America

Question 1

What were the British strengths going into the war of Independence?

Answer 1

• Potential to muster around 50000 troops, Britain had to keep its international obligations elsewhere
• One of the strongest Navies in the world with 340 ships, the first Lord of the Admiral was skilled and the British could use the ports of Newfoundland, West Indies and Canada as strategic bases
• Britain’s economic systems were the most sophisticated in the world, this allowed Britain to absorb large sums of war debt
• With a population of 8 million, there was the manpower for a large army

Question 2

What were the British weaknesses going into the war of independence?

Answer 2

• The war had no clear goal, it was a war of colonisation and not conquest, there was no singular victory that would signal British victory whereas the Americans simply had to outlast the British aggression
• Support was scattered, strong holds were on ports and seaboards, this meant that the supply line was stretched thin when venturing into the mainland
• Sending reinforcements was a sluggish process
• Different type of warfare to the British, the use of bombardments was futile due to the mobile and spread out enemy
• Poor leadership from Westminster

Question 3

What were the American strengths going into the war of Independence?

Answer 3

• Newly founded American nation was energised and committed
• The process of coming to war had cemented ant British sentiment for many and the declaration of independence has catalysed many to the glorious cause
• Unlike the British, the Americans were motivated and ideologically committed to the cause
• The Americans were fighting on home ground in terrain and climate that challenged the British
• Washington was a brilliant leader, he was responsible for the increasing professionalism of the army and kept his men in check

Question 4

What were the American weaknesses going into the war of Independence?

Answer 4

• The Americans could not levy taxes, they were reliant on paper money and so inflation was rampant
• America was not industrialised and lacked means to develop weapons on a large scale

Question 5

What happened at Lexington and Concord?

Answer 5

• Early fighting was centred in and around Boston
• At Lexington and Concord General Gage attempted to destroy an ammunition cache with a 4000 man strong army
• The British were met by colonial forces and despite destroying the stores they were chased back to Boston and would have been destroyed but were joined by an additional 5000 soldiers
• They were soon surrounded by the continental army 20000 strong

Question 6

What happened at Bunker Hill?

Answer 6

• Bunker Hill was an attempt to challenge the 20000 strong continental army head on
• This proved to be one of the bloodiest battles in the whole conflict and was mainly damaging to the British
• Of the 2500 British that engaged in the battle, 1000 became casualties
• Despite holding their position, the British were off worst as the end
• Soon after the British had to leave Boston and flee to Nova Scotia
• After Bunker Hill, King George III declared all colonies in open rebellion
• If the British realised the seriousness of the situation and launched a sufficient army to crush the early rebellions, they may have been able to prevent the looming war

Question 7

What happened at Saratoga?

Answer 7

• 1777
• Prior to 1777, the British had won every battle
• Saratoga was the first American success and would lead to a number of important consequences
• 8300 troops from Montreal aimed to meet the continental army at Saratoga
• Led by General Burgoyne, a grossly overconfident man
• Burgoyne assumed that Clinton and Howe would be able to offer support if necessary despite never getting any confirmation
• The army were over burdened by supplies and only travelled 1 mile a day including 30 vehicles for Burgoyne’s wardrobe and champagne
• Burgoyne’s assumption that the colonists would flock to support was naive considering he was using Native American troops which alienated any potential support
• Burgoyne’s slow pace was met with resistance and his path was blocked by the continental army
• The greatest failure was Burgoyne’s hope that he had secured support from Clinton and Howe
• British forced to surrender and his soldiers ordered to return home but were captured as POWs

Question 8

What was the significance of the battle of Saratoga?

Answer 8

• Loss of a significant amount of soldiers
• Proved to the Americans that the British were not an insurmountable force
• King George offered to return to the 1763 status quo but this was rejected
• Howe stepped down as commanded in chief
• Crucially, the French decided to intervene and in 1778, the Spanish followed in 1779
• This transformed the war into an international conflict and the foreign support compensated for the earlier shortfalls on the American sides

Question 9

What was the result of French and Spanish intervention?

Answer 9

• British defeat at Saratoga convinced the French and Spanish that their intervention could be an opportunity for revenge for the 7 years’ war
• Supported the Americans with advice and military support
• Importantly, forced the British to focus their resources protecting their territories all over the globe
• In 1778, 65% of the British Army and 41% of the British Navy was in North America
• By 1780, this had dropped to 20% and 13% as Britain was forced to redeploy its military might elsewhere
• The French offered expert military advice with people like Lafayette, Rochambeau and Admiral De Grasse
• The French also offered naval support that would prove to be a deciding factor at the defeat of Yorktown
• The French sent £48 million pounds of war supplies

Question 10

What happened at Yorktown?

