The American Revolution

Friday, March 7, 2014

The Revolution's impact to Slavery

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness simply did not seem consistent with the practice of chattel slavery. How could a group of people feel so passionate about these unalienable rights, yet maintain the brutal practice of human bondage? Somehow slavery would manage to survive the revolutionary era, but great changes were brought to this peculiar institution nevertheless.

The world's first antislavery society was founded in 1775 by Quakers in Philadelphia, the year the Revolution began. By 1788, at least thirteen of these clubs were known to exist in the American colonies. Some Northern states banned slavery outright, and some provided for the gradual end of slavery. At any rate, the climate of the Revolution made the institution unacceptable in the minds of many Northerners, who did not rely on forced labor as part of the economic system. Northerners did not, however, go as far as to grant equal rights to freed blacks.

Many slaves achieved their freedom during the Revolution without formal emancipation. Many slaves in the North were granted their freedom if they agreed to fight for the American cause. After the emancipation the north had just 5% of slaves while on the south 1/3 of the population where slaves. Slavery did not end overnight in America. Before any meaningful reform could happen, people needed to recognize that the economic benefit was vastly overshadowed by the overwhelming repugnance, immorality, and inhumanity of slavery.

Treaty of Paris(1783)

The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain on one side and the United States of America and its allies on the other. The other combatant nations, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic had separate agreements. Peace negotiations began in April of 1782, involving American representatives Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Henry Laurens, and John Adams. The British representatives present were David Hartley and Richard Oswald.

The treaty document was signed in Paris at the Hotel d'York John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay representing the United States, and David Hartley a member of the British Parliament representing the British monarch, King George III. Benjamin Franklin was a strong proponent of Britain ceding the Province of Quebec (today's eastern Canada) to the United States because he believed that having British territory physically bordering American territory would cause conflict in the future. Britain, however, refused.

On September 3, 1783, Great Britain also signed separate agreements with France and Spain. In the treaty with Spain, the territories of East and West Florida were ceded to Spain as was the island of Minorca, while the Bahama Islands, Grenada and Montserrat, captured by the French and Spanish, were returned to Britain. The treaty with France was mostly about exchanges of captured territory (France's only net gains were the island of Tobago, and Senegal in Africa), but also reinforced earlier treaties, guaranteeing fishing rights off Newfoundland.

Battle of Yorktown

British General Cornwallis had chose Yorktown as refuge for his army just as a french fleet headed for the Chesapeake Bay. Yorktown was just at the mouth of Chesapeake. George Washington knew this was the key moment, and ordered Marquis de Lafayette and his army of 5000 troops of soldiers to block Cornwallis escape from Yorktown by land. The french blocked his escape by sea. By September 28 1781 Cornwallis was completely surrounded with the forces of the Continental and French army. Cornwallis was once a confident man, who thought he could take on the American army if he took the southern colonies and win the war. His situation was tight, his only choice was to fight back. The question is, did he?
After three weeks of constant bombarding, both day and night, Cornwallis couldn't take it anymore. On October 17 1781 Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington, ending the War for Independence. This is clearly the most important battle of the Revolutionary War. Contrary to what his character showed earlier in the war, Cornwallis cowardly pleaded sick to the formal surrender ceremony held on October 19, and did not attend it. Instead, General Charles O'Hara carried Cornwallis' sword to the French and American commanders.

War kept going on other states and in the high seas, but the fight for revolution was effectively over. The Patriot Victory at Yorktown had effectively decided it all. The patriots couldn't have done it without the french's aid. The Continental Army had done it, the underdogs, proved mind is better that brute force. Their passionate drive and keen minds had led them to independence. Peace negotiations began in 1782 and concluded on September 3, 1783, when the Treaty of Paris was signed, officially recognizing the United States as an independent and free nation after some harsh 8 hears of war.

Charles Cornwallis

He was one of the leading generals of the Revolutionary War. Charles Cornwallis was born at Grosvenor Square, London, January 1st in 1738. He was eager to start a military career. He became a Member of Parliament, entering the House of Commons for the village of Eye in Kent in January 1760.

At the beginning of the Seven Year War Cornwallis moved to Germany to gain a place. At first he served as an staff officer but ascended quickly to become a captain. Having proved himself a brave soldier and commander, Cornwallis returned home in 1762, he was elevated to the House of Lords.

After the Treaty of Paris ended the war in 1763. He helped a lot debating laws about the Colonial American and in 1775 he was promoted to major general by King George III as Britain braced for war with the American colonies. He went to America and he had a very important role in the capture of New York. General Clinton blamed Cornwallis for the defeat at Princeton, and tensions existed between the two generals. He had many battle and some he won and lost. After the victory in Charleston, General Clinton returned to New York and Cornwallis was in chief of the South. He was left with a limited number of troops.

