American Revolution

US 1

2nd Continental Congress

Assumed leadership of the rebellion– Organized army and navy– Established post office– Authorized printing of money

Made last attempt at compromise– Olive Branch Petition– Rejected by King

Declares colonies in rebellion and outside his protection Parliament bars all exports to Americas

Thomas Paine

Ne’er-do-well Englishmen True radical Expressed in everyday language the ideas of

the revolution Common Sense

– Sold over 100,000 copies– Pushes Americans towards independence

Decision for Independence

Congress appoints a committee to consider independence

Intended as a justification for break Based on John Locke’s Contract Theory of

Government– Based on equality– Natural Rights of people—life, liberty, pursuit of happiness

Powerful statement of beliefs

Three Phases of War

Northern Phase Middle Phase Southern Phase

Northern Phase

British concentrated on subduing New England– Hotbed of rebellion– Limited success in dealing with New Englanders– New British commander, William Howe believed

New York City was better center of operations

Middle Phase

Focused on gaining control of middle colonies, in particular New York– Divide and Conquer

Moved main force from Boston to New York City– Nearly destroy Washington’s army outside New York– Fail-British loses a critical opportunity– Washington’s army collapses, Congress abandons

Philadelphia

Winter of 1776

Washington saves his army with two small victories in the “off-season”– Battle of Trenton (December 26, 1776)– Battle of Princeton

Summer 1777

British plan to divide and conquer along Montreal/New York City corridor

Strategy– Gen. Burgoyne south from Montreal to Albany– Gen. St Leger east from Lake Ontario– Gen. Howe north from New York City

Plan was poorly coordinated– Howe never heads north, instead attacks Philadelphia

Saratoga

“Gentleman John” Burgoyne’s forces hacking through Adirondack forest to reach Albany

Isolated over time and running out of supplies

Defeated by army led by Benedict Arnold– Hero of Saratoga

Critical victory– Brings France into the war as Ally

French Alliance

Greatly increases pressure on British– Makes it a “real war”– Risk of invasion

Britain isolated in Europe– Most nations establish League of Armed

Neutrality to maintain trade with America

Southern Phase

British hoped to exploit strong loyalist sentiments in the South

– Provokes a bloody civil war in the region between loyalists and rebels

British enjoy initial success– Capture Charleston and 5,000 rebels

Patriots counterattack– Win series of small victories at King’s Mountain and

Cowpens– Nathanael Greene—exhausts British forces

Final Battle

British commander Cornwallis retreats to Yorktown for re-supply

Washington sees opportunity– Marches a combined force south from New York– Supported by French navy– Force Cornwallis to surrender

Marks end of major fighting in America

Peace of Paris

British inclined to generous terms– Wanted to maintain American trade

American negotiators--Ben Franklin, John Jay, John Adams– Refuse to wait for French

Get everything they want but Canada Best possible deal

Why did the Americans succeed? or

Why did the British fail?

Why British Failed?

British faced uncertainty of food & supplies Misuse loyalist energies Allow colonists to establish alliance with

France Abdicate Civil authority after 1775

The New Nation

Form of nationalism emerges from war experience– Came into conflict as 13 distinct colonies, emerge

as a single nation

Logic pulled states together– No need to 13 post offices or Diplomatic Corps

Creating a Functioning Government

Articles of Confederation developed to provide a necessary national government

Sought to balance war efforts with fear of centralized government

One branch government– No executive or judicial branches– Each state had one vote

Only a “league of friendship”

– Lacked the authority to impose taxes– Most major decisions needed approval of 9 states.

Dealing with land issues

One of the first issues was the allocation of western lands.

Congress eventually passes a series of land ordinances

Land Ordinance of 1785– Survey of Western lands into 6 mile square townships

Northwest Ordinance of 1787– Framework for how western lands become states

Problems Confederation failed to Solve

Threats to the West by Britain and Spain– Never give up lands

Disruptions of foreign trade resulting from independence

Collapse of financial structure– Shay’s Rebellion(1786)

Revision of Articles of Confederation

Movement for change begins in 1780’s– 1786—Annapolis Convention

Only 5 states send delegates Propose second meeting in Philadelphia in 1787

Philadelphia Convention-1787

55 men from 12 states (Rhode Island refuses) Men of “wealth and property” War veterans and experienced in government Most in 30’s and 40’s Tended to distrust too much democracy

Structure of convention

Worked in secrecy– Critical for open debates of controversial ideas– Nailed windows shut

Voted by state Simple majority needed on key issues

Virginia Plan

Proposal of James Madison Total rejection of Confederation government 3 branch government

– Two house legislature– Powerful executive– Judiciary

Eliminated voice of small states by making representation based on population

Government was assembly of people, not states

New Jersey Plan

Small states counter with their own proposal Single House Legislature—each state had one vote Plural Presidency of three men selected from

congress Gave congress sweeping powers

– Right to tax– Regulate trade– Use force on uncooperative state governments

Government remained assembly of states, not people

Great Compromise

Debated the issue of representation for better than two weeks

Hot summer days Close to collapsing due to deadlock Madison was unwilling to give into

representation by state

Solution

Bicameral legislature– Lower house—by population (2 year term)

All money bills originated here

– Upper House—2 representatives per state (6 year term)

Elected by state legislatures

How to count slaves?– Taxation and Representation– 3/5 compromise

Presidency

Chief executive officer—independent of legislature– Selected by an electoral college, body of

prominent men selected by local voters– Second highest vote-getter was Vice-President– Did not envision political parties

Granted veto power over legislation Right to nominate judges

Checks and Balances

Far more complex document than the Articles of Confederation

Sought to curb too much power in any one branch of government

President veto—congressional override power

Judiciary to settle disputes between states and citizens of states

Selling to the American Public

Ratification – Special Constitutional Conventions

Avoids state legislatures– Vested interest in status quo

– Only needed approval of Nine states– Supporters realized ratification would not be easy– Only authorized to revise articles– Radically altered plan between state and local

government

Anti-Federalists

Stood for a confederation of states rather than the creation of a national authority

Tended to be poorer, less urban, less educated

Older than Federalists, remembered royal abuses

Anti-Federalists

Deeply suspicious of political power Believed the larger the republic, the greater

the chance for political corruption Feared large congressional districts—lack of

contact

Federalist Papers

Series of essays penned by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and john Jay that explained and defended a strong national government

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments are the legacy of the anti-federalist argument.

To counter complaints, Federalists promised to present bill of rights as soon as the document was ratified

Anti-federalists came close to winning. Voting was exceptionally close in three large states

—New York, Virginia and Massachusetts

Adding Bill of Rights

Wanted to avoid a 2nd constitutional convention

Madison places a set of amendments before congress

These amendments were passed to prevent the majority operating against the minority– Tyranny of the Majority

Initial proposal reduced