Lesson 3-4: Winning the War

Question 1

What ultimately helped the colonists win the Revolutionary War?

Answer 1

Help from other European countries, such as France and Spain.

Question 2

What motivated both countries to aid the Americans in the war?

Answer 2

The fact that they had both lost valuable American land to the British during the French and Indian War.

Question 3

How did the French specifically help the Americans?

Answer 3

By sending gunpowder, artillery, and muskets.

Question 4

Who did the Americans send to France (and when) that further motivated France to aid the Patriots?

Answer 4

Benjamin Franklin; 1776.
- Franklin’s diplomacy skills and the victory at Saratoga (December 1777) heavily influenced the French.

Question 5

During Franklin’s visit, the French signed two treaties. What were they?

Answer 5

1) Formally recognized the United States as an independent country
2) Promised military help.

Question 6

The Marquis de Lafayette

Answer 6

• 19/20 years old
• Ambitious
• Hated the British; his father was killed in the Seven Years’ War
• Joined the misery at Valley Forge
• 1779: Lobbied for French reinforcements
• Led a command of troops in Virginia towards the end of the war

Question 7

Friedrich von Steuben

Answer 7

• A firm believer in military discipline
• Prussian captain
• Bent the American soldiers into shape, with the blessing of General Washington, during the terrible winter at Valley Forge

Question 8

In the summer of 1778, the British decided to move South after their defeat at Saratoga. Why?

Answer 8

They hoped to garner Loyalist support there, reclaim their former colonies in that region, and then fight their way back up North and defeat General Washington.

Question 9

In the summer of 1778, the British took what area?

Answer 9

Savannah, Georgia
- By 1779, a British governor was commanding Georgia.

Question 10

The greatest British victory of the war was the capture of Charles Town, South Carolina. Who were the commanding generals of this military operation, and when did it occur?

Answer 10

General Henry Clinton and General Charles Cornwallis; 1780

Question 11

What occurred after the capture of Charles Town?

Answer 11

• 5,500 Americans were captured as prisoners of war
• Clinton left Cornwallis to command the British forces in the South and conquer North and South Carolina
• A BIG JOB!

Question 12

How did General Cornwallis do with these tasks?

Answer 12

For most of 1780, he was doing well.
- As the redcoats advanced, they were joined by many African Americans hoping to win their freedom from their Patriot masters.

Question 13

What happened at Camden, South Carolina?

Answer 13

Cornwallis smashed American troops, and, within three months, the British set up forts all across that state.

Question 14

What happened when Cornwallis made his way to North Carolina?

Answer 14

Patriot forces flanked his soldiers, cut their communications lines, and continuous harassment forced the British to retreat back to South Carolina.

Question 15

What did General Washington do when the British started to retreat back to South Carolina?

Answer 15

He sent Nathaniel Greene, his best general, to further harass the British as they retreated.

Question 16

How did Greene accomplish this task?

Answer 16

He sent 600 soldiers to South Carolina, where the British were retreating to, under the command of General Daniel Morgan.

Question 17

What did Cornwallis do as a result of Morgan’s troops heading to South Carolina?

Answer 17

He sent Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton and his troops to “pursue Morgan’s soldiers.”

Question 18

When and where did the two forces meet?

Answer 18

Cowpens, South Carolina; January 1781

Question 19

What did the British expect from the Americans?

Answer 19

To surrender because they were outnumbered.

Question 20

What actually happened at the Battle of Cowpens?

Answer 20

The Continental Army pushed forward and forced the redcoats to surrender.

Question 21

What did Cornwallis do in retaliation for the loss at Cowpens?

Answer 21

Attacked Greene and his soldiers at Guilford Court House, North Carolina.
- Cornwallis won, but lost almost a fourth of his soldiers.

Question 22

What did Cornwallis do after his losses in the Carolinas?

Answer 22

Decided to move to Virginia, where he met up with reinforcements.

Question 23

Cornwallis’ attempt #1 in the North after the Carolinas:

Answer 23

Tried to defeat the divisions led by Lafayette and von Steuben

Question 24

Cornwallis’ attempt #2 in the North after the Carolinas:

Answer 24

Led his army of 7,500 to the peninsula between the James and York Rivers. He camped at Yorktown, near the original settlement at Jamestown.

Question 25

What did Cornwallis plan to do at Yorktown?

Answer 25

Fortify it, take Virginia, and then move North to join Clinton’s forces.

Question 26

When news of Cornwallis’ plan reached the Marquis de Lafayette, what did he suggest?

Answer 26

That the American and French armies join forces with the two French fleets and attack the British forces at Yorktown.

Question 27

What were the three steps to the victory at Yorktown?

Answer 27

1) A French naval force defeated a British fleet
2) The French naval force blocked the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, so that the British could not receive help, reinforcement, or have a chance to escape
3) 17,000 French and American troops surrounded the British at Yorktown and hounded them day and night.

