Chapter 06 - From Empire to Independence
The Seven Years’ War in America
KEY TOPICS
*The final struggle among Great Britain, France, and American Indian tribes for control of eastern
North America
*American nationalism in the aftermath of the French and Indian War
*Great Britain’s changing policy toward its North American colonies
*The political assumptions of American republicanism
*The colonies’ efforts to achieve unity in their confrontation with Great Britain
·
CHAPTER SUMMARY
AMERICAN COMMUNITIES: THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS SHAPES A NATIONAL POLITICAL COMMUNITY
In 1774, delegates from 12 colonies met in Philadelphia for the first meeting of the Continental Congress. The Congress nearly broke down over the issue of whether prayers would open the session. Over seven weeks of meetings and social gatherings, a community of national leaders emerged. In this fashion, Congress began the process of forging a national community. The vignette describes the difficulty – and the importance – of building such a community from America’s diverse local communities.
THE SEVEN YEARS’ WAR IN AMERICA
The Seven Years’ War was the final conflict between British and French forces in North America before the French Revolution. It decided the fate of territory between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River, and set in motion the conflict between colonists and Britain that would lead to the American Revolution.In 1754, delegates from the various colonies met in Albany in an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate an Iroquois alliance. The delegates at the Albany Conference adopted Benjamin Franklin’s Plan of Union, but the colonial assemblies they represented rejected it.The issue of expansion eventually led to war between Great Britain and France. The lack of unity seriously hindered the British colonies in their conflicts with the French and their Indian allies. Some Indians allied with the French, but many other tribes remained neutral, playing one European power off the other.
In 1756, fighting broke out in the upper Ohio backcountry when the French defeated two armies, first under George Washington and second under Edward Braddock. The British suffered major defeats during the first two years of what became known as the French and Indian War in North America, or the Seven Years’ War in Europe. The British expulsion of French-speaking Acadians led to the creation of the “Cajun” community in Louisiana.In an effort to take Canada, the British poured in money and men and settled old disputes with the Iroquois. By 1760 the fall of Montreal ended the French North American empire. Under the Treaty of Paris, France lost all its American mainland possessions. Its claims east of the Mississippi went to the British, except for New Orleans which was ceded to Spain; its claims west of the Mississippi went to Spain.
Indians in the Ohio Valley felt betrayed. Many became followers of Neolin (“The Delaware Prophet”), who urged purification and holy war. In 1763, a series of attacks throughout the backcountry ended in stalemate with the British. In an effort to maintain the peace, the English issued the Proclamation of 1763, which set aside the area west of the Appalachian Mountains for Indians. White settlers ignored the line and moved into the Ohio Valley. A series of conflicts and treaties with Indian tribes expanded British lands.
THE IMPERIAL CRISIS IN BRITISH NORTH AMERICA Britain’s success in the Seven
Years’ War blinded the empire to the sense of separate identity American colonists had started to develop.Conflicts between English and Americans grew during the Seven Years’ War. The war promoted nationalism and the idea of a wider American community, strengthening American identity. The conduct of the British army, and the cruelty employed by its officers, shocked colonists. Commercial links and improved roads brought colonies into closer contact with each other.Newspapers provided a means of widely communicating news of intercolonial affairs and expressing controversial opinions. Americans read the writings of radical Whigs who warned of a government conspiracy to quash liberty and institute tyranny. Only the constant vigilance of free people could protect liberty. Ideas collectively known as “republicanism” emerged that insisted that an independent people should control its own affairs. These ideas meshed well with the American colonial experience of property ownership, representative assemblies, and the struggle with royal authority.
