Chapter 05: The American Revolution (1763-1783) Flashcards

1
Q

How did George III coronation (1760) change British and American relations?

A

British colonies: separated & British wanted control

Seven Year’s War → Allies

  1. the mid-1760s: wanted them to be subordinate
  2. new laws → supported rulers & not colonists

Taxes: fund wars

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2
Q

How was the Navigation Act’s enforcement change with George III coronation?

A

Navigation Act → (until now) Statutory neglect

British saw: colonists “cheating” the treasury

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3
Q

How did 18th-century British people view their parliament? How did this compare to that of the Americans?

A

British people: Parliament represent entire empire and right to legislate it

Many not have representation

Theory: VIRTUAL REPRESENTATION

  • House of Commons represented the entire empire; whether or not they could vote
  • When colonies insisted on representation → no support from Brits
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4
Q

What were the “Writs of Assistance?” (1760s)

A

British combat Smuggling: “WRITS OF ASSISTANCE”

  • unlimited search warrants to look for smuggling
  • 1761: Boston lawyer James Otis argued it was destructive to English liberties
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5
Q

What was The Sugar Act (1764)?

A

Who_: Prime Minister George Grenville_

Reduction of molasses into North American from the French West Indies from 6 -3 pence per gallon

Purpose: Strengthen Navigation Act

Also: new way combat smuggling

  • Before: light sentence for smugglers in colonies
  • Now: accused could be judged without a jury
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6
Q

How did the colonists view The Sugar Act (1764)?

A
  1. Reduction on trade
  2. Pay a levy otherwise evaded
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7
Q

What was the Currency Act of 1764?

A

Reaffirmed earlier ban on colonies issuing paper as “legal tender”

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8
Q

What was the Stamp Act (1765)?

A

First time Parliament directly raised taxes (not through trade regulations)

All printed materials produced in colonies required a stamp purchase from authorities

Motivation: finance operations of the empire

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9
Q

How did the Stamp Act affect the colonists?

A

Affected all colonists: (especially writers)

  • Directly challenged authority local elites
  • wanted to defend authority in the name of liberty

Opposition: First drama of the revolutionary era

infringed “English Liberties”

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10
Q

How did the colonial and British outlook on “colonial rights” compare in the 18th century? How did this affect taxation laws?

A

Colonial outlook: Same rights as Britons

Name of liberty: right to govern self

British outlook: All of the empire subject to the Parliament

Surrendering taxation to colonies: dangerous president

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11
Q

What two views existed regarding the Stampt Act in America?

A

Distinguish between: (One view)

  • internal” taxes → Parliament no right impose
  • Regulations through trade → Parliament right

Other View:

  • Parliament no right to tax them at all
  • not represented in House of Commons
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12
Q

What was the rallying cry of American opponents to British’s taxation laws?

A

“No taxation without representation”

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13
Q

What were the 4 resolutions of Patrick Henry (approved by the Virginia House of Burgesses in the 1760s)?

A

Enjoyed same: cornerstone British freedom

  1. liberties
  2. privileges
  3. franchises
  4. immunities

Rejected: call to resistance

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14
Q

What was the Stamp Act Congress?

A

27 delegates from nine colonies

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15
Q

What did the Stamp Act Congress of October 1765 do?

A

Stamp Act Congress > met in New York to endorse Virginia

  1. Start Resolution: “subordination to Parliament”
  2. wanted right to consent to taxation

Merchants boycotted British goods

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16
Q

How did resistance to the Stamp Act not lead to a revolution?

A

All colonies in Northern Hemisphere protested > only half wanted independence

saw liberties safer in the British colony

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17
Q

How did “liberty” play an important role in resistance to British taxation laws in the 1760s?

A
  1. Mock funerals for liberty → person revived last minutes
  2. Liberty tree → large elm tree
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18
Q

What was the Committee of Correspondence (1760s)?

A

Committee to oppose Sugar and Currency Act

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19
Q

What physical resistance towards to Stamp Act occurred in 1765?

A

1765: Sons of Liberty

  • lead protest processions
  • posted notices about liberty
  • Enforced British boycott
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20
Q

What was the Declaratory Act of 1766?

A

Repealed Stamp Act

  • Rejected Americans’ claim that they could levy taxes
  • “Parliament power to pass laws for people in America for ever
  • Needed more tax money
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21
Q

What land conflicts took place in South Carolina in the 1760s with the Regulators?

A
  • South Carolina
  • group of wealthy residents

Protested: underrepresentation and legislator’s failure to establish local governments

Condemned “rich and powerful”

1771: Battle of Alamance

farmers suppressed by militia

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22
Q

What Land Conflict took place in North Carolina (1760s)?

