THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION MADE EASY

STAR WARS…Evil Empire…Imperial Storm Troopers…Pesky

Rebels

• Evil Empire = Britain• Imperial Storm Troopers = The British Soldiers

aka “Redcoats”• Pesky Rebels = The “minutemen”• Lexington and Concord, Bunker/Breed’s Hill…

destroying the “Death Star”• Evacuation of Boston…the saga continues

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1776)

• Britain returns

• 400 ships

• 32,000 professional soldiers

• The British thought this show of force would cause the “rebels” to give up

AMERICA

• 17,000 barely trained men…”Old men of 60, boys of 14, and blacks of all ages and ragged for the most part”

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1776)

• Circled GW’s army on Long Island in New York City

• 1,000 US soldiers captured…8,000 more trapped along the East River

• able to escape to Manhattan because of a dense fog

• forced to retreat all the way to New Jersey

NATHAN HALE

• While the British occupied New York City, many Americans stayed behind as spies for the Continental Army.

• One such man was Nathan Hale who posed as a Dutch school teacher.

• He was caught by the British but in his last words before they hanged him he said, “My only regret is that I have but one life to give for my country.”

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1776)

• American soldiers demoralized

• Washington’s reputation tarnished

• British burn 300 buildings in NYC (9/1776)

• American navy loses 84 gunships @ Lake Champlain (10/1776)

• British troops overrun Ft. Washington…capture 3000 soldiers, 100 cannons, thousands of muskets

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1776)

• Ft. Lee in New Jersey falls to the British• American Naval base @ Newport, R.I. is

captured• British capture Philadelphia (capital) …

Continental Congress forced to flee to Baltimore

• Enlistments times are up …down to 1400 men by year’s end “Ten more days will put an end to the existence of our army- GW”

African-Americans Join the Fight

• Washington pleaded with the Continental Congress for more troops.

• He asked the Congress to enlist free African-Americans.

• Early in the war southern states did not want this…feared slave uprising

• By the end of the war, every state except SC had enlisted AA (about 5,000)

THINK-PAIR-SHARE

• Given the fact that Britain had offered enslaved African-Americans their freedom if they fought for the British, why would free African-Americans want to help the Americans?

The Return of the Jedi

• In a desperate move, GW plans an attack of the Hessian garrison @ Trenton, New Jersey. (Christmas night, winter)

Return of the Jedi…

• Washington captures 900 Hessians at Trenton and also drove the British out of Princeton, NJ

• Washington’s victory at Trenton redeemed his reputation and reinvigorated the Continental army.

“A few days ago, the Americans had given up the cause for lost.

Their late successes have turned the scale and they are all

liberty mad again.”- British soldier’s diary following the fall of

Trenton and Princeton

BRITAIN’S STRATEGY FOR WINNING THE WAR

Britain’s Plan for Victory

• 3 prong attack

1.8,000 troops led by Gen Burgoyne head south from Canada

2.2nd force, led by Col. Barry St. Ledger would move east from Lake Ontario

3. 3rd group, led by Gen. Howe would move north from New York City

Britain’s Plan for Attack

• 3-pronged attack designed to split the trouble-making New England colonies from the other colonies by controlling the Hudson River.

What do you think Britain is trying to accomplish with this plan?

Prong #3

• Gen. Howe planned to take the American capital, Philadelphia before marching to Albany.

• He did so in Oct. 1777, forcing the Continental Congress to flee to Baltimore

• Howe postponed his march to Albany, deciding instead to spend the winter nice and toasty in Philadelphia

Prong #2

• In August 1777, American soldiers under the command of Benedict Arnold attacked the British at Ft. Stanwix, NY forcing the British to retreat.

Prong #1

• Gen. Burgoyne was not making much progress toward Albany either.

• Known as “Gentleman Johnny” Burgoyne, he was a dashing general who enjoyed good food and fine clothes.

• Loaded down with 30 wagons of luxury goods just for the general, his army moved slowly through the dense forests of NY.

Prong #1- Gen. Burgoyne

• To make matters worse, the Americans blocked the British path by chopping down trees to block the road.

