Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
George Washington and the Revolutionary War
George Washington and the Revolutionary War
George Washington and the Revolutionary War
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: George Washington and the Revolutionary War
In the world’s lens during the 1760s, the British empire had a clear and prominent control over the colonies. However, by the mid-1770s the Americans became enraged enough to declare war against the British for independence. Due to Britain’s massive imperial presence around the globe, the British civilians had a strong inclination for a successful outcome. Instead, the colonists pulled a surprising victory from what should have been a swift defeat. While the British had an abundance of advantages, they lost the Revolutionary War because the British army underestimated the colonists’ perseverance for freedom. At the beginning of the war, the preconceptions of each side show exactly why Britain was destined for failure. On the American team, …show more content…
At the start of the war, the Continental Army lacked training and organization. While the scattered guerilla tactics seemed to waste time and resources, they helped Americans stay alive. In addition, the colonists had the advantage of perseverance; they had to fight for their freedom as a nation. Another facet that helped survival was the leadership of George Washington. His knowledge and expertise was critical in making sure his soldiers stayed alive; having the home field advantage boosted his effectiveness as well. All of these assets culminated into a powerful force against the British …show more content…
This conclusion seemed to contradict every presumption about Great Britain’s imperial power. In all other conflicts, the British seemed to win decisively but the problem in the American Revolution lies with Britain underestimating the colonists. The British were blind to America’s symbolic presence as an end to an imperial structure. France and Spain aided the colonists in hopes of defeating the tyrannical empire. Britain underestimated George Washington and the Continental Army. Over time, the colonial militias trained in the European fashion and transformed into a challenging force. Ultimately, the most distinctive miscalculation of the British was the perseverance of the colonists and their fight for freedom. While Britain was fighting for control over yet another revenue source, America was fighting for independence and principle. The difference between the motivations was the predominant factor in deciding the
The United States today, both militarily and economically, is the strongest force in the world. In order to get to that point, however, the United States had to pull of the miracle upset in its infancy stages against the reigning super power of the time in what would become to be known as the American Revolution. This was not an actual revolution for there was not a political overhaul with an exception to who now collected the taxes. This instead was a rebellion against the British by people who largely considered them selves to be British. The new American government was even modeled after the British government. In fact, many Americans did not want war but instead just wanted to have the same rights as a British man. They felt like their
Washington's selection to be the leader of the Continental Army was the wisest choice that the newly formed Continental Congress could have made. Washington's selection as Commander of the Continental Army did more to win the Revolutionary war than any other decision made during the conflict. His personal character epitomizes perfectly the five traits required in a successful general: wisdom, sincerity, humanity, courage, and strictness. (Sun Tzu p. 65) These five crucial traits will become apparent and Washington's strategy to win the War of Independence is elaborated on further
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.
The British Empire has had a long lasting and strong influence on the American colonies for over three centuries. From the 16th century all the way to the 18th century, the British empire has held power within the colonies in terms of legislature, economy, and social stature. The British’s rule has been both a positive and negative driving force
Gordon Wood’s Radicalism of the American Revolution is a book that extensively covers the origin and ideas preceding the American Revolution. Wood’s account of the Revolution goes beyond the history and timeline of the war and offers a new encompassing look inside the social ideology and economic forces of the war. Wood explains in his book that America went through a two-stage progression to break away from the Monarchical rule of the English. He believes the pioneering revolutionaries were rooted in the belief of an American Republic. However, it was the radical acceptance of democracy that was the final step toward independence. The transformation between becoming a Republic, to ultimately becoming a democracy, is where Wood’s evaluation of the revolution differs from other historians. He contributes such a transformation to the social and economic factors that faced the colonists. While Gordon Wood creates a persuasive argument in his book, he does however neglect to consider other contributing factors of the revolution. It is these neglected factors that provide opportunity for criticism of his book.
