What Is More Important Than Unity Dbq

Caleb Martin
10/5/15
APUS
I did not cheat on this

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The statement used discussing how the unity created by the continental army was the most important force in the Americans beating the British in the War for Independence is invalid. While it may be true that the unity and nationalistic feeling created by those fighting in this war was certainly important stating that it was more important than any other force on the American side during the war. One force that was more important than the feeling of unity was just one single man, George Washington who without the war would have been unwinnable. Another force that was significantly more important than unity was the mindset of the British entering

the war. Finally, a final factor that was more important than the unity of the American army was plain luck or Providence depending on your view.
First of all one man was more important than that feeling of unity among the soldiers, and that man was General George Washington.

Considered by many the greatest and most important man in American history without George Washington it would have been impossible for the Americans to win the war. Now George Washington was simply the right man for the job, while the Continental Congress could have gone with many other candidates that had more war experience but most if not all would not have had the correct approach to the war. Washington was realistic, he realised that the British were better supplied, had better troops, and at least it was thought better leadership. He also held a confidence that often caught the eye and rallied his troops, and multiple times kept soldiers around even when their contracts on which they agreed to fight on expired. Really I feel it boils down to this, you can have all the unity in the world and fight with intensity but it won’t matter unless their is a talented leader behind you calling the shots for those who can’t correctly call them for themselves. The fact that the Americans had a leader who realised his situation and for what he was fighting for and was a smart military commander swayed the odds in the Americans favor more than unity among the

soldiers.
Next, the mindset and thoughts of the British entering the war greatly swayed the odds as they completely underestimated the Americans and their abilities.

they viewed the American fighting force as a rabble in arms with incompetent leadership and no real sense of direction. While they weren’t all that far off the British went into the war feeling as if they would just walk all over the Americans and really felt little to no sense of urgency. This lack of urgency let the Americans stick around and stick around for much longer than necessary until they could come up with a strong counter attack and a plan to change the tides of war. The lack of urgency became apparent when General Howe decided again and again to stop the pursuit of the Continental Army and to not wipe it out once and for all. Having those extra days and months due to the British delay for the Americans was critical as without it the war would have been wiped out almost too early for that unity to fully foster that unity and then it would have been a complete non-factor and not just a secondary

factor.
Finally, the luck of Washington's Army was a large influence in the war and certainly larger than the unity felt among the soldiers. The pure luck or divine intervention on the American side came often and during times of critical importance. For instance, during the evacuation of Long Island. During this evacuation the breaks caught by the Americans are incredible, such as the unseasonable fog springing out of nowhere to conceal their retreat. Also the strange wind that always blows down river which would normally make British ships be able to actually be at the point of retreat as the British had planned but the wind decided to abate from blowing down river and then the British were obviously unable to move their ships down the river to accidentally cut the Americans off. Another stroke of luck that the Americans had was on their attack on Trenton. It was no longer campaigning season and the thought of an attack was almost unthinkable to the British/Hessian forces staying at Trenton. In fact the Hessian leader in the camp had been warned multiple times about the impending attacks from the Americans but in a drunken stupidity decided to not heed them and then in a stroke of human stupidity and luck the Americans were able to win that battle and gave them some momentum to take for the rest of the war.
The idea that unity among the soldiers was the driving factor in the Americans winning the War for Independence is an invalid statement based on all the other important factors in the war. Factors such as the leader of the American Army, George Washington, the British sense on how the war would go, and the extreme luck that the Continental Army experienced throughout crucial points of the war often when the revolution hope was all but extinguished. In conclusion it is ridiculous to say how soldiers feel about each other was more important than things like a general, a bad attitude, and luck due to the magnanimity of their contributions compared to the significantly smaller contribution of the soldiers feeling like one nation.