• In need of food and supplies, Burgoyne sent a detachment of 800 soldiers to capture the American supply base at Bennington, VT.

Prong #1- Gen. Burgoyne

• A local VT militia group known as the Green Mountain Boys and led by Ethan Allen attacked the British who made easy targets in the woods in their bright red uniforms.

• They were easily defeated.

Burgoyne at Saratoga

• Burgoyne faced serious trouble.

• He expected help from British forces from the west and south but they had not arrived. (they weren’t coming)

• American General Horatio Gates blocked his path and Burgoyne soon found himself surrounded by an army THREE TIMES as large as his.

Burgoyne at Saratoga

• Burgoyne made one desperate attack on October 7, 1777 but the Americans held firm.

• With no other choice, Burgoyne surrendered.

• As an American band played “Yankee Doodle” 5700 British soldiers handed over their weapons.

The Battle of Saratoga

• Gen. Howe was forced to resign as British commander of the War. He was replaced by Gen. Henry Clinton.

THINK-PAIR-SHARE

• Saratoga is considered to be the “turning point” of the War. Why do you think this is?

Britain’s Plan for Victory• Plan foiled when British General Burgoyne and

his 5700 troops are captured at SARATOGA• SARATOGA is the turning point of the war.

Although the fighting would continue for many years, many Europeans countries now openly supported the Americans, especially the French.

ANOTHER TERRIBLE WINTER

• VALLEY FORGE

HELP FROM OVERSEAS• Marquis de Lafayette- French nobleman,

became a trusted aide to Washington• Friedrich von Steuben a former office in the

Prussian (German) army drilled the Patriots at Valley Forge and turned the Continental Army into a disciplined fighting force.

• Bernardo de Galvez (Spanish governor of Louisiana), seized British forts all the way to Florida. (Spanish, French, Native Americans

BRITAIN’S STRATEGY FOR WINNING THE WAR

YOU GOTTA HAVE A GAME PLAN

• Once their initial strategy failed, Britain devised a new strategy.

• WAR ON THE FRONTIER- enlist the help of Native Americans and stage a series of brutal attacks on settlements…Cherry Valley Massacre and Washington’s reaction….US victory at Vincennes

Indian Lands

NAVAL BATTLES

• Britain failed to use the powerful navy effectively during the war.

• In 1775, the CC authorized the building of four American warships. They also adapted several merchant vessels for fighting.

• Rather than take on the British war ships, the American navy focused on raiding supply ships.

John Paul Jones- America’s first naval hero

• Born John Paul, outlaw, fled to America and added Jones to his name.

• Considered a pirate by the British, he captured many GB supply ships.

• Admired by the French, they presented him with a small fleet of 7 vessels.

• Flagship named the Bonhomme Richard

Bon Homme Richard vs. Serapis• British knocked out the heaviest artillery

on the BR.

• When asked if he wanted to surrender, Jones replied “I have not yet begun to fight!”

• The battle lasted for 2 more hours with the British surrendering.

• Continental navy had fewer than 100 ships yet Britain lost more than 200 ships during the course of the war.

BRITAIN’S STRATEGY FOR WINNING THE WAR

THE WAR MOVES SOUTH

With your shoulder partner, formulate an opinion on why the British would move the War to the South.

THE WAR MOVES SOUTH

• Defeat at Charleston- worst defeat of the war

• Gates flees Cornwallis….replaced by Nathanael Greene

• Guerilla Tactics

• King’s Mountain

• Yorktown– The War is over

The Treaty of Paris (1783)

• Peace talks begin in Paris in 1782

• Congress sent Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Jay and Henry Laurens to negotiate.

• Pressured by Parliament to end the war, the Americans got most of what they wanted.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

• Britain recognized the US as an independent nation

• Borders: Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. The southern border stopped at Florida (which belonged to Spain again)

• Britain to remove all troops from American soil

• US gets the right to fish in the waters off Canada

The Treaty of Paris (1783)

• In return, the Americans agreed to:

• Let British merchants collect money owed to them

• Ask state legislatures to pay back loyalists for the property they had lost