1 War, Peace, and the aftermathAmerican Revolution War, Peace, and the aftermath

2 Breakdown of Support Loyalists (Tories): Supporters of Revolution:African-Americans (slaves, particularly from the South) Many Native Groups Wealthy Aristocrats (in both South and in some Northern Colonies too like New York) Small landowners who lived in the West (regulators) Supporters of Revolution: African-Americans (more from the North, slave and free) Merchants Many large land owners Middle class Native Groups

3 Discussion Question List two advantages and disadvantages that the British and/or American forces faced in the War for Independence

4 American Advantages Outstanding leadership of George WashingtonStrong motivation- fighting to become free and govern themselves Fighting on home ground- knew the territory Experienced officers Superiority of American Rifle (German-made)-better range and accuracy Sharp shooters- frontier experience

5 American DisadvantagesInexperienced army and militia- most were farmers Short enlistment Brand new Navy- few ships to defend coastland Constant shortage of money, arms, food, clothing, medicine Near bankrupt treasury Loyalist warfare -neighbor vs. neighbor

6 British Advantages Military power- strongest army and navy in the world Superior numbers Indian support- Native Americans fearful of losing more land Loyalist cooperation Hefty war chest- lots of money to hire soldiers Bright red uniforms- pride in appearance

7 British DisadvantagesWeak motivations Unaggressive officers 3,000 miles from British home base-poor communication 1,500 mile enemy coastline- hard to blockade Vast land- couldn’t hold territory Easy targets-bright red uniforms European aid to Americans- France

8 Global War Able to get support from France and ultimately Spain and the Netherlands Netherlands … Spain …(Caribbean, Mediterranean) Friedrich von Steuben- Prussian drillmaster who helped to train Washington’s army into more professional fighting force and Valley Forge Marquis de Lafayette- Frenchman who joined GW’s army and served for the remainder of the war Fighting takes place in areas other than North America. Caribbean, Mediterranean, and India as well

9 Colonial Life During RevolutionEconomy: difficult to finance the war Borrowed A LOT of money from France US issued Continentals- paper money Battles over prices of necessities-bread riots As the economic situation worsened …Became battle over what was good for local business vs. the good of the community. Where did it get heated? Women: Took over farms and businesses for men at war Served as cooks and nurses for the army Some even served in the ranks -“Molly Pitcher” Participated in bread riots throughout the colony.

10 Discussion Question Why is it that women often get involved in Bread Riots and other price control efforts?

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12 Treