II. British North American and the American Revolution
Learning Objective:
Understand why the British established colonies in North America.
Countries establish colonies for the following reasons: 1)
to establish markets for their goods; 2) to get access to raw
materials; and, 3) for national security by securing ports and
bases and by spreading their ideology. By 1600 British officials
and merchants realized that trading and manufacturing countries
like England, were getting wealthier at the expense of Spain.
This realization led to the formulation of the economic concept
of mercantilism. The object of mercantilism was to increase
the nation's store of gold and silver, and therefore increase
the nation's power. The ideal was a self-sufficient England,
but in practice, such self-sufficiency was impossible. Colonies
were seen as a means of reducing the nation's dependence on
foreign countries. The raw materials of the colonies would supply
English manufacturing interests, and by settling English colonists
overseas, markets for English goods would be assured.
In addition, England had too many people. The population of
the country jumped from 3 to 4 million during the 16th century,
and employment and food production had not kept pace with the
increase. Large land holders had enclosed their land to raise
sheep, and thousands of ex-peasant farmers were forced off the
land. Colonies were seen as a safety valve to relieve the pressure
of England's excess population. To many Britons America was
seen as a land of economic opportunity.
In America one could hope to own land when it was almost impossible
for most people to do so in England. There was an abundance
of game in America with no game laws (poaching was a capital
offense in England). In England the poor were frequently forbidden
to cut wood, so it is not so strange that the simple image of
a warm fire would figure prominently in colonization propaganda.
Learning Objective:
Understand the British North American colonies.
The actual task of colonizing North America was carried out
by private joint-stock companies. In 1607 the London Company
established the first permanent colony in British North America
at Jamestown, Virginia (named after Elizabeth the "Virgin
Queen"). At first survival was difficult — during
the winter of 1609-1610 only 60 people survived out of a population
of 500. It was only after a rigorous program of farming was
established that the colony stabilize itself. The governors
of the colony executed a number of people for little more than
laziness, and the colonists were marched to work in the fields
like soldiers. With the development of the tobacco industry
the economy of Virginia soared.
The Pilgrims were Separatists — they believed that the Church
of England was too "Catholic" and they wanted to separate
from the Church. Since the King was the head of the Church this
was akin to treason and they were fined, imprisoned ,flogged,
and a few even executed for their beliefs. Persecution was especially
bad during the reign of James I which began in 1603. The Pilgrims
fled to Holland, but they yearned for a place where they could
speak their own language, follow their own ideas about how children
should be reared, and worship God in their own way — the New
World was perfect for them.
In November 1620 the Pilgrims landed near Cape Cod and established
the colony of Plymouth. Like Virginia, their first winters were
tough (44 out of 102 colonists died the first winter). The Pilgrims
signed a compact binding all the inhabitants of the colony to
follow the will of a majority of freemen. Because Plymouth was
too far from England for the Crown to have much control over
the colony, the Mayflower Compact served as Plymouth's constitution
for 70 years. Plymouth survived, but it produced little for
Britain. After a few years the shareholders sold the company
to the settlers, thus transferring virtually all decision-making
power to the colony itself. Plymouth was absorbed into Massachusetts
in 1691.
Massachusetts Bay was established in 1630, about 40 miles up
the coast from Plymouth. The Puritans planned every detail before
they left England, and about 1,000 came across the Atlantic
in the first wave. By 1640 10,000 people had left England for
Massachusetts. The Puritans were Calvinists who wanted to "purify"
the Church of England. Their goal in Massachusetts was to create
a Godly Commonwealth and they brought with them a charter that
guaranteed them the right of self-government. (Overhead of Puritan
Seal).
The Puritans did not come to America to "worship as they
pleased." They were a powerful minority in England, worshipping
pretty much as they pleased there. They came to the New World
to establish a Godly Commonwealth in the wilderness that would
stand as "a city on a hill." They had undertaken a
sacred mission to show England and the rest of the world how
to live. Life in Puritan Massachusetts was closely regulated
because they believed that if they tolerated sin among themselves
they would be punished by God.
Only male heads of households who were church members — freemen
— could vote in Puritan New England and the rest of the colonies.
Since there was no secret ballot this restriction on the vote
was seen as democratic. It was believed that the freemen had
a natural desire to insure that the community was successful
since they owned property. Women were thought to be too easily
manipulated by their husbands and fathers, and non-property
holders by their employers.
