Transcript No Slide Title

The Struggle for Independence
By Joseph Enge
I.
Britain Angers the Colonies
A.
George Grenville becomes Prime Minister in 1763 and takes
three definite steps
1.
A permanent military force of 10,000 soldiers in America
2.
Revived enforcement of the Acts of Trade
3.
Parliamentary taxation in America
4.
British superior attitude towards the colonists summed
up by General Thomas Wolfe that Americans were " the
dirtiest and most contemptible cowardly dogs that you can
conceive."
B.
Westward expansion
1.
Pontiac's Rebellion
2.
Proclamation of 1763, no further westward expansion
C.
Taxation
1.
The Sugar Act 1764
a.
Writs of assistance, search anywhere they wished
b.
Admiralty courts, no trial by peers
2.
The Stamp Act 1765, repealed in 1766
a.
Taxation without representation
b.
Sons & Daughters of Liberty
c.
Stamp Act Congress
3.
The Townshend Acts 1767
a.
New duties were levied on paper, glass, paint, lead,
and tea
b.
Gave greater powers to writs of assistance
c.
Made new admiralty courts
d.
Enforced the Quartering Act and suspended the New
York Assembly for its defiance in not paying for the
supply of British troops.
e.
All the Townshend Act were repealed on March 5,
1770 except the duty on tea to remind the colonists
that Britain was still in charge.
Tar & feathering a tax collector
D.
The Boston Massacre of March 5, 1770
E.
Committees of correspondence were formed by Samuel Adams
to unite the colonies in protest against British actions.
F.
The Tea Act of May 1773 actually made British tea cheaper to buy
for the colonists, but worried them that the British would control all
the tea business in the colonies.
II.
The Path to War
A.
The Boston Tea Party December 16, 1773
B.
The Intolerable Acts of May 1774, four coercive acts to punish
the colonists for their tea protest. King George III states, "The die is
now cast; the colonies must submit, or triumph."
1.
Boston harbor would be closed until the tea was paid for
2.
Crown officials would be tried in Britain or another colony
3.
The Massachusetts government lost its independence
4.
A new Quartering Act, if the colonies did not provide
barracks for British troops, they would be stationed in the
colonists' homes.
5.
The Quebec Act gave Canada lands in the Ohio Valley to
Canada
C.
First Continental Congress September- October 1774 meets in
Philadelphia.
1.
Patriot division over compromise
2.
Congressional resolves
a.
Demanded to end the Intolerable and Quebec Acts
b.
Stated a declaration of colonial rights
c.
Set up a Continental Association to suspend trade
with Britain and enforce it.
3.
King George III and Parliament declare the colonies to be in
a state of rebellion over the advice of Willima Pitt, former
British secretary of state.
D.
Fighting at Lexington, Concord April 19, 1775
Route of British Troops
to & from Lexington and Concord
E.
Fort Ticonderoga is captured by Ethan Allen and his "Green
Mountain Boys" on May 10, 1775.
Ethan Allen’s Blunderbuss
Fort Ticonderoga
F.
Second Continental Congress starts meeting May 10, 1775 at
Philadelphia.
1.
Continental Army is formed with George Washington
appointed its commander on June 15, 1775.
General Washington
Partial lyrics:
"…The day is broke
My lines march on
And follow, follow Washington
He will lead the way, my lads
Its he that leads the way
Where he commands, we shall obey
Through rain and snow, by night and day
Determined to be Free, my lads
Determined to be Free…"
G.
Bunker Hill (Breed's Hill) June 17, 1775, Colonial forces
retreat after 3 British assaults when they run out of ammunition.
Heavy British losses to slight Colonial losses.
H.
The Olive Branch Petition is sent to King George III in July 1775
from Congress. He refuses to even read it and escalates the war.
1.
King George III hired 20,000 German mercenaries from
Hesse, Anhalt, and Brunswick in September 1775 to put
down the colonial rebellion.
Hessians
King George III
I.
Georgia finally joins the Continental Congress in September
1775 making all thirteen colonies united against Britain.
J.
American defeat at Quebec December 30, 1775.
K.
The British evacuate Boston on March 17, 1776
III.
The Break with Britain
A.
Common Sense by Thomas Paine is published in Philadelphia
on January 10, 1776. It articulated well a new attitude to not just
fight for our rights as Englishmen, but to break free from Britain
completely.
B.
The Declaration of Independence is passed July 4th, 1776 by
Congress. All the colonies approved it except New York, which
abstained.
C.
Colonial British Loyalists made up approximately 1/3 of the
colonists. 1/3 of the colonists were apathetic, and 1/3 were
patriotic. British loyalists made up about 10% of the colonists
in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. In New York the
Loyalists were almost half the population. In the Carolinas and
Georgia the majority of the population were Loyalists.
D.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the British and the Americans
1.
Britain had a large professional army
2.
Most of the Indian tribes were on the British side
3.
The British were skilled in fighting European style warfare,
but did not know how to deal with the American
unconventional style of warfare.
4.
5.
British troops had a long line of supply, across the Atlantic
and this worsened when their troops moved inland.
Washington's army consisted of short-term, unprofessional
soldiers. Often soldiers left the army (AWOL) to plant or
harvest their crops at will.
“Sir, I have not yet begun to fight.”
6.
The Continental Navy barely existed with only 13 ships
operating alone. Under the daring leadership of such men
as John Paul Jones a lot of damage was done to British
shipping and commerce.
Bonhomme Richard & Sarapis
September 23, 1779
7.
