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Chapter 7 Notes
The American Revolution
Section 1: Early Years of the War
A: Americans Divided:
- 20%-30% of Americans were loyalists
- 40%-45% were patriots
- They war also divided Native and African Americans
- Freedom was offered to the slaves who joined the British side
- About 5,000 African Americans served in the Continental Army
B. Creating an Army
- First, the army was formed from state militias made up of untrained and undisciplined volunteers
- Washington’s army never numbered more than 17,000 men
- Women helped soldiers with anything and everything
- A few women even helped fight
C. Struggle for the Middle States
- After the British retreat from Boston, Washington moved his troops to NY
- Mercenary – professional soldier hired to fight for a foreign country
- The conditions of the Army were in disarray
- Late 12/25/1776 Washington and his troops rowed across the Delaware River into NJ
- The Americans captured or killed 900 Hessians in Trenton, NJ proving Washington was better the
British has thought he was
- This attracted more troops to the Continental Army
- Strategy – overall plan of action
- Rendezvous – meeting point or place
D: Battles along the Mohawk
- Benedict Arnold led a small army up the Mohawk River
- Arnold then sent a captured loyalist and some Iroquois who were allies to spread the rumor that
he had a large army
- It worked and the British army retreated
E: Saratoga – A Turning Point
- The Continental Army surrounded Burgoyne’s army and fired on it day and night
- The series of conflicts that led to his surrender is known as the Battles of Saratoga
- After the battles Benedict Arnold was recovering from wounds and married a loyalist
- He then betrayed his army and his name is now synonymous with traitor
- The victory at Saratoga was the turning point of the war
- European nations now think that the Americans might win the war
Section 2: The War Expands
A: Help From Abroad
- In 1776 France began to give secret aid to the Americans
- King Louis XVI of France recognized the U.S. Independence
- France signed 2 treaties of alliance with the U.S. and went to war with Britain
- France sent funds, supplies, and troops
- France also persuaded Spain to become an ally as well
- By forming alliances with the U.S. France and Spain forced the British to fight a number of enemies
on land and sea
B: Europeans Help Washington
- The Americans gained some of the military experience they needed form Europe
- Several European military officers came to the aid of Washington
- Marquis de Lafayette – 19 yr old French nobleman who volunteered to serve with Washington
- Lafayette won the love and respect of many – “soldiers friend”
- Bayonets – long steel knives attached to the end of guns
C: Winter at Valley Forge
- Beginning in the winter 1777-1778, Washington and his army camped at Valley Forge in SE Penn
- Valley Forge stood for the hardships faced in the war
- Roughly ¼ died from malnutrition, exposure to cold, or diseases
- Desert – leave military duty without intention of returning
D: War on the Frontier
- “If a country is not worth protecting, it is not worth claiming” George Rogers Clark
E: War at Sea
- By 1777 Britain had about 100 warships off the American coast
- Privateer – privately owned ship that wartime government gives permission to attack enemy ships
- James Forten – pg 188
F: A Naval Hero
- John Paul Jones – won the most famous sea battle
- Bohomme Richard – was his boat
- “I have not yet begun to fight”
- The British surrendered the battle and the Americans had to sail away in the British Serpis because
their boat had sunk
Section 3: Early Years of the War
A: Savannah and Charles Town
- British believed that most Southerners were Loyalists
- 1778 the British decided to move the war to the South
- British expected a lot of African Americans to run away to join the British for freedom
- Some British officers sold African Americans into slavery in the West Indies
- 3 reasons for invading the South were:
o Thought most Southerners were loyalists
o Freedom from slavery
o West Indian colonies (movement of troops)
- The British won the South and the Americans lost their entire army
- It was the worst American defeat of the war
B: The Swamp Fox and Guerrilla Fighting
- After the loss Congress assigned Gen. Horatio gates to form a new Southern Army
- Lord Cornwallis – leader the of the British Army
- Francis Mario n – “Swamp Fox”
- Guerrillas – small bands of fighters who surprise the enemy with raids and hit-and-run attacks
C: The Tide Turns
- Battle of Kings Mountain – Americans surrounded a band of loyalists and slaughtered them
- Pacifist – opposed to war
- As the fighting dragged into the 6th year, opposition to the war grew in Britain
D: The End of the War
- In 1781, most of the fighting took place in VA
- Cornwallis set up his base at Yorktown
- August 1781, a large fleet from France arrived from the West Indies and blocked Chesapeake Bay
- The ships prevented the British from re-supplying or escaping
- Battle of Yorktown – 10/19/1781, Cornwallis surrendered his force of about 8,000
- Yorktown was the last major battle of the war
- Now Britain’s leaders were soon forced to resign and the new leaders began to negotiate peace
Section 4: The Legacy of War
A: Why the Americans Won
- November 1783, the last British troops left NYC
- Besides being outmatched the Americans had certain advantages
o Better leadership
o Foreign aid
o Knowledge of the land
o Motivation
B: The Treaty of Paris
- Treaty was signed in 1783, and it ended the Revolutionary War
- The treaty included 6 conditions
o The U.S. was independent
o Boundaries were the Miss River on the west, Canada to the north, and Spanish Florida to
the South
o U.S. would receive the right to fish of Canada’s Atlantic coast
o Each side would repay debts owed
o British would return any enslaved persons they captured
o Congress would recommend that the states return any property they seized from loyalists
- Neither side fully lived up to the treaty’s terms
C: Costs of the War
- Estimated 25,700 Americans died
- 10,000 for the British
- Many who survived the war were left with no money
- The war left a debt of about $27 million and it was difficult to pay off
D: Issues after the War
- Republicanism – instead of a king, the people would rule
- Only men were allowed to vote or hold public office
- Many began to see the conflict between slavery and liberty
- Vermont outlawed slavery
- Pennsylvania passed a law o free slaves gradually
- Elizabeth Freeman – sued for her freedom in MA and won
- Richard Allen – Free African Society, and African Methodist Episcopal Church