A

Mobilized small farmers

  1. refused pay taxes
  2. kidnapped local officials
  3. assaulted homes

Motivation: corrupt country authority

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23
Q

What was the Townshend Act of 1767?

A

Who: Chancellor of the Exchequer → Charles Townshend

Colonies: said Britain right to impose trading taxation

Act:

  1. tax on goods imported into colonies
  2. create new board of customs (1) collect them and (2) suppress smuggling
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24
Q

How [3] and why did the colonies reimpose the ban on British goods in 1768?

A

Resistance to the Townshend Act

(1) Relying on American goods (not British) symbol of resistance

Women spun and wove at home: Daughters of Liberty

(2) Appealed to Chesapeake farmers:

increasing money to British merchants

NONIMPORTATION: could reduce British luxuries without making people think you were poor

(3) Urban Artisans: supported boycott

streets filled with protests against Parliament

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25
Q

What happened in the Boston Massacre (March 05, 1770)?

A
  • fight British troops and citizens
  • 5 Bostonians dead

Died: Crispus Attucks

  • Baited British officers
  • mixed Indian-African-white decent

Trial: Commanding officer and 8 guards

  • defender: John Adams
  • 7 found not guilty
  • 2 convicted manslaughter
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26
Q

Explain Paul Revere’s depiction of the Boston Massacre:

A

part Boston Sons of Liberty

Circulated (inaccurate) depictions of British soldiers into an unarmed crowd

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27
Q

What was the Nonimportation movement in 1768?

A

could reduce British luxuries without making people think you were poor

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28
Q

How did the Nonimportation movement collapse in 1770?

A
  1. Merchants reduction in profit
  2. Elite could not live without British goods

British merchants wished removal possible sources of interruption to trade:

  1. Townshend repealed
  2. Only tea tax remained
  3. Removed troops from Boston
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29
Q

How did Americans view British in 1770?

A
  1. Corrupt (like own ministers)
  2. Thought Anglican Church going to send Bishops to America
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30
Q

Explain what happened when the East India Company trade monopoly bubble collapsed (1770s)?

A

Bubble collapsed → government bailout:

1. market Chinese tea in North America

  • enable to dump low-priced tea on American markets
  • undercut merchants and smugglers

2. Series of tax exemptions and rebates

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31
Q

What was the American Response to the Government Bailout of the East India Company and tea tax in the 1770s?

A
  • tax on tea not new
  • Saw payment as acknowledgment of British right of tax on colonies
  • resistance in ports
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32
Q

What happened during the Boston Tea Party (December 16, 1773)?

A
  1. Group colonists (disguised as Indians) boarded three ships in Boston
  2. Threw 300 chests of tea into the water

Losses: £10,000 (the equivalent of more than $4 million today).

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33
Q

What was the British response to the Boston Tea Party?

A

Swift and decisive

Parliament closed Boston ports till tea was paid for

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34
Q

How did the “Intolerable Acts” alter the Massachusetts Charter of 1691?

A
  • authorized governor appoints members to the council
  • Empowered military commanders to lodge soldiers in private homes
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35
Q

What was the Quebec Act? What did the colonists react?

A
  1. Extended Canadian border to Ohio River
  2. Granted legal toleration to Roman Catholic Church in Canada

Angered colonists:

  • questioned land claims
  • thought London conspiring to strengthen Catholicism
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36
Q

How did the opposition of the Intolerable Acts move to the rural areas? (example Worcester)

A

Opposition to Intolerable Acts > move to rural areas (not previously active)

September 1774: Worcester (Massachusetts)

  • 4600 militiamen from 37 towns
  • lined both sides of Main Street > British officials walked between them
  • In month: Suffolk Resolves

series of resolution

urged Americans to refuse obedience to new laws + withhold taces + prepare war

37
Q

What was the Suffolk Resolves?

A

series of resolution

urged Americans to refuse obedience to new laws + withhold taces + prepare war

38
Q

What did the Continental Congress do in regards to the Intolerable Acts?

A

Coordinate resistance to Intolerable Acts

  • convened Philadelphia > leaders 12 main colonies (not Georgia)
  • Delegates:
  1. George Washington
  2. Richards Henry Lee
  3. Partick Henry

March 1775:

Henry concluded speech urging the Virginia convention to begin military preparations

39
Q

What did the Continental Congress do in October 1774?

