As time went on in the Colonies the Colonists wanted to be an independent country more and more each day. More of them couldn’t stand the British, and they didn’t want to have to deal with them anymore. So the Colonists started the American Revolution against the British to hopefully gain freedom against the British in the future. Throughout the war the Colonists had both their high points and low points, but in the end they came out victorious. It makes no sense when you look at the Colonists advantages and the British advantages when it comes to fighting wars that the Colonists could have won this war. Some people make up reasons that they think the Colonists were able to win the Revolutionary War, but I know that the colonist would have …show more content…
never won this war if it wasn’t for the French. There could have been many different outcomes to this war and all of them could have changed the history and development of the United States. The French helped the Colonists win the Revolutionary war by forming an alliance with them, and bringing the colonists extra soldiers, money, a naval fleet, and war supplies. France started following the situation between Great Britain and the North American Colonies as early as 1767 with great interest. The French even started sending secret agents to America to find out how serious the colonists were in their resistance to British attempts to tax them without their consent ("American Revolution, French Alliance, Siege of Yorktown"). In 1774 supporters of the Colonists started approaching the French asking for help with taking out the British, but French Foreign Minister, the Comte de Vergennes, decided that they would wait to get involved. He thought it was too early ("American Revolution, French Alliance, Siege of Yorktown"). As a nation France was determined to come back from its defeat during the Seven Years War, which forced the French to give up their Canadian land and had messed up the balance of power in Europe, so many of the Patriots knew that there was a good possibility that eventually they would form an alliance with the French. In 1775, however, Vergennes sent a secret agent to Philadelphia to meet with the Continental Congress. There were two necessary conditions for France to openly help the American rebels. First, the Colonies had to declare their independence, and secondly they had to show that they were able to defend themselves against the British ("American Revolution, French Alliance, Siege of Yorktown"). By the end of that year, the French were hearing news that the Americans had beat the British in October at Saratoga, New York, over British General Burgoyne. This was very important because now both of the conditions had been met, Vergennes then began negotiating a treaty of alliance with the Americans ("American Revolution, French Alliance, Siege of Yorktown"). On February 6, 1778, Benjamin Franklin was in France and he signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance. The Treaty of Amity and Commerce now identified the United States as an independent nation and this treaty also promoted trade between France and America. The second agreement, the Treaty of Alliance, made the United States and France allies against Great Britain in the Revolutionary War ("France Allied with American Colonies"). Within that treaty it stated “... his Majesty(the French) and the said United States, having resolved in that case to join their councels and efforts against the enterprises of their common enemy...” ("A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 - 1875") When Franklin came to the signing ceremony, he wore, as a symbol, the same brown velvet suit he had worn when he appeared before Britain's Privy Council in 1774. King Louis XVI gave financial assistance to the American colonists only four days after Franklin and his comrades requested it ("France Allied with American Colonies"). From there on out for the rest of the the war the Americans and the French were united in their fight against the British. France helped the colonists by giving them military weapons and equipment and loans.
During the American Revolution, the French sent about 12,000 soldiers and around 32,000 sailors to the New World to help the American war effort ("France Allied with American Colonies"). Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier otherwise known as Marquis de Lafayette was the biggest French captain that would be involved in the Revolution. Although he was important in many other important events and wars with his own country, France, his role in winning American independence gave him the most fame (“Marquis de Lafayette”). The main strategy thought of by the Continental Congress and its generals was to use French army and navy to slowly start taking out the existing British on land and at sea. George Washington thought that this one-by-one plan would eventually defeat King George’s forces in America ("American Revolution, French Alliance, Siege of Yorktown"). The first direct French military support to get to America was in July 1778. The first group was a military expedition force of 4,000 soldiers and 16 ships. They were under the command of Comte d’Estaing. The first couple attempts to mount a joint American-French military ended in failure. The failures were thought to be due to cultural differences and communication issues between the new allies ("American Revolution, French Alliance, Siege of Yorktown"). The only action of importance where the Colonists and the French fought together with success in the end was the capture of Yorktown (Perkins 1). Although the two militaries were having trouble fighting together, the French continued to send money and supplies. The year 1780 was probably the lowest point in the American struggle to win independence. The British had taken over New York, Charleston, and South Carolina. They did this all after a brief siege in May. At this point the British were also on the verge of taking over the Carolinas ("American Revolution, French
Alliance, Siege of Yorktown"). The French were now starting to get upset over the American war efforts and Foreign Minister, Comte de Vergennes was letting the French minister at Madrid know. He shared this statement with him,“I am beginning to have a poor opinion of their firmness...their republic, unless they correct its faults,... will never be more than a feeble body capable of little activity…. I must own that I have little confidence in the energy of the United States.” (Perkins 1) From the years 1776 to 1783 France supplied the United States with millions of livres, french currency, in cash and credit. France also gave the Americans 63 warships, 22,000 sailors and 12,000 soldiers to the war. These French forces suffered relatively heavy casualties "American Revolution, French Alliance, Siege of Yorktown"). As the war was nearing its end the reality that America would be its own country was becoming more realistic. With French aid George Washington maintained a small army of poorly trained soldiers. Without the aid of the French there was almost no chance of them winning this war. We can assume that with the growing numbers in the new world that eventually they would break free from britain (Perkins 1). Therefore, the French helped the Colonists win the Revolutionary war by forming an alliance with them, and bringing the colonists extra soldiers, money, a naval fleet, and war supplies.
In chapter eleven, The Age of Democratic Revolutions: The North Atlantic World “Turn Upside Down”, Wells discusses the American and French Revolutions. Both of these revolutions shook the world and turn the world around. After the Enlightenment, there were many revolutions across Europe; however, the American and French Revolution had more power in them to change the world. Because of the books, pamphlets, and sermons, the idea of rationalism moved from philosophes to many of other people. With these new ideas, the people started to believe in change which led to stress and upheaval. In America, the revolution was not like other revolutions. There was no reigns of terror, no mass deportations, or forced labor camps. However, the American
According to Carl N. Degler, the entire Revolution should be viewed as a conservative change. In “A New Kind of Revolution,” Degler talked about how the new actions taken place by the English had help structure and shape the colonial government. Not only did the colonies lack the affection of their motherland, Britain, they were also taxed unfairly. On the other hand, “The Radicalism of the American Revolution,” by Gordon S. Wood talks about how the American Revolution was a radical movement. His thesis covered how the country was transitioning from monarchy to republic, and now, democracy. The framers wanted to create a free nation where no single person rule. As well as, the people of the nation having the ultimate say so.
Historians may argue that the British lost the war more than the Colonists won it. Simply looking at the statistics of the British three to one ratio over the colonists, and their overwhelming wealth and naval power, it is virtually impossible to believe that the Americans came out victorious. During this war, the newly emerging colonists proved to the rest of the world that they were becoming an upcoming world power. Although unknown at the time, Washington would prove to be a military genius. This would benefit the colonists in many ways. The colonists, although only one-third of them were pro-war, were patriots who were willing to die for their country. The colonists had more to gain from the war then the British had to lose, thus creating more of an incentive to win. The colonists also had aid from other countries such as France and created allies that would eventually be useful in other wars. The Colonists won the war more than the British lost it because of Washington's great military skills, their patriotism and motives to triumph, and aid of foreign countries.
In the second half of the eighteenth century, the British were faced with rebelling colonies. Finally realizing that they had to fight to keep their colonial possessions, the British sent troops to America. Once the battles began in America, the British were not impressed with the colonial military, but the weak militias soon proved to be effective. With foreign aid from France, American devotion, and the lack of British vigor, the Americans soon discovered the open doors of independence. In my opinion, the American advantages and the British disadvantages proved to be the downfall of the English in the American Revolution.
Some say that the Revolution was destined to happen ever since Settlers set foot on this continent, others argue that it would not have happened if it weren't for a set of issues that finally drove the colonists to revolt. Ultimately, Britain lost control in 1765 when they gave in to the Stamp Act Congress’s boycotts against parliamentary taxation and gave them the idea that they had the power to run a country. To a lesser degree, Salutary Neglect led to the conception of a legacy of colonial religious and political ideals which set in motion an eminent conflict. During this period, England “forgot” about the colonies and gave them colonists a taste of independence and suspicions of individual political theories. Through Parliament's ruthless taxation without representation and a near opposite religious and political mindset, Britain and the colonists were heaved into a revolutionary war.
The Americans had an advantage over the British for a simple reason: they were fighting for something they wanted, rather than the British fighting to “play defense” and prevent American independence. Americans colonists wanted to become an independant nation, have a new system of self governance, claim equal rights for all citizens, and rid themselves from tyranny. The Patriots who fought in the Revolution were primarily fighting for independence from Britain, and it was that similar goal that boosted morale. As stated in the Declaration of Independence American colonists were subject to a “long train of abuses and usurpations” and it was also argued that the British tyranny forced colonists to “alter their former system of government”. Therefore, the Patriots were fighting for a cause that affected their everyday lives which inspired them even more to defeat Britain. The British was fed up with the casualties and heavy taxes to pay for the war they were fighting without cause, while the Americans would have done anything to defeat the British. The American colonists and their want to defeat the British for the rights they deserved was a crucial factor to American victory during the revolutionary
An oppressed people will eventually rise against the oppressor regardless of loyalties they may have had in the past to their oppressor. Humans can only withstand so much oppression before eventually reaching a breaking point-a fact the British Empire failed to realize when they took oppressive actions on their colonies that would cause conflict and culminate into the American Revolution. After claiming victory in the French-Indian War, the British decided to implement policies and taxes in the colonies the colonists that the colonists considered illegal due to lack of their consent. While initially, the colonists did attempt more peaceful and logical alternatives to resolve their discontent with the British Empire, eventually more oppressive taxes and violent events culminated to a full Revolution. Before the revolution, the British had incurred debt from the French-Indian War and needed to raise money: they turned to the colonies as a source of income.