The British need for additional revenue tested American unity. The high cost of maintaining troops along the Proclamation Line and the expense of servicing the large debt accumulated in the Seven Years’ War led the British to pass new colonial taxes. The Sugar Act tightened enforcement of customs regulations. Opponents called for a boycott of British goods, an idea which spread throughout the port cities. In early 1765 the British passed the Stamp Act, requiring tax stamps to be purchase for many items.Americans protested not only the expense but the constitutional implications. The British claimed that Parliament represented all citizens of the empire through “virtual representation.” Americans asserted that only their own legislatures could levy taxes. Nine colonies issued denunciations of the act, declaring “no taxation without representation.” In Massachusetts, opposition was led by upper- and middle-class men who successfully mobilized working-class Bostonians. What was intended as a peaceful protest rally turned into a violent attack on those associated with the tax. Mobs successfully intimidated officials from selling the stamps. Nine colonies met at the Stamp Act Congress, passing resolutions against Parliament’s right to tax the colonies.A boycott of British goods led to the Act’s repeal amid assertions of Parliamentary supremacy.
“SAVE YOUR MONEY AND SAVE YOUR COUNTRY”
Opposition to the Stamp Act was more urban than rural, and varied with profession. But the next round of British duties on imports sparked wider opposition among the colonists.In 1767, Parliament passed the Townshend duties, a new set of external taxes collected on goods before they entered colonial markets, and inaugurated stricter enforcement policies. Americans reasserted their opposition to all taxation without representation. But Americans remained loyal.Led by Bostonians, Americans in port cities revived their nonimportation agreements. Artisans took to the streets to enforce them. Nonimportation appealed to values of self-sufficiency and independence and brought rural people into the community of resistance. Colonial imports from Britain declined by 41 percent.
In 1768, the Massachusetts House of Representatives sent out a circular letter denouncing the Townshend Acts. British officials demanded its repeal, and the governor of Massachusetts shut down the Assembly. Threats of violence against royal officials led the British to station troops in Boston.Periodic incidents between soldiers and citizens escalated until 1770 when soldiers fired into a crowd, killing seven. News of the “Boston Massacre” helped galvanize public opinion against the British. The news of the repeal of the Townshend Acts lessened American resistance.
FROM RESISTANCE TO REBELLION
In 1773, the British Parliament’s Tea Act pushed American colonists over the edge, from resistance to rebellion.In response to British encroachments on American rights and customs, Americans created committees of correspondence to communicate with other communities. Actions in Massachusetts confirmed colonial fears of British plans for stricter control of the colonies.The 1773 Tea Act prompted mobs in Philadelphia and New York to intimidate tea importers. On Dec. 17, 1773, Bostonians dumped a shipload of tea into the harbor; soon, tea was destroyed in other cities, as well.
Britain punished Bostonians by passing the Intolerable Acts (the Coercive Acts) that ended the community’s self-rule. Troops could be quartered in private homes. At the same time, the Quebec Act established a highly centralized government for Quebec and toleration for Catholics. This seemed a preview of what was in store for Americans.In September 1774, delegates arrived in Philadelphia for the first meeting of the Continental Congress. Rather than overt attacks on British authority, Congress endorsed a policy of boycotts against British goods. It called for democratically elected local committees to enforce these policies.In Massachusetts local communities had organized minuteman to defend communities. When on the evening of April 18, 1775, the British left Boston to capture American ammunition in Concord, they triggered a firefight with local minutemen. The battles of Lexington and Concord ignited the American Revolution.
DECIDING FOR INDEPENDENCE
On the heels of events Massachusetts, militias mobilized throughout the colonies, and delegates from twelve colonies met in Philadelphia.
In May 1775, the Continental Congress met again. Within months, Georgia joined the Congress. Congress organized an army, commanded by George Washington. It issued $2 million in bills of credit. John Adams and Benjamin Franklin also played important roles.The Congress reached out to other British colonies, including Canada and the Caribbean islands, and to Spain, for support. Results varied.An unsuccessful effort to take Canada ended in the spring of 1776. By March the British had been forced out of Boston. British efforts in the South had also failed.Hopes for reconciliation waned. In a brilliant pamphlet, Thomas Paine helped cut Americans’ emotional ties to Britain and the King.
By July 1776, Congress was ready to take the final step. It approved Thomas Jefferson’s revised draft of the Declaration of Independence with no dissenting votes (New York abstained). Men of wealth and position committed treason against the government of England by signing a document that pledged them to the principle of equality.
CONCLUSION
Americans forged a distinctively “American” identity that enabled them to strike out
for independence.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. In what ways did the Seven Years’ War lay the groundwork for the American Revolution? Why was it so important for New Englanders and Westerners that the French threat in Canada and the frontier be removed?
