Revolutionary War

Do Now

• Will be collected in 10 minutes and graded

• You may use your notes

• 2 paragraphs (5-6 sentences)• What was the greatest strength of the

Continental Army?• What was the biggest weakness of the British

Army?

Where are we in the revolutionary war

• Winter 1775 – Americans invade Canada and conquer Montreal but are defeated at Quebec

• March 1776 – Americans force British to evacuate Boston • Americans placed cannons (which had been

taken from a British fort in NY) within firing distance of Boston Harbor• British retreated

• July 4, 1776 – Declaration of Independence

Battle of long island

Battle of long island

• British and Hessians attacked at Brooklyn Heights• Americans were drastically outnumbered• American had to retreat to Manhattan in the

middle of the night• Secret• Small bit of luck – foggy

• First of a series of American losses

• Washington retreats to Pennsylvania – end of November 1776

Battle of trenton

• Video notes• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF-Y7s_YIAU

Battle of saratoga

• September 1777

• British General Burgoyne hoped to cut off New England from rest of colonies• Reinforcements never arrived• Surrendered to Americans

• Most important aspect – convinced France to support Americans• Prove that Americans have a chance• France offers Navy, money, support

• Why would France want to help?• Historic rivals of Britain• Humiliated in French and Indian War• Get back at British

• Benjamin Franklin in Paris, Fall 1776

Franklin in France

• "the most essential and successful American diplomat of all time.”

• Goal was to convince French through politics and persuasion

• Victory at Saratoga secured French Support• Proved that Americans were capable of winning

the war if they had naval and economic support

Valley forge

• British occupied Philadelphia• Was the American capital

• Continental Army spends winter of 1777-1778

• 14,000 soldiers• 1 in 3 had shoes• 2,000 died

• Starvation, disease, exposure

Valley Forge – The story of Us

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iu_-0DjIJc

Training

• Baron von Steuben• Met Ben Franklin in Paris who convinced him to

help Americans• Helped to train soldiers through discipline –

huge morale boost• Wrote training manual with Lafayette

Other foreign help

• Marquis de Lafayette• Frenchmen who joined Continental

Army before France officially supported Americans

• Very loyal to Washington• Refused to be involved in a plot to

get rid of Washington when there were struggles at Valley Forge

• February 6, 1778 – US and France signed a Treaty of Alliance

Spanish Help

• June 21, 1779

• Spain declares war on Great Britain• As a part of alliance with France

• Did not want to openly align with Americans• Dangerous to support a colonial revolution when

Spain still has many colonies

• Hoped to get Florida after the war

Battle of monmouth

• June 1778

• British moving from Philadelphia to New York• Cannons, 10,000 troops, slow moving

• British and Hessians

• Washington intercepted at Monmouth Courthouse

• American Major General Charles Lee was meant to delay British until Washington could arrive• Unorganized fighting and then Americans retreated• Lee’s troops joined with Washington’s troops• Few times when Washington publically lost his temper

• Yelled at Lee for messing up plan

Rallying the troops

• British snuck out to Sandy Hook and then New York• Left fires burning at night

• Patriots consider it an American victory

• Historians view as a draw

• British lost 300, Americans 350• Battle deaths, missing, heat stroke

• 550 British deserters during the march from Philadelphia to NY

Molly Pitcher video

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfS7FPP4bNg

Legacy of molly pitcher

• Carried pitchers of water to men• June 1778 – Heat stroke

• Husband collapsed during battle• Took over his post at a cannon

Battle of yorktown

• British General Cornwallis waits at Yorktown for supplies and reinforcements• French naval blockade• Washington’s army marches from NY to join• Cornwallis surrenders on October 19, 1781

Treaty of paris 1783

• American representatives• Ben Franklin • John Jay• John Adams

• Britain recognizes US independence

• Boundaries – US is from Atlantic to Mississippi and Great Lakes to Florida

• No persecution of Loyalists

Crash Course!

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EiSymRrKI4

Women in the war

• Still considered inferior to men• Couldn’t own property, rule of thumb,

• Women took care of farms and businesses while men were at war

• Work as maids, cooks, seamstresses• Boycott of British goods included clothing so a

new market opened for colonial women

• Joined army doing “women’s work”• Cooking, laundry, nursing

• Some dressed as men to fight

• Republican Motherhood• Educate sons so that they are morally sound

and reasonable• Help the republic to have an educated voter based

• Elite families – afford to educate daughters and mothers didn’t have to work

Writing assignment

• One page about what you think was the most important battle of the war• Support with evidence from notes or textbook

• One page on the greater significance that the American Revolution had on world history.

• One page on a specific woman during the war (not Molly Pitcher). Who was she? How did she help the war effort?

• One page on how the war affected slaves.

• Start in class, complete for homework (each worth 10 points!)

• All 4 pages due on Wednesday!