Chapter 5: The American Revolution and Confederation 1774-1787
O! ye that love mankind! ye that dare oppose not only the tyranny but the tyrant, stand
forth! Every spot of the Old World is overrun with oppression. Freedom hath been
hunted round the globe...O! receive the fugitive and prepare in time an asylum for
mankind.
-T Paine, Common Sense, 1776
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The First Continental Congress
§ Purpose: Respond to what the delegates viewed as Britain's
alarming threats to their liberties
o Actions of the Congress
§ Voted on measures to change British policy without offending
moderates/conservatives
§ Galloway's Plan: would have reordered relations with Parliament
and formed a union of colonies within British empire
• Failed by 1 vote
§ Instead, these measures were adopted:
• Endorsed Suffolk Resolves: immediate repeal of
Intolerable Acts and for colonies to resist them by making
military preparations and boycotting British goods
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Passed Declarations of Rights and Grievances: Urged king
to redress (make right) colonial grievances and restore
colonial rights
o Compromise: recognized Parliament's authority to
regulate commerce
Created Continental Association: network of committees to
enforce the economic sanctions of the Suffolk Resolves
Declared that if colonial rights were not recognized,
delegates would meet again in 1775
Fighting Begins!
§ King dismissed petition from First Continental Congress
• Declared Mass. to be in a state a rebellion and sent
additional troops to put down any further disorders
• Combination of colonial defiance and British determination
to suppress it led to violent clashes in Massachusetts.
o Lexington and Concord
§ April 1775: General Gage, British commander sent a large force to
seize colonial military supplies in Concord
o Bunker Hill
§ June 1775: true battle fought between opposing armies (outskirts
of Boston)
Second Continental Congress
§ May 1775
§ Divided congress: New England group thought they should
declare Independence; Middle colonies hoped to resolve conflict
by negotiating with GB
o Peace Efforts
§ Many in colonies did not want independence
• Valued their heritage and Britain's protection, but they did
want a change in the GB/Colonial relationship
§ July 1775- Olive Branch Petition: Pledged loyalty to King George
III and asked the king to intercede with Parliament to secure
peace and the protection of colonial rights
• King George III dismissed the congress' plea and agreed
instead to Parliament's Prohibitory Act, which declared the
colonies in rebellion
• Few months later, Parliament forbade all trade and
shipping between Britain and the colonies
o Thomas Paine's Argument for Independence
§ Common Sense
• Argued in clear and forceful language for the colonies
becoming independent states and breaking all political ties
with the British monarchy
• Contrary to common sense that a large continent was ruled
by a small and distant island
o Declaration of Independence
§ After a year of meeting, gradually favored independence rather
than reconciliation
§ Listed grievances against George III's government and also
expressed the basic principles that justified revolution: "we hold
these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal;
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that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of
Happiness."
The Revolutionary War
o Patriots
§ Mainly New England and Virginia
§ Locals served in militia units for short periods
§ Washington never had more than 20,000 regular troops under his
command at one time
• Chronically short of supplies, poorly equipped, and rarely
paid
§ African Americans:
• When Britain promised freedom to enslaved people who
joined their side, Washing and the congress made the
same offer
• About 5,000 fought as Patriots
o Loyalists
§ Tories:
• About 60,000 Tories fought next to British soldiers,
supplied them with arms and food, and joined in raiding
parties
• Tended to be wealthier and more conservative
§ American Indians:
• Attacks by colonists prompted American Indians to support
the British, who promised to limit colonial settlements in the
west
o Initial American Losses and Hardships
§ 1775-1777: Washington's Army is poorly trained and equipped
§ By 1777: British occupied New York and Philly
§ 1777-1778: Demoralizing winter at Valley Forge
§ Economy: British occupation of ports = 95% decline in trade
o Alliance with France
§ Turning Point: Saratoga, October 1777
• Diplomatic Effect: News of American victory persuaded
France to join in war against Britain
§ Louis XVI, absolute monarch, had no interest in aiding a
revolutionary movement
• Saw a chance to weaken his country's enemy
o Reasons colonists supported the war
§ Believed George III was a tyrant
§ Believed that Parliament wanted to control the internal affairs of
the colonies without the consent of the colonists
§ Resented the quartering of troops
§ Wanted to preserve their local autonomy
o Victory
§ Yorktown: 1781, shores of Chesapeake Bay in Virginia
• Strongly supported by French navy/military
• Washington forced surrender of Cornwallis
§ Treaty of Paris
• Blow to Tory party in Parliament
War was becoming unpopular because of the strain
on economy
• Tories replaced by Whigs who wanted to end the war
• 1783, Treaty signed
o 1) Britain would recognize the existence of the
United States as an independent nation
o 2) The Mississippi River would be the western
boundary
o 3) Americans would have fishing rights off the coast
of Canada
o 4) Americans would pay debts owed to British
merchants and honor Loyalist claims for property
confiscated during the war
Why did America win?
§ Diplomatic:
• Foreign Aid
§ Political:
• British gov was inept
• Americans better at gaining support of neutral colonists
• Thirteen sovereign states appealed to colonials
§ Military:
• U.S. was too large to conquer and occupy
• Washington won critical battles at critical times
• Foreign help
• British communication across Atlantic took too long
• French blockade of Chesapeake
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Organization of New Governments
o State Governments
§ 10 former colonies had new constitutions by 1777
§ Common features of the state constitutions:
• List of Rights: Each began with a "bill" or "declaration"
listing the basic rights and freedoms, such as a jury trial
and freedom of religion
• Separation of Powers: 3 Separate Branches
• Voting: Extend to all white males who owned some
property
o Articles of Confederation
§ Structure of Government:
• Central government with one body, a congress
o Each state was given one vote
o 9 out of 13 required to pass important laws
§ Powers:
• Congress had power to wage war, make treaties, send
diplomatic representatives, and borrow money
• Did not have the power to regulate commerce or collect
taxes
• To finance anything, congress had to rely upon taxes
voted by each state
§ Accomplishments:
Winning the war, negotiating favorable terms in peace
treaty
• Land Ordinance of 1785: policy for surveying and selling
western lands. Set aside one section of land in each
township for public education
• Northwest Ordinance of 1787: Territory between Great
Lakes and Ohio River, passed law that set rules for
creating new states. Granted limited self-government to the
developing territory and prohibited slavery in the region
§ Problems with the Articles:
o Intended central government to be weak, and it was
• Financial: War debts were unpaid. States and congress
issued worthless paper money. Congress had no taxing
power.
• Foreign: European nations had little respect for a new
nation that couldnt pay its debts or take effective and
united action in a crisis
• Domestic: 1786, Daniel Shays led other farmers in an
uprising against high state taxes, imprisonment for debt,
and lack of paper money.
o Rebel farmers stopped collection of taxes and
forced the closing of debtors' court.
Social Change (from Revolution)
o Separation of Church and State
§ States refused to give financial support to any religious group
§ Anglican church is gone from the south
o Women
§ Cooks and nurses in army camps
§ Molly Pitcher = B.A.
• Took her husband's place at the Battle of Monmouth
§ Deborah Sampson = B.A.
• Passed as a man and served as a soldier for a year
§ Maintained colonial economy: ran family farms and business
§ Remained second-class citizens
• Abigail Adams to John Adams: "I desire you would
remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable
to them than your ancestors"
o Slavery
§ Continental Congress abolished the importation of enslaved
people and most states went along with it
§ Most northern states ended slavery, some southern slave owners
voluntarily freed their slaves
§ In decades following Revolution, more and more slave owners
came to believe that enslaved labor was essential to their
economy
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