CHAPTER 6 Securing Independence, Defining Nationhood, 1776-1788 1.What factors enabled the Americans to defeat the British in the American Revolution?

CHAPTER 6

Securing Independence, Defining Nationhood, 1776-1788

1. What factors enabled the Americans to defeat the British in the American Revolution?

2. How did the Revolution affect relationships among Americans of different classes, races,

and genders?

3. What political concerns were reflected in the first state constitutions and Articles of Confederation?

4. What were the principal issues dividing proponents and opponents of the new federal Constitution?

The Prospects of War

Loyalists and Other British Sympathizers

Loyalists/Tories: Patriots/Whigs:

20% 80%

Slaves: Slaves:

20,000 to the British 5,000 fought for the patriots

Indians: Indians:

Most sided with the A few sided with the

British patriots


The Opposing SidesBRITAIN

1.11 million people 1. Had to pay for it all

2.Largest navy in the world 2. Had to transport it all

3.Exceptional army 3. Over doubled the debt to people already paying record taxes

4.Hessians and Loyalists 4. Had to defeat the colonists

5. No formidable allies


The Opposing SidesCOLONIES

1. “Home Field” advantage 1. 2.5 million people (1/3 were slaves or

loyalists)

2. 220,000 troops (to the British 2. Untrained army/militia

162,000

3. European allies (later) 3. Most Indians fought with the British

4. They didn’t have to win the 4. Inexperienced officers war – just outlast the British (except for George Washington)

5. Short-term service

War and Peace, 1776-1783

Shifting Fortunes in the North, 1776-1778Things were going fairly well for the Brits until…

October, 1777 – The Battle of Saratoga

• Convinced the French that the colonists couldwin and they declared war against Britain

• Spain joined in 1779• Netherlands joined in 1780

Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben whipped the ContinentalArmy into a formidable fighting force

Von Steuben Day parades are held every year. Ferris Beullerwent to the one in Chicago on his “day off”.


The War in the West, 1776-1782

The colonists and the Native Americans

pretty much continued their skirmishes from

before the war

Nothing too memorable for AP purposes

except that many Indians were killed, making

it that much easier for the whites to conquer

them later


Victory in the South, 1778-1781October 19, 1781 – British General Cornwallis surrendered after being trapped by G. Washington from the North and the French from the sea. This all but ended the war.

So, in summary…


Peace at Last, 1782-1783Treaty of Paris (again) of 1783•Britain recognized American independence•Britain promised to remove all troops•American got all land east of the Mississippi•Spain received Florida•Indians weren’t mentioned in the treaty

Both sides didn’t follow the treaty:

British didn’t remove troops/forts or return slaves

Americans didn’t repay British creditors, compensate loyalists

Many loyalists and slaves fled to Canada, Britain, or the West Indies

The Revolution and Social Change

Egalitarianism Among White Men

After the Revolution, white men with

property began to treat each other

with a more-mutual respect


White Women in WartimeAlthough during the war women were awesome and essential to winning the war by taking over the “men’s work”…

after the war it was back to thestatus quo

“All men are created equal”apparently didn’t apply towomen… of any color


A Revolution for African-AmericansGradual emancipation started to take place in the North

However, free blacks were still very much second-class citizens without much chance of real success

“All men are created equal” and slavery didn’t sit well with a lot of Americans, so slavery actually looked as if it was going to fade away, but… (stay tuned for more in the next few chapters)


Native Americans and the RevolutionNative Americans suffered

more than any other group

after the war

Many of them were either

killed or their land was

taken from them

A few assimilated into white

American culture

Forging New Governments, 1776-1787

From Colonies to StatesState governments usually kept a bicameral system and property requirements

to vote

The new state constitutions were

written down and included bills

of rights

At first the legislative branch had more power and the executive branch had less, but the rich folks saw to it that that didn’t last for more than a couple of decades


Formalizing a Confederation, 1776-1781The Articles of Confederation – written in 1776 – finally ratified in 1781

It was purposely written to create a weak national government (with the power going to the states)

• One branch (legislative) with each state getting one vote

• No national army

• No required taxes

• No chief executive

• No judicial system

• Needed 9/13 states to

create a law

• Needed 13/13 states to

create an amendment


Finance, Trade, and the Economy, 1781-1786

The Revolutionary War cost $160 million

The US couldn’t raise that money via taxes

(thanks to the rules stated in the Articles of

Confederation)

The US currency (The Continental)

depreciated by 98%


The Confederation and the WestThe Land Ordinance of 1785

This laid out how

land would be

surveyed into 36

sections

This was one of

the two ‘successes’

of the Articles of

Confederation


The Confederation and the WestThe Northwest Ordinance of 1787

This laid out how new stateswould be created in the landcalled the NW Territory

No slaves in new territories

Britain still had forts in the NWTerritory and helped Indiansharass the Americans

Spain closed off New Orleans tothe Americans

Toward a New Constitution, 1786-1788

Shays’s RebellionIn 1786-1787 Daniel Shays led some angry farmers to raid a federal arsenal in

Springfield, MA. They were upset with the MA government’s severe taxes. The rebellion itself isn’t what you

should focus on…

the real significance is what it led to…

The rebellion showed that we needed a

much stronger national government and so

the Philadelphia Convention happens (after

meeting in Annapolis) – we create the

Constitution – all because of some

ticked-off farmers!


The Philadelphia Convention, 1787May 25, 1787 – September 17, 1787

55 Delegates from all states but Rhode Island

Biggest hurdle = how to represent states in Congress


The Philadelphia Convention, 1787The national government got a lot more powerful while the states

lost a lot of power to the new “supreme law of the land”

However, the

separation of powers,

checks and balances,

and federalism all

limit the government


The Philadelphia Convention, 1787The Preamble to the Constitution


The Philadelphia Convention, 1787Slavery and the Constitution

• Can’t interfere with the international slave trade for 20 years (until 1808)

• Can’t prevent escaped slaves from being returned to their owners

• Slaves count as 3/5 of a person for representation purposes

Every 30,000 citizens = 1 representative

So, every 50,000 slaves = 1 representative


The Struggle Over Ratification, 1787-1788• Constitution written: 1787

• Constitution ratified: 1788

• Government commenced

operations under the

Constitution: 1789

Documents

CHAPTER 6 Securing Independence, Defining Nationhood, 1776-1788 1.What factors enabled the Americans to defeat the British in the American Revolution?