1. AMERICAN HISTORY

2.  After declaring independence the Congress and colonies took steps to form a country  State Constitutions adopted  Colonists needed to win the war  CONTINENTALS AND REDCOATS  British seemed to have an overwhelming advantage  Britain was a world power  Washington’s army only had about 19,000 soldiers

3.  Colonies had no navy except for merchant ships with guns  Finding and keeping military equipment was hard  Colonists depended heavily on captured weapons and supplies  British army contained hired Germany soldiers  Germans had no loyalty toward a cause  Americans were fighting for homes and liberty

4.  THE ROLE OF WOMEN  American women were active in protests and boycotts  A few women, such as Deborah Sampson, disguised themselves as men and joined the army  Mary Hayes (aka Molly Pitcher) brought water to the troops  Women served as couriers, scouts, and spies

5.  THE ROLE OF AFRICAN AMERICANS  African Americans, both free and slave, fought on both sides of the revolution  Black Americans fought at Lexington and Concord  African Americans generally received the same pay, clothing, and rations as whites  Most African Americans were given menial duties, kept at low ranks, and were not encouraged to re-enlist

6.  THE ROLE OF NATIVE AMERICANS  The Iroquois League has been allies of the British  The British expected their help  The French and Indian war had weakened the league  Only 4 of 6 nations helped the British  British--Mohawks, Senecas, Onandagas, Cayugas  Colonists—Oneidas, Tuscaroras

7.  British react to the Declaration with a show of military strength  Their losses and retreat from Boston made them realize they were in a real war  THE BRITISH FIGHT BACK  General Howe returned as commander of all British forces with a huge force headed for New York

8.  300 ships and 30,000 soldiers arrived in NY in August 1776  Most Revolutionary battles centered in NY, NJ, PA  General Howe and his brother Admiral Howe offered pardon to the rebels if they would give in and promise loyalty  Washington refused  Howe captured Long Island, took many prisoners, but did not follow up on the attack

9.  Washington took advantage of heavy fog and moved his men to Manhattan Island  Americans won small victories to boost moral  In traditional European warfare you don’t fight in the winter  British set up winter quarters at Trenton and Princeton, NJ  Washington didn’t fight like the Europeans  On Christmas Eve 1776, Washington’s army crossed the icy Delaware river to Trenton

10.  The Hessians (German soldiers) were asleep after celebrating Christmas  The Americans took them by surprise and captured weapons and ammunition  The British army was driven out of Princeton  January 1777, the Continental Army went into winter quarters  CAMPAIGNS IN NEW YORK  Spring 1777-British planned to cut off New England from the rest of the colonies

11.  Generals Howe and Burgoyne planned to meet at Albany, NY but Howe decided to attack Philadelphia first  Philadelphia was the capital and had a large loyalist population  Howe and 15,000 men met Washington and his army of 11,000 in southern PA  Howe won the Battle of Brandywine Creek but Washington didn’t suffer any serious casualties

12.  Howe easily captured Philadelphia and set up winter quarters  The Continental Congress fled the city  Washington’s exhausted army settled into winter quarters at Valley Forge, PA 1777- 1778

13.  Burgoyne was conducting a campaign in upstate NY  He was trying to control the Hudson River valley and the St. Lawrence River  He wanted to meet Howe at Albany  July 5, 1777—Fort Ticonderoga recaptured—a serious loss for the Americans  A new American general for NY was named— Horatio Gates  British forces met strong resistance along the Mohawk River

14.  Bloodiest battle of the war occurred at Fort Stanwix – August 1777  American forces under Benedict Arnold arrived to hold the fort  Burgoyne was very short of supplies  Howe’s delay meant no reinforcements from the south for Burgoyne  Burgoyne’s army was down to 5,000 men when they arrived at Saratoga, NY in October 1777  17,000 American troops surrounded the British

15.  Burgoyne tried twice to break the American lines but could not  October 17, 1777—Burgoyne surrendered to Gen. Gates and the Americans  The Battle of Saratoga is considered the turning point of the war  The American victory encouraged France to support the American cause

16.  1777-1778 at Valley Forge was the low point of the revolution  Bitter cold weather – 12,000 men were housed in makeshift huts and tents  Food was scarce – their uniforms were worn and ragged  Many men became ill and hundreds died  Washington kept his men in the field because he was admired and enforced discipline strictly  He always encouraged Congress to treat the men better

17.  MONEY PROBLEMS  Paying for the war was very difficult  Congress didn’t have the power to collect taxes  Most currencies were based on “hard money”—gold or silver (which was scarce)  Paper money became almost worthless and prices soared (INFLATION)

18.  Because continental money was worth very little, farmers would trade products for gold or silver coins with the British  Food shortages occurred at Valley Forge because some merchants would not sell their product to the Continental army  ENCOURAGING WORDS  1776—Thomas Paine wrote “The American Crisis”

19.  Washington rallied his troops by reading from Paine’s writing:  “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman”—Thomas Paine (December 19, 1776)  HELP ARRIVES FROM EUROPE  Several European officers joined the cause

20.  Baron Friedrich von Steuben (Prussian Army)  He drilled Washington’s troops and by spring they were a well-trained fighting force  Marquis de Lafayette (20-year-old French noble)—more on him later  THE END