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The Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson wrote most of the
Declaration of Independence to provide
ideological justification for the Revolution
• It was divided into Three basic segments:
– An introduction with a statement of our
philosophy
• All men are created equal
• Inalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness
• Powers of consent of the governed (people)
• Right to revolt against tyranny
– A list of 27 grievances (complaints)
against the king
• Cutting off trade with other parts of the world
(mercantilism)
• Quartering large amounts of armed troops in
the colonies
• Imposing taxes without consent (“no taxation
without representation)
• Depriving colonists of trial by jury
– Formal Declaration of Independence
• We are free and independent states
• No longer any political connection between
America and Great Britain
On the Eve of the
Revolution ?
Britain
Americans
Advantages
?
?
Disadvantages
?
?
Loyalist
Strongholds
Washington’s Headaches
Only 1/3 of the colonists were
in favor of a war for
independence [the other third
were Loyalists, and the final
third were neutral].
State/colony loyalties.
Congress couldn’t tax to raise
money for the Continental
Army.
Poor training [until
the arrival of
Baron von Steuben.
Exports & Imports: 17681783
Military Strategies
The Americans
Attrition [the Brits
had a long supply
line].
Guerilla tactics
[fight an insurgent
war you don’t
have to win a battle,
just wear the British
down]
Make an alliance
with one of Britain’s
enemies.
The British
Break the
colonies in half by
getting between
the No. & the So.
Blockade the
ports to prevent
the flow of goods
and supplies from
an ally.
“Divide and
Conquer” use
the Loyalists.
Important People
Colonists
George Washington
(General)
Israel Putnam
(Major General)
British
William Howe
(General)
Charles Cornwallis
(Major General)
Phase I: The Northern
Campaign
[1775-1776]
Bunker Hill (June, 1775)
The British suffered over 40%
casualties.
Battle of Bunker Hill
• “Don’t shoot until you see the whites of
their eyes”
• Colonists gain confidence for future
battles
• The British leave Boston Canada
• King George III ordered a blockade of
all Colonial ports
Phase II:
NY & PA
[1777-1778]
Battle of Long Island
(Battle of Brooklyn)
• August 27th, 1776
• First major battle of the Revolutionary War
– Following the Declaration of Independence
• First official battle fought by the army of the
United States
• Britain captured New York City
– And occupied Long Island
Fort Tyron: NYC
New York City in Flames
(1776)
Do now: Analyze this picture:
Why was this statue put up on the
highest point of Brooklyn?
The Minerva Statue
• Patriots had suffered heavy losses
from the Battle of New York
– > retreated to Penn
• General Howe (Britain) had a very
large army & powerful navy: now
controlled the seacoasts up and down
the colonies
• On Christmas night of 1776 General
Washington led his men across the
Delaware River to go into Trenton, NJ
– 3 groups of soldiers crossed the river at
different times of the night
– Surprise attacked in the morning
– Took over Trenton
Washington Crossing the
Delaware
Painted by Emanuel Leutze, 1851
Do Now:
Pick one side- Americans or England
What strategy should the army use to
defeat the rebels/England?
Battle of Trenton
• Hessians- German mercenaries fighting
for the British
• General Washington led his troops in a
surprise attack on Christmas morning
– Surprised the Hessian soldiers
– Took most of them prisoner
• Hessian population of Trenton at
8 am: 1,408 men & 39 officers
9 am: 0
Saratoga:
“Turning Point”
of the War?
A modern-day re-enactment
Battle of Saratoga
• British plan: to cut the New England
colonies off from the rest of the colonies
• The Green Mountain Boys came to help
• In the village of Saratoga the
Americans surrounded the British
• American victory!
• Britain is no longer a threat to New
England
• Convinced France to become an ally of the
United States
•
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=battle+of+saratoga&FORM=HDRSC3#
view=detail&mid=123A7FDD7D1C5FF76070123A7FDD7D1C5FF76070
• Do Now: Why did the
British concentrate their
efforts on the south after
the battle of Saratoga?
Phase III: The Southern
Strategy [1780-1781]
Native American involvement in the
American Revolution
• The Native Americans wanted to
remain neutral
• Saw the colonies as a “weak boy”
• England was able to convince the
Native Americans that if the Patriots
won: the ‘white’ colonists would
cross the Appalachian Mtns and take
more of their land
Britain’s “Southern Strategy”
Britain thought that there were
more Loyalists in the South.
