Chapter 6: Recreating America: Independence and a New Nation, 1775-1783

1. The First Two Years of War
   1. The Battle for Boston
      1. The American army at Boston had insufficient arms.
         1. Benedict Arnold, aided by the Green Mountain Boys, seized British cannon at Fort Ticonderoga for Boston.
      2. General Gage attempted to destroy the American forces surrounding Boston.
         1. The misnamed Battle of Bunker Hill led to heavy British casualties and an American retreat.
      3. Washington took command of an undisciplined force when he arrived in Massachusetts.
      4. William Howe assumed command of British land forces; his brother, Richard, commanded naval forces.
   2. The British Strategy in 1776
      1. Howe decided to attack in the Carolinas and in the middle colonies.
         1. He counted on backcountry loyalist sentiment in both regions.
      2. British attacks in the South failed.
         1. Troop and supply movements were uncoordinated.
         2. The American fort at Charleston held.
         3. Loyalists found themselves abandoned when the British withdrew from North and South Carolina.
   3. Escape from New York
      1. The attack on the middle colonies focused on New York City.
         1. To defend New York, Washington moved his forces south from Massachusetts.
      2. The Howes decided not to deliver a knockout punch.
         1. After American forces suffered defeat on Long Island, they were allowed to withdraw to New York City.
         2. Attacked there, Washington withdrew northward; the British again did not follow up with a full-scale attack.
      3. Washington had to contend with plots.
         1. General Charles Lee behaved insubordinately, but Washington was still able to withdraw to New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
   4. Winter Quarters and Winter Victories
      1. On Christmas Eve 1776, Washington successfully attacked the Hessians encamped at Trenton.
         1. Half of Washington’s troops reenlisted as a result of this victory.
      2. Washington next defeated a British force at Princeton.
      3. American morale improved as a result of these two engagements.
         1. To sustain morale, Washington also wisely declined to commandeer badly needed supplies from civilians.
   5. Burgoyne’s New York Campaign
      1. The British occupied Philadelphia in the summer of 1777.
      2. The British plan to isolate New England and thereby smash the Revolution failed.
         1. Burgoyne, marching his army south from Canada, was defeated at Saratoga by Gates.
         2. St. Leger marched his army east through New York State but then retreated.
         3. Howe did not know of the plan and did not send an army north from New York City to link up with Burgoyne.
      3. U.S. diplomatic efforts in Europe improved as a result of Gates’s victory at Saratoga.
   6. Winter Quarters in 1777
      1. Washington’s army camped at Valley Forge in the winter of 177778.
         1. Congress did not provide adequate supplies; the army suffered bitterly.
         2. Most enlisted men were poor and/or humbly born.
      2. The Valley Forge encampment proved crucial in forging a winning army.
         1. Von Steuben provided the professional military training that was lacking throughout Washington’s army.
      3. Howe was replaced by Clinton as British commander in chief.
2. Influences from off the Battlefield
   1. The Long Road to Formal Recognition
      1. Although rival European nations expected the American Revolution to fail, they were more than eager to keep the conflict going as long as possible in order to drain England’s resources.
      2. American entrepreneur Arthur Lee worked with Caron de Beaumarchais and Comte de Vergennes to create a firm that provided loans and weapons to American rebels.
         1. The French government funded this venture behind the scenes.
      3. Franklin warned France of an impending compromise with England; the French therefore signed a treaty with the United States.
   2. War and the American Public
      1. News of the French treaty led to an outburst of spending.
         1. English goods were illegally imported and purchased in abundance on the black market.
      2. Corruption and bribery abounded, deeply affecting the quality of army supplies.
      3. Hard currency was in short supply.
         1. Congress and state governments resorted to printing paper money, causing inflation.
         2. Governments were forced to use impressment to find enough soldiers; mutiny and desertion increased.
3. From Stalemate to Victory
   1. The War Stalls in the North
      1. Fearful of a French naval blockade, Clinton withdrew from Philadelphia to New York City.
         1. Washington rallied his troops at the Battle of Monmouth to attack the retreating British, after General Lee had ordered the American forces to retreat.