Question 28

How long did the siege of Yorktown last?

Answer 28

About three weeks.

Question 29

When did Cornwallis finally surrender?

Answer 29

October 17, 1781

Question 30

When did the peace talks begin, and where?

Answer 30

1782; Paris

Question 31

Which countries joined in the peace talks?

Answer 31

1) The United States
2) Britain
3) France
4) Spain

Question 32

What did Britain want from the peace talks?

Answer 32

Avoid giving America full independence

Question 33

What did France want from the peace talks?

Answer 33

Supported American independence, but was concerned about America becoming a major power.

Question 34

What did Spain want from the peace talks?

Answer 34

Wanted to acquire lands between the Appalachian Mountains and Mississippi River.

Question 35

What did many observers think was going to happen at the peace talks?

Answer 35

That the American diplomats were going to be outwitted by the European diplomats.

Question 36

Who did the Americans send to the peace talks?

Answer 36

1) John Adams
2) Benjamin Franklin
3) John Jay of New York

Question 37

What did these three men force Britain to agree to before the peace talks could begin?

Answer 37

Granting full American independence

Question 38

In September 1783, what was signed?

Answer 38

The Treaty of Paris

Question 39

What did this Treaty of Paris do?

Answer 39

• Confirmed U.S. Independence
• Set the boundaries of the new nation

Question 40

What were the boundaries of the new United States of America?

Answer 40

• From the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River
• From Canada to the Florida border

Question 41

What were some problems that the Treaty of Paris left unresolved?

Answer 41

1) The British made no attempt to protect the land interests of their Native American allies
2) The treaty did not specify when the British had to leave their forts in America
3) The Americans agreed that British creditors could collect the debts owed to them by the Americans
4) The Americans agreed that Loyalists could sue in state courts for recovery of their personal losses.

Question 42

How did the Revolutionary War affect class distinctions in the United States?

Answer 42

The clear boundary line between the upper and lower classes began to blur, due, in part, to the fact that the upper classes began to wear homespun clothing and military leaders were obliged to show respect for all of their men.

Question 43

Egalitarianism

Answer 43

The belief in equality for all people.

Question 44

This rise in egalitarianism changed the way Americans measured worth. In what ways did they measure worth after the Revolutionary War?

Answer 44

By ability, effort, and virtue; as opposed to family ties and/or wealth from before the Revolutionary War.

Question 45

There were exceptions to the spirit of egalitarianism. What was the main one?

Answer 45

The fact that the spirit of egalitarianism only applied to white males.

Question 46

The American Revolution did NOT bring any new political rights to women. What were the small changes that were given to women’s rights in SOME states?

Answer 46

In some states, women were allowed to divorce.

Question 47

What basic principle of a married woman still remained?

Answer 47

That all of her property belonged to her husband.

Question 48

The American Revolution DID shift ideas about women’s roles. How so?

Answer 48

During the war…
- Women became more politically active, organizing boycotts and supporting the war effort.
- Women ran farms and businesses quite well
- Some women even fought in battle/defended their homes

Question 49

The American Revolution also brought about the idea of republican motherhood. What were some of the main pillars of this concept?

Answer 49

• Mothers had a civic responsibility in raising children
• A mother’s job was to raise intelligent, patriotic children
• Sons = Raise to become leaders
• Daughters = Raise to become republican mothers

Question 50

By what year did many northern states take steps to outlaw slavery?

Answer 50

1804

Question 51

Who did the concept of egalitarianism also not apply to?

Answer 51

African Americans

Question 52

The Southern states would not budge on their stance on slavery. However, what did they do in accordance with the Northern states taking steps to outlaw slavery?

Answer 52

Southern states made it easier for slave owners to free their slaves.

Question 53

In what portion of the South was the practice of slavery morally considered?

Answer 53

The upper South; closer to the North
- Some decided to free their slaves

Question 54

Where did the moral conversation of slavery not quite reach?

Answer 54

The deep South

Question 55

How did the American Revolution affect Native Americans?

Answer 55

It made them uncertain about the future.
- During the war, many communities had been dissolved or displaced
- American settlers began to move west and take over tribal lands unprotected by the Treaty of Paris.

Question 56

Once the Revolutionary War had officially ended, the Americans had to create a new style of government. What did they want this government to look like?

Answer 56

• They wanted a state republic, a government of the people
• They wanted no taxation without representation

Question 57

What motto did the Continental Congress choose for the reverse side of the Great Seal of the United States?

Answer 57

“A new order of the ages”

Question 58

What were some questions that the Americans desperately had to respond to?

Answer 58

1) Who should participate in government?
2) How should the government answer to the people?
3) How could a government be set up so that opposing groups of citizens would all have a voice.