In 1775, fighting broke out between the Thirteen Colonies and the British Empire which evolved into the American Revolutionary War. The colonies possessed a cunning commander in Benedict Arnold and his cunningness lead to decisive decisions such as his march to Quebec. However, Arnold betrayed the colonies and joined the British Empire’s army. Arnold switched sides because he believed that the leaders of the United States were corrupt and if he joined the British, he would receive personal benefits and if he delivered a quick victory for the British, the colonies would be better off.
Benedict Arnold’s treachery began with his disdain of the leaders of the United States. Arnold concluded that the leaders of the revolution mistreated the general …show more content…
On the actions of the American leaders, Arnold had written, “... was the war less Just, because Fellow Subjects were considered as our Foes? You have left the torture in which we raised our arms against a brother....” When Arnold referred to the war as a battle between brothers, he voiced an undesirable situation in which family was pitted against each other. Like the American Civil War, the revolt against the Crown put family members at odds. Arnold saw the war as criminal, for the American leaders were subjecting the colonists to unnecessary division among themselves. Arnold’s scornfulness of the Continental Congress was also attributed by his view of the leaders as hypocritical. Arnold believed that the leaders of the United States went against the core values of the country and of proving this, Arnold wrote, “... did the pretended Treaty with the Court of Versailles amount to more than an Overture to America? Certainly not, because no Authority had been given by the People to conclude it….” With this evidence, Arnold made known to the public that the leaders of the country were asking for men to fight the Crown in order to have representation, only to make decisions internally without conferring with the inhabitants of …show more content…
Benedict Arnold had determined that if he were to stop fighting for the United States, he would be doing a greater good for the colonies. When Arnold said, “I had determined to retain my arms and Command for an opportunity to surrender them to Great Britain... as it would have been beneficial to my Country”, he would come off as caring for the colonies and reduce the amount of anger towards him. Low levels of anger towards Arnold was important to him because it would decrease the chance of being turned over if found by a colonist. Adding to the benefits of surrendering to the Crown, Arnold had said, “In short, I fought for much less than the Parent Country is willing to grant her Colonies.” With his line, Arnold is already helping the Crown win the war. Arnold promises that the Crown would give the colonies more than they would ever achieve as a country, and with this, colonists would begin to stop fighting if they believe that they would gain representation without having to fight a bloody and costly war. However, Arnold did not only switch sides to benefit the colonies. Fighting for the British presented Arnold much more opportunities for personal gain which he took hold of. Arnold gained immediate power within the British regime. In a letter to John André, Benedict writes
Benedict Arnold’s treachery began with his disdain of the leaders of the United States. Arnold concluded that the leaders of the revolution mistreated the general …show more content…
On the actions of the American leaders, Arnold had written, “... was the war less Just, because Fellow Subjects were considered as our Foes? You have left the torture in which we raised our arms against a brother....” When Arnold referred to the war as a battle between brothers, he voiced an undesirable situation in which family was pitted against each other. Like the American Civil War, the revolt against the Crown put family members at odds. Arnold saw the war as criminal, for the American leaders were subjecting the colonists to unnecessary division among themselves. Arnold’s scornfulness of the Continental Congress was also attributed by his view of the leaders as hypocritical. Arnold believed that the leaders of the United States went against the core values of the country and of proving this, Arnold wrote, “... did the pretended Treaty with the Court of Versailles amount to more than an Overture to America? Certainly not, because no Authority had been given by the People to conclude it….” With this evidence, Arnold made known to the public that the leaders of the country were asking for men to fight the Crown in order to have representation, only to make decisions internally without conferring with the inhabitants of …show more content…
Benedict Arnold had determined that if he were to stop fighting for the United States, he would be doing a greater good for the colonies. When Arnold said, “I had determined to retain my arms and Command for an opportunity to surrender them to Great Britain... as it would have been beneficial to my Country”, he would come off as caring for the colonies and reduce the amount of anger towards him. Low levels of anger towards Arnold was important to him because it would decrease the chance of being turned over if found by a colonist. Adding to the benefits of surrendering to the Crown, Arnold had said, “In short, I fought for much less than the Parent Country is willing to grant her Colonies.” With his line, Arnold is already helping the Crown win the war. Arnold promises that the Crown would give the colonies more than they would ever achieve as a country, and with this, colonists would begin to stop fighting if they believe that they would gain representation without having to fight a bloody and costly war. However, Arnold did not only switch sides to benefit the colonies. Fighting for the British presented Arnold much more opportunities for personal gain which he took hold of. Arnold gained immediate power within the British regime. In a letter to John André, Benedict writes