A
  1. Endorced Suffolk Resolves
  2. adopted Continental Association (called halt to trade Britain and West Indies)
  3. authorized local Committees of Safety > implement mandates take actions against “enemies of American liberties”

businessmen tried profit from scarce goods

40
Q

What was the Committee of Safety’s purpose in the 1770s?

How did they function in New York?

A

Committees of Safety:

Process transferring effective political power

From: established governments (derived Britain)

To: grassroots bodies

  • 1775: 7000 men
  • farmers, city artisans, propertyless laborers

New York:

refused endorse Association > local committees enforced anyway

41
Q

How did the common talk of liberty in the 1770s influence Joseph Allen’s sermons? How did this deviate from Anglicanism?

A

1775: common talk of liberty

Lots of PAMPHLETS

1772: Joseph Allen sermon > most popular before independence

Deviation from Anglicanism:

  • increasingly based freedom claims on (1) natural rights and (2) universal freedom
  • John Locke’s theory of natural rights
  • Thomas Jefferson wrote A Summary View of the Rights of British America
  • NOT: historical rights of an Englishman
42
Q

When was the Second Continental Congress?

A

May 1775

43
Q

What events in April 1775 led to the start of the Ameican War of Independence?

A

Who: British soldiers & Massachusetts citizens

Events:

01: April 19 > British soldiers marched from Boston to Concord (objective: seize arms)

02: Paul Revere and other Bostoners warned local leaders

03: Militiamen resisted British advance

04: Battle of Lexington and Concord

  • fight
  • 49 Americans dead & 73 British

Result: Began the American War of Independence

44
Q

What happened during and leading up to the Battle of Lexington and Concord (April 1775)?

A

01: April 19 > B_ritish soldiers marched from Boston to Concord_ (objective: seize arms)
02: Paul Revere and other Bostoners warned local leaders
03: Militiamen resisted British advance

04: Battle of Lexington and Concord

  • fight
  • 49 Americans dead & 73 British

Result: Began the American War of Independence

45
Q

What happened during May 1775 (during the War of Independence)?

A

Who: Ethan Allen & Green Mountain Boys (Vermont) & Benedict Arnold (Connecticut)

What: Surrounded Fort Ticonderoga & demanded the surrender

46
Q

What happened during the Winter of 1775 (during the War of Independence)?

A

Who: Henry Knox (George Washington’s commander of artillery)

What: Ticonderoga cannon dragged to east > reinforce siege of Boston

47
Q

What happened during the Battle of Bunker Hill (June 17, 1775)?

A

Part of American War of Independence

What: took British control from Breed’s Hill​

48
Q

What happened during March 1775 (in relation to the War of Independence)?

A

Who: Sir William Howe (British commander)

What: forced out of Boston (due to American cannon)

Cut down original Liberty Tree

49
Q

What actions did the Second Continental Army during the American War of Independence? [3]

A
  1. Continental Army
  2. Printed money
  3. George Washington as commander
50
Q

How did the British respond to the events in May-March of 1775? [3]

A
  1. Declared colonies in a state of rebellion
  2. dispatched thousands of troops
  3. closed colonial ports
51
Q

Why did Americans move away from the idea of independence at the end of 1775? [2]

A
  1. British nationalistic sentiment
  2. Leaders feared to break with Britain result in further conflict

52
Q

What were the views in these places on the idea of independence from Britain at the end of 1775?

  1. Massachusetts and Virginia
  2. Southern Leaders
  3. New York and Pennsylvania
A

[1] Elites Massachusetts & Virginia = supported break

[2] Southern leaders:

not keen on break

November 1775: Outrage → Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation (freed any slave bore arms forking

[3] New York & Pennsylvania:

diverse population > different opinions

Joseph Galloway:

Pennsylvania leader & Second Continental Congress delegate

  1. Urged compromise
  2. Declared war between northern and southern colonies
53
Q

Who was Thomas Paine?

A

(1774: Emigrated to Pennsylvania)

became part of advocates for American Independence (with John Adams and Dr. Benjamin Rush)

Rush suggests he write a pamphlet: Common Sense

54
Q

What was Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense about?

A

January 1776

began: attack on hereditary rule and monarchy

Drew on American experience

End: outline of the vision of the American Revolution

home of freedom & “asylum for mankind”

55
Q

Why was Common Sense so popular and influential?

A

Unique: not ideas

  1. Mode of expression
  2. Audience

previously: targeted elites

Paine wrote directly, avoided Latin

One of the most influential pamphlets of the time

150,000 copies

used profits to buy supplies for Continental armies

56
Q

When did the Second Continental Congress decide to separate from Great Britain (how did the timeline line up with the publication of Common Sense)?

