Transcript The Road to Revolution

Ch. 8 – The American Revolution
• Ideas Behind the Revolution
• Initially most Americans did not
desire independence; proud to
be British citizens.
– Reasons for shift of loyalty:
• Hiring of Hessians
• Governor of Virginia
promised freedom to slaves
who would fight for Britain.
– Impact: persuaded many
southern elite to join New
England in the war effort.
The American Revolution
• Ideas Behind the Revolution
• Thomas Paine – wrote Common Sense
(published 1776)
– Became an instant best-seller in colonies; effective
propaganda
• Main ideas:
– Britain's colonial policies were inconsistent;
independence was the only course
– Nowhere in the physical universe did a smaller
heavenly body control a larger one. Why should
tiny England control huge North America?
– King was nothing more than the "Royal Brute of
Great Britain."
– America had a sacred mission; moral obligation to
the world to set up an independent, democratic
republic, untainted by association with corrupt
monarchical Britain.
• Persuaded Congress to go all the way for
independence
– Could not hope for aid from France unless they
declared independence.
The American Revolution
• Declaration of Independence, 1776
• June 7, 1776, Philadelphia Congress, Richard Henry
Lee proposed independence.
– "These United Colonies are, and of right ought to
be, free and independent states..."
– Yet, formal explanation was needed to rally
resistance at home and invite foreign nations to
aid the American cause, especially France.
• Congress appointed Committee on Independence to
prepare an appropriate statement shortly after Lee's
speech.
– Task given to a committee that chose Thomas
Jefferson as primary author.
– Other members: Ben Franklin, John Adams,
Roger Sherman, & Robert Livingston
– Jefferson included section condemning England
for continuing the slave trade despite colonial
wishes (despite his owning slaves).
– Yet, southerners in particular still favored slavery
and dismissed the clause.
The American Revolution
• Declaration of Independence formally
approved on July 4, 1776
– DOI had three major parts:
– Preamble (heavily influenced by John Locke –
English philosopher)
• Stated the rights of colonists to break away if
natural rights were violated: life, liberty, and
pursuit of happiness (property)
– List of 27 grievances of the colonies (seen by
Congress as most important part)
• Charged King with imposing taxes w/o
colonials' consent, eliminating trial by jury,
military dictatorship, maintaining standing
armies in peacetime, cutting off trade, burning
towns, hiring mercenaries, & inciting Indian
violence.
– Formal declaration of independence
• Officially broke ties with England
• "United States" officially an independent
country
• Result: Foreign aid could now be successfully
solicited
The American Revolution
• Loyalists ("Tories") = about 1/3 of
American people
• Colonists who fought for return to
colonial rule; loyal to the king.
– Usually conservative: educated and wealthy;
fearful of “mob rule.”
– Included the older generation; younger
generation was more revolutionary
– Included king's officers and other
beneficiaries of the crown
– Included the Anglican clergy and a large
portion of their followers; most numerous of
the loyalists (except in Virginia)
– Influential in aristocratic NY, Charleston, PA,
and NJ.
– Least numerous in New England
– Ineffective at gaining allegiance of neutral
colonists
The American Revolution
• Patriots = 1/3 of Americans
• American rebels who fought both
British soldiers and loyalists.
– Sometimes called “Whigs" (named after
British opposition party)
– Most numerous in New England
– Constituted a minority movement
– More adept at gaining support from
colonials
– Financing: Robert Morris, “the financier
of the Revolution” helped
Congress finance the war
– About 80,000 Loyalists fled the colonies.
• Loyalists regarded by Patriots as
traitors
• Their estates were confiscated and
sold; these funds helped finance the
war
The American Revolution
• Battle of Saratoga (1777)
– Most important battle of the
Revolution
– Americans defeated major section of
British army at Saratoga, NY in October
1777.
– France had secretly aided Patriots
since 1776. Saratoga victory by
Patriots bolstered France’s belief that
Americans could win the war. As a
result, France signed alliance w/
Americans and openly joined their fight.
– France sent troops, navy ships and
military leaders like Marquis de
Lafayette to lead French forces in
Virginia during last years of war.
– Ben Franklin traveled to France during
war & helped convince French leaders
to aid Americans!
The American Revolution
Count de Rochambeau
Admiral
De Grasse
• Battle of Yorktown: last major battle of the war
– French Admiral De Grasse, head of powerful fleet in W. Indies,
blockaded Chesapeake Bay; British ships unable to enter.
– Washington made 300 mile march to Chesapeake Bay from NY.
– Accompanied by Rochambeau's French army, Washington attacked
British by land while de Grasse blockaded them by sea.
– Oct. 19, 1781, General Cornwallis surrendered entire force of 7,000
men.
• War continued one more year (especially in the South)
Cornwallis’ Surrender at Yorktown:
“The World Turned Upside Down!”
Painted by John Trumbull, 1797
The American Revolution
• Peace of Paris
– French attempted to create a weak U.S.
– U.S. diplomats Ben Franklin, John Adams, and John
Jay sent by Congress to make no separate peace
without consulting the French….
• They ignored these orders as they were highly suspicious of
France & Spain.
• John Jay believed France wanted to keep US border east of
the Allegheny mountains and give western territories to its
ally, Spain, for its help in the war.
– U.S. turned to Great Britain
• Britain eager to separate U.S. from the Franco-American
Alliance.
• Preliminary treaty signed in 1782
The American Revolution
* Treaty of Paris of 1783: Britain formally recognized US
independence
– Granted US huge boundaries stretching to the Mississippi in the west,
the Great Lakes in the north, and to Spanish Florida in the south
– Americans allowed to retain a share in the valuable Newfoundland
fisheries
– British promised troops would not take slaves from America
– American concessions:
• Loyalists could not be further persecuted
• Congress was to recommend to state legislatures that confiscated
Loyalist property be restored
• American states were bound to pay back debts to British creditors
• U.S. did not comply with many of these concessions and it became
partial cause of the War of 1812 against Britain….
– France approved the British-American terms (officially, no separate
Franco-American peace)
– America alone gained from the war
• Britain lost colonies and other territories
• France became bankrupt which helped spark the French Revolution
• Spain gained little
North America After the
Treaty of Paris, 1783
The American Revolution
• Articles of Confederation (1781-1787)
– First form of government for the United States.
– State governments had more power than the national
government.
– National government very weak.
• Did not have the power to tax or raise armies
• No executive branch (President) to enforce laws
• No judicial branch (Supreme Court) to settle legal
disputes
• All 13 states had to agree to amend (change)
Articles.
The American Revolution
• Constitution (signed in 1787)
– Delegates from each state met to amend the
Articles of Confederation, but instead created
a new document.
– New government based on Federalism –
power is divided between state and
national governments.
– Bill of Rights added to Constitution. First
ten amendments spelled out personal
liberties guaranteed to all citizens.
• By 1791, remaining states ratified (approved) the
Constitution.
• George Washington made first President of U.S.
New
National Symbols