The Revolutionary War was a war between the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain from 1775-1783 during the American Revolution. The American colonists fought the British in hope of freedom and separation from Great Britain. “This was the completion stage of the political American Revolution whereas the colonists had denied the rights of the Parliament of Great Britain in governing them without any representation,” ("American Revolutionary War."). The Revolutionary War consisted of many different bloody battles on American soil. The war resulted in an American victory because of many historical reasons. The factors that contributed to an American victory of the Revolutionary War are British debt, distance between America and Great Britain, war tactics, French involvement, and important battles.
Before the start of the revolution, the colonists were faced with a threat. The French owned a large portion of American soil and had formed close ties with the Native Americans in their area whom were known for their hostility towards the English settlers. During the French and Indian War, the colonists had minimal help other than the strong naval power the English withheld and they were often belittled by the experienced soldiers that quartered in their homes. The colonists gathered a sense of unity in order to win the war. Although England beat the French, the peace would last only a decade before the colonists would revolt.
I feel that the Americans have a major disadvantage in this Revolutionary War. They don’t have too many resources because of the small amount of people supporting them. For now, the Americans must with the war with what they’ve
“Is there a single trait of resemblance between those few towns and a great and growing people spread over a vast quarter of the globe, separated by a mighty ocean?” This question posed by Edmund Burke was in the hearts of nearly every colonist before the colonies gained their independence from Britain. The colonists’ heritage was largely British, as was their outlook on a great array of subjects; however, the position and prejudices they held concerning their independence were comprised entirely from American ingenuity. This identity crisis of these “British Americans” played an enormous role in the colonists’ battle for independence, and paved the road to revolution.
The American Revolution: the war for our independence. This revolution opened the door to our liberty, freedom, and basically what America is now. Most Americans have heard the stories of famous battles, important people (George Washington for instance), and everything in between. However, this was only for our side of the American Revolution and a small fraction of people have been told of Britain’s campaign of the revolution. The only thing people have been told was the Britain lost the war. What of Britain’s triumphs, strategies, and everything that happened in the span of a few years? Not many people know it, but the British struck a major blow against the Patriots in the last few years of the war. Even though the United States won the American Revolution, Britain struck a major blow against the colonists when the British successfully and brutally took the town of Charleston, South Carolina.
As an American observes the life around him, noting the many advancements made in merely the last century, he must wonder how America climbed to such a level. The 21st century technology, the military and political power, education and ethics, all came from such meager beginnings, solidified by the Revolutionary War. The Revolutionary War proved to be a significant turning point in the history of our country, but what caused America to win? What were some of the most significant factors in the victory of these American patriots? By examining these three particular factors, America’s military assets, it’s aid from other countries, and its own spirit of independence, one’s understanding of the Revolutionary War, an essential root of this nation, is truly increased.
The American Revolution marked the divorce of the British Empire and its one of the most valued colonies. Behind the independence that America had fought so hard for, there emerged a diverging society that was eager to embrace new doctrines. The ideals in the revolution that motivated the people to fight for freedom continued to influence American society well beyond the colonial period. For example, the ideas borrowed from John Locke about the natural rights of man was extended in an unsuccessful effort to include women and slaves. The creation of state governments and the search for a national government were the first steps that Americans took to experiment with their own system. Expansion, postwar depression as well as the new distribution of land were all evidence that pointed to the gradual maturing of the economic system. Although America was fast on its way to becoming a strong and powerful nation, the underlying issues brought about by the Revolution remained an important part in the social, political and economical developments that in some instances contradicted revolutionary principles in the period from 1775-1800.
...he fact that they had no political power and were controlled by a country that was thousands of miles away from them. The American Revolution began as a conflict over political and social change, but soon developed into a dispute over personal rights and political liberty. A decade of conflicts between the British government and the Americans, starting with the Stamp Act in 1765 that eventually led to war in 1775, along with The Declaration of Independence in 1776. Americans united as one and knew that they wanted to be an independent country, have their own laws, rights, and not be colony of the Great Britain. They fought hard for their independence and people lost their lives in the process of it but in the end they succeeded. Never give up, keep fighting till the mission is accomplished just like the Americans did when they were fighting for their independence.