Georgia
 Carolinas: Backwoods farmers were
loyalists, Coastal planters were patriot
 20% of the population
Patriots
Merchants, lawyers, southern planters, middle-class
 Most were highly educated and wealthy
 Supported by lower class
 Believed in self-rule and free trade

 Presbyterians,
Congregationalists
(Puritans)
 Scots-Irish who
opposed the Crown
 New England and
Virginia
 40% of the
population
2. Conflict in the Middle States
and Coastal South
Professional Army of
Regulars and
mercenaries
commanded by
British Gentry
vs.
Professional American
Army led by a
member of the
Virginia Gentry
Sequence of the War
New York 1776
PA, NJ and New York
1777-80
South 1779-1781
400,000 served in
Continental Army yet never
more than 20,000 at one
time
25,000 dead, 1% of the
population, today that
would be 3 million people
Key Battles and Events






Trenton and Princeton
Valley Forge
Saratoga
French Alliance
War in the South
Yorktown
3. War in the Backcountry
Backcountry Colonists
against American
loyalists and British
regulars.
 Savage struggle
 Family feuding and
atrocities on both
sides

“The American Revolution was, in fact, our
nation’s First Civil War.”
 What
portions of the American Revolution
supports the statement?
 Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Why?
4. Diplomatic and Economic War
Non-violent economic and
diplomatic struggle
 Led by the elites of the
Delaware Valley
 B.F. and Robert Morris
 In the early part of the
War emphasis was to
garner support
 Why would this have been
a hard “sell?”

Treaty Of Paris
 Spain, Fr, G.B. and the US
 G.B. recognized 13 colonies
as free, sovereign and
independent states
 US border extends to
Mississippi River
 All debts to be repaid
 Loyalists receive restitution
for land lost
 End persecution of Loyalists
How did the Colonists Win?
 What
advantages did the British have
during the War?
 America won because of:
 Geography
 Morale
 Military
leadership
 Diplomacy