Congress did not have the power to tax and the colonies
sent only what money they wished to supply
Washington's army. Hence they were poorly paid and
under-supplied. France & Spain were anxious to undermine
Great Britain so they gave us some $200,000 worth of
military supplies.
8.
America received the aid and expertise of several European
officers such as the Marquis de Lafayette from France,
Baron Friedrich von Steuben from Prussia, and Thaddeus
Kosciusko from Poland.
9.
One of the biggest factors was the belief in our cause. We
were fighting for our beliefs, land, and homes. The British
troops were fighting far from home without a cause.
IV.
Fighting for Independence
A.
Northern campaigns
1.
British capture New York September 1776
2.
Washington retreats to Pennsylvania with less than 2,000
troops left, because of defeats and desertions, in December
1776. Congress fled Philadelphia to Baltimore without giving
Washington reinforcements. The British General Howe
remained with the majority of his troops in New York, feeling
that the American cause was over.
3.
Washington strikes back and raises American hopes at
Trenton December 26, 1776 and Princeton January 3, 1777.
The army is exhausted, but the cause remains alive.
4.
February 1777 the British plan to isolate New England from
the rest of the colonies with a three pronged attack. General
Howe would march north from New York, General Burgoyne
would march south from Canada, and General St. Leger
would invade from the west to all meet in Albany, New York,
destroying any American forces in the region.
5.
General Howe does not follow the plan and instead sails
south to capture Philadelphia, defeating Washington at the
Battle of Brandywine Creek September 11, 1777.
6.
The British Generals Burgoyne and St. Leger march as
planned. St. Leger is defeated at Ft. Stanwix on
August 22, 1777.
Howe
Burgoyne
7.
The turning point of the war occurs when General
Burgoyne is defeated by the American General Horatio
Gates at Saratoga on October 17, 1777. Burgoyne is
forced to surrender.
Burgoyne’s surrender
8.
The stunning victory at Saratoga demonstrated to the
French that we could win this war. Under the leadership of
Benjamin Franklin's skilled negotiations in Paris, we
obtained recognition of our Independence and France
declared war on Great Britain in February 1778.
US ambassador to France
9.
Louis XVI
With the aid of French troops, navy, and supplies we can
fight the British on a more equal footing.
10.
Before France agreed to enter the war Washington's troops
faced their hardest winter at Valley Forge facing starvation
desertion while the British wintered comfortably in nearby
Philadelphia.
11.
Early 1778 Prime Minister Lord North offers the Americans a
peace proposal giving them all they asked for since their
first protest against the Stamp Act, if they lay down their
arms and swear British allegiance. The proposal is rejected.
Lord North
12.
The British General Howe is replace by General Clinton in
May 1778. Hearing that the French forces were sailing for
America, Clinton moves the British army from Philadelphia
to New York. Washington meets Clinton's army at
Monmouth and defeats it June 28, 1778. Clinton slips
away to New York and Washington puts it under seige,
awaiting French troops to arrive. Washington dismisses
Genaral Charles Lee for his behavior at the battle, and also
for prior disobedience.
B.
Southern Campaigns
1. The British under General Clinton decided to fight the
war in the South where the majority of the American
population were loyalists. Clinton seizes Savannah,
Georgia December 29, 1778.
2. Throughout 1779 the American forces failed to dislodge
the British from Savannah.
Clinton
Tarleton
3.
Clinton captures Charleston, South Carolina May 12, 1780
and puts General Cornwallis in charge of all the British
forces in the South. It's the worst American defeat of the war.
4.
Nathanael Greene is put in charge of all American southern
militias in October 1780. Using hit and run tactics, Greene
defeats the British loyalists at Kings Mountain October
1780 and defeats the British regulars Cowpens January
1781.
5.
Cornwallis wins the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in
March 1781, but suffered heavy casualties and retreats
north to join up with General Benedict Arnold's British forces
in Virginia.
Cornwallis
6.
Benedict Arnold
a.
Fought bravely and brilliantly Fort Ticonderoga 1775,
the invasion of Canada 1775, Fort Stanwix 1777, and
Saratoga 1777. Made a brigadier general in 1776,
and major general later after being passed up by less
qualified men. False charges were brought against
him by others jealous of him, he was cleared of all but
two minor charges. He resented this treatment.
In1778 while in command at Philadelphia, he met and
married the daughter of a Tory.
General
Benedict Arnold
b.
Before the outcome of the false charges, General
Arnold started a secret correspondence with British
General Clinton. In 1780 General Arnold got
Washington to appoint him commander of the
American fort at West Point. Arnold's plan to hand
over the fort to the British was discovered. Arnold
escaped to the British and was made brigadier
general of British troops in Virginia.
7.
August 1781 General Cornwallis and General Benedict
Arnold retreated to Yorktown. On a narrow peninsula it was
easy to defend, and there they awaited reinforcements from
New York by sea.
8.
9.
September 5, 1781 the Battle of Chesapeake Bay, the
French navy defeats the British navy trying to reinforce and
help Cornwallis. Cornwallis and his 8,000 British and
Hessians were trapped.
By September 28 there were 9,000 American and 7,800
French soldiers surrounding Yorktown.
Admiral de Grasse
10.
After failing in his attempts to break out, Cornwallis
surrendered at Yorktown on October 19, 1781.
11.
12.
Washington's troops returned to sieging the British troops
in New York, but the war was over.
British Prime Minister Lord North resigned in March 1782
and the final Treaty of Paris 1783 recognizing American
Independence was signed.