Revolutionary War StrengthsRevolutionary War Strengths

British StrengthsBritish Strengths

o Well-DisciplinedWell-Disciplined

o Well-EquippedWell-Equipped

o Well-TrainedWell-Trained

o Help from Loyalists, African Help from Loyalists, African Americans, Native Americans, Native Americans, and MercenariesAmericans, and Mercenaries

o World Strongest NavyWorld Strongest Navy

Colonial StrengthsColonial Strengths

o Fighting on Own TerritoryFighting on Own Territory

o Fighting TechniquesFighting Techniques

o Good LeadershipGood Leadership

Revolutionary War WeaknessesRevolutionary War Weaknesses

British WeaknessesBritish Weaknesses

o War Not Popular in BritainWar Not Popular in Britain

o Had to Fight in Hostile Had to Fight in Hostile ConditionsConditions

o British Commanders Would British Commanders Would Not Adapt Fighting Not Adapt Fighting Techniques to American Techniques to American EnvironmentEnvironment

Colonial WeaknessesColonial Weaknesses

o Poorly EquippedPoorly Equipped

o Less Stable Fighting ForceLess Stable Fighting Force

o Poorly DisciplinedPoorly Disciplined

o Division Within ColoniesDivision Within Colonies

Lord Dunmore’s Offer

-Lord Dunmore: Royal governor

of Virginia

-November 1775: Issued

proclamation promising freedom to

defecting, able-bodied slaves who

would fight for Britain

-1778: 30,000 black Virginians

defected from slavery

-Used only for manual labor

-Not fed and clothed well

-Washington made same offer, with 5,000 becoming Patriots

African Americans of the American Revolution

Early Defeats

-British capture all major colonial cities

New York

Philadelphia

Boston

Charleston

-Washington’s army in retreat and many desert

Battle of Trenton

Patriot Victories

-A few victories helped keep morale up

-Dec. 26, 1776 at Trenton

-Washington crosses Delaware into New Jersey

-Surprise attack on 2400 German mercenaries

-Raised morale of the Patriots and put Washington on offensive

Jan. 1777 at Princeton

-Left campfires burning to fool British

-Slipped away, attacked British, and gained supplies

Washington Crossing the Delaware River

Surrender of the Hessians at Trenton

“Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and show the

whole world that a Freeman, contending for liberty on his own ground, is superior to any slavish

mercenary on earth.”

George Washington

Turning Point

-Large British force defeated at Saratoga Oct. 1777

- Colonials led by Horatio

Gates and Benedict Arnold

- First decisive colonial victory

-Kept British near the coastline

-Helped colonists get French help in the war effort

-Wanted to weaken Britain

-Had been secretly giving

America weapons and money

since beginning of war

-After Saratoga, open ally

-Turning point of the war

Valley Forge

-Camp site of Washington’s army during winter of 1777-78.

-British forces occupied nearby cities

-Many soldiers died of cold and starvation

-Congress struggled to gain supplies for the army

-lack of central gov’t

Valley Forge

“To see men without clothes to cover their nakedness, without blankets to lay on, without shoes….marching through frost and snow…and submitting to

it without a murmur, is a mark of patience and obedience which in my opinion can scarcely be paralleled.”

George Washington at Valley Forge

“Thousands were without blankets, and were obliged to warm themselves over fires all night…It was not uncommon to track the march of the men over

ice and frozen ground by the blood from their naked feet.” Colonial Soldier, 1777

Civilian Life

-Inflation

-Shortage of goods

-Women took over the work of men

-Some women helped the military effort

Nurses, Uniforms, Flags

Foreign Help

-Foreign military leaders offered professional training for the army

-Marquis de Lafayette

led volunteer army from France

-Friedrich von Steuben

Prussian officer who trained patriot soldiers

“The moment I knew she was

fighting for freedom, I burnt

with the desire of bleeding for her.”

Marquis de Lafayette

He arrived at the camp on February 23, 1778.

One soldier’s first impression of the Baron was “of the ancient fabled God of War … he seemed to me a perfect personification of Mars. The trappings of his horse, the enormous holsters of his pistols, his large size, and his strikingly martial aspect, all seemed to favor the idea.”

Southern Campaign

-British strategy changed to splitting the colonies

- Focused attention on the

South because of high loyalist

population

-Charleston (SC)

Captured by Cornwallis

-Kings Mountain (NC)

Patriot Victory

Patriots v. Loyalists

-Cowpens (SC)

Patriot Victory

Benedict Arnold

“Traitor”

Giving British information on troop movements and supplies

Gained command of West Point, which guarded Hudson River and New York

Caught giving layout of fort to British

Escapes to Britain before found guilty of treason

War’s End

-Guilford Courthouse

costly British victory

- Nathaniel Greene v. Lord

Cornwallis

- Over 2,300 men killed or

wounded total

-retreat to Yorktown

-surrounded by French and Americans

French navy blocks Cornwallis in Virginia

Washington blocks him on land

Cornwallis surrenders Oct, 1781

British play “The World Turned Upside Down”

On a scrap piece of paper…

If the American Revolution ended today, what song would be the

victory song?

The World Turned Upside Down

If buttercups buzz'd after the bee,If boats were on land, churches on sea,If ponies rode men and if grass ate the cows,And cats should be chased into holes by the mouse,If the mamas sold their babiesTo the gypsies for half a crown;If summer were spring and the other way round,Then all the world would be upside down.

Treaty of Paris

-Treaty of Paris 1783

-recognized U.S. independence

-set boundaries to the Mississippi

-some provisions of the treaty will lead to trouble later

"Thus the great and hazardous enterprise we have been engaged in is, God be praised,

happily completed. A few years of peace will improve, will restore and increase our

strength; but our future will depend on our union and our virtue. Let us, therefore, beware of being lulled into a dangerous

security; and of being both enervated and impoverished by luxury; of being weakened

by internal contentions and divisions."

Benjamin Franklin, from Paris, 1784,just after signing the Peace Treaty

America after the Treaty of

Paris

Symbol to the World

-liberty

-freedom

-equality

-opportunity

-belief in a greater cause

-set a precedent for the American future

A Symbol for the World