1 ? lncepencence :novemenl5

Tlae Amnerican War o{ Independence

Although they lvere unaware ol it at the time ' on Apnl \9 ' 177 i ' tllre Discussion Waroflndepenc|encebeganinMassachuSettS.Fearinginsurgencl', Paint militiasl bY a members of the Britlsh Regular Army 1as opposed to local The question wos not, whether that we were seltt ro the town of Concord to take any military provisitlns declorotion of indePendence, were being held there. colonial militiamen resisted in both concord should moke ourselves whot we ' are not, but whether we should and Lexington, forcing the British Regulars to retreat to declore a fact thot alreody exists. which was then attacked by colonials' Thomas Jefferson on the i'eason A Second Continental Congress was convened that appointed for indePendence, iune i776 George Washington as commander o{ the Coniinental army recojnizing that he had much w'rk to do with limited resolrrces; Nationalism is not the owokening yet rhis army was composed of untrained soldiers who had not of notions to self-consciousness; it do not been organized. Washingtonts sociai status and repr'rtation as a invents notions where theY right successful officer in the French and IntJian war made hirn the extst. choice to organize and oversee the army' In March 1776' the Ernest Ceilner' Tho uqht ond Change, 1964 Continental army's cannons pointed at Boston and forced the I(nowing evacllation ol the British Regulars to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Compare and contrast the thathehadthenumericaladvantage,Washingtontriedtoforcea meanings of the two by attacking the British in Nlontreal (Quebec)' The fast victory quotations. Are the ideas colonialforcelackedthestrengthforasustainedsiege,sooncethe presented here city, the colonials were at 3 |6ss' British retreated into the walled contradictory or can theY the American army had When reinforcements reached the British' apply to the same case? to retreat to New Yorl<' ln I776, it appeared that the British were gaining strength as tl'rey to took both New City and Philadelphia' Their strategy was divideandconquer:theintentwastoseparateNewEngland{romtl-re a time' Discusslon POint middle and southern colonies and then tackle one area at htm to Recognizing the military genius of Washington' they wanted Guerrilla warfare remain isoiated from other strong ieaders' ln the colonY of South Francis Marion, Unfortunately for the British. the colonists used the type of wariare Carolina, known as the SwamP Fox, thatworkedtotheilaclvantage:grrerriilawarfare.TheAmericans used guerrilla warfare against knew the territory well, and in particular could Llse ihe Iorested .rleas natural the Brtrsh. Thrs tYPe oI warfare for refuge and attack. The British were often stumbling across it includes: barriers sttch as lakes or rivers that they didn't know of; making wherc thc'y * {ighting a war of attritton necessary to reroute the soldiers, o{ten into enem,v areas frorn (wearing the enemY down); were then ambushed. ln 1777, General John Burgol'ne sr:ffered battie ol knowledge of the this calamity and his battalion was forcecl to surrender at the a using area io ambush larger, Saratoga. belter-armed arrnles; continued. the British offered conciliatory While the fighting e emPloYrng "hit and run" peace . After July 1776, however, measllres and there were oifers for tactics to minimize anir offer that did not rhe were unwiiling io accept casualties. Lexington and Concord were the turning inclucle independence. What other examPles of colonists no longer desired autonomy; prtints in which American guerriila warfare Co You know the British Crorryn. Ti-tis ih"_r-' ,ln* wanteci complete freedom frotn of? rr what inslances :s ii ro'e r,vas articlilated in the Declaration of Indepetlticnce' successful than conventionai warfare? Why? 30 **eEere€Er:ct s€ Eetdepenxdene*,'277& ar the beginning oi tlte War oi irrciepenrience, tire gbjecriyes ot the Colonisrs \,vere not entireit, Clear, erren to those iigl-rtln.q. Once again, the Continet'ital Congress \^/aS convened to de cide the coilectlr/e \4'ar aims {oi the 1i coionies. It was detettlined tl-rai tire colonies i'rad to presenl a r-rnired lront, and that ttuaninitt, wolild be necessarl'tor ant, decis'on: lhere rvere 56 reilresentatives {ron rhe coior-ries inrith diverse and ottcn disparate Viern;points repi-esenred. In Jltne 1776' tire Congrcss named tire COt'unittee o1 Firze to n'rile a statement tlt comr1on action witl'r the tLnderstanding tl-rat all represenLalives lnust appr0\,e tire docurlent {o1 it to be reieased. T}re commitLee included John Aclans, Beniartrin Frat-rklin, Robert Livingsttiit alrd Rtlger Sherm.an, but rire Lrue author o1 the dralt r,r,ould be Thomas plesentcci to -le{[erson, a represenlative [Iom Virginia. The draft was the Congress whtch debafed the Lcrus ar-rd edired ir so thal rhet' couid reach coltsensus. The final product le{t most o1 Jefferson's rvolds intaci; this was tci become the Declaration o1 Independetlce' wl-rich v\/as approved on Jr-rly 4, 1776. The Declaration n'as a f()rmal statenenl of the liberation of the I I ctilonies from Britain and the crealion of a new countr,\r-the united Stares o1 America. The Declaration shotryed the commitment o[ these colonies t0 merge intcl one pgiitical unit that wor,rld work cgllectively to overthro\ / British rule. lt also gave the rationale for independence and explained the grievances that the colonists had against l(ing George III and the mother countrY.