A

Spring 1776: (6 months after Common Sense) Second Continental Congress decided to separate from Great Britain

57
Q

When was the United States declared an independent nation?

A

July 02, 1776

58
Q

When was the Declaration of Independence approved?

A

July 04, 1776

59
Q

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence and what was it about?

A

Written by Thomas Jefferson (approved by Congress)

What: Grievances directed against King George III

  1. Quartering troops in colonial homes
  2. Imposing taxes

Deleted by congress:

  • the inhumanity of the slave trade
  • overturning colonial laws that sought to restrict imports of slaves
60
Q

What was the immediate impact of the Declaration of Independence?

A

not grievances (little impact)

Most Impactful: Preamble (especially the second paragraph)

  • Rights rooted in human nature → not taken away by governments
  • Assertion of “the right of revolution”
61
Q

How did the meaning of “American Freedom” before and after the Declaration of Independence?

A

From: “Rights of an Englishman

To: “Right of Mankind

  • “pursuit of happiness”
  • property
  • SELF-FULFILLMENT
62
Q

What did American Exceptionalism mean in the late 18th century?

A

the belief that the US has a special mission:

[1] refuge from tyranny

[2] symbol of freedom

[3] model rest of the world

  • central to American nationalism
  • place of universal freedom

Why Jefferson addressed Declaration to “opinions of mankind” (not colonies or Britain) → global importance

63
Q

What three important things happened (in North America) during 1776?

A

[1] Mission Dolores

  • Spanish settlement (San Francisco)
  • objective: Throw off Russian advances

[2] Indian Rebellion in San Diego

[3] Lakota Sioux

  • migrated from Minnesota → Black Hills (North Dakota)
  • for next century
64
Q

What was the impact of the Declaration of Independence?

A

French & German (later Spanish) translations

Last in Spanishgovernment afraid of rebellion

Jefferson wanted it to appeal to all men

inspired other countries “declarations of independence” (Vietnam and China)

65
Q

What did the American military consist of during 1775-1783?

A

1775-1783: 200,000 men

1. Local militias

  • required all able-body men

2. Continental army

  • inadequately equipped
  • volunteers
66
Q

What did the British military consist of during 1775-1783 (compared with the Americans)?

A

Balance of power in their favor

  1. Well-trained army
  2. World’s most powerful navy
  3. Experienced military commanders
  4. Hessian soldiers (Germans mercenaries used in revolutionary war)
67
Q

What upper hand did the American military have in the War of Independence? What (dis)advantages did the British have?

A

American Advantages:

  • fighting own turf
  • inspired

British Advantages:

Balance of power in their favor

  1. Well-trained army
  2. World’s most powerful navy
  3. Experienced military commanders
  4. Hessian soldiers

British Disadvantages:

  1. Large territory > time-consuming & costly conquer
  2. not a lot of support for raised taxation
  3. France eager at the prospect of the British defeat
68
Q

What was Lord Dunmore’s proclamation (1775)?

A

promised freedom to blacked who supported British

69
Q

How did the War of Independence pose an opportunity for Blacks to get freedom?

A

Fighting in opposing armies

Americans:

  • Beginning war: George Washington not accept black recruits
  • Washington changed his mind:

5,000 blacks in army and militias

British:

  • 1775: Lord Dunmore’s proclamation

How:

  1. Drafting allowed substitute → blacks bargaining power → acquired freedom by taking owners place
  2. 1778: Rhode Island → freedom those enlisted in black regiment
70
Q

How were blacks employed in Southern Caronies during the War of Independence? (except South Carolina and Georgia)

A

enrolled free blacks & slaves

  • not promised freedom
  • some received it after the war
71
Q

How did blacks fight for the British in the War of Independence?

A
  1. 800 blacks joined Lord Dunmore’s Ethiopian Regiment (before expelled from Virginia)
  2. Free blacks joined Royal Armies as:
  • spies
  • guides through swamps
  • military cooks, laundresses, and construction workers
72
Q

What happened during the War of Independence in the Summer of 1776 (Middle Colonies)?

Sir William Howe vs. George Washington

A

Sir William Howe vs. Washington army

  • could stop the war if Howe attack Washington army early on

Washington:

  • many defeats → none decisive
  • never confronted the British directly

Howe attacked New York

confronted W → almost cut off retreat at Eat River

73
Q

What happened on December 26, 1776 (Trenton, New York) and January 03, 1777 (Princeton), during the War of Independence?

A

Washington’s soldiers demoralized by constant defeat

  • many went home
  • from 28,000 → 3,000

Effort restore moral

  1. Attacked Hessian soldiers
  2. Also: Thomas Paine essay read to soldiers:

The American Crisis

74
Q

What British movements occurred during the summer of 1777 (during the War of Independence)?