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
The Revolutionary War was one of America’s earliest battles and one of many. Although, many came to America to gain independence from Great Britain many still had loyalty for the King and their laws. Others believed that America needs to be separated from Great Britain and control their own fate and government. I will analyze the arguments of Thomas Paine and James Chalmers. Should America be sustained by Great Britain or find their own passage?
The revolution brought major changes in the system but if seeing from a larger view everything remained the same. The questions that the American Revolution went deeply through were the slavery question, the women emancipation and the system of politics. But at the end radical changes were very little and the lives lost were not worth the advantages for the country. The first issue the revolutionary war had to face was slavery. Social changes never touched the lives of white men since they already had rights and benefits but instead they touched slaves and women even though the scene remained unchanged after the end of the war.
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.
First, George Washington was a skilled and experienced officer in the French and Indian War. At the Battle of Fort Duquesne, British troops were led by General Edward Braddock. The British were soon ambushed by Indians fighting on the French side. Washington displayed remarkable courage in the Battle. “He had two horses shot out from under him, his hat was shot off and bullets tore his coat” (Sheidley). Braddock was killed so Washington made the British troops withdraw. Americans admired Washington's courage and success when leading the retreat. Consequently, Washington also used his strategy of retreat in the Revolutionary War and it proved to be successful again. For example, the British defeated the Americans at the Battle of Long Island. That foggy night, Washington led a brilliant retreat of thousands of American soldiers by boat from Long Island to Manhattan. This prevented American soldiers from being wounded or killed and it gave them hope that they could still win. Lastly, George Washington had many important Revolutionary War victories. One of those victories was the Battle of Trenton. On Christmas Eve in 1776, Washington led his exhausted, hungry, and cold troops across the Delaware River. In a surprise attack two days later, the Americans defeated the Hessian soldiers. In addition, Americans won the Battle of Yorktown in which the Revolutionary War ended when British General Cornwallis surrendered on October 17, 1781. Washington had to go through countless hardships and defeats but he finally achieved
By having allied forces, not panicking, and fighting in their homeland they were given an advantage over Britain's vast and powerful army. Before the fighting, to help defeat the British financially, and non-violently, the Americans used boycotting to take what Britain wanted most from the colonies, money. Finally, the fact that the Americans had motivation to win, a trait that the British were not particularly strong in. The war was worth fighting to gain independence from Britain despite the costs because the very idea of freedom motivated the colonists, and in their eyes, Britain had wronged them way too many times. Americans decided that it was time to end the British rule and parliament because they thought they were getting too controlling, and the parliament was creating new laws that were only for the benefit of Britain without asking the colonists whether or not they could pass a new law. These several factors infuriated and motivated the colonies to independence, they felt they were being wronged and felt that they needed a separation. This history is important to remember for Americans because it is an example of great leadership, perseverance, and courage. America needs to know this now to understand why and how it became a country, and how our life values and morals as a country came to be. Overall, the American Revolution was a major turning point for Americans in history, and it is very important that we are taught about it to this
...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.
Our army adopted some of the Native American ways of fighting, which was more hidden and stealthy, whereas the British wore bright red uniforms that made them easy targets. They stayed more in the open as well. Also, the territory was more familiar to the colonists as the British troops were thousands of miles away from home. Since they were so far from Great Britain, there was often poor communication among leaders. Another factor that assisted the Continental Army was George Washington, the Major General and Commander-in-Chief of the militia. He held the force together, kept morale up, and made good choices in his leadership. In contrast, the British generals were oftentimes incompetent in what they
However, Britain did have several disadvantages since they were the invading army, there was poor communication regarding supplies and between military leaders as well as a lack of familiarity of American territory. The British also outnumbered the American soldiers. The Americans had many disadvantages, and defeating the British seemed impossible. Americans were constantly experiencing shortages of supplies. Additionally, Americans had very few ships and did not have well experienced soldiers of military leaders. However, Americans were passionate and driven by their cause. Additionally, militias used methods of fighting such as surprise attacks or camouflage. The American soldiers were also familiar with their territory. Overall, Americans had many disadvantages, but with the leadership of Washington, they were able to push out the British and achieve