Victory and Confederation Or Victory In Spite of the Odds

Spain and France had secretly sent arms to the Patriots To weaken Britain’s global power

The Patriots tried to convince France to send troops but the French wanted to make sure the Patriots could win

At the Battle of Saratoga, the Patriots won

The French government formally recognized the Patriots’ cause and entered the war as their ally

In 1781, British General Cornwallis decided to invade Virginia If the Americans continued to control Virginia, more troops and supplies would enter the South and help the Patriots

But then something happened The British were defeated at the Battle of Yorktown

During the surrender, a British military band played a popular nursery tune, ‘The World Turn’d Upside Down’

The Treaty of Paris, was signed on September 3, 1783 John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay conducted most of the negotiations for the United States

And a new nation was born The United States of America

But even before independence, the Patriots had created a document for the new nation

It was called the Articles of Confederation And it created a weak central government

After all, they had just fought against a powerful king So, naturally, they feared a powerful government

The Articles only created a Congress No President No Supreme Court

And that Congress did not even have the power to tax – to levy taxes

No power to regulate foreign trade Approval of nine states to enact new laws Could not regulate trade between states And there was no national army

A violent rebellion against state taxes in Massachusetts – Shays’ Rebellion – made Americans realize that they did need a stronger government

But there was one accomplishment The Northwest Ordinance It established a method for a new territory to become a new states