Allies Enter the War

The American Revolution was well received on France. The United States lack of arms and allies, French saw this as an opportunity to defeat the British Empire. Benjamin Franklin went to Paris to negotiate an alliance between this two.

At first the French were permitted and started sending secretly ammunition and gunpowder, for close to a million pounds. This aid given by France helped George Washington’s survival against the British in 1776 and 1777. French Ports received American ships that acted against British merchant ships.

The British had taken over Philadelphia in 1777. But American victory at the battle of Saratoga had brought back hope to them and to the French, after this France started realizing that American could win the war.

France formally recognized the United States on February 6, 1778 with the signing of the Treaty of Alliance. This alliance would produce the biggest victory in 1781.

Women's Role in the War

Throughout the war women’s work was crucial. At first when their son and husbands went to war they stayed in charge of everything at home, they made clothing, blankets, and shoes for the soldiers, this way they went well prepared to fight.

Without this help soldiers wouldn’t make it through, but after some time some women wanted to go to war with their husbands to the army, some helped maintaining them and even some started helping with cannons, various women were outstanding at this. The most recognized were Deborah Sampson, Molly Pitcher and others.

DEBORAH SAMPSON

Deborah Sampson was the first known American women who took the role of a man in order to enter the army and take place in combats. On May 20 1782 when she was 21 was enlisted as a man named Robert Shurtleff in the Continental Army. She performed her duties just as another man. After her service ended she was awarded a pension from the state of Massachusetts.

MOLLY PITCHER

Molly Pitcher was a nickname given to a woman who fought in the revolutionary war.  This Molly Picher stories are attributed to Mary Hays. She was from a German family but born in New Jersey. This woman was known because she delivered water to the troops and sometimes fired the cannon of her husband.

Washington's Crossing of the Delaware River

After British had crashed the continental army they were forced to retreat to New Jersey. After this he decided to counterattack. The crossing of the Delaware River occurred on December 25, 1776. This was the first move in the planned surprise attack against the Hessian forces in Trenton, New Jersey. Brave Washington led the continental army in a dangerous move across the icy Delaware River.

Washington successfully surprised and defeated the troops of Johann Rall quartered in Trenton.

On Christmas Day Washington had ordered his army to prepare three days' food, and that soldiers had to be well outfitted. He heard the the British troops had plan to cross the river once it was frozen.  At evening Washington army were told about a secret plan and started getting ready.

Washington's plan required the crossing to begin as soon as it was dark enough to make their movements on the river. The weather became worst until the snow smashed the soldiers in their operation. We can give all the credit to the mind of this plan Henry Knox, if it wasn’t for him the operation could have failed.

William Howe



William Howe was a British Army officer who was commander in chief of the British army in the American war in independence.  Before he served in the war he gave his services in the War of the Austrian Succession and the French and Indian war.

One of his most important roles in this war was given when he led the British to a victory in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Howe took command of all British forces in America from Thomas Gage in September of 1775. He successfully captured the states of New York and Philadelphia.  But as this man made British win he make bad planning’s too and led to the failure of John Burgoyne's Saratoga campaign. , which played a major role in the entry of France into the war.

Some of his failure giving examples was his ways or strategies on attacking colonials. He ordered front assaults in the middle of the day with heavy artifacts and walking uphill. This weakened soldiers and with colonial strategies of surprise attacking make the soldiers losing easily.

Howe contributed his services in various battles such as the 7 years’ war, the Battle of Bunker Hill and New York, Philadelphia, and Burgoyne’s campaign.

Loyalists and Patriots

As it always happens, we have black and white, an evil side and a bad side. Patriots where honorable people who fought against the Britain Government. But not many know that as we had patriots who fought for the colonies we had the Loyalists. These were people that preferred British rules that remained loyal to British. Some were happy being suppressed by British and some others only just feared, others depended financially from the crown and so on many purposes for being in favor of their rules. This people doubted that the colonists could defeat one of Europe’s greatest empires. But loyalist were definitely against patriots causes for various purposes, they feared that Britain could not win the war, the patriots did not allow free speech, they dislike militia drafts, they shutdown loyalist newspaper, and they feared oppression from patriots.



Declaring of Independence!

One of the big achievements continental congress had when they assembled was moving towards independence, adopting the United States Declaration of Independence. The congress select a committee to draft the declaration, explaining their reasons, more specifically Thomas Jefferson drafted this.

By Spring 1776, July 2 congress voted that America was free and by July 4 they approved the

declaration stating that the 13 American Colonies were now independent states. They didn’t depend anymore from the British Empire.

The declaration containing a long list of grievances against King George, also declared the idea that all men were created equally:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain Unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.

Battles of Lexington and Concord

 

John Hancock, Samuel Adams and other colonist leaders convened in a provincial congress where they wanted to govern without any British influence. They started gathering weapons and amunisions not letting Thomas Gage who was a British general, military who was named governor of Massachusetts, know about the plans they had together.