Ordinarily, women married at 21 or 22 to men 4 or 5 years older.
The average family had 7 children, with one or two dying during
childhood. Fathers picked their daughters' spouses, subject
to her veto. About 30 percent of the women were pregnant when
they married. Perhaps the young women were defying their fathers,
or perhaps the mothers had prepared their daughters to assert
their will in the one major life decision they could control.
By the time of the American Revolution, land was scarce in
New England and many men left for the frontier (about 40 or
50 miles away), this led at an imbalance of women over men and
a growing company of permanent spinsters. With near certainty,
most single women labored and lived under someone else's roof
and spent much of her time doing what the label spinster implied
— spinning yarn in a tedious, endless round of days.
The American Revolution made little difference in the lives
and social position of New England women. Not until the early
decades of the 19th century did courtship and marriage change,
as young people came to exercise greater control over their
own destiny. Women now chose their own mates, subject to their
parents' veto, and not the other way around. They took their
chances in the marriage market, where "fallen" women
lost their value and where middle-class men, bent on establishing
careers, were in no hurry to wed. Hence, chastity came back
into fashion, and courtship lost its "sweets." By
1820 New England families were consciously practicing birth
control, limiting their families to a desired goal of four or
five children. In the process—indeed, perhaps as a deliberate
result—married women were liberated from wearying, foreshortened
lives of one pregnancy after another. Self-repression became
the means to the new freedom.
By 1733, with the founding of Georgia, all thirteen colonies
had be established in the British New World.
Environmental factors influencing European settlers:
The Indians: Dealing with an alien culture created a sense
of independence for the colonists from England. Cultural conflict
with the Indians created the need for a government that could
respond to this conflict swiftly and efficiently.
Space and Distance: The great space of the New World lead to
a ethic of not having to conserve raw materials. Distance from
Great Britain created self-reliance.
New England Colonies: Rocky soil, short growing season, good
harbors, nearest to Britain—all create an economy that had
small family farms, very few slaves, and most occupations in
trade, crafts, or manufacturing.
Middle Colonies: A mixed economy—the "bread basket"
of the colonies; good harbors (Philadelphia was the 2nd largest
city in the British Empire after London) create an economy that
was based on farming, trade and manufacturing.
The Southern Colonies: Because of the long growing season,
fertile soil, and abundant rainfall, staple crops (rice, indigo,
tobacco) grown on plantations using slave labor become important.
Little industry or nonfarm trade.
Learning Objective:
Understand why there was conflict between the Indians and the
Europeans.
Differences between European and Indian cultures:
Europeans:
Christians
had central governments
held land privately
economies based on trade
had advanced technology
Indians:
non-Christians
noncentral tribal governments
no concept of land ownership
subsistence economy
stone age culture
Cultural conflict existed between the Europeans and Indians
because of the following reasons: l) The Europeans demanded
that the Indians live under their laws; 2) the Europeans tried
to convert the Indians to Christianity; 3) The Europeans thought
that the Indians' culture was inferior to their own; 4) The
Europeans took the Indians' land; and, 5) The Europeans destroyed
Indian self-esteem through the use of alcohol.
The Indians had two choices: They could accept the Europeans'
culture. If they took this route they could have to give up
their culture and accept the Europeans; in other words, they
would have to become Europeans, not Indians. This choice would
have meant cultural extermination. The other choice the Indians
had was to fight for the preservation of their own culture —
most tribes chose to fight and the result was physical extermination.
Learning Objective:
Understand how a constitutional government developed in England
and how the development of this system effected colonial America.
Since Elizabeth did not produce an heir, in 1603 the Stuart
dynasty came to the English throne. The Tudor dynasty which
preceded the Stuart was generally popular. The first Stuart
king, James VI of Scotland, became James I of England (1603-1625)
uniting Scotland and England under one monarch. His son and
successor Charles I (1625-1649), soon became very unpopular.
the Stuarts tried to impose the doctrines and ritual of the
Anglican church on all the people, thereby alienating their
Puritan subjects. They also tried to rule without Parliament
but ran into difficulties, because Parliament controlled the
national purse.
