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

                                                                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