Chapter 6 the American Revolution (1776-1783)
Chapter 6 The American Revolution (1776-1783)
Section 4 The Final Years
Essential Question
How did the Battle of Yorktown lead to American independence?
The French Arrive
July 1780- French warships appeared off the coast of Newport, Rhode Island
Carrying needed aid: soldiers were commanded by French Commander Comte de Rochambeau
The British soon arrived and trapped the French troops
Autumn 1780- Washington waited for a second fleet of French ships
Washington also kept an eye on the British army in New York that General Clinton commanded
Washington planned to attack the British when the second French fleet arrived
The French fleet did not set sail until summer of 1781
Washington’s Plans
Washington heard that British General Charles Cornwallis was camped at Yorktown, Virginia
Lafayette kept them on the Yorktown peninsula
Washington also learned that Admiral Francois de Grasse, the French naval commander, was heading toward Chesapeake Bay instead of New York
Washington changed his plans and headed south to Yorktown
Washington kept his new strategy (plan of action) secret
Washington’s Secret Plan
Washington wanted Clinton to think the Patriots still planned to attack the British in New York
This would keep Clinton from sending aid to Cornwallis
Rochambeau joined with Washington in July and the two armies moved south
The soldiers did not know where they were heading
Troops marched 200 miles in 15 days
General Clinton didn’t detect the forces leaving
Three groups (Wahington’s, Rochambeau’s, and de Grasse’s) would meet at Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown
The plan worked perfectly
The British were confused
End of September 1781- 14,000 American and French troops trapped Cornwallis’ 8,000 British and Hessian troops at Yorktown
De Grasse’s fleet kept the Cornwallis from escaping by sea
Clinton’s and the rest of the British army was still in New York
Battle of Yorktown
October 9- Americans and French began a bombardment
A Hessian soldier said “One saw men lying everywhere… whose heads, arms, and legs had been shot off”
British supplies began to run low
British soldiers were wounded and sick
Cornwallis realized that the situation was hopeless
October 19- Cornwallis surrendered his troops to the Patriots at the Battle of Yorktown
Patriots took 8,000 British prisoners and more than 200 guns
After Yorktown
Fighting did not end
The British still held Savannah, Charles Town, and New York
A few more battles took place, but the victory at Yorktown convinced the British that the war was too costly to pursue (continue)
Both sides sent delegates to Paris to work out a treaty
The United States were represented by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay
The American congress ratified (approved) the preliminary treaty in April 1783 and the final version of the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783
The Treaty of Paris
Triumph for the Americans
Great Britain recognize the US as an independent nation
The British agreed to withdraw all their troops
The US also got fishing rights of the coast of Canada
The US agreed that the British merchants could collect debts that Americans owed them
Loyalist property was also to be returned
The Newburgh Conspiracy
Washington’s army was headquartered in Newburgh, New York
The Congress refused to fund the soldiers’ pensions and failed to provide them with other pay
The army got mad and said they would use force against the Congress
Washington knew this was dangerous and he persuaded the angry soldiers to be patient
Washington urged Congress to meet their demands
Congress responded to Washington and met the demands
Washington Resigns
November 1783- British troops left New York
December 4, Washington said farewell to his troops
Washington formally resigned three weeks later
“Having now finished the work assigned me I retire… and take my leave of all the employments of public life”
Washington returned home to Mount Vernon, Virginia in time for Christmas
He planned to remain and live quietly with his family
Why the Americans Won
They were fighting on their own land
The British had to send troops from thousands of miles away
The British depended on the sea and once the French blocked their ships they were helpless
Americans knew the local terrain and where to lay an ambush (Surprise attack)
The British had trouble controlling the American countryside once they occupied the cities
More of Why the Americans Won
Help from other nations
The French and Spanish helped the American cause
The American Revolution was a peoples movement
It depended on the determination and spirit of all Patriots
Influence of the American Revolution
The ideas of the Declaration of Independence influenced other revolutions
The French Revolution
The French Colony of Saint Domingue
The principles that “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights” guided these revolutions
Essential Question
How did the Battle of Yorktown lead to American independence?