Terms
Tories- A derisive term applied to loyalists in America who supported the King and Parliament just before and during the American Revolution.
Benedict Arnold- American hero in early battles of the Revolution. However, when he became unhappy with his position in the army in 1779, he became a spy for the head of the British army in New York City. After he was caught attempting to betray the post which he commanded at West Point on the Hudson River, he took refuge with the British army and became a general for them.
King’s Mountain- A battle that took place in the backcountry between the Carolinas at King’s Mountain when Patriot sharpshooters outflanked and destroyed a Loyalist force.
Battle of Long Island- A battle with many casualties that turned into a disaster for America, and they were forced to withdraw to Manhattan.
Trenton and Princeton- Two battles in the winter between 1776 and 1777 where the Americans inflicted heavy losses on the British.
Yorktown- The Battle at which Generals Rochambeau and Washington caused the British to surrender
Treaty of Alliance, 1778- Allied the US with the French, “should total war break out between the French and British”. The French agreed to recognize the freedom of the US, and they both agreed that neither would make peace with the British without the consent of the other.
Battle of Saratoga- Battle where the Americans surrounded and captured nearly 6,000 British soldiers. It was the worst British defeat until the Battle of Yorktown.
Rochambeau- French general who was in charge of 5,000 troops who landed in Rhode Island in 1780. He and General Washington came up with the plan of locking Cornwallis and his troops at Yorktown, with the help of the French Caribbean fleet. It was later that he and Washington forced Cornwallis to surrender.
George Rogers Clark- Organized a group of Kentucky militia, and raided the old French, now British settlements. Captured Colonel Henry Hamilton, British commander in the West.
Articles of the Confederation- Written document setting up the loose confederation of states that comprised the first national government of the United States.
Continental Army- The regular or professional army authorized by the Second Continental Congress and commanded by Colonel George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
Treaty of Paris, 1783- A series of separate agreements between the US, the British, the French, and the Spanish that ended the Revolutionary War in Versailles. September 3rd, 1783.
Land Ordinance, 1785- Act passed by Congress under the Articles of the Confederation that created the grid system of surveys by which all subsequent public land was made available for sale.
Joseph Brant- Mohawk leader who is credited with bringing the most Iroquois warriors into a British camp. After George R. Clark’s successes, he mounted a new set of offensives that overshadowed Clark’s accomplishments.
Northwest Ordinance, 1787- Legislation that prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territories and provided the model for the incorporation of future territories into the union as co-equal states.
Virginia Declaration of Rights- A set of inherent rights as written by George Mason. It said humans have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Said the people were to be served by the government, and that the people had the right to reform, alter, or abolish the government. Gave many other items from the Bill of Rights.
Phyllis Wheatley- African American writer who lived during the Revolution. Wrote Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral while still a domestic slave.
Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom- A law drafted in 1779 by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison which denounced uniform religion in a nation, and praised freedom to choose a religion for oneself. It became part of Virginia law that no man should be forced to support a certain system of beliefs.
Baron von Steuben- A Prussian officer who came to America to assist in training the American forces. He used very tough training methods to help the soldiers bond as a group.
Questions
1) The experience at Valley Forge mentally and physically prepared the soldiers for war. It was that experience which put them in a mindset to go to war. That experience also hardened them and physically prepared them for war. Not only that, but the experience at Valley Forge also created a bond between the soldiers that formed a trust and brotherhood for the duration of the war. Had those soldiers not gone through the experience at Valley Forge, they possibly would have been too lazy and easygoing to successfully defend their families and friends, and could have lost the war.
2) The British view of war changed over time because that is what the changing measures being taken by the Americans required of them. They initially conceived the idea as one of police action because they did not see the Americans as even being close to having the ability to defeat them. They saw the war as a way to put the colonists back in their place and make them sorry for their actions. However, this view changed when the Americans started winning and got the French involved, and overall began to have a shot at winning their independence. Therefore, the view had to change to one of making sure they could keep the colonies under British control, or else the war would have ended up with the Americans winning, which it did.
3) The Loyalists were colonists who believed the colonies should remain faithful to the British crown, and who supported the British fully. They did not support the Revolution because they did not believe that the colonies should have been independent from Britain. The British used them as rebels who served and helped the British forces in battle or in any way they could. The Patriots, meanwhile, killed and publicly embarrassed, as well as restricted the liberties of, the Loyalists because they were seen as against the common cause. The Patriots were justified in these actions because the Loyalists served as a potential threat to their cause, and therefore as enemies.
4) Different parts of the country had different elements as far as geography, vegetation, and lifestyle. Therefore, the war had to be approached differently in all regions. In the South, the British used the method of freeing slaves to bolster their forces, and they went on to free more slaves and plunder land. In New England, the citizens were very anti-British, and were very intent on getting their freedom. Therefore, their rebellions were more violent and contained more mob-mentality. In the West, there were many Indian tribes which the British used to bolster their forces as well. They made promises to them that the Indians could not turn down.
5) In the Revolution, women had lives change by getting involved in the war. They were used as nurses in medical tents, and they also sent clothes and food to their husbands. Some blacks had a different life because some were freed by the British government, and then were even able to bear arms against their past owners. Indians were also used in British forces, and were promised land and other freedoms at war’s end.
6) I agree with this statement because had the French not offered their military expertise, soldiers, and supplies to the Americans, the Americans would not have had what they needed to win the war, especially in the departments of supplies and troops.
