The American Revolution

Other English Rights

- "No taxation without representation" - the people cannot be taxed without the consent of their representatives in Parliament. - Keeping and bearing arms. - No standing armies in time of peace. The English relied on militias for defense. - Freedom to respectfully criticize the government. - An unwritten right - the right to overthrow a king who violates the other rights.

The war in the South

- 1779: the British captured Savannah, Georgia and quickly overran the rest of the colony. - - - The French and Americans attempted to retake Savannah but failed.

Intercolonial Wars (1688-1763)

- 85 years of warfare against French and Indians made the colonial militias effective. - Colonists began to realize they did not need British protection. - Britain was deeply in debt from the wars and began to consider taxing the Americans to get money.

Baron von Steuben

- A German officer who offered to train Washington's men in European tactics. - During the spring of 1777, he turned the Continental army into an organized force that could fight like a European army.

Jefferson's Declaration of Independence said that:

- All people have the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". - Governments exist to preserve these rights. - When a government does not protect the rights of the people, the people can overthrow it. - Since the British government had not protected the rights of the colonies, the colonies would create their own government.

Results of Saratoga:

- An entire British army of 7,000 men was wiped off the map. - For the first time, an American army had defeated a large British force. - This victory convinced France to ally with the Americans. - The French wanted revenge on the British, who had defeated them in the French and Indian War. - Spain and the Netherlands later joined the war against the British.

Coercive Acts (1774)

- Britain's response to BTP. - Boston harbor closed until the tea was paid for. - Massachusetts placed under military rule. - British soldiers accused of murdering colonists would be tried in Britain, not America. - American families could be forced to provide British troops with food, candles, and shelter.

Treaty of Paris (1783) Agreements

- British agreed to accept U.S. independence. - U.S. received all land east of the Mississippi River except for Florida and the city of New Orleans.

Boston Tea Party (1773)

- British government gave monopoly on teas sales in the colonies to British merchants, overlooking American merchants. - In response, American ports refused to accept British tea shipments. - In Boston, members of the Sons of Liberty boarded tea ships and tossed the tea overboard.

Boston Massacre (1770)

- British soldiers fired on an unruly mob in Boston, killing five people. Most of the soldiers were found not guilty, which enraged the colonists.

Lexington and Concord (April 1775)

- British troops moving to seize a colonial ammunition stockpile ran into a small force of Minutemen at the village of Lexington. The Minutemen were quickly routed. - At Concord, a more serious battle occurred. The British retreated toward Boston. - As they marched toward Boston, the British were ambushed again and again by Minutemen who fought Indian-style, taking cover behind trees and stone walls.

Spring 1781

- Cornwallis marched into Virginia. His forces raided Charlottesville, almost capturing Thomas Jefferson. - Cornwallis's Southern campaign had failed. He moved his army to Yorktown to wait for the British fleet to pick his army up and carry it to New York.

October 19, 1781

- Cornwallis surrendered his entire army. This was the last major battle of the war. The British, worn down by six years of fighting an enemy who would not give up, agreed to arrange a peace.

Reasons for choosing Washington:

- He had military experience from the Intercolonial Wars. - He was tall, charismatic, and looked like a general. - He was a Southerner, which might encourage other Southerners to join the Revolution.

Philadelphia campaign

- Howe disliked this idea and chose instead to attack the American capital, Philadelphia. - Howe defeated Washington at Brandywine Creek and captured Philadelphia, forcing the Continental Congress to flee. - Washington tried to retake Philadelphia, but was defeated again at Germantown. - Although this campaign was a British success, it prevented Howe from cooperating with the original British strategy.

New British strategy

- Howe's army would move north along the Hudson River and meet up with another British force moving south from Canada. - Control of the Hudson would isolate New England from the other colonies. - Once the two forces met, they would invade New England and conquer the heartland of the Revolution.

Stamp Act (1765)

- Imposed tax on most documents and paper goods. Intended to help pay off debt from Intercolonial Wars. - First direct tax on the colonies; violated traditional English right of "no taxation without representation." - Colonists protested. In some cases the protests became violent. Protests were led by a group called the Sons of Liberty. Colonists boycotted British goods. - boycott - refusal to buy a certain product as a protest. - The boycotts hurt British merchants, who forced Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act. repeal - to take away a law.