2. How did Americans perceive British actions? Why were they convinced that the British were engaged in a conspiracy to deprive them of their liberties?
3. Why did the British start taxing Americans? Why did they believe their actions were legitimate?
4. What kinds of steps did Americans take to resist British authority? Why did they take those kinds of steps?
5. Why was it so difficult to build a unified response across the various colonies?
6. Why did it take Americans so long to push for independence? Why did they finally take that step?
VOCABULARY
Intolerable Acts
French and Indian War
Treaty of Paris
Sugar Act
Stamp Act
Declaratory Act
Nonimportation movement
Townshend Revenue Acts
Quebec Act
Declaration of Independence
First Continental Congress
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What were the most important weaknesses of the British Empire in North America at the outset of the Seven Years’ War
2. What factors led to the growth of American nationalism in the 1760s?
3. How did political and economic problems in Britiain contribute to unrest in the colonies?
4. What steps did Britain take to punish Massachusets for the colonists’ acts of resistance?
5. Who made up the first Continental Congress and why was it formed?
The Seven Years’ War in America
KEY TOPICS
*The final struggle among Great Britain, France, and American Indian tribes for control of eastern
North America
*American nationalism in the aftermath of the French and Indian War
*Great Britain’s changing policy toward its North American colonies
*The political assumptions of American republicanism
*The colonies’ efforts to achieve unity in their confrontation with Great Britain
·
CHAPTER SUMMARY
AMERICAN COMMUNITIES: THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS SHAPES A NATIONAL POLITICAL COMMUNITY
In 1774, delegates from 12 colonies met in Philadelphia for the first meeting of the Continental Congress. The Congress nearly broke down over the issue of whether prayers would open the session. Over seven weeks of meetings and social gatherings, a community of national leaders emerged. In this fashion, Congress began the process of forging a national community. The vignette describes the difficulty – and the importance – of building such a community from America’s diverse local communities.
THE SEVEN YEARS’ WAR IN AMERICA
The Seven Years’ War was the final conflict between British and French forces in North America before the French Revolution. It decided the fate of territory between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River, and set in motion the conflict between colonists and Britain that would lead to the American Revolution.In 1754, delegates from the various colonies met in Albany in an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate an Iroquois alliance. The delegates at the Albany Conference adopted Benjamin Franklin’s Plan of Union, but the colonial assemblies they represented rejected it.The issue of expansion eventually led to war between Great Britain and France. The lack of unity seriously hindered the British colonies in their conflicts with the French and their Indian allies. Some Indians allied with the French, but many other tribes remained neutral, playing one European power off the other.
In 1756, fighting broke out in the upper Ohio backcountry when the French defeated two armies, first under George Washington and second under Edward Braddock. The British suffered major defeats during the first two years of what became known as the French and Indian War in North America, or the Seven Years’ War in Europe. The British expulsion of French-speaking Acadians led to the creation of the “Cajun” community in Louisiana.In an effort to take Canada, the British poured in money and men and settled old disputes with the Iroquois. By 1760 the fall of Montreal ended the French North American empire. Under the Treaty of Paris, France lost all its American mainland possessions. Its claims east of the Mississippi went to the British, except for New Orleans which was ceded to Spain; its claims west of the Mississippi went to Spain.
Indians in the Ohio Valley felt betrayed. Many became followers of Neolin (“The Delaware Prophet”), who urged purification and holy war. In 1763, a series of attacks throughout the backcountry ended in stalemate with the British. In an effort to maintain the peace, the English issued the Proclamation of 1763, which set aside the area west of the Appalachian Mountains for Indians. White settlers ignored the line and moved into the Ohio Valley. A series of conflicts and treaties with Indian tribes expanded British lands.