Answer 10

• If Saratoga was the turning point in the War of Independence, the events at Yorktown was the deciding factor
• After the French joined the War, the British focused more on the South despite Howe being based in New York
• This was partly to keep an eye on its territories in the West Indies and partly due to the misguided belief that there was a latent reservoir of loyalist support that could be tapped into
• Cornwallis had led the campaign in the South but in 1781, his troops were fatigued and running low on supplies
• Meanwhile, Washington had amassed an army of around 20000 strong in the north
• Cornwallis had decided to establish a stronghold in Yorktown, it was flanked by marsh land and had access to the sea by a port
• This was crucial as it allowed the British to receive supplies and reinforcements from New York
• Howe was not pleased with this move and ordered a retreat swiftly followed by a second order to stay put
• Yorktown was a logical choice for a stronghold but was dependant on the British having control of Chesapeake Bay
• Meanwhile, a French fleet that had been based in the West Indies was making its way to Chesapeake Bay
• As the British attempted to deliver supplies to Yorktown they encountered the French fleet
• The broadside battle that ensued forced a British retreat
• This allowed Washington and his troops to hurry south and challenge Cornwallis head on
• Cornwallis found himself caught between a much larger army and the French fleet
• Washington bombarded Yorktown with artillery fire and dug trenches forward
• Exhausted and outnumbered and with no clear path out, Cornwallis decided to surrender
• When Lord North heard the news he lamented, “Dear God, it’s over”
• This was not because of the defeat per se
• There was still 30000 troops in the Americas and the British still held New York but the political will had been broken
• Debt was spiralling and there was no clear path to victory
• The British decided to cut their losses

Question 11

What were the long term causes of the American war of independence?

Answer 11

• The period of enlightenment was an explosion of new philosophies and ideas, one of these was the belief in democracy and self-governance
• Salutory neglect essentially prevented the colonies from paying any taxes to their British protectorate
• The enlightenment was a period of intellectual movement which challenged long held beliefs in religion, science and politics

Question 12

What was the education like in America?

Answer 12

• The enlightenment led to the growing importance of education, some of today’s best universities were founded in this period, such as Princeton in 1760
• There was a growth of free schools and private education, most free settlers had basic education and literacy rates were higher than most parts of the world
• The curriculum emphasised practical subjects, classics and religion was still important but English, maths and science took priority
• The higher literacy rate resulted in the rise in published newspapers (40 in 1776)
• Pamphlets were a popular form of text, designed to be read aloud so even those who were illiterate could access new ideas
• Pamphlets played an important role in galvinizing the colonists in later stages of revolution
• Creation of public libraries meant enlightenment ideas could spread

Question 13

What was the great awakening?

Answer 13

• Sparked new religious theories, this was a form of mass in the evangelical style
• The evangelical message was rooted in saving ones soul, it was incredibly popular with preachers such as George Whitefield who attracted crowds of up to 50000 people
• The great awakening divided society, colonial leaders were against the evangelists but the poor gave their support, this pitched British loyalists against colonists
• This emphasised the importance of individual, this encouraged people to question traditional authority
• The revivalists used open air preaching, this was later adopted as a way of discussing political ideas especially as the colonies lacked a unified congress

Question 14

How was the Seven Years War a turning point?

Answer 14

• The Seven Years War can rightly be described as a turning point
• It soured the relationship between the colonists and colonial leaders
• The necessity to collect taxes led to the British ending the approach of Salutory neglect

Question 15

What was the social impact of the Seven Years War?

Answer 15

• In the eyes of the colonists, the fact that the French presence had virtually disappeared made them question the need to have the protection of the mother country (especially if they were expected to pay for it)
• The colonial assembly used the wartime emergency to start printing its own paper money and hold its own courts, this was later outlawed in the Currency Acts
• Despite serving in the war together, the colonists and British troops did not get on, the British felt that the colonists were lazy and the colonists felt the British were too strict
• Anomalies arose in the ranks, a British Lieutenant was able to outrank a colonial Captain

Question 16

What was the economic impact of the Seven Years War?

Answer 16

• The Seven Years War was astronomically expensive
• National debt had increased from £75 million to £133 million
• The British GDP was £8 million pounds but the interest on National debt was £4.4 million pounds
• This was an unacceptable level of spending, the colonists were now expected to contribute to British tax revenue
• This was incredibly unpopular as the colonists had no ability to vote against internal taxation
• This anger was epitomised in the famous revolutionary phrase “No taxation without representation.”