He wanted to gain loyalists to his side but the weren't convinced. He lost the battle at King's Mountain and the battle of Cowpens. This didn't made any good result and many neutral loyalists change to the Patriots side. He won a Battle at Guilford Courthouse but his men were exhausted. With his troops exhausted and few ammunition, Cornwallis decided to move to Virginia to regroup and await reinforcements promised by Clinton. He went into Yorktown and was surrounded by the French and the Patriots. The Battle of Yorktown was the last significant battle of the Revolutionary War, and Cornwallis became known as the general who lost the American colonies. He was forced to surrender on October 19, 1781

Friday, February 7, 2014

Baron Von Steuben

On Febraury 23, 1778 George Washington went over to Valley forge to meet Baron Von Steuben. Baron Von Steuben was a lieutenant General from a noble Prussian family, who faithfully fought in his army and was living on income from numerous of his estates. Washington like Steuben's sincerity. The soldiers loved his style and broken English. Steuben wanted to be recognized as an American citizen by helping Washington with his army. Steuben seemed gave a good impression to Washington, he was accompanied only by his secretary, a servant, and a dog he loved to death, Azor. What was Steuben's role in the war? Well, without him, the war could have ended much sooner that it actually did, with the soldiers freezing to death in Valley Forge, or waste all their ammo taking potshots at the British.

Born a commoner in 1730, Captain Steuben served on the staff of Frederick the Great during the Seven Years' War. After the war ended, Steuben was dismissed from the army when Frederick the Great cut military spending drastically. By the mid 1770 he had become baron, but was broke, and needed a better position. He stroke luck when he met Benjamin Franklin in Paris, who recognized him as a talented and experienced soldier who could bring the much needed order to the Continental Army. Congress appointed Steuben as a Major General and the Inspector General of the Continental Army. Steuben put great effort into the soldiers and trained them to march, use the bayonet, and execute orders quickly on the battlefield.
The time came and when the Continental Army finally went out of Valley Forge in June 1778, the trained and hardened Americans gave a much stronger fight to the British at Monmouth. After the battle, Washington sent Steuben to help Nathanael Greene in the South and later the Baron a battalion to command at Yorktown. Washington's final letter to Steuben thanked him or all his faithful help and effort. Steuben became an American citizen and died in 1794. Without doubt, Steuben was a key factor in the patriots side, and they probably couldn't ave done it without him.

Continental Army Strengths and Weaknesses

Americans needed an army. The British appeared to be almost unstoppable, and a simple militia wouldn't stop them. The Continental Army was something quite unique, even with all odds against them, they won the war. It's funny to think the whole context of the story, the incredible difficulties they faced, and just how silly patriots seem now a days. Their incredible passion, intelligent and keen minds, brave hearts, and sheer luck made America the free country it is today. While it might seem obvious, their strentghs and weaknesses go deeper than what the eye might see. What were they?

It seemed like everything was against the patriots. Their weaknesses shined and darkened what made them so great. The British underestimated them through the whole war, but you can't really blame them.There were never enough men in the Continental army. Like the British, Americans had a hard time making people join the army, considering most people wanted to join the militia where they served for shorter time periods. One thing is undeniable, most of the soldiers who joined the continental army were going to go through anything to win the war. A key factor the patriots had to their favor was the British never learned from their mistakes, using the same old fashioned tactics over and over. While the British announced they were coming from kilometers away,marching like turtles, the patriots took cover and picked them off in the open, pretty clever.

The patriots had someone indispensable, who no British general could ever match; George Washington. Washington knew when to retreat so his army could keep fighting another day. Burning the soldiers out was something he would never do. He cared about his soldiers and understood how complicated their situation was. After having a miserable and costly winter in Valley Forge, he gave every soldier who held through another months pay and a bottle of rum. How nice of him.Lucky or incredibly keen? The continetal army was one of a kind, and to this day, their work will never be forgotten.

Thomas Paine

 Thomas Paine is an extremely important character in the American Revolution. It probably wouldn't have happened without him. He was a wise man, ironically he failed out of school, and then became a seamanMetaphorically, I like to see him as a your best friend who tells you to not be a coward, to just ask the girl out. Thomas Paine is the author of the famous pamphlet "Common Sense".

He single handedly impulsed and gave the colonists the confidence to declare revolution, but his radical views on religion would destroy his life, and on the final moments of his life, very few people attended his funeral. 


     Thomas Paine was born on January 29,1737 Thomas was born in Thetford, England. He failed put of school by the age of 12 , he was then homeschooled by his father, but didn't succeed. At the age of 19, he went on an adventure to the sea, which didn't last too long and found himself as a tax officer in England a few years later. He failed at the task yet again, getting discharged from his office two times in four years , but later published the essay called "The Case of the Officers of Excise" arguing for a pay raise for the officers. He moved to Philadelphia in 1774. In 1775 he published his first pamphlet "African Slavery in America" criticizing slavery in America, showing how much of an advance thinker he was for his time.

 Sadly, Paine wasn't always a succesful man. After being imprisoned by Louis XVI for writing against te church system (which was his most famouse work of the time) his life took a turn. By the end of his life he discovered that his contributions to the American Revolution had beed destroyed by religious views. Declined by the public and left by his friends, he died on June 8, 1809 at the age of 72 in New York City.