Winning the War

European Intervention, The War in the South, and the Surrender at Yorktown

European Allies Shift the Balance

In February 1778, the men at Valley Forge underwent a dramatic transformation.

Friedrich von Steuben, a talented Prussian drillmaster, volunteered his services to Gen. Washington.

Von Steuben taught the men to stand at attention, execute field maneuvers, fire & reload quickly, and wield bayonets.

French SupportA twenty-year-old French aristocrat by the name of Marquis de Lafayette joined Washington’s staff as a foreign minister.

He lobbied for French support and reinforcements in 1779, and led a command in VA in the last years of the war.

The British Move South

The British decide to shift their operations to the South following the defeat at Saratoga.

They hoped to rally the loyalist support in the south.The British took Savannah, GA in 1779 making it a royal colony, and General Henry Clinton & General Charles Cornwallis took Charles Town, SC in 1780.

The victory at Charles Town was the greatest victory by the British up to this point, and Cornwallis went on to try and take NC as well.Many slaves joined the British as they marched through the south.

In North Carolina, the British were attacked by bands of Patriots, who cut the lines of communications and forced the British to retreat back to SC.

British Loses in 1781While Cornwallis retreated, General Nathanael Greene and General Daniel Morgan attacked his men.Cornwallis sent Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton to pursue Gen. Morgan.

Morgan leads Tarleton on a grueling chase through the back country of SC and in Jan. 1781 at Cowpens, SC the forces met.

The outnumbered Continental forces forced the British to retreat.

Cornwallis attacked Greene two months later only to lose a large portion of his troops.

Cornwallis Moves to VirginiaCornwallis moves from the Carolinas to Virginia in order to get reinforcements.While there , he tries to defeat the forces led by Lafayette and von Steuben. When this failed, Cornwallis made a fatal mistake. He led his men to Yorktown, a peninsula between the James and York rivers.

The British Surrender at YorktownLafayette orders a French fleet to sail down from RI to the Chesapeake Bay. The fleet defeated a British fleet then blockaded the harbor.

17,000 French and American troops surrounded the British at Yorktown and laid siege to the peninsula for 3 weeks.Finally, on October 17, 1781, Cornwallis surrenders .

The Treaty of ParisPeace talks began in Paris in 1782 between representatives of four nations; the United States, Great Britain, France, and Spain.Each side had its own interests:

The British wanted to avoid giving full independence to the USA.

France feared America becoming a world power although they were for their independence.Spain hoped to acquire the land between Appalachians and the Mississippi River.

Fortunately, the US chose its ablest men to negotiate. They included John Adams, Ben Franklin, and John Jay.

Americans refuse to negotiate until full independence was recognized.

In Sept. 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed. It confirmed US independence and set the boundaries from the Mississippi to the Atlantic Ocean and from Florida to Canada.

Future Issues to Come…

• The British made no attempt to protect the land interests of their Native American allies.

• The British also did not make any plans to evacuate their forts

What provisions of the Treaty of Paris promised future troubles?

Americans, on the other hand, agreed that British creditors could collect debts and that Loyalists could sue in courts for recovery of their losses… a promise never fulfilled by state governments.

The American Nation is Expanded

The War as a SymbolThe American Revolution spurned a time of egalitarianism throughout the nation. The distinction between rich and poor was blurred. How?

During the boycotts, all levels of society would wear homespun clothing and refrain from the luxuries of Britain.

The idea that ability, effort, and virtue– not wealth– defined ones worth became a prevalent belief in the new nation.

Unfortunately, these ideals did not apply to the enslaved Africans… but in some cases the morality of it became under question- especially in the North.

Creating a New GovernmentIn the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the Americans had rejected the British form of government.

They set out to build a republic of the people, and on their great seal they added, “A new order of the ages.”

Several questions now needed to be addressed:

Who should participate in government?

How should the government answer to the people?

How would everyone have a voice in the new government?

ConclusionsWith independence came a new set of obstacles and issues to overcome.

The early American society would struggle to unite over several controversial issues.

The biggest struggles included states rights vs. federal powers, slavery, and how the government was to be divided.

In the first years of our independence, it would take several important figures to create our government.

Reminders•HW: Complete Short Answers on Review

Packet

•Leave the class better than you found it!