In 1640 the Scots rose in rebellion against Charles's attempt
to impose the Anglican religion upon them. In order to get funds
to suppress the uprising, Charles was forced to call Parliament.
Parliament refused his requests for funds and made a number
of demands of their own—both sides refused to compromise, and
in 1642 fighting broke out between the royalist Cavaliers and
the Puritan Roundheads.
Charles was defeated by the Puritans in 1645 and executed in
1649. From 1649 until 1660 Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan followers
ruled England under the Protectorate. By 1660 the country was
weary of the restricted and austere life under the Puritans.
Accordingly, the Stuarts were placed back on the throne, and
they ruled until 1688.
The Restored Stuart kings, Charles II (1660-1685) and James
II (1658-1688) did not try and undo the reforms of the republic.
But they did try to revive personal rule. This effort, together
with their subservience to the French crown (they accepted bribes
from the French king), and their encouragement of Catholicism,
made them increasingly unpopular. After James had an heir that
would insure the continuation of his policies, he was overthrown
in the Glorious Revolution. The new Protestant ruler, William
of Orange, son-in-law of James II, accepted a Bill of Rights
which expressed the essential principles of parliamentary supremacy.
The bill provided that no law could be suspended by the king,
no taxes raised or army maintained except by Parliament's consent,
and no subject arrested and detained without due process of
law. By this action the supreme authority of Parliament over
the king was finally established.
This long English Civil War preoccupied Britain and during
this 48 year period the American colonies suffered a period
of "benign neglect." They developed the habit of looking
out for themselves without British interference. In addition,
they believed that they enjoyed the same "rights of Englishmen"
as the people back home. When Britain would try to reestablish
control over the colonies, they would object.
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Learning Objective:
Understand the social, economic, and political systems of the
North American English colonies. Understand how the development
of these systems caused conflict between the colonists and Britain.
American colonial government was based on the English model.
In 1619 the first legislature in the colonies, the Virginia
House of Burgesses, was organized. Although there were slight
variations between colonies, the general framework was the same.
The monarch appointed the colonial governor; the governor appointed
a council, generally made up of the wealthiest men in the colony.
The lower house was elected by the freemen of the colony. The
lower house had the power to tax and they used this power to
try and influence the governor's decisions. The governor would
often disband the lower house and try to rule without it. This
conflict foreshadowed the Revolution. It is also why many states
have kept the office of the governor weak even today.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the British
North American colonies were the most democratic places in the
world. Because of the high rate of illiteracy there was not
a secret ballot. To try to prevent some men from having undue
influence, the franchise was restricted to those men who were
theoretically independent and who had a stake in society—free,
white, males, 21 years of age or older, and property owners
(some colonies also had religious qualifications). Women could
not vote because it was thought that their husbands and fathers
would influence their vote; non-property owning men could not
vote because it was believed that their employers would sway
their vote. Also, the idea of deference tended to cause people
to defer to their "betters" when it came to political
decision-making.
Like all colonial powers, the British tried to ensure that
colonial trade benefited the metropolis. The Navigation Acts
of 1660 and 1696 were used by the British to enforce their mercantilist
theory of economics. These acts restricted American trade in
the following ways: l) All goods imported into or exported from
the colonies had to be shipped in British vessels; 2) only British
citizens could trade with the colonies; 3) major commodities
produced in the colonies—such as sugar, tobacco, and cotton
wool—could be exported only to British ports. Prior to 1763
internal British politics (the English Civil War and the Glorious
Revolution took place during this period), and British preoccupation
with European wars led to a lax enforcement of these acts. The
colonists often were able to avoid the provisions of these acts
through bribery and smuggling. By trading with non-British colonies
in the Caribbean, many colonial merchants and farmers prospered.
When Britain tried to enforce these acts after the French and
Indian War, the colonists objected.
American society was more open than British society. There
was not a nobility blocking one's upward mobility — in theory
at least, a person "earned" his way up. In addition,
unlike Britain, land was cheap and available. Because of these
factors, Europeans flocked to the colonies—it was the fastest
growing area of the world during the colonial period. In 1700
the population was 200,000, by 1763 it had increased to 1,600,000.
Immigrants came primarily from northern and western Europe.
