Revolutionary War

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Common sense

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Thomas Paine: Common Sense
A British citizen, he wrote Common Sense, published on January 1, 1776, to encourage the colonies to seek independence. It spoke out against the unfair treatment of the colonies by the British government and was instrumental in turning public opinion in favor of the Revolution

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Articles of Confederation

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Articles of Confederation: powers, weaknesses, successes
The Articles of Confederation delegated most of the powers (the power to tax, to regulate trade, and to draft troops) to the individual states, but left the federal government power over war, foreign policy, and issuing money. The Articles' weakness was that they gave the federal government so little power that it couldn't keep the country united. The Articles' only major success was that they settled western land claims with the Northwest Ordinance. The Articles were abandoned for the Constitution.

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Yorktown

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Yorktown, Lord Cornwallis
Because of their lack of success in suppressing the Revolution in the nothern colonies, in early 1780 the British switched their strategy and undertook a series of campaigns through the southern colonies. This strategy was equally unsuccessful, and the British decided to return to their main headquarters in New York City. While marching from Virginia to New York, British commander Lord Cornwallis became trapped in Yorktown on the Chesapeake Bay. His troops fortified the town and waited for reinforcements. The French navy, led by DeGrasse, blocked their escape. After a series of battles, Cornwallis surrendered to the Continental Army on October 19, 1781, which ended all major fighting in the Revolutionary War.

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Shays’ Rebellion

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Shay’s Rebellion
Occurred in the winter of 1786-7 under the Articles of Confederation. Poor, indebted landowners in Massachusetts blocked access to courts and prevented the government from arresting or repossessing the property of those in debt. The federal government was too weak to help Boston remove the rebels, a sign that the Articles of Confederation weren’t working effectively.

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Battle of Saratoga/Valley Forge

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Major battles: Saratoga, Valley Forge
In 1777, British General John Burgoyne attacked southward from Canada along the Hudson Valley in New York, hoping to link up with General Howe in New York City, thereby cutting the colonies in half. Burgoyne was defeated by American General Horatio Gates on October 17, 1777, at the Battle of Saratoga, surrendering the entire British Army of the North. Valley Forge was not a battle; it was the site where the Continental Army camped during the winter of 1777- '78, after its defeats at the Battles of the Brandywine and Germantown. The Continental Army suffered further casualties at Valley Forge due to cold and disease. Washington chose the site because it allowed him to defend the Continental Congress if necessary, which was then meeting in York, Pennsylvania after the British capture of Philadelphia.

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Land Ordinance of 1784

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A major success of the Articles of Confederation. Provided for the orderly surveying and distribution of land belonging to the U.S.

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Northwest Ordinance 1787

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A major success of the Articles of Confederation. Set up the framework of a government for the Northwest territory. The Ordinance provided that the Territory would be divided into 3 to 5 states, outlawed slavery in the Territory, and set 60,000 as the minimum population for statehood.

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Benedict Arnold

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He had been a Colonel in the Connecticut militia at the outbreak of the Revolution and soon became a General in the Continental Army. He won key victories for the colonies in the battles in upstate New York in 1777, and was instrumental in General Gates victory over the British at Saratoga. After becoming Commander of Philadelphia in 1778, he went heavily into debt, and in 1780, he was caught plotting to surrender the key Hudson River fortress of West Point to the British in exchange for a commission in the royal army. He is the most famous traitor in American history.

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“Olive Branch Petition”

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On July 8, 1775, the colonies made a final offer of peace to Britain, agreeing to be loyal to the British government if it addressed their grievances (repealed the Coercive Acts, ended the taxation without representation policies). It was rejected by Parliament, which in December 1775 passed the American Prohibitory Act forbidding all further trade with the colonies.

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Bunker Hill

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At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, the British troops were based in Boston. The British army had begun to fortify the Dorchester Heights near Boston, and so the Continental Army fortified Breed's Hill, north of Boston, to counter the British plan. British general Gage led two unsuccessful attempts to take this hill, before he finally seized it with the third assault. The British suffered heavy losses and lost any hope for a quick victory against the colonies. Although the battle centered around Breed's Hill, it was mistakenly named for nearby Bunker Hill

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Abigail Adams

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Wife of John Adams. During the Revolutionary War, she wrote letters to her husband describing life on the homefront. She urged her husband to remember America's women in the new government he was helping to create

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Battle of Fallen Timbers

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Wayne had been one of the leading generals of the Continental Army, and had played a crucial role in the defeat of Cornwallis at Yorktown. In the early 1790's, the British held trading posts in the Ohio Valley and encouraged the local Indian tribes to attack the Americans. Led by Wayne, the Americans defeated the Miami Indians in the Battle of Fallen Timbers on August 20, 1794 near what is today Toledo, Ohio. This paved the way for American settlement of the Ohio Valley

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Treaty of Greenville

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Drawn up after the Battle of Fallen Timbers. The 12 local Indian tribes gave the Americans the Ohio Valley territory in exchange for a reservation and $10,000.

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John Locke

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Locke was an English political philosopher whose ideas inspired the American revolution. He wrote that all human beings have a right to life, liberty, and property, and that governments exist to protect those rights. He believed that government was based upon an unwritten "social contract" between the rulers and their people, and if the government failed to uphold its end of the contract, the people had a right to rebel and institute a new government