PowerPoint: The American Revolution
The story of the Revolutionary War begins in the English Colonies located on the Atlantic Coast of North America, where colonists have become increasing dissatisfied with the British government.
1. Causes of the Revolution
a. British mercantilist policies after the French and Indian War
· Mercantilism: Colonies exist to benefit the parent country
· Taxes to repay the large debt from the war
· Reinforcement of the Navigation Acts to stop colonial manufacturing and illegal trade
b. Proclamation of 1763 and Quartering Act
c. Colonial Belief that their rights as Englishmen were being violated
· Ignoring the tradition of colonial self-government
· Trial by jury suspended in some areas, quartering troops, etc.
d. Taxation without Representation (in Parliament)
e. Coercive Acts/Intolerable Acts - Put Boston under martial law, Suspended trial by jury, appointed General Sir Thomas Gage royal governor of Massachusetts, banned town meetings
f. King George III’s eventual refusal to respond to colonial petitions
2. Timeline of Major Events
· First Continental Congress meets
· Lexington and Concord – April 19, 1775
· Ticonderoga
· Bunker Hill – May 1775
· Second Continental Congress Meets
· “Common Sense” published - 1776
· Independence declared – July 4, 1776
· Trenton – 1776
3. Patriot and British Advantages and Disadvantages
British Army / Continental ArmyAdvantages / • strongest ______in world
• experienced, well-trained ______
• larger ______
• support of ______in colonies / • ______
• ______to protect area & for the cause
• ______in the fight àfought ______
• ______- courage, honesty, determination
Disadvantages / • British officers ______Patriots and made ______
• had to “______” colonies and______in England
• relied on ______ / • lacked regular ______
• soldiers lacked ______
• volunteers enlisted for a ______(1 year or less) then went home – GW constantly had to train new, ______troops
• ______(Quakers) & ______groups wouldn’t assist them
4. 1774 - First Continental Congress – Delegates from all the colonies except ______arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; they wanted to ______the colonies against Britain.
a. Sent statement of ______to London
b. Parliament’s laws violated colonists’ rights
c. colonial rights were based on the laws of nature (______natural rights), principles of Magna Carta, Petition of Right and English Bill of Rights and colonial charters
d. ______all British goods
e. Called for people to begin forming ______
5. Disunity in the Colonies
· ______– supported war vs. Britain, were in the minority when the war broke out.
· ______– didn’t think there was a good enough reason to fight Britain; remained loyal to Britain; most lived in the ______and ______; wanted to protect government jobs or official positions or didn’t think colonies could win
· ______– didn’t take either side, like Quakers – pacifists who did not support violence, and Western farmers who were far from the conflict.
6. Financial Problems - To pay for the war, Congress and the states printed hundreds of millions of dollars of ______. It quickly lost its value and led to ______. Congress stopped issuing paper money because no one would accept it.
7. ______, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, lent money to the Continental Congress, financing much of the war. He raised great sums of money for the Continental Army. He was arrested twice for his activities with the Sons of Liberty, including helping prisoners escape British control. Legend says the 13 stars on the Great Seal were arranged in a Star of David pattern to honor him.
8. March, 1775, in a Virginia convention, ______uttered the famous line, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”
9. April 18, 1775 – Paul Revere, ______, ______and ______ride to alert minutemen at Lexington and Concord that the British were marching toward them. (Poem: Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
10. First battles of the war! - ______(Mass.) - April 19, 1775
· General Gage sent a detachment to arrest leaders of the Sons of Liberty (______and ______) in Lexington & seize ______stored at Concord
· Fighting breaks out on Lexington Green and at the Old North Bridge in Concord
· British win at Lexington but are chased back to Boston, fired by minutemen using guerilla tactics
· “______” – would lead to colonial ______and inspire ______around the world – phrase comes from a poem by ______called, “______.”
11. – May 1775 - Benedict Arnold and ______and the Green Mountain Boys capture the fort. Cannons are taken to Boston and used in the Battle of Bunker Hill.
