Chapter 6: Making War and Republican Government, 1776-1789 Flashcards
Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea)
Mohawk chief who translated the Bible into Mohawk language and attacked American settlements during the Revolution.
Battle of Long Island (1776)
Cause(s): Howe (Britain) went to NY to seize control of the Hudson and isolate Patriots in New England from the rest of the colonies
Effect(s): Continental Army retreats ultimately to Pennsylvania. During the winter, they crossed the Delaware river on Christmas and attacked Trenton and Princeton (for a morale boost)
Why was the Continental Army weak around 1776?
- Inexperienced soldiers, deserters, resentment, poorly supplied (and the Radical Whig Patriots thought the army was a threat to liberty)
What did Lord Germain’s military campaign look like?
Three-pronged attack into Albany: Burgoyne attacks from Quebec, Leger and the Iroquois attack from the west, and Howe north from New York City
Battle of Saratoga (1777)
- Howe attacked Philadelphia, trying to end the Continental Congress (its capital) with a single blow & camped there
- Leger’s force is defeated by Benedict Arnold
- Burgoyne captures Fort Ticonderoga (Horatio Gates and Arnold surrounded them and force their surrender)
Battle of Saratoga C&E
Cause(s):
- British want to isolate Rhode Island
Effect(s):
- Lifted morale
- Secured an alliance with the French (and money from the Dutch)
- Foreign recognition of independence
What were some wartime difficulties after (but not as a direct result of) Saratoga?
- British naval blockade cut off supplies from European manufacturers
- Disrupted New England fishing industry
- Reduced trade because of occupation (scarce goods meant increased donations for the army)
- Blocked tobacco export, so people grew grain for armies
How did war affect people in America?
- New England imposed price ceilings (max price) so people refused to sell goods
- People were endangered, harassed, raped, or forced to flee
- Divided communities
Committees of Safety
Groups authorized by the Congress to oversee its rules, collect taxes, and seize property of those who refused to pay
How did states raise taxes and what was the effect of this ineffective strategy?
Issued bonds and then a lot of paper money (led to inflation). Tried to get money from states, but they couldn’t officially tax them, so they got loans from France and Holland and sold their loan certificates. Led to exchange rate deterioration and social upheaval.
Why did Valley Forge actually suck?
Cold weather, fatigue, gross clothes, bad food, no shoes, little support, malnutrition, disease
Who led Washington’s men out of war with a strict drill system that generated a disciplined force?
Baron von Steuben
What happened (most significantly) in 1778?
Continental Congress concludes a military alliance with France (America gets money, supplies, and troops)
Why did the French and Americans ally?
Wanted to avenge the loss of Canada and the chance to conquest land in the West Indies
How did Franklin exploit the Treaty of Alliance of February 1778?
Specified that the treaty would not end until the US achieved independence
Why did Britain not want war and how did it try to stop it?
- Because then the West Indies and Ireland (British territory) might also seek independence
- North repealed the Tea and Prohibitory Act and renounced its supreme power to tax the colonies
Why did Spain enter the war?
Wanted to regain Florida and the fortress of Gibraltar (mouth of Mediterranean)
What was the Southern Strategy & who implemented it?
Capture the southern colonies (Virginia, Carolinas, and Georgia) and use those loyal to the British there to maintain power there. Implemented by Sir Henry Clinton
The Revolution was a ____ War in the south due to the _____ who constituted strategic problems for patriots (with uprisings)
Triangular, slaves
Philipsburg Proclamation
Cause(s):
- (source) Dunmore’s proclamation to recruit slaves for his Ethiopian Regiment
- Slaves played a crucial point in military strategy
Effect(s):
- A lot of slaves left their masters and got protection, freedom, and land from GB (less manpower for the Americans)
In what way did the Southern Strategy work before the arrival of French troops?
Successfully attacked Savannah GA, Augusta, Charleston SC, and Camden (curtesy of Cornwallis)
How did American militias win some territory despite the Southern Strategy?
French troops to the mainland in addition to Comte de Rochambeau to Newport. Nathaniel Greene created a bunch of guerrillas under strong leaders and wore down the British until they won in King’s Mountain and Cowpens, SC
War of Attrition (in context of Greene and Cornwallis)
Greene wore down the British until they forfeited (beat them until they can’t get up anymore)
Describe the context of the Battle of Yorktown.
Cornwallis exploited the social divisions (poor people didn’t want to fight for rich ones) and invaded the coast of Virginia
Battle of Yorktown (1781)
Cause(s): Cornwallis goes to Yorktown to secure and protect a harbor for the British fleet
Effect(s): GW surrounded Cornwallis, broke Britain’s resolve, and got GB to surrender (turning point)
Why did Britain lose to the Americans (various ways)?
Howe’s disobedience in Philadelphia, French Aid, and George Washington’s leadership