By 1775 one-third of the colonists were non-English who had
little, if any, loyalty to the British crown. In addition, many
of the British colonists were immigrants and their descendants
who had either not been economically successful in Britain,
or who had run afoul of the British legal system (it has been
estimated that between one-half and two-thirds of the white
colonists who came to British America came as indentured servants).
By 1775, twenty percent, or 500,000, of the colonists were black.
Learning Objective:
Understand the impact the French & Indian War had on colonial
relations with Britain.
The eighteenth century was marked by a global struggle between
Britain and France for world-wide supremacy. The French controlled
Canada and the Mississippi basin. This control raised complications
since most of the colonial charters issued by the English crown
in the seventeenth century included clauses granting lands "from
sea to sea." When the English colonists began crossing
the Appalachian Mountains conflict resulted with the French.
Both France and England had islands in the Caribbean that the
other coveted. India also was the scene of sharp Anglo-French
conflicts, paralleling those in North America. With the disintegration
of the Mogul Empire in the eighteenth century there was no central
authority in India to stop the spread of French and English
influence.
The colonial and commercial rivalry between Britain and France
was fought out in a series of wars between 1689 and 1763. All
of these wars had two phases, one European and the other overseas.
The European phase revolved about dynastic ambitions, especially
those of Louis XIV of France and Frederick the Great of Prussia.
The overseas operations were fought over diverse issues—the
balance of power in India, conflicting territorial claims in
America, the terms of trade with the Spanish colonies, and control
of the world's trade routes. The first three wars (1689-1697,
1701-1713, and, 1743-1748) were not decisive overseas. In Europe,
Louis XIV was effectively stopped and Frederick the Great catapulted
Prussia into a world power. Through these conflicts, Britain
acquired Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and the Hudson Bay territories.
But these conquests did not settle the basic question of whether
the French would retain Canada and the Mississippi Valley, restricting
the English to the Atlantic seaboard.
The French & Indian War started in America in 1754 and
spread to Europe in 1756 where it was known as the Seven Years
War. The cause of the war was over which country would control
the trans-Appalachian region. In 1754 the British built a fort
at the junction of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers (present-day
Pittsburgh). The French promptly captured and enlarged the fort.
The following year the British General Braddock arrived in America
with a regular army and with orders to retake the fort. Braddock
refused to take the advice of his colonial officers (including
colonel George Washington) on how to wage frontier warfare,
and his forces were badly defeated and he was killed. The British
reverses continued through 1756.
In 1757 William Pitt (the Elder) entered the British cabinet
and turned the situation around. The British ally Frederick
of Prussia defeated the French on the continent. British navies
swept the French off the seas, while the American colonists
joined the British regulars to form a force of about 50,000
men. Quebec surrendered in 1759, and the fall of Montreal the
following year spelled the end of the French in America.
The British were also completely successful in India. British
naval superiority enabled them to transport troops, money, and
supplies from Europe while preventing France from doing likewise.
The war dragged on in Europe until 1763, when the belligerents
concluded the Peace of Paris.
The results of the war were: 1) France lost all of her territory
in North America; 2) Britain was saddled with a large war debt—its
national debt doubled during the war—the British expected the
colonists to pay their portion of this debt; 3) The colonies
no longer needed the British navy and army to protect them from
the French; 4) The ex-French territory in North America was
opened-up to British-American colonization; and, 5) The British
controlled India—India was the base that enabled Britain to
become the dominate power in Asia during the nineteenth century.
Learning Objective:
Understand the period 1763-1775.
Prior to 1763 the British colonial policy was one of benign
neglect, but the need for revenue after the Seven Years War
changed this policy. In 1764 the cost of governing the colonies
was £350,000 a year, while colonial trade brought at least
£2 million into Great Britain. Yet the Seven Years War
had created a war debt of £130 million. Higher taxes at
home were politically impossible. British landowners (and it
was British landowners who controlled Parliament) already paid
a tax of 20 percent and they refused to pay more. Prime Minister
George Grenville calculated that the average English taxpayer
paid an annual tax of 26 shillings, while a British subject
living in Massachusetts paid one shilling a year and the average
Virginian only 5 pence. Grenville reasoned that since the colonials
had gained the most from the French and Indian War they should
do their part in paying off the war debt.
Since Great Britain did not want to pay for any more Indian
wars, Parliament passed the Proclamation Act of 1763 which forbade
the colonists from moving west of the Appalachian Mountains.