THE IMPERIAL CRISIS IN BRITISH NORTH AMERICA Britain’s success in the Seven
Years’ War blinded the empire to the sense of separate identity American colonists had started to develop.Conflicts between English and Americans grew during the Seven Years’ War. The war promoted nationalism and the idea of a wider American community, strengthening American identity. The conduct of the British army, and the cruelty employed by its officers, shocked colonists. Commercial links and improved roads brought colonies into closer contact with each other.Newspapers provided a means of widely communicating news of intercolonial affairs and expressing controversial opinions. Americans read the writings of radical Whigs who warned of a government conspiracy to quash liberty and institute tyranny. Only the constant vigilance of free people could protect liberty. Ideas collectively known as “republicanism” emerged that insisted that an independent people should control its own affairs. These ideas meshed well with the American colonial experience of property ownership, representative assemblies, and the struggle with royal authority.
The British need for additional revenue tested American unity. The high cost of maintaining troops along the Proclamation Line and the expense of servicing the large debt accumulated in the Seven Years’ War led the British to pass new colonial taxes. The Sugar Act tightened enforcement of customs regulations. Opponents called for a boycott of British goods, an idea which spread throughout the port cities. In early 1765 the British passed the Stamp Act, requiring tax stamps to be purchase for many items.Americans protested not only the expense but the constitutional implications. The British claimed that Parliament represented all citizens of the empire through “virtual representation.” Americans asserted that only their own legislatures could levy taxes. Nine colonies issued denunciations of the act, declaring “no taxation without representation.” In Massachusetts, opposition was led by upper- and middle-class men who successfully mobilized working-class Bostonians. What was intended as a peaceful protest rally turned into a violent attack on those associated with the tax. Mobs successfully intimidated officials from selling the stamps. Nine colonies met at the Stamp Act Congress, passing resolutions against Parliament’s right to tax the colonies.A boycott of British goods led to the Act’s repeal amid assertions of Parliamentary supremacy.
“SAVE YOUR MONEY AND SAVE YOUR COUNTRY”
Opposition to the Stamp Act was more urban than rural, and varied with profession. But the next round of British duties on imports sparked wider opposition among the colonists.In 1767, Parliament passed the Townshend duties, a new set of external taxes collected on goods before they entered colonial markets, and inaugurated stricter enforcement policies. Americans reasserted their opposition to all taxation without representation. But Americans remained loyal.Led by Bostonians, Americans in port cities revived their nonimportation agreements. Artisans took to the streets to enforce them. Nonimportation appealed to values of self-sufficiency and independence and brought rural people into the community of resistance. Colonial imports from Britain declined by 41 percent.
In 1768, the Massachusetts House of Representatives sent out a circular letter denouncing the Townshend Acts. British officials demanded its repeal, and the governor of Massachusetts shut down the Assembly. Threats of violence against royal officials led the British to station troops in Boston.Periodic incidents between soldiers and citizens escalated until 1770 when soldiers fired into a crowd, killing seven. News of the “Boston Massacre” helped galvanize public opinion against the British. The news of the repeal of the Townshend Acts lessened American resistance.
FROM RESISTANCE TO REBELLION
In 1773, the British Parliament’s Tea Act pushed American colonists over the edge, from resistance to rebellion.In response to British encroachments on American rights and customs, Americans created committees of correspondence to communicate with other communities. Actions in Massachusetts confirmed colonial fears of British plans for stricter control of the colonies.The 1773 Tea Act prompted mobs in Philadelphia and New York to intimidate tea importers. On Dec. 17, 1773, Bostonians dumped a shipload of tea into the harbor; soon, tea was destroyed in other cities, as well.
Britain punished Bostonians by passing the Intolerable Acts (the Coercive Acts) that ended the community’s self-rule. Troops could be quartered in private homes. At the same time, the Quebec Act established a highly centralized government for Quebec and toleration for Catholics. This seemed a preview of what was in store for Americans.In September 1774, delegates arrived in Philadelphia for the first meeting of the Continental Congress. Rather than overt attacks on British authority, Congress endorsed a policy of boycotts against British goods. It called for democratically elected local committees to enforce these policies.In Massachusetts local communities had organized minuteman to defend communities. When on the evening of April 18, 1775, the British left Boston to capture American ammunition in Concord, they triggered a firefight with local minutemen. The battles of Lexington and Concord ignited the American Revolution.