When Gage knew about this plan he send troops to arrest John Hancock and Samuel Adams. This provoked the battles in this towns west of Boston.  When the secret was spread Paul Revere travel all the way to Boston to warn Hancock and Adams , so knowing this the patriot fighters (militia), got ready to defend their town. This patriots were full-time farmers and part-time soldiers. But this didn’t stop them, they were ready to attack rapidly and their attacks were sudden and silent.

When redcoats arrived they attacked but the militia killed more than 200 British soldiers and so winning this short battle.

The Second Continental Congress

After the revolutionary war it was decided to form a second continental congress. This congress assembled representatives from the colonies, this time from the 13 of them. The second continental congress happened on May 1775. This congress was form after the war to take responsibility of it.  This congress took place in Pennsylvania States House in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They took executive and legislative power. Armed volunteers from middle and southern colonies marched north to join patriots that had seized Boston. The congress gave the leadership of army to George Washington. They wanted to declare independence from Britain.

Boston Massacre

Boston Massacre! This terrible event started March 5th 1770.

British started abusing the colonists, they were sending soldiers to the colonies to make sure that they were fallowing the rules as the British wanted. All this started creating tension between soldiers and colonists. Soldiers weren’t happy about this and some were looking for other jobs because they were paid few for their work as soldiers.

On this evening of march a soldier looking for other job step on colonist territory and was encountered by angry colonists. All this anger was created by the tension around them, soldiers al around them! So they took advantage so the angry mob started attaking the soldier.

All this conflists provoced a first shot even though soldiers didn’t wanted to attack colonists, the several shots started appearing, as a result 5 civilians rest dead. All this continued until it was taken to trial. After all the massacre justice was made, only 2 soldiers were charged for commiting a crime.

Townshend Act

The Townshend Acts are named for Charles Townshend. He started with this idea of taxing colonists indirectly, this way of taxing was more reasonable than others. This acts were passed in 1767 by the British Parliament. This were made because Parliament needed to raise money to get out of England’s debt so they easily passed this laws and people couldn’t elect any member of the Parliament soy they say these as a violation.

They decided to levy new taxes on the colonies of British America, on products that were used in everyday life-Lead, glass, tea, paper, and paint. This money raised was used to pay to pay the salaries of governors and judges so that they would be independent of colonial rule. This way colonists wouldn’t have any rights over governors and judges.

Intolerable Acts



The Boston Tea Party was a key event in the growth of the American Revolution. Parliament responded in 1774 with the Coercive Acts, which, among other provisions, closed Boston's commerce until the British East India Company had been repaid for the destroyed tea.

Also called the Intolerable Acts, this acts were made mainly to restore the order after the Boston Tea Party. This were a series of laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774, this included, Boston Port Act, Quartering Act, Administration of Justice Act, Quebec Act and Massachusetts (4 of this were directly in response to the Boston Tea Party). With this, they were preventing colonists to challenge the Parliament authority.

Colonist started seeing this Acts as an abuse to their rights and in 1774 they organized the first Continental Congress to protest against them. In my opinion the colonists thought wisely, and made a good decision doing this congress, it was a better way to protest against the British Parliament than other ways of acting like the Tea Party.

The Boston Tea Party



After all the protests made by colonists, all taxes were repelled (1770) except for the taxes on TEA.  People started this movement against Tea Act called de Tea Party, this movement was passed by the British Parliament in 1773. Protesters had successfully prevented the unloading of taxed tea in three other colonies, but in Boston, Thomas Hutchinson refused to allow the tea to be returned to Britain. He never expected colonists acting in another way than we thought. People started the boycott and this gave problems to the British East India Company.

On December 16, 1773, after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of colonists boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by throwing it into Boston Harbor. A group of colonists disguised themselves as Indians, the dumped 342 trunks of tea in all.



Stamp Act

On March 1765 the parliament passed a bill and wanted to raise taxes from the colonies. This is called THE STAMP ACT. This included newspaper, books, court documents, land deeds, and contracts. The colonist protest about this because they paid so many taxes they were left with nothing so they started to argued about this, that they didn't had any representation at the parlament. And then they thought if they let them impose taxes once they would be adding more and more taxes. They thought that the stamp act reveled the british conspiracy to destroy american liberties. The Colonist were complaining about the Stamp Act so the parlament thought that the colonist were being selfish and that their empire needed money, the colonist did not accept this argument.



THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR

As many people can imagine The French and Indian War was not a war between Indian and French but a war between England and France, French and Indians alied. The fought over the Ohio River Valley. This war started in the year of 1754 and lasted until 1756, that's why its name "Seven Years War". The british troops were commanded by George Washington, at first suffering loses, but then British using a better strategy and blocking shipping from Frensh started dominating the war and captured Quebec and Montreal between 1759 and 1760. The most important man on this british side was William Pitt who increased British military resources in the colonies, after this british entered and took over the French territory easily. At the end this war ended with the Treaty of Paris, with british having most of the land and with little claims from French and Spanish.