Colonial response to Coercive Acts

- In Massachusetts, militia units known as Minutemen began training and stockpiling ammunition. - First Continental Congress (May 1774) - representatives of 12 colonies met in Philadelphia to plan an organized response.

Trenton

- Most enlistments expired on January 1. If Washington did not win a victory before then, almost all of his remaining men would go home, and he would have no army left. - December 26, 1776 - Desperate for a victory, Washington crossed the icy Delaware River and attacked the Hessian camp at Trenton, New Jersey. The Hessians were surprised and surrendered after a short battle - Two weeks later, Washington defeated a small force of British soldiers at Princeton, New Jersey. - These two victories breathed new life into the Revolution and inspired men to join the Continental Army. By the spring of 1777, Washington had 20,000 troops.

1768 - 10,000 British troops sent to America to keep order.

- Most of them were stationed in Boston, where protests against the Stamp Act had been the most severe. - This violated the traditional English right of no standing armies in peacetime.

Meanwhile, the Americans had several other successes.

- On the frontier, American forces defeated Tory militia and Iroquois Indians that had been attacking American settlements. - George Rogers Clark captured two key forts in the Ohio Valley, giving the U.S. a claim to that region after the war.

Siege of Boston

- Over the next few weeks, Boston was surrounded by thousands of colonial militiamen. - Bunker Hill (June 1775)

Road to war

- Proclamation of 1763 - Stamp Act (1765) - 1768 - 10,000 British troops sent to America to keep order - Townshend Acts (1767) - Boston Massacre (1770) - Boston Tea Party (1773) - Coercive Acts (1774) - Britain's response to BTP.

Valley Forge was tough because

- The American troops lacked food, shoes, blankets, warm clothes, and medicine. ¼ of them died that winter from malnutrition and exposure.

Saratoga

- The British army moving south from Canada was surrounded by an American army led by Horatio - Gates and Benedict Arnold. (Arnold did most of the actual fighting.) - The entire British force surrendered. This was the turning point of the war.

Stalemate

- The British replaced Howe with Sir Henry Clinton as their commander in America. - Clinton decided to abandon Philadelphia and return to New York to protect his base of supplies. - June 28 - as Clinton's army marched toward New York, Washington attacked them at Monmouth Courthouse, New Jersey.

Olive Branch Petition (June 1775)

- The Continental Congress declared their quarrel was with Parliament, not the king, and offered to talk about the problems. - Both the king and the Parliament rejected this offer and prepared for war.

June 28 - as Clinton's army marched toward New York, Washington attacked them at Monmouth Courthouse, New Jersey.

- This was the first test of the new and improved Continental Army. - The battle was indecisive, but Washington's men held their ground. It was the first time Washington had fought the main British army and not lost. This improved the morale of his men and worried the British. - Clinton reached New York and fortified the city. Washington, lacking enough men to attack the city, hovered nearby.

Magna Carta (1215)

- Trial by jury - habeas corpus - no one can be arrested unless charged with a crime. - The people would have representatives in Parliament - rule of law - the idea that everyone, including the king, must obey the law.

Valley Forge

- Washington's army spent the winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

mercenary

- a hired soldier.

Pyrrhic victory

- a victory that costs more than it is worth.

1780 - British forces from New York:

- captured Charleston, South Carolina and forced the entire American army defending it to surrender. This was the worst American defeat of the war.

Quartering Act (1765)

- colonial governments had to pay for food and shelter for these troops.

Townshend Acts (1767)

- imposed new duties on several British goods, including tea. Colonists responded with renewed boycotts.

guerrillas

- irregular fighters who conduct hit-and-run attacks.

habeas corpus

- no one can be arrested unless charged with a crime.

boycott

- refusal to buy a certain product as a protest.

- First Continental Congress (May 1774)

- representatives of 12 colonies met in Philadelphia to plan an organized response. - Boycott all British goods. - Urge all colonies to raise militias in case the situation came to war. - Meet again in a year to plan the next move.