DECIDING FOR INDEPENDENCE
On the heels of events Massachusetts, militias mobilized throughout the colonies, and delegates from twelve colonies met in Philadelphia.
In May 1775, the Continental Congress met again. Within months, Georgia joined the Congress. Congress organized an army, commanded by George Washington. It issued $2 million in bills of credit. John Adams and Benjamin Franklin also played important roles.The Congress reached out to other British colonies, including Canada and the Caribbean islands, and to Spain, for support. Results varied.An unsuccessful effort to take Canada ended in the spring of 1776. By March the British had been forced out of Boston. British efforts in the South had also failed.Hopes for reconciliation waned. In a brilliant pamphlet, Thomas Paine helped cut Americans’ emotional ties to Britain and the King.
By July 1776, Congress was ready to take the final step. It approved Thomas Jefferson’s revised draft of the Declaration of Independence with no dissenting votes (New York abstained). Men of wealth and position committed treason against the government of England by signing a document that pledged them to the principle of equality.
CONCLUSION
Americans forged a distinctively “American” identity that enabled them to strike out
for independence.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. In what ways did the Seven Years’ War lay the groundwork for the American Revolution? Why was it so important for New Englanders and Westerners that the French threat in Canada and the frontier be removed?
2. How did Americans perceive British actions? Why were they convinced that the British were engaged in a conspiracy to deprive them of their liberties?
3. Why did the British start taxing Americans? Why did they believe their actions were legitimate?
4. What kinds of steps did Americans take to resist British authority? Why did they take those kinds of steps?
5. Why was it so difficult to build a unified response across the various colonies?
6. Why did it take Americans so long to push for independence? Why did they finally take that step?
VOCABULARY
Intolerable Acts
French and Indian War
Treaty of Paris
Sugar Act
Stamp Act
Declaratory Act
Nonimportation movement
Townshend Revenue Acts
Quebec Act
Declaration of Independence
First Continental Congress
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What were the most important weaknesses of the British Empire in North America at the outset of the Seven Years’ War
2. What factors led to the growth of American nationalism in the 1760s?
3. How did political and economic problems in Britiain contribute to unrest in the colonies?
4. What steps did Britain take to punish Massachusets for the colonists’ acts of resistance?
5. Who made up the first Continental Congress and why was it formed?
Chapter 7
KEY TOPICS
*The major alignments and divisions among Americans during the American Revolution
*Major military campaigns of the Revolution
*The Articles of Confederation and the role of the Confederation Congress during the Revolutionary War
*The states as the setting for significant political change
CHAPTER SUMMARY
AMERICAN COMMUNITIES: A NATIONAL COMMUNITY EVOLVES AT VALLEY FORGE
Around 11,000 men (including 1,000 African Americans) gathered in Valley Forge, drawn from all parts of the country. Also, 700 women were present. Amid the suffering from wintry weather and want fostered by greed, men from hundreds of localities found a common identity and created a “band of brotherhood” among themselves. Leaving Valley Forge six months later, Washington commanded a much stronger and united army. The vignette illustrates how the struggle helped to create a national community that served as a popular democratic force, counterbalancing the conservatism of America’s elite leadership.
THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE
British military might was not enough to defeat Americans, whose cause had wide popular support.The British assumed the colonial rebellion was the work of a small group of disgruntled conspirators. In fact, resistance was widespread and geography stymied British strategy. Although white American males preferred to serve in local militia companies, victory required a disciplined force able to stand up to the brutal assaults of the professionally trained British adversaries. Regiments of the Continental Army suffered casualty rates as high as 40%. Both Continentals and militias played political roles, pressuring Congress when shortages of food and pay erupted. As men marched off to war, women remained at home
and ran the family farms and businesses. Many women eventually left homes to join their men and even on rare occasions joined them on the battlefields.About one-fifth of the population remained loyal to the Crown, including African Americans, Indians, ethnic or religious minorities, and tenant farmers. Patriots cracked down on Loyalists, but as many as 50,000 fought for the king and 80,000 fled the country.British plans for 1776 called for attacks through New York and from Canada that would divide New England from the rest of the colonies. The British drove Washington out of New York City and pursued him as he fled into New Jersey. Washington’s Christmas Eve victory at Trenton salvaged morale, but he realized that he would have to avoid confrontations and pursue a defensive strategy to ensure survival of the Continental Army.