Question 17

How was taxation a trigger for the War of Independence?

Answer 17

• The imposition of taxes is inextricably linked to the causes of demands for greater independence
• Even after a series of legislation, the tax the colonists paid was still incredibly low
• The issue of taxation was a rallying point which unified the colonists
• 1764 Sugar Act, placed tariffs on the imports of refined sugar, meant that the Royal navy was employed to intercept smugglers
• Those caught smuggling would be tried in an admiralty court, causing many to belief the long held right of habeas corpus had been reduced
• 1765 Stamp Act, placed a duty on documents that required an official stamp
• 1765 Quartering Act, allowed British troops to stay in empty buildings and private inns, the colonists were responsible for supporting them with supplies
• 1767 Revenue Act, duties placed a tax on a range of goods including paint, lead and controversially, tea

Question 18

How was the Boston Massacre a flash point for the War of Independence?

Answer 18

• 1770
• Small skirmish between colonial troops and the people of Boston that escalated and resulted in the death of several people
• This served as a flashpoint which escalated tensions quickly
• Allowed rebels such as Paul Revere and Sam Adams to utilise the event as propaganda
• It was the first instance of violence used by the British to suppress the colonists
• This shifted the perception of the colonial presence from allies to suppressors

Question 19

How was the Boston Tea Party a flash point for the War of Independence?

Answer 19

• 1773
• In response to the Tea Act
• Tea Act allowed the East India Company to trade directly with the Americas which meant it was able to avoid the Navigation Acts duties
• Tea was considerably cheaper
• Any taxation imposed by Westminster was seen as overstretching the Purview of Parliament
• An angry mob of men dressed as Native Americans, stormed onto the ship and threw £10000 worth of tea chests overboard
• This was a direct challenge to the authority of Westminster and could not be ignored
• Westminster’s response to the Tea Party was the Coercive Acts, this was later called the Intolerable Acts

Question 20

Why were the Intolerable Acts a lost opportunity?

Answer 20

• After the Boston Tea Party, it may have still been possible to resolve the situation peacefully
• The notion of negotiating with the colonists could not be considered
• It was instead decided that the Bostonians must be punished to set out an example to the 12 other colonies
• Boston Port Act 1774, closure of Boston Ports
• Massachusetts government Act 1774, the elected council would be appointed by Westminster
• Administration of Justice Act 1774, anyone who kills in the act of intervening with riots would be tried in a separate colony with a British judge
• Quartering Act, soldiers could be placed in private accommodation including people’s homes
• These measures did not calm the colonists but unified Bostonians against the British rule
• It led to the colonist coordinating their actions against the British which would result in the first continental congress of 1774 followed by the second in 1775

Question 21

What was the first Continental Congress?

Answer 21

• 1774
• Established two key principles
• Declaration of colonial rights and grievances
• Reiterated the colonists’ right to set their own taxation rates
• The Continental Association established a trade embargo
• The colonists set up a committee to monitor each other and ensure that they were keeping to the agreed terms

Question 22

What was the second Continental Congress?

Answer 22

• 1775
• Resulted in the escalation of tensions
• Olive Branch Petition was a final appeal to King George III to repeal all of the Townshend Duties, this was dismissed and shifted the blame from just Westminster to blaming the Empire directly
• The Continental army, established to raise an army against the British, any facade of good relations had been shattered
• Committee for foreign relations, set up to try to gain allies against the British, given that Britain had just defeated Spain and France in the Seven Years War

Question 23

What was the significance of the Declaration of Independence?

Answer 23

• Thomas Jefferson was the author of the declaration
• It set out clear rights of the colonists of “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”
• It laid blame fully on the British Empire
• It was considered a document, it was an intellectual journey that gave colonists a coherent and enshrined sense of identity which it had thus far been lacking
• Not a major cause of revolution as fighting had already begun

Question 24

What were the Articles of confederation?

Answer 24

• 1777
• This set out fundamental rights of a unified government
• All states had to agree on any amendment to the constitution
• Any right not specifically granted to the congress was retained by the individual states
• There was no prime minister or president
• The congress could declare war, raise debt and issue paper money (in fact based on nothing as they could not raise taxes)
• The fact that there was no president indicates that the individual states were reluctant to cede power

Question 25

What were other factors influencing the War of Independence?

Answer 25

- Common Sense, published by Thomas Pain in 1776, was highly influential and argued that reconciliation was not a viable option - 12000 copies sold - Benjamin Franklin was a chief diplomat and argued against the right to tax internal affairs, helped draft the declaration of independence