Because they had failed to win the war in the North, the British:

- switched their main effort to the South. - The South was not well defended. - Many Southerners were still loyal to Britain. - The British could hurt the American economy by encouraging slaves to run away.

Bunker Hill (June 1775)

- the British tried to fight their way out of the city. Although they captured an American position, it was a Pyrrhic victory and did not break the encirclement of the city. Pyrrhic victory - a victory that costs more than it is worth.

June 1776

- the Congress decided to declare independence from Britain and appointed Thomas Jefferson to write a document explaining why they were taking this step.

"No taxation without representation"

- the people cannot be taxed without the consent of their representatives in Parliament.

Declaratory Act (1766)

- to show they were still in charge, Parliament gave itself the right to make any laws it wanted to for the colonies.

"Rules of empire"

- unwritten, traditional agreements between Britain and the colonies.

March 1776

- using artillery captured at Fort Ticonderoga, Washington forced the British to abandon Boston.

Proclamation of 1763

1) No settlement west of the Appalachians. a) Reasons: - British government wanted to avoid further wars with Indians. - Colonists would be harder to control if they moved over the mountains. b)This infuriated the colonists, who felt they had fought for these lands in the Intercolonial Wars.

Cornwallis's progress was slowed by

American guerillas that attacked his supply line.

Greene, with the main American army in the South, retreated across North Carolina and into Virginia. Cornwallis finally stopped chasing him and marched toward the coast to pick up reinforcements and supplies. Greene followed and fought Cornwallis at Guilford Courthouse. _______________________ won, but it was a Pyrrhic victory that cost him ¼ of his army.

Cornwallis

An American army under ________________________ met Cornwallis at Camden, S.C. and was badly defeated.

Horatio Gates

Most members of the Congress signed the Declaration on

July 4, 1776.

As Cornwallis moved into North Carolina, smaller British forces were defeated by the Americans at:

King's Mountain and Cowpens.

War breaks out

Lexington and Concord (April 1775)

Document that gave the English Rights

Magna Carta (1215)

New York

New York 1) British returned to America in the summer of 1776. a) British commander - Sir William Howe. b) Howe's army consisted of 23,000 British troops and 9,000 German mercenaries known as Hessians. - mercenary - a hired soldier. - Howe's professionals defeated - - Washington's army of militia in several battles around New York City. - Washington retreated across New Jersey and into Pennsylvania. Howe returned to New York, leaving some Hessians to keep an eye on Washington. He believed that the coming winter would finish off the Continental Army.

The first stage of the war (1776-1777)

New York Trenton

French help was critical to America's success in the war because

The French gave the Americans money and supplies, and eventually sent an army and a fleet to America.

Positives of the English Rights

These rights limited the power of the English government and gave the English more freedom than most other people in the world.

A combined force of Americans and French commanded by _____________________ surrounded Cornwallis on land, while a French fleet prevented a British retreat by sea.

Washington

Rules of Empire

a) Britain would protect the colonies. b) Because the colonies had no representation in Parliament, Britain would not directly tax them. c) The colonists would accept laws that only allowed them to trade with Britain would pay taxes on British goods. d) The British would allow a certain amount of smuggling to get around these laws.

From Charleston, a British army under Lord Charles Cornwallis marched: Greene, with the main American army in the South, retreated across North Carolina and into Virginia. Cornwallis finally stopped chasing him and marched toward the coast to pick up reinforcements and supplies. Greene followed and fought Cornwallis at Guilford Courthouse. Cornwallis won, but it was a Pyrrhic victory that cost him ¼ of his army. As Cornwallis marched toward the coast, Greene moved into South Carolina and attacked British outposts there. Though defeated several times, he put enough pressure on the British to make them withdraw their forces to Charleston.

into South Carolina.

The Second Continental Congress

met in Philadelphia and chose George Washington of Virginia to command the Continental Army.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

officially ended the war.

- As winter started, Washington's men:

suffered terribly from a lack of food, blankets, and warm clothes. Many of his soldiers fell ill.

rule of law

the idea that everyone, including the king, must obey the law.

An unwritten right

the right to overthrow a king who violates the other rights.

Washington, noticing that Cornwallis had his back to the sea, slipped away from his camps near New York and moved to ________________.

trap him.