In 1777 the British tried again to move inland and north through New York. Another large British force moved south from Canada, but Patriot militias harassed and then surrounded the British forces, forcing their surrender to the larger Continental army at Saratoga. American forces in Pennsylvania were less successful; they were forced to retreat into Valley Forge. Still, while the Americans could not defeat the British, neither could the British force the Americans to stop fighting.The victory at Saratoga led to an alliance with France. Spain joined the war one year later, though without a formal American alliance. French entry into the colonial conflict forced the British to withdraw troops from the mainland to protect their Caribbean colonies.Although many Indians preferred a policy of neutrality, their fears of American expansion led many to side with Britain. In the West, Ohio Indians allied with the British and attacked American settlements. George Rogers Clark countered by capturing several British posts.By the late 1770s the British had shifted their focus to the South. Virginia’s royal governor Lord Dunmore emancipated all slaves and indentured servants who fought for the crown. He was defeated nonetheless. Capturing Charleston in 1780, the British attempted to gain control over the rural South by implementing a policy of pacification. But their plundering produced angry support for the Patriots.
Violence between Loyalists and Patriots also created unrest.General Nathaniel Greene harassed British forces and drew them out of their base. They were forced to march northward where Washington’s army trapped them along the Virginia coast at Yorktown. There Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781. Although the British still controlled New York, support for the war collapsed in London. The war was over.
THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED
The Articles of Confederation created a loose union of autonomous states and granted limited central power to Congress, reserving powers such as taxation to the states. Maryland held up ratification for three years until states with western land claims ceded them to the national government.Though benefiting from foreign subsidies, Congress financed the revolution mainly by issuing $200 million in paper currency, which when added to the $200 million issued by states led to runaway inflation. Secretary of Finance, Robert Morris, was able to meet interest payments on the debt only after founding the first private commercial bank in the United States, and issuing new currency.Peace negotiations began in 1782 and resulted in a series of separate treaties between Great Britain and the United States, France, and Spain. The United States gained independence, the promise of the withdrawal of British troops, land to the Mississippi River, and fishing rights.Peace brought new problems. Congress had neither paid the soldiers nor delivered the officers their promised pensions. General Washington defused the situation; Congress paid bonuses to both officers and soldiers, and Washington resigned.Western land settlement raised new issues. Tens of thousands of Americans were rushing into the newly acquired Ohio River Valley. British and Spanish governments plotted to strengthen their territorial holdings. Three land ordinances provided for organizing the land for settlement, self-government and eventual statehood. Subsequent ordinances provided for the orderly division of land into townships, and regular land sales.
REVOLUTIONARY POLITICS IN THE STATES
Most Americans focused their political attention on their states. Most states had greatly expanded the electorate. Since independence made the Tory political stance irrelevant, there was a shift to the left in politics. Many Americans accepted a new democratic ideology that asserted that governments should directly reflect popular wishes. Conservatives argued for balanced government, fearing majority tyranny could lead to a violation of property rights.The new state constitutions were shaped by the debates between radicals and conservatives. State constitutions fell in a range between liberal Pennsylvania and conservative Maryland.The Virginia Declaration of Rights became a model followed by other states, and proved a precursor to the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights.The Revolution led to increased opportunities for women, though there were few legal sanctions for gender equality. Led by Thomas Jefferson, states abolished aristocratic inheritance customs like entail and primogeniture, and established religious freedom.The American victory elicited little celebration from African Americans. More than 50,000 African American refugees emigrated from the South at the end of the war. Many whites recognized the contradiction between a revolution for liberty and the continued support for slavery. Northern states began to abolish slavery; the Upper South relaxed its bans on emancipation. The result was the emergence of a free African American community with racially defined churches, schools and other institutions. Several prominent Africa American writers also emerged.
