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The War for Independence

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�

People Involved

George

Washington

Native

Americans

Neutral

German

Hessians

African

Americans

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The War Begins

  • Loyalists= loyal to Crown/British
  • Patriots= Want independence
  • Many remained neutral
  • Many African Americans fought on the side of the patriots, but some joined the Loyalists because the British promised freedom to slaves
  • Native Americans supported British because they saw the colonists as a threat in their land

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First attacks

  • Plan: Isolate New England
  • First attempt: seize New York City
    • British sailed in with a force of 32,000 soldiers
    • This included German Hessians= hired soldiers
    • Continental army was ill trained and retreated
    • By Fall, the British had pushed back Washington’s army in Pennsylvania

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Strengths & Weaknesses

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Strengths

Weaknesses

Colonies

  • Desire for independence (strong cause)
  • Help of the French
  • New army
  • Not a lot of supplies/weapons

Great Britain

  • Strongest army & navy in the world
  • German Hessians
  • Had money
  • Fighting a war in unfamiliar territory

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Early Battles

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Christmas Attack

  • Desperate for a victory, Washington led 2,400 men on rowboats across the Delaware River and won an attack against a group of Hessians
  • The British would regroup and captured the American capitol at Philadelphia

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Saratoga

  • One of the most important events of the war
  • British devised a scheme to meet up with some other troops and to isolate New England from the rest of the colonies
  • When the British were traveling, the Continental Army gathered from all over

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Saratoga

  • The other British troops who were suppose to meet up couldn’t leave their holdings which left the British to have to surrender at Saratoga
  • The French had secretly been helping the Patriots since 1776, but this victory gave them hope that Americans could win a war
  • As a result the French sign an alliance with the Americans in 1778

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Valley Forge

  • Washington and Continental Army were low in supplies and food and were trying to stay alive during the winter camp
  • More than 2,000 soldiers died, yet the survivors didn’t desert

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George Washington

  • Commander in Chief, national hero
  • Stood 6 foot 2 inches
  • Expert horseman
  • Dignified and confident
  • Encouraged men in army
  • Saved his small forces many times
  • After war, he was seen as a major player in that victory

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Chapter 2: Section 2�Revolution & the Early Republic

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Life During the Revolution

  • Problem: Couldn’t pay troops and couldn’t arm them
  • Ran out of gold and silver, so it paid in “Continentals”- paper currency
  • As Congress printed more and more money, the value of the money decreased→ inflation

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Life: Women During the War

  • Many stepped into the shoes of their husbands, managing farms and businesses
  • Some followed husbands into battle, washing and cooking for the troops
  • Some even entered the war

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Life: African Americans During the War

  • Thousands of slaves escaped to freedom during chaos
  • About 5,000 African Americans served in the Continental Army
  • Many Native Americans remained uninvolved in war

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Winning the War

  • After Valley Forge, American troops started to make an amazing transformation
  • Foreign captains started to help train the Army, such as Marquis de Lafayette
    • Lafayette helped lobby for French reinforcements to help in war efforts

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Winning: British Move South

  • After the British lost at Saratoga, they start moving south (led by Charles Cornwallis) and took cities like Savannah and Charles Town
  • Cornwallis took his army of 7,500 to camp at Yorktown to fortify and get ready to attack

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Winning:�Yorktown

  • After Washington heard of Cornwallis they headed south
  • 17,000 American and French troops surrounded the British and bombarded them day and night
  • Less then a month later, on October 19, 1781, Cornwallis surrendered
  • The Americans had shocked the world and defeated the British

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Treaty of Paris

  • Peace talks began in 1782
  • Americans who helped: John Adams, John Jay, and Benjamin Franklin
  • Treaty of Paris, 1783= confirmed the United States independence and set the boundaries of the new nation
    • Stretched from Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and from Canada to the Florida border

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The War Becomes a Symbol of Liberty: Post War

  • Egalitarianism= a belief in the equality of people
  • New attitude: the idea that ability, effort and virtue, not wealth or family background defined one’s wealth
  • Slavery still existed, although some states start to outlaw
  • Native Americans pushed back even further

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