The colonists had fought the French primarily to gain control
of the western lands and they were angered over Britain's restrictions.
In 1764 Britain passed the Sugar Act, the first of several
revenue measures passed to try to reduce Britain's war debts.
The tax on molasses (used to make rum, a valuable commodity
in the slave trade) prior to the 1764 act was 6 pence a pound.
American merchants felt that this tax was so high that they
were morally justified in ignoring it and paying a bribe of
a penny or two to customs agents. If they were arrested, they
could usually count on local juries to acquit them. The Sugar
Act struck at both of these problems. It reformed and enlarged
the customs service, it slashed the tax to 3 pence a pound,
and it set up a new system of courts they would try custom violators
without juries. The colonists protested by boycotting British
imports. Britain responded to colonial pressure by reducing
the tax in 1766 to a penny a barrel.
In 1765 Parliament passed the Stamp Act. The law required that
legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, playing cards and handbills
be taxed. A stamp was affixed to the taxed object to show that
the tax had been paid. This act cause an uproar in the colonies
because it directly effected colonial decision-makers — lawyers,
newspaper editors, and tavern keepers. Local "Sons of Liberty"
groups were formed to agitate against the act and to enforce
a boycott of British goods.
In October 1765, thirty-seven delegates from nine colonies
assembled in New York City in an attempt to deal with the Stamp
Act. The Stamp Act Congress was the first time that the colonists
met as a whole to protest Britain's actions. The legal question
involved in the taxing disputes was the following: did Parliament,
a legislative body to which the colonists elected no members,
had the right to impose taxes on the colonists? No, said the
colonists, custom and British common law indicated that only
their own elected colonial assemblies could do so (hence: "no
taxation without representation"). Nonsense, replied Members
of Parliament. Custom and usage asserted that the colonists
had virtual representation in Parliament (a MP represented every
British subject, not just the people in his district). Americans
did not push too hard to get actual representation in Parliament
because they realized that they would be outnumbered and they
would then have "taxation with representation." Parliament
repealed the Stamp Act in 1766 because of colonial pressure,
but at the same time it passed the Declatory Act which reaffirmed
Parliamentary supremacy.
In 1767, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Charles Townshend
imposed duties on paper, paint, lead, glass, and tea imported
into the colonies. Again, colonial objections and boycotts (trade
fell off by 50 percent) caused Parliament to back-down and the
Townshend Acts were repealed in 1770 except for a 3 pence tax
on tea. For the next three years no new taxes or duties were
imposed on the colonies and the English-Americans were loyal
subjects.
Even though relations were calm, large numbers of British soldiers
were stationed in the colonies and tension existed between them
and the colonists. On March 5, 1770, a Boston crowd began heckling
and throwing snowballs at a group of British soldiers. The soldiers
became rattled and fired into the crowd, killing five. The Boston
massacre motivated the colonists to form committees of correspondence
to keep each other informed about events in all the colonies.
In 1772 a group of colonists boarded the British customs vessel
the Gaspee after it had run aground, seriously wounding the
ship's captain in the process. They then burned the ship.
In 1773 Parliament granted the British East India Company a
monopoly on tea. This monopoly was not intended to be anti-American,
but rather, to help out the financially strapped East India
Company. This act allowed the East India Company to handle both
shipping and the sale of its tea (prior to the act the Company
sold its tea at public auction). This act would greatly lower
the price of the tea, but English and American traders like
John Hancock would be stripped of a great source of their revenue.
Throughout the colonies, men realized that other British companies
might adopt a similar approach.
The colonists responded to the tea monopoly with a tea boycott.
On December 16, 1773 about 150 Bostonians disguised as Indians
climbed aboard three British merchant ships loaded with tea
that had been waiting in Boston Harbor for the opportunity to
unload their cargo. In less than three hours 342 chests of tea
were thrown overboard. Britain retaliated in 1774 with the Coercive
Acts. The colonials called them the Intolerable Acts. These
acts: 1) closed the port of Boston until the destroyed tea was
paid for; 2) suspended self-government in Massachusetts; 3)
allowed trials of colonists to be moved to other colonies or
Britain; and, 4) allowed soldiers to be quartered in private
homes. Britain hoped that the Coercive Acts would isolate Massachusetts
and set an example. Instead, the Coercive Acts brought the colonies
closer together since every colony feared that they might be
the next colony to be singled out for punishment.