CONCLUSION
Americans sought to resolve their conflicts by building a strong, new national community, but important questions remained unanswered about the nation’s future.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How did the experience at Valley Forge affect the men under Washington’s command? What would have happened if they hadn’t undergone such a harsh experience?
2. How did the British view of the war change over time? Why did they initially conceive of it as a police action? Why did that view change?
3. Who were the Loyalists and why did they not support the Revolution? How did the British use them? How did the Patriots misuse them? Were the Patriots justified in using harsh measures against their fellow citizens just because they disagreed with them?
4. Why was the Revolution so different in different parts of the country? What was the war like in New England, Middle Colonies, South, etc.?
5. How did the Revolution shape the lives of ordinary people, including women, blacks, and Indians?
6. Was the Revolution a radical movement that brought the dispossessed into power, or was it a moderate effort that did not seriously challenge the status quo?
Vocabulary
Articles of Confederation
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
Land Ordinance of 1785
Bill of Rights
Constitutional Convention
Shays’ Rebellion
Nationalists
Patriots
Loyalists
Continental Congress
Manumissions
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What strategies and tactics did American forces employ in the war for independence?
2. What concerns were reflected in the terms of the Articles of Confederation?
3. How did political debate in America change in the years after 1774?
KEY TOPICS
*The major alignments and divisions among Americans during the American Revolution
*Major military campaigns of the Revolution
*The Articles of Confederation and the role of the Confederation Congress during the Revolutionary War
*The states as the setting for significant political change
CHAPTER SUMMARY
AMERICAN COMMUNITIES: A NATIONAL COMMUNITY EVOLVES AT VALLEY FORGE
Around 11,000 men (including 1,000 African Americans) gathered in Valley Forge, drawn from all parts of the country. Also, 700 women were present. Amid the suffering from wintry weather and want fostered by greed, men from hundreds of localities found a common identity and created a “band of brotherhood” among themselves. Leaving Valley Forge six months later, Washington commanded a much stronger and united army. The vignette illustrates how the struggle helped to create a national community that served as a popular democratic force, counterbalancing the conservatism of America’s elite leadership.
THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE
British military might was not enough to defeat Americans, whose cause had wide popular support.The British assumed the colonial rebellion was the work of a small group of disgruntled conspirators. In fact, resistance was widespread and geography stymied British strategy. Although white American males preferred to serve in local militia companies, victory required a disciplined force able to stand up to the brutal assaults of the professionally trained British adversaries. Regiments of the Continental Army suffered casualty rates as high as 40%. Both Continentals and militias played political roles, pressuring Congress when shortages of food and pay erupted. As men marched off to war, women remained at home
and ran the family farms and businesses. Many women eventually left homes to join their men and even on rare occasions joined them on the battlefields.About one-fifth of the population remained loyal to the Crown, including African Americans, Indians, ethnic or religious minorities, and tenant farmers. Patriots cracked down on Loyalists, but as many as 50,000 fought for the king and 80,000 fled the country.British plans for 1776 called for attacks through New York and from Canada that would divide New England from the rest of the colonies. The British drove Washington out of New York City and pursued him as he fled into New Jersey. Washington’s Christmas Eve victory at Trenton salvaged morale, but he realized that he would have to avoid confrontations and pursue a defensive strategy to ensure survival of the Continental Army.
In 1777 the British tried again to move inland and north through New York. Another large British force moved south from Canada, but Patriot militias harassed and then surrounded the British forces, forcing their surrender to the larger Continental army at Saratoga. American forces in Pennsylvania were less successful; they were forced to retreat into Valley Forge. Still, while the Americans could not defeat the British, neither could the British force the Americans to stop fighting.The victory at Saratoga led to an alliance with France. Spain joined the war one year later, though without a formal American alliance. French entry into the colonial conflict forced the British to withdraw troops from the mainland to protect their Caribbean colonies.Although many Indians preferred a policy of neutrality, their fears of American expansion led many to side with Britain. In the West, Ohio Indians allied with the British and attacked American settlements. George Rogers Clark countered by capturing several British posts.By the late 1770s the British had shifted their focus to the South. Virginia’s royal governor Lord Dunmore emancipated all slaves and indentured servants who fought for the crown. He was defeated nonetheless. Capturing Charleston in 1780, the British attempted to gain control over the rural South by implementing a policy of pacification. But their plundering produced angry support for the Patriots.