A

Second British Army (General John Burgoyne)

  • from Canada
  • objective: unite with Howe (isolated in New England)
75
Q

What miscommunication took place on October 17, 1777 (between Howe and Burgoyne)?

A

Howe moved from New York to Philadelphia

  • Not know about General John Burgoyne’s plan (unite with Howe in New England)
  • unintentionally abandoned him
76
Q

What happened during September 1777 (during the War of Independence)?

A

Continental Congress fled to Lancaster (Pennsylvania)

Howe took City of Brotherly Love

77
Q

What happened during the Battle of Saratoga (October 17, 1777)?

A

Americans surrounded Burgoyne’s forces → forced to surrendered

  • Burgoyne abandoned by Howe
  • Howe in City of Brotherly Love

Boosted morale Americans

78
Q

What happened during the Winters of 1777 and 1778 with the British and American Armies?

A

The fighting came to halt (like most other 18th century wars in winter)

British:

  • British Army Commander: Sir Henry Clinton
  • quartered in Philadelphia

Americans:

Washington Army: encamped Valley Forge (suffered)

  • some went home
  • others suffered
  • end:

mostly African-Americans, immigrants = 1/2 army

rest: landless or unskilled laborers

79
Q

What was the Treaty of Amity and Commerce in 1778?

A

Made war a global affair

Americans convinced France join the war against Britain

  • Benjamin Franklin (leader Americans diplomats)
  • France support America → military assistance
  • Spain also joined America

French Role:

Originally: attacked British ships in West Indies

decisive role

80
Q

What happened role did the Indians play in the War of Independence (Trans-Appalachian West)?

How much authority did the Indians have after the war ended in the region?

A
  1. borderland conflict
  2. struggle for independence

Situation:

  • After Seven Years’ Wars > British authority weak (compared to France)
  • Indians considerable authority
  • Patriots’ victory > shift of power away from tribes to white settlers
81
Q

How were the Indians affected after/despite the Proclamation of 1763?

A

Despite Proclamation of 1763 > 1760-1770s

  • Colonial movement westwards
  • Indians complain
  • 1772: Lord Dunmore > impossible to force colonials to treat Indians honorable

Patriot leaders > invested in land speculation

Washington: 60,000 acres of land in western Pennsylvania (after SYW)

How: purchased land vouchers from men (discount)

82
Q

What divided allegiances existed between the Native Americans during the War of Independence?

  1. Stockbridge tribe
  2. Iroquois nation
  3. Oneida
  4. Cherokee tribe
A

1790: (Mississippi River) 200,000 Native Americas

Divided allegiances

Stockbridge tribe: (Massachusetts) losses fighting British

Many tribes:

  • tried to maintain neutrality
  • tries to break into pro-British or pro-American factions

Iroquois nations: British side

Oneida: American side

Iroquis fought each other

South:

younger Cherokee: joined British

older chiefs: favor Americans

83
Q

How was the Patriot view that Indians were “not humane” echoed in the Declaration of Independence?

A

Among grievances in Declaration of Independence: British enlisting “savages”

84
Q

How was the patriot attitude that the Indians were savage seen in 1776 South Carolina?

A

1776 (South Carolina) William Henry Drayton

  • leader patriot cause
  • advised officers marching against Cherokees & enslave all Indian captives
85
Q

How was the patriot attitude that the Indians were savage seen in 1779 by Goerge Washington?

A

1779: Washington dispatched expedition against hostile Iroquois

  • leader: General John Sullivan
  • buried 40 Indians, destroyed 1000 corn bushes
86
Q

What was Daniel Morgan’s effect on the American War of Independence in the South (January 1781)?

A

Defeated British Forces

Where: Cowpens, South Carolina

87
Q

What happened during the War of Independence in March 1781 in the North Carolina?

A

March 1781: General Nathanael Greene inflicted heavy losses on British

  • Where: Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina
  • English leader: Cornwallis
  • French helped win
88
Q

What happened during the Battle of Yorktown (October 19, 1781)?

How did this victory contribute to the British abandoning the war?

A

French and Americas

Cornwallis surrendered army (8,000 men)

Reached London:

  1. Public support shattered
  2. peace negotiations began
89
Q

What was the Treaty of Paris (September 1783)?

A

American delegation: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay

  1. Won recognition of American independence
  2. Gained control entire region between Canada and Florida (east of Mississippi River)
  3. Loyalists
  • not prosecuted
  • property returned