At the same time that it passed the Coercive Acts, Parliament
passed the Quebec Act, providing a governmental system for the
conquered French Canadians and drawing the boundaries of Quebec
to include all the territories north of the Ohio River. American
colonists denounced the act as another Intolerable Act that
blocked their western expansion for the benefit of the Catholic
French Canadians.
In response to the Intolerable Acts the First Continental Congress
met in September 1774. Congress agreed to a colonial wide boycott
of English goods. In response to the Boston Tea Party and the
Colonial boycott, Britain moved more soldiers to the colonies.
In April 1775, 700 soldiers of the British army moved out of
Boston to attempt to arrest the colonial leaders Samuel Adams
and John Hancock and to capture military supplies the colonials
had hidden in the towns of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.
The colonists called up their "Minute Men" to resist
the British. When the British arrived at Lexington seventy nervous
colonials were there to meet them. Someone fired a shot, several
volleys rang out and eight colonials were killed. After clearing
Lexington, the British marched to Concord, where a larger group
of Americans opened fire on them. Surprised and alarmed by the
extent of the resistance, the British retreated to Boston. All
the way back Minutemen sniped at the British. The British lost
73 dead, 174 wounded, and 26 missing. American losses were 49
dead and 39 wounded. Twenty percent of the British soldiers
were casualties. The War for Independence had begun.
Learning Objective:
Understand the Declaration of Independence.
In May 1775 the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia.
It would be the governing body of the Americans for the revolution.
The Battle of Bunker Hill in which 200 British soldiers had
died, and several other skirmishes, forced people to take sides.
Thomas Paine's pamphlet, Common Sense, published in January
1776, helped convince the fifty-five members of the Continental
Congress that it was time to declare independence. Paine argued
that it was foolish to risk everything for the purpose of British
approval. King George was a tyrant. Not only that, all kings
were evil. Paine argued that America was "the asylum for
the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty from every
part of Europe, and that whenever a war breaks out between England
and any foreign power, American trade went to ruin, because
of its connection with Britain." Paine concluded that "anything
short of independence is mere patchwork and it can afford no
lasting happiness." Within a few years, 500,000 copies
of Paine's pamphlet were sold.
On June 7, 1776 the Continental Congress began to debate the
resolution that "these United Colonies are, and of right
ought to be, free and independent states." On July 4, 1776
Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration,
written by Thomas Jefferson, was, in part, a propaganda document
directed toward three distinct audiences: the British government
& public; the colonists; and, potential European allies
in the fight against Britain. In the Declaration Jefferson justified
the American revolution by listing the wrongs of King George.
He blamed the king, not Parliament, in an attempt to win support
from the British people. Jefferson also hoped that the Declaration
would convince enemies of Britain, such as France, that the
ex-colonists were serious about the war and that it would be
in France's interest to support the Americans in their fight.
Finally, Jefferson hoped that the many colonials who were neutral
in the conflict would agree that, indeed, their "natural
rights" had been violated and that they should support
the revolution.
Most importantly, the Declaration of Independence proclaimed
the creed of the revolution. The Declaration states that government
gets its power from the people; that government is instituted
to protect its citizens' natural rights—life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness—and that if government violates these
natural rights, not only is it the peoples' right to change
the government: it is their duty to do so.
When the signers of the Declaration pledged their "lives,
their fortunes, and their sacred honor" to the cause of
independence they were taking a great risk. Had Britain won
the war the signers would have been punished severely, even
hanged. From the British government's point of view they were
traitors.
Learning Objective:
Understand the War for Independence, 1775-1783.
Many Americans (Tories or Loyalists) did not support the revolution.
Perhaps 50,000 Americans fought on the British side at one time
or another. After the war, as many as 100,000 Americans (1 in
30) left America for Canada or Britain.
During 1776 The British almost were able to win the war. The
rebel commander, George Washington (age 43 in 1775), was continually
on the run and he was only able to win a few victories. Yet
Washington held the rebel army together and did not allow it
to be defeated as an effective fighting force.
On October 12, 1777 the Americans were able to defeat the British
in the battle of Saratoga and capture 5,000 British soldiers.