Violence between Loyalists and Patriots also created unrest.General Nathaniel Greene harassed British forces and drew them out of their base. They were forced to march northward where Washington’s army trapped them along the Virginia coast at Yorktown. There Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781. Although the British still controlled New York, support for the war collapsed in London. The war was over.
THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED
The Articles of Confederation created a loose union of autonomous states and granted limited central power to Congress, reserving powers such as taxation to the states. Maryland held up ratification for three years until states with western land claims ceded them to the national government.Though benefiting from foreign subsidies, Congress financed the revolution mainly by issuing $200 million in paper currency, which when added to the $200 million issued by states led to runaway inflation. Secretary of Finance, Robert Morris, was able to meet interest payments on the debt only after founding the first private commercial bank in the United States, and issuing new currency.Peace negotiations began in 1782 and resulted in a series of separate treaties between Great Britain and the United States, France, and Spain. The United States gained independence, the promise of the withdrawal of British troops, land to the Mississippi River, and fishing rights.Peace brought new problems. Congress had neither paid the soldiers nor delivered the officers their promised pensions. General Washington defused the situation; Congress paid bonuses to both officers and soldiers, and Washington resigned.Western land settlement raised new issues. Tens of thousands of Americans were rushing into the newly acquired Ohio River Valley. British and Spanish governments plotted to strengthen their territorial holdings. Three land ordinances provided for organizing the land for settlement, self-government and eventual statehood. Subsequent ordinances provided for the orderly division of land into townships, and regular land sales.
REVOLUTIONARY POLITICS IN THE STATES
Most Americans focused their political attention on their states. Most states had greatly expanded the electorate. Since independence made the Tory political stance irrelevant, there was a shift to the left in politics. Many Americans accepted a new democratic ideology that asserted that governments should directly reflect popular wishes. Conservatives argued for balanced government, fearing majority tyranny could lead to a violation of property rights.The new state constitutions were shaped by the debates between radicals and conservatives. State constitutions fell in a range between liberal Pennsylvania and conservative Maryland.The Virginia Declaration of Rights became a model followed by other states, and proved a precursor to the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights.The Revolution led to increased opportunities for women, though there were few legal sanctions for gender equality. Led by Thomas Jefferson, states abolished aristocratic inheritance customs like entail and primogeniture, and established religious freedom.The American victory elicited little celebration from African Americans. More than 50,000 African American refugees emigrated from the South at the end of the war. Many whites recognized the contradiction between a revolution for liberty and the continued support for slavery. Northern states began to abolish slavery; the Upper South relaxed its bans on emancipation. The result was the emergence of a free African American community with racially defined churches, schools and other institutions. Several prominent Africa American writers also emerged.
CONCLUSION
Americans sought to resolve their conflicts by building a strong, new national community, but important questions remained unanswered about the nation’s future.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How did the experience at Valley Forge affect the men under Washington’s command? What would have happened if they hadn’t undergone such a harsh experience?
2. How did the British view of the war change over time? Why did they initially conceive of it as a police action? Why did that view change?
3. Who were the Loyalists and why did they not support the Revolution? How did the British use them? How did the Patriots misuse them? Were the Patriots justified in using harsh measures against their fellow citizens just because they disagreed with them?
4. Why was the Revolution so different in different parts of the country? What was the war like in New England, Middle Colonies, South, etc.?
5. How did the Revolution shape the lives of ordinary people, including women, blacks, and Indians?
6. Was the Revolution a radical movement that brought the dispossessed into power, or was it a moderate effort that did not seriously challenge the status quo?
Vocabulary
Articles of Confederation
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
Land Ordinance of 1785
Bill of Rights
Constitutional Convention
Shays’ Rebellion
Nationalists
Patriots
Loyalists
Continental Congress
Manumissions
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What strategies and tactics did American forces employ in the war for independence?
2. What concerns were reflected in the terms of the Articles of Confederation?
3. How did political debate in America change in the years after 1774?