Thomas Jefferson (t743-l 826) The third president of the and main As American politictans became author of the Declaration of lndependence was born polarized on the issue of the to wealthy landowners in the ' French Revoiution and the He attended the College of William and Mary and nature of government, Jefferson studied law.ln 1772, he married Martha Wayles Skelton became a supporter of the and went to his home in Monticello to run the estate. Democratic-RePublicans agatnst the Federalisis. He was an oPPonent He was a member of the House of Bur:gesses anC then of strong central Sovernment and the Contrnental Congress; while a quiet member of wrote vehement articles'advocating states' rights. He Congress, he was an eloquent writer who used his ran for president in 1796 and lost to John Adams by talent to sway people to the cause of colonial .l800 three votes, becoming vice president, and in he autonomv. ln 1774, he wrote 'A Summary View of the was elected president by one vote' ln his first term, the Riehts of " in whrch he criticized the US acquired the Louisiana Purchase from France CJercive Acts and lustified colonial actions such as the (1803) and he supported the Lewis and Clark Boston Tea Party not just on legal grounds but also as expedition to explore the tenitory between,the United part of the natural rights of British Americans. At the States and the Pacific Ocean. In his second term, he age of 53, this "srlent member" of the Congress was confronted more pressing domestic issues in the wake unk"d to draft the Declaration of Independence with of US expansion and sought to avoid his country's the assistance of four others. oarticipation in the war betureen France and Creat as Covernor of Virginia. During the war he served britain. After his second term he retired to Monticello, replaced Benjamin Franklin as the US ln 1785, he selling his books to the US Sovernment to form the served as Secretary of State until Minister to France and Library of Congress and foundingthe University of French Revolution led to his endorsement of the Virginia, the first non-sectarian university in the United members of Washington's Cabinet, con{iict with other States. He died on July 4, 1826, lhe 50th anniversary so ne restQnec ln | /95. document that made him famous. of the 5t 1 r :ndependence 'novenents

ActiviU Extracts from the Deciaration of lndependence, July 4, 17V6 Source A

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them wiih another, and to assume .. . the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle thim, a decent respecr to the opinions of mankind requires that they shouid declare the causes which impei them to the separation.

=4j<.-?*.e.n#<3.?-r-:-.25*q-.t=7-+

Questions t ln this passage, what rs Jefferson expiaining? 2 What does Jefferson mean when he wrote that "all men are created equal"? Source I

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit ol Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from rhe consent of the governed. whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the -That right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government -.. Prudence. indeed, will dictate rhat Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes. ... But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object. eviaces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw of{ such Government, and to provide new Guards for their luture security. ... The history of the present I(ng of is a history o{ repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the estabiishment of an absoiute Tyranny over these States.

Questions I How are people allowed to pursue "unaiienable rights"? 2 What are the "repeated rnluries and usurpations" that Jefferson refers to?

Source C

' We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States ol America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Rigtrlqqgt-tt to b_e. Free and rndependent grares; rhat rEJ3rg iEglveclirq.gr41g1.5t9rl.-rg4:94+ crown_ and Lhar_all political connecrion berw-een lhel1jrnd th.g-$ate ofsr:sa,i^3rjfatl*is. and oughr ro b..tEl@frffi] and that, as Free and Independent states, they have es1abJrib.S-s::ll:gge, and do Jy-11-fsw-.:*.r tql.-yyJkr. cqg9dc&ace. cg$Ieglj4g$, +itjtl:.:Ast gggf l1g!;-*"