Tories- A derisive term applied to loyalists in America who supported the King and Parliament just before and during the American Revolution.
Benedict Arnold- American hero in early battles of the Revolution. However, when he became unhappy with his position in the army in 1779, he became a spy for the head of the British army in New York City. After he was caught attempting to betray the post which he commanded at West Point on the Hudson River, he took refuge with the British army and became a general for them.
King’s Mountain- A battle that took place in the backcountry between the Carolinas at King’s Mountain when Patriot sharpshooters outflanked and destroyed a Loyalist force.
Battle of Long Island- A battle with many casualties that turned into a disaster for America, and they were forced to withdraw to Manhattan.
Trenton and Princeton- Two battles in the winter between 1776 and 1777 where the Americans inflicted heavy losses on the British.
Yorktown- The Battle at which Generals Rochambeau and Washington caused the British to surrender
Treaty of Alliance, 1778- Allied the US with the French, “should total war break out between the French and British”. The French agreed to recognize the freedom of the US, and they both agreed that neither would make peace with the British without the consent of the other.
Battle of Saratoga- Battle where the Americans surrounded and captured nearly 6,000 British soldiers. It was the worst British defeat until the Battle of Yorktown.
Rochambeau- French general who was in charge of 5,000 troops who landed in Rhode Island in 1780. He and General Washington came up with the plan of locking Cornwallis and his troops at Yorktown, with the help of the French Caribbean fleet. It was later that he and Washington forced Cornwallis to surrender.
George Rogers Clark- Organized a group of Kentucky militia, and raided the old French, now British settlements. Captured Colonel Henry Hamilton, British commander in the West.
Articles of the Confederation- Written document setting up the loose confederation of states that comprised the first national government of the United States.
Continental Army- The regular or professional army authorized by the Second Continental Congress and commanded by Colonel George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
Treaty of Paris, 1783- A series of separate agreements between the US, the British, the French, and the Spanish that ended the Revolutionary War in Versailles. September 3rd, 1783.
Land Ordinance, 1785- Act passed by Congress under the Articles of the Confederation that created the grid system of surveys by which all subsequent public land was made available for sale.
Joseph Brant- Mohawk leader who is credited with bringing the most Iroquois warriors into a British camp. After George R. Clark’s successes, he mounted a new set of offensives that overshadowed Clark’s accomplishments.
Northwest Ordinance, 1787- Legislation that prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territories and provided the model for the incorporation of future territories into the union as co-equal states.
Virginia Declaration of Rights- A set of inherent rights as written by George Mason. It said humans have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Said the people were to be served by the government, and that the people had the right to reform, alter, or abolish the government. Gave many other items from the Bill of Rights.
Phyllis Wheatley- African American writer who lived during the Revolution. Wrote Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral while still a domestic slave.
Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom- A law drafted in 1779 by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison which denounced uniform religion in a nation, and praised freedom to choose a religion for oneself. It became part of Virginia law that no man should be forced to support a certain system of beliefs.
Baron von Steuben- A Prussian officer who came to America to assist in training the American forces. He used very tough training methods to help the soldiers bond as a group.
Questions
1) The experience at Valley Forge mentally and physically prepared the soldiers for war. It was that experience which put them in a mindset to go to war. That experience also hardened them and physically prepared them for war. Not only that, but the experience at Valley Forge also created a bond between the soldiers that formed a trust and brotherhood for the duration of the war. Had those soldiers not gone through the experience at Valley Forge, they possibly would have been too lazy and easygoing to successfully defend their families and friends, and could have lost the war.
2) The British view of war changed over time because that is what the changing measures being taken by the Americans required of them. They initially conceived the idea as one of police action because they did not see the Americans as even being close to having the ability to defeat them. They saw the war as a way to put the colonists back in their place and make them sorry for their actions. However, this view changed when the Americans started winning and got the French involved, and overall began to have a shot at winning their independence. Therefore, the view had to change to one of making sure they could keep the colonies under British control, or else the war would have ended up with the Americans winning, which it did.
3) The Loyalists were colonists who believed the colonies should remain faithful to the British crown, and who supported the British fully. They did not support the Revolution because they did not believe that the colonies should have been independent from Britain. The British used them as rebels who served and helped the British forces in battle or in any way they could. The Patriots, meanwhile, killed and publicly embarrassed, as well as restricted the liberties of, the Loyalists because they were seen as against the common cause. The Patriots were justified in these actions because the Loyalists served as a potential threat to their cause, and therefore as enemies.
4) Different parts of the country had different elements as far as geography, vegetation, and lifestyle. Therefore, the war had to be approached differently in all regions. In the South, the British used the method of freeing slaves to bolster their forces, and they went on to free more slaves and plunder land. In New England, the citizens were very anti-British, and were very intent on getting their freedom. Therefore, their rebellions were more violent and contained more mob-mentality. In the West, there were many Indian tribes which the British used to bolster their forces as well. They made promises to them that the Indians could not turn down.
5) In the Revolution, women had lives change by getting involved in the war. They were used as nurses in medical tents, and they also sent clothes and food to their husbands. Some blacks had a different life because some were freed by the British government, and then were even able to bear arms against their past owners. Indians were also used in British forces, and were promised land and other freedoms at war’s end.
6) I agree with this statement because had the French not offered their military expertise, soldiers, and supplies to the Americans, the Americans would not have had what they needed to win the war, especially in the departments of supplies and troops.