Southern resources were more
valuable/worth preserving.
The British win a number of
small victories, but cannot
placate the countryside
Good US General:
Nathanial Greene
The Battle of Yorktown (1781)
Count de
Rochambeau
Admiral
De Grasse
Cornwallis’ Surrender at
Yorktown:
“The World Turned Upside
Down!”
Painted by John Trumbull, 1797
Winning the South:
• Great & intelligent Generals
– Nathaniel Green (Rhode Island)
– Daniel Morgan (Virginia)
• Brilliant military strategy
• Knowledge of location
• Guerilla tactics
North America After the
Treaty of Paris, 1783
Treaty of Paris
• 8 years after the battles of
Lexington & Concord
• The British recognized the
United States as an independent
nation
• New borders: from the Atlantic
Ocean to the Mississippi River
• Florida was returned to Spain
•
•
•
•
Review Sheet
Boston Massacre & Boston Tea Party
Lexington and Concord
Battle of Bunker Hill
Declaration of Independence
– Origins of ideas and grievances
• Loyalists vs. Patriots
• Famous generals
• Battles of the Revolution
– Northern campaign & Sothern campaign
• Role of Africans and Native Americans
• Treaty of Paris
Wholesale
Price
Index:
17701789
Weaknesses of the
Articles of Confederation
A unicameral Congress
[9 of 13 votes to pass a
law].
13 out of 13 to amend.
Representatives were
frequently absent.
Could not tax or raise
armies.
No executive or judicial
branches.
Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist
Strongholds at the End of the
War
State Constitutions
Republicanism.
Most had strong governors with
veto power.
Most had bicameral legislatures.
Property required for voting.
Some had universal white male
suffrage.
Most had bills of rights.
Many had a continuation of
state-established religions while
others disestablished religion.
Occupational Composition of
Several State Assemblies
in the 1780s
Indian Land Cessions:
1768-1799
Disputed Territorial Claims
Between Spain & the U. S.:
1783-1796
State Claims to Western
Lands
Land Ordinance of 1785
Northwest Ordinance of
1787
One of the major accomplishments of the
Confederation Congress!
Statehood achieved in three stages:
1. Congress appointed 3 judges & a governor to
govern the territory.
2. When population reached 5,000 adult male
landowners elect territorial legislature.
3. When population reached 60,000 elect
delegates to a state constitutional
convention.
The United States in 1787
American Exports, To &
From Britain: 1783-1789
Annapolis Convention (1786)
12 representatives from 5
states
[NY, NJ, PA, DE, VA]
GOAL address barriers that
limited trade and commerce
between the states.
Not enough states were
represented to make any real
progress.
Sent a report to the Congress to
call a meeting of all the states
to meet in Philadelphia to
examine areas broader than just
trade and commerce.
Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-7
Daniel Shays
Western MA
Small farmers angered by
crushing debts and taxes.
Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-7
Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-7
There could be no
stronger evidence of
the want of energy
in our governments
than these
disorders.
-- George Washington
Documents
•
Ethan Allen and Captain de la Place. May 1775. The capture of Fort Ticonderoga, New York. Copy of engraving after Alonzo
Chappel.
ARC Identifier 531003
•
Valley Forge--Washington & Lafayette. Winter 1777-78. Copy of engraving by H. B. Hall after Alonzo Chappel.
ARC Identifier 532877
•
General George Washington and a Committee of Congress at Valley Forge. Winter 1777-78. Copy of engraving after W. H. Powell,
published 1866.
ARC Identifier 532876
•
Benjamin Franklin at the Court of France.
ARC Identifier 518217
•
The Surrender of General Burgoyne at Saratoga. October 1777. Copy of painting by John Trumbull, 1820-21.
ARC Identifier 512777
•
Benedict Arnold's Oath of Allegiance.
ARC Identifier 300357
•
Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, October 19, 1781, by which over 7,000 British and Hessians became prisoners. Copy
of lithograph by James Baillie, ca. 1845.
ARC Identifier 532883
•
Treaty of Paris (page 1, signature page)
ARC Identifier 299805