Questions I What is iefferson statrng in this concluding paragraph? 2 What rights do the "United Colonies" have? General discussion 1 How does the Declaration reflect the historical context in whrch it was written? 2 Who was the primary intended audience? 32 3 What makes this so revoiutionarv for the time? t ;. The Ar^nei-ican Wai- of independence

Ehe Ba€tEe s€ Sara€*ga Tire Battle oi Sararoga teplesenrcd a kev trlming puint in the Revoluti0r-rar,v Wat. The advance of troops began when the British York and decided ro send an arlTr\r from canacia to take Llpsiate New the Hudson River, to drvide the Americans in Neu' from t1-re lrom rest of the colonies. Afrer successfulll' taking Fort Ticonderoga the patriots, the 6,000-man royalisi arin,v led by Major General eurloyne advanced to the city of Alban,v which they found protected b,v 7,000 Americans led by Major General Gates' Sepren'fierI9,1777,mat]

Foreign intervesltioEl: France, Prussia, Spain with the A1 the beglnnrng of the war, the Continental Congress met to French to try and secure an alliance, although France was eager reverse the fortunes of the British after their victory in the French and Indian War. In 1776, they began the covert support o{ the revoludonary forces by providing the Americans with armaments the and use of their ports' Seeing the American success at Saratoga' and ln French were convinced of the viability of the American fotces 1778 signed treaties ol commerce and alliance with the newiy-created joined the united States of America. Spain and the Netherlands also war on tl-re side of the United States tn 1779 and 1780 respectively' The French proved to be an especialiy helpful ally on the high seas where rhe exrent o{ the had stretched its navy thin, leavingitunabletopatrolal]areas.French,SpanislrandDutchnavies preven".edaBritishblockadeoftheUnitedStatesandal]owed provisions to continue to arrive, while also interrupting the flow of trade from the west Indies to Great Bdtain. ln 177 6 alone, the amounl ofsugarshippedtoBritainwashalved.However,theAmericanvictory over the British wor-rld prove costly to France' and the French Crown in particular; it cost the French more than the three previous wats

Discussion Discussion Point Point How has the scorched-ear-th The soidrers returned to France with a feelrng of success and victory. policy been used tn other Havingfoughttnawarthatgaverightsandprivi|egestoordtnaryCltlzens, to an absolutist wars? how would these soldiers feel about returntng homing 33 resime? How did the US War of independence affect France? I * lndecendence movements

ir had fought put together. This left the French with a financial crisis that would ultimately end the regime of Louis XW' The British also received {oreign assistance, with support from the Gerrnan kingdoms and the Native Americans who feared American expansionism. Various members of the German confederation provided 30,000 soidiers that served in the uS war of Independence. Native Americans attackecl frontier settlements in and Pennsylvania. often from bases in the Ohio terntory to the west. The Continental Army retained control of the highly strategic Fort pitt (Iocated ar the confluence of the Aliegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers) and pursued a scorched-eartir policy against the natives, destroying villages and crops, and making thern a negligibie force in the war. the Trea$ o{ Paris The end of the war and ::1 to change their tactics and In 1778, the British felt they'needed :: :l focused on the southern states instead. They believed that the - more loyal and that resistance wouid coliapse .: southern colonies were n once they feit the force of armed combat in their regions. Once again, the British found themselves the target of guerrilla warfare and while they took the cities of Savannah, and Charles Town in South Carolina, they were unabie to penetrate the inland territories. The American forces success{uily undertook a policy of attrition, and while they lost most of the battles, they uitirnately succeeded in wearing down the British. In 1781, Lord Cornwallis foughr what proved to be the finai major battle of the war. At Yorktown (Virginia) Washington and the French General Rochambeau trapped the Cornwallis forces on the peninsula of Yorktown with 17,000 soldiers. The French navy prevented British ships from landing and provisioning or reinforcing the British army, and Cornwallis surrendered his army of 7,000 men in October 178 i. The British government determined that it ivas more coslly to continue the war, especially with French assistance to the Americans. The Bdtish agreed to a cease-fire wrth the Americans, but figbting against the French continued until 1782, when the British defeated the French navy in the Caribbean. In the (i783), the British formally recognized the independence of the United States of America and ceded all of its territory east o{ the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes. The United States demanded , but the British rebuffed this and maintained its colonial possessions in America north of the Great Lakes. with this, the United states was now independent and could pulsue its own destiny as an independent country. Its influence in the region and the world was yet to be established, but a precedent had been set: colonies could overthrow their imperlal powers and estabiish their own state with its own structure of government. The infllence of the mother country would be evident in the new state, br-rt direct oversight rrvas gone.

54