With this battle New England was lost to the British. Most importantly,
this victory convinced the French that the Americans could indeed
win the war. France had already given the Americans large amounts
of aid and probably would have come into the war even without
the American victory. Ninety percent of the arms used by the
Americans at Saratoga were of French origin.
On December 17, 1777 France recognized the independence of
the United States and in February, 1778 America and France signed
a formal alliance with France declaring war on Britain. Holland
and Spain joined France. France assisted the United States because
it wanted to weaken Britain in Europe; France also hoped that
it would be able to regain some of the land that it had lost
in the French and Indian War. The Revolutionary War probably
would not have been won without French support. Spain joined
in to protect and regain territory in America, and Holland had
trade grievances with Britain.
The help of the French navy and of a French expeditionary force
of 6,000 men contributed substantially to the victories of George
Washington's forces. In September 1781, the French fleet stopped
general Cornwallis from being resupplied at Yorktown, Virginia
and he surrendered 8,000 men to the combined American-French
forces. Although there were a few nasty skirmishes after Yorktown,
mostly between Loyalists and Patriots, the main armies were
inactive, waiting for the results of the peace negations in
Paris. The Treaty of Paris was signed in January 1783 and officially
ended the war. There were about 4,000 American battle deaths
during the War for Independence.
Besides French assistance, the Americans won because they fought
on their home ground; they did not have to defeat Britain, they
just had to avoid being defeated themselves; the British government
lacked enthusiastic support for the war from the British people;
and, the British army and navy were not up to par at the beginning
of the war.
Learning Objective:
Understand the results of the War for Independence.
Under the provisions of the Treaty of Paris 1783 Britain recognized
the independence of the United States. In an effort to drive
a wedge between France and the United States, Britain gave the
United States all the British land north of Florida, south of
Canada, and east of the Mississippi River.
For all the costs of the war, France gained little. France
had given the Americans nearly $2 million and had loaned them
over $6 million. Spain, too, gained little, recovering the Floridas
from Britain (which they would lose to the U.S. in 1819), but
facing a dynamic new nation along the Mississippi. Although
many in Great Britain had predicted that the loss of the mainland
colonies would doom the empire and would end British wealth
and prosperity, Britain learned some lessons from the revolution
and was soon to build an even larger empire. The United States
was the main beneficiary. It obtained its independence and acquired
a domain in which to grow, its future expansion blocked only
by a weak Spanish power and Indians to the south and to the
west.
In some aspects the American Revolution was radical. It had
a profound impact in its time. The establishment of an independent
republic in the New World where "the people" were
sovereign was widely interpreted in Europe as meaning that the
ideas of the Enlightenment were practicable—that it was possible
for people to establish a state and a workable system of government
based on the rights of the individual. America became a symbol
of freedom and opportunity, envied as a new land, free from
the burdens of the past. In response to the revolutionary creed,
the states either reduced or eliminated property qualifications
to vote and hold office.
Yet, the American revolution was also a conservative revolution
in that unlike the forthcoming French and Russian revolutions,
those Americans who were in power prior to the revolution were
still in power after the revolution—American institutions remained
stable. Slavery was eliminated (often gradually) only in those
states where it had little economic and social impact. Northern
slave holders were often able to sell their slaves to Southerners.
Even when Northern masters freed their slaves they frequently
continued to employ them at little or no extra cost. In the
South, any chance for emancipation was killed by the desire
to keep one's property, and the fear that was generated by the
1793 San Domingo massacre of whites by ex-slaves,
In a fundamental way the American Revolution was fought to
keep the governmental system of "salutary neglect"
that existed prior to 1763. During the colonial period only
five percent of the laws passed by the colonial assemblies were
disallowed in Great Britain, and, while these often concerned
the most important subjects, the infrequency of the British
veto was enough to make it the exception. Taxation was light—much
less than in Britain itself. The colonists expected to run their
own affairs, and it was not until Britain tried to assert control
over the colonies after the French and Indian War that the movement
for independence began. With the French gone and the Indians
weakened, the need for British citizenship disappeared. The
Articles of Confederation reaffirmed a primary cause of the
revolution—Americans' desire for local control over their economic
and political destiny.
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Courtesy of George Burson, Aspen School District,
Aspen, Colorado.
