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The Revolutionary War: 1776 - 1783
Hyperlinked materials are considered part of each lecture
and should be reviewed.
Even after the Battles of Lexington, Concord and Bunker
Hill, it remained unclear whether most Americans favored
independence. Thomas Paine presented persuasive arguments in
his pamphlet
Common Sense.
C-SPAN , as part of its American Writers Series has
provided an interesting view or listen related to Paine's
perspectives. Click on this link
Nature of Revolution
--scroll to the
bottom of the page and visit the three lectures under this
heading. The basic argument was that it was contrary to
common sense for a large continent to be ruled by a small
and distant island ruled by a corrupt government. In spite
of these events and arguments, the great question remained,
if a majority of the colonists did want independence, were
they willing to fight and die for it?
When the Second Continental
Congress convened in Philadelphia in the spring of 1775,
many moderates and conservative delegates hoped for a
settlement with Britain. Radicals favoring independence were
cautious in explaining their perspective and hoped to attain
their goals through a dialogue leading to consensus. Even as
the Congress established the Continental Army, it drafted
the "Olive Branch Petition" declaring loyalty to King George
III. The harsh response to this petition ultimately led to
the drafting and acceptance of the
Declaration
of Independence (scroll down to watch the
Performance on the right side of the screen) . A
group of five delegates, including Thomas Jefferson, became
the committee commissioned to create an appropriate document
explaining the rationale for declaring independence. The
document was basically written by Jefferson and focused on
grievances against the King of England and the basic
principles justifying a revolution. He also expressed a
belief that American colonists had been deprived of their
rights, abused and treated as second class citizens, a
phrase embraced or at least cited by all "democracies": "We
hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are
created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable rights; that among these are life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". A
point of note is that during this time period the term "men"
was gender/race specific and not a catch all word for
"humans". In the Revolutionary War, women ran businesses,
operated farms and filled positions vacated by males
fighting the war. Despite their contributions, women were
still relegated to second class status. These individuals
would begin active agitation to secure more legal rights and
Abigail Adams expressed this perspective in her
Remember the Ladies Letter.
The rationale for revolution was
also explained: "that, to secure these rights,
governments are instituted among men, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any
form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is
the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to
institute new government, laying its foundation on such
principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to
them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and
happiness". Today, this same quotation is utilized
by terrorist groups in the United States and throughout the
world.
The document closes with the
statement: "And for the support of this declaration,
with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence,
we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes,
and our sacred honor". This was no idle promise as
many of the signers suffered great physical, mental and
economic hardship. Take a few moments to scroll down and
review the names of the men signing the
Declaration of Independence-(scroll
down)-do any of the students from Chautauqua County notice
anything of interest? 5
points extra credit if you e-mail the correct answer
to me.
A point of note is the actual
meaning of "all men are created equal", as applied to
American society of 1776. Who was included/excluded? What
about the deletion of a
"Rough Draft"
quotation in The American
Spirit. The theory of equality had been defined,
the next two hundred and twenty-five years has been a
difficult journey towards fulfillment. But the tumultuous
years from 1776 - 1783 would determine if this infant
nation, called The United States of America, would become
more than words on parchment. What the heck is parchment?
From the first anonymous shot fired
at Lexington in 1775 until the signing of the Treaty of
Paris in 1783, the colonists were engaged in both a civil
war and a foreign war. Many historians suggest that the
general population of all the colonies was less than united
in this revolutionary struggle. Perhaps one-third of the
population actively joined the armed conflict to achieve
independence, a similar number of colonists remained loyal
to the King and took up arms against the "Patriots" and the
final third of the population was neutral. Related to this
fact, you may enjoy reading some of the letters, techniques
and issues related to
Spies of the American Revolution.
As the war began, there were significant questions related
to advantages and disadvantages for the Patriots or The
British. Without belaboring the point, think of this as the
Super Bowl being played between the best team and the worst
team in the league. Who had the most and best trained
troops, a superior navy, the most weapons, financial backing
and an established government? The other side had????? The
first few years of the war, as implied in the last sentence,
went very badly for the Continental Army. Numerous defeats,
worthless currency, ill fed, poorly supplied and
disheartened troops seemed to predict inevitable failure.
Even George Washington, in his letters, questioned his
decision to lead the army, the commitment of his
troops/militia, the impotence of the Continental Congress
and the remote chance for victory. The turning point came in
October, 1777 at Saratoga, New York view this video clip
from the History Channel
Saratoga Command Decisions.
--when Generals Horatio
Gates and Benedict Arnold ( a great American hero!?)
defeated British forces under General Burgoyne. News of this
victory, and the persuasion of Benjamin Franklin, resulted
in King Louis XVI of France publicly pledging money,
supplies, weapons, gun powder and military/naval force to
the American cause. Why would an absolute monarch aid a
revolution promoting an end to his type of government?
Insanity, Enlightenment, Stupidity--au contraire mon frère.
This was a calculated maneuver to inflict casualties and
weaken the empire of an historical enemy--the British.
Regardless of the rationale, this alliance was the decisive
factor in the success of the American struggle for
independence. In the last major battle of the Revolutionary
War fought near Yorktown, Virginia, Washington used the
support of French regular troops and a naval fleet from the
Caribbean to defeat General Cornwallis. View this video
clip regarding
Yorktown.
In 1783, the Treaty of Paris was
signed with numerous provisions including:
1. Britain would recognize the
existence of the United States as an independent nation
2. The Mississippi River would be
the western boundary of this new nation.
There are hundreds of accounts of
heroic acts, victories, terrorist tactics, violations of
human/property rights, disappointments and tragedies on both
sides. If you wish take a few moments to visit this PBS
website to highlight some of the significant events and
battles of the
Revolutionary War . However, the bottom line was
that one of the most powerful countries in the world had
been defeated by "rabble in arms" or "ill educated and
untrained peasants". Like all adolescents, the time had come
to leave home and live independently. You may also enjoy
this comprehensive essay
"Was the Revolution a revolution?".
For each module I recommend that you visit A Biography
of America
http://learner.org/resources/series123.html#
,
an exceptional video instructional
series for high school and college students produced by WGBH
Boston in cooperation with the Library of Congress and the
National Archives and Records Administration. These thirty
minute lectures incorporate first person narratives,
photographs, film footage and documents related to various
historical time periods. Combined with my introductory
comments, the required textbooks and our discussions, I
believe you will acquire a more in-depth and enjoyable
encounter with history. Please note the requirements and
possible download limitations—which is why this is not a
requirement. Please follow the directions below and give it
a try!!!!
You can view Annenberg/CPB programs
of your choice online with a broadband connection whenever
you see this icon.
 There is no
charge for this service.
Simply select a
program
and go to the individual program description listing and
click on the icon. Free sign up required for first-time
users. To hear the sound and view video, you should have
Windows Media Player, DSL, a cable modem, or a LAN
connection to a T1 line or greater, and have Javascript
enabled. For more information, please visit our broadband
FAQ.
For this topic—visit
http://learner.org/resources/series123.html#
and access the presentation: The Coming of Independence.
Our textbook offers a very comprehensive Online Student
Learning Center. Click on the link below, Select the
appropriate chapter and you will have access to: Chapter
Objectives, Chapter in Perspective, Chapter Overview, numerous
Interactive Activities, Primary Source documents and my
favorite--Internet Exercises/Recommended Sites Related to the
Specific Topics
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072870982/student_view0/index.html
Folk Music of American History: Music and Lyrics
(highly recommended music before or after reading
cyberlectures!)
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