12. Second Continental Congress – May 1775 - created to govern the colonies.
· Printed Continental money
· Post offices - ______was appointed Postmaster General
· ______- an attempt to avoid war; not accepted by King George III; instead, he sent German mercenaries called to fight the colonists
· Most important: created under the command of
______
13. The Continental Army lacked ______; Congress established the Continental Army but depended on states to recruit (enlist) soldiers; no power to tax to raise money for army.
14. ______ – June 1775 – across from Boston Harbor
· Either Patriot Commander William Prescott or General Israel Putnam: “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!”
· Patriots surrendered when they ran out of ammunition, but the British learned that the war would be ______and ______than they expected.
15. “______” – January 1776 – Thomas Paine’s pamphlet that called for complete independence. ______many to ______the ______cause
16. Independence declared ______by the Second Continental Congress
· Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed resolution for independence
· Thomas Jefferson wrote much of the Declaration of Independence
· First Signer: John Hancock, president of the Second Continental Congress
· The Declaration of Independence gives the reasons why the colonies were declaring independence and listed their grievances against the British government
17. Unalienable Rights – cannot be taken away – We hold these truths to be self- evident, that all men are created ______, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain ______, that among these are ______.
18. Winter 1776-1777 – Howe drove Washington and the Continental Army from New York to ______then across the ______to Pennsylvania. Soldiers ______in great numbers; others went home because enlistments were up.
19. ______– Patriot spy who hanged without a trial in 1776; his last words reported were, “______.”
20. African Americans Join the Fight when Washington asked Congress to ______free African Americans. By the end of the war, every state except ______enlisted African Americans.
21. African American soldiers included
22. The Continental Army was at a low point during the winter of 1776-1777, when ______published another pamphlet, “______,” which again led to more ______for the Patriot cause.
23. Victory at ______– December 1776 - Gen. ______left his troops to spend the winter in New York. Washington and men crossed the icy ______on Christmas night, 1776, capturing 900 ______in a surprise attack. Victories at Trenton and Princeton raised ______and convinced many to ______in the Continental Army
24. New British Strategy –Britain decided on a three-pronged attack on the ______Valley in New York, to isolate ______from the rest of the colonies; they planned to defeat New England and then move south to conquer the remaining colonies.
· Gen. ______“Gentleman Johnny” ______would lead troops from Canada.
· Lt. Col Barry St. Leger would move east from Lake Ontario.
· General ______would move north from New York City
· They would all meet at ______to launch the attack.
25. Howe’s Blunder - Determined to capture the ______of the 2nd Continental Congress, Howe ______moving north to meet Burgoyne’s army and remained in ______.
26. General Burgoyne’s army traveled more ______than planned; he retreated to ______, short of supplies and men.
27. The Battle of ______– Oct 1777. ______never arrived to help Burgoyne. Patriot Horatio ______surrounded Burgoyne’s forces. ______surrendered at ______. The British battle plan had ______. This battle would prove to be the ______in the war.
28. ______– ______of the War - The ______loss at Saratoga convinced ______and other European nations to ______with the Patriots. ______declared war on Britain and gave the Americans ______, ______and ______. Later, ______the Netherlands also helped the colonies.
29. Valley Forge, 1777-1778 - Washington’s troops spent a harsh winter at ______, Pennsylvania. The army lacked food, clothing, and shelter. Some men ______; others resigned as enlistments expired. Almost ______of the Continental Army ______of exposure and disease.
However, news of France’s alliance cheered the troops. European volunteers arrived to ______the Continental Army to fight using European military tactics.
· A ______nobleman, Marquis de ______, became one of Washington’s trusted ______and was very ______with the troops.
· Friedrich ______from ______Washington’s troops and taught them military discipline, making them a more ______fighting force.
· Casimir ______, a ______cavalry officer, helped the army.
· Thaddeus ______, a ______military engineer helped with defenses.
· Juan de ______from Spain lent ______, became friends with Patriot leaders, and convinced Cuba, Spain, and Mexico to send financial aid to the colonies.
30. War in the West - on the western ______often involved ______, who were more worried about ______than about the British.
· British Commander ______at Detroit was nicknamed the “hair buyer” because of rumors he offered ______for American ______
· American commander ______– won a victory at Vincennes that kept Americans in control of the ______and strengthened position in ______
31. Help from ______- Bernardo de ______, governor of Spanish Louisiana, loaned money, opened ______to Americans, shipped supplies up the Mississippi River to George Rogers Clark and struck strikes ______posts on ______
32. ______attempted to ______the coast, to prevent Patriots and allies from ______and ______the Continental Army. ______attempted to break the blockade. The most famous privateer was ______, captain of ______ who fought the ______ship ______. When the British captain asked if he wanted to surrender, Jones replied, “______.” He captured the Serapis.
33. The War Moves South, 1778-1781 - After the British defeat at ______; the British hoped to gain aid from ______, but they would face more ______warfare in the South from Patriot leaders like ______– “The ______” who would harasses British troops and then hide in the swamps.
34. British Victories in the South –
· British capture ______and overrun most of ______.
· British captured ______, ______, in the ______defeat of war; Patriots lost an entire ______; they will lose another army at Camden.
35. However, ______soon learns that he ______the ______– ______forces like Francis Marion’s catch the British off-guard and ______them.
36. Patriot Victory at Kings Mountain brought new support for independence from Southerners whose farms were being destroyed by war – they wanted it to end
37. ______replaced Gates as commander of ______army (by Washington’s decision); he was a former ______who had given up ______to fight the British. His tactic was to ______, then attack when British were ______
______and lower on supplies
38. Patriot battles at Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse opened the way for ______at ______, Virginia
39. British Retreat – Yorktown, VA - ______set up camp in ______, VA, to await orders from Gen. Clinton and supplies. This sets up the ______of the Revolution
40. ______- African American spy who posed as slave in the British Army under Benedict Arnold’s command. He provided incorrect information to the British, while supplying correct data to Washington. He warned Washington that 10,000 British troops were headed toward Yorktown to aid Cornwallis.
41. ______knew Cornwallis was camped in Yorktown, where ______troops were keeping him ______on the Yorktown peninsula. French Admiral Francois ______headed to the Chesapeake Bay with the second ______.
42. The Siege of Yorktown - September, 1781 – 14,000 ______
trapped ______’s 7,500 British and Hessian troops at Yorktown. DeGrasse’s ______kept Cornwallis from ______or ______by the ______. Washington and the Comte de ______’s bombardment of British camp began. October 19, 1781 – ______surrendered.
43. British armies remained in America and some fighting continued after Yorktown, but the Patriot ______at ______convinced many British subjects that the war was ______to continue.
44. Negotiating a Treaty: ______, ______. , and ______met with British delegates in ______to negotiate.
45. The Treaty of Paris, 1783
· ______recognized ______.
· US borders: ______
· ______would ______
· Americans would have ______off Canadian coast
· US agreed that ______owed by Americans.
· ______that ______.
46. The Newburgh Conspiracy - Continental ______were angry at Congress for not paying them retirement money. Officers threatened to ______the army, even though the war was over. ______worried that the officers’ action could lead to a ______that could ______the new nation. The military could not be allowed to dominate the new government. It had to be run by elected representatives. He urged Congress to meet the soldiers’ demands for pay, stressing that they had been ______to their duty. ______
______ the first ______to the new nation.
47. Washington’s Farewell to his troops - December 4, 1781 – Washington said farewell to his officers in Manhattan. He formally ______his commission as ______of the ______and returned to his home in ______, VA, where he planned to live quietly. Washington would reluctantly return to public service in a few years, when his ______would again be critical for the new country’s survival. George Washington actually lost more battles than he won. However, he met his goal of ______.
48. Why the Americans Won
· They ______, while British had to bring in troops and supplies from overseas. British occupied the cities but ______. They were ambushed by Patriots who knew the local terrain.
· Patriots received ______.
o ______soldiers and ships; loans
o ______attacks on British on Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi Valley, money
o ______from several countries
o ______
· Perhaps the most important reason - The American ______, ______and spirit of all the Patriots
49. Influence of the American Revolution
· ______colonial possession to ______against its parent country