      2. A joint American-French attack on the British at Newport came to an end when the French suddenly withdrew.
   2. The War Moves South
      1. The British launched a second campaign in the South.
         1. Georgia fell to the British with the capture of Savannah.
         2. Charleston fell to the British in May 1780; Cornwallis was left in command to capture the rest of South Carolina.
      2. Civil war between loyalists and patriots raged.
         1. Patriot guerrillas under the command of Francis Marion also attacked the regular British army commanded by Cornwallis.
      3. The regular American army fought Cornwallis’s.
         1. The Americans won at Cowpens.
         2. Although the Americans lost at Guilford Courthouse, Cornwallis decided to evacuate to Virginia.
   3. Triumph at Yorktown
      1. Washington and the French planned a joint campaign.
         1. Washington’s army, joined by French forces, marched south to Virginia; the French navy moved to Chesapeake Bay.
         2. Cornwallis moved to Yorktown, where the French navy and American-French army laid siege to his forces.
         3. Cornwallis surrendered, ending British hopes of military victory against the Americans.
   4. Winning Diplomatic Independence
      1. Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay negotiated with Britain for the United States.
         1. They wisely disregarded Congress’s orders to be guided by the French.
      2. The Treaty of Paris (1783) ended the war.
         1. The Americans insisted on (and won) recognition of independence as the precondition for any negotiations.
         2. The treaty gave the United States a great deal of territory, but Britain retained Canada.
         3. America also won access to the Newfoundland fisheries.
         4. Vague terms in the treaty set the stage for future problems between the two nations.
4. Republican Expectations in the New Nation
   1. The Protection of Individual Rights
      1. The revolutionary era’s emphasis on the rights of the individual led to significant decisions.
         1. Limiting the powers of government was stressed by many.
         2. Virginia and other southern states disestablished the Anglican Church.
         3. Basic rights (speech, press, assembly, trial by jury) were included in various state constitutions.
   2. Protection of Property Rights
      1. American revolutionaries expected the government to protect people’s rights to own property.
   3. Social Equality and Legal Reforms
      1. Several legal reforms were spurred by a commitment to the republican belief in social equality.
         1. Although not widely used in America, primogeniture and entail were targeted.
      2. The passion for social equality, at least in appearance, affected customs and laws.
         1. George Washington and his colleagues revised the offending bylaws of the Society of the Cincinnati.
         2. Pennsylvania and Georgia eliminated all property qualifications for voting among free males.
   4. Women in the New Republic
      1. Wartime experiences gave women a new sense of independence and responsibility.
         1. Many took charge of homes and farms.
         2. Some took up arms; others served as spies and saboteurs.
      2. In other cases, though, women were victims of abuse by soldiers and guerrillas.
      3. Republican motherhooda new conceptdefined women as the educators of the next generation and preservers of the republic.
         1. This responsibility was defined as a public obligation, not just a family role.
      4. Reformers advocated the education of young women.
         1. Judith Sargent Murray argued that women were as intellectually able as men.
         2. Private academies opened to educate wealthy young women.
   5. The War’s Impact on Slaves and Slavery
      1. Slaves viewed military service as a means to freedom.
         1. Far more joined the British army than the American.
         2. Many of these chose to leave America with the British when the war ended.
      2. Others attained freedom by escaping to the cities or the backcountry during the war.
      3. The revolutionary era’s discussions of freedom led to movements to free the slaves (except in the Lower South).
         1. Manumission by individual owners grew during the 1770s, even in the Chesapeake region.
         2. The northern states (except Delaware) all passed laws requiring the gradual end of slavery.
   6. The Fate of the loyalists
      1. During the war, loyalists fled to areas controlled by the British army.
      2. After, many left America when the British evacuated.
         1. Wealthier ones settled in England, where they passed into obscurity.
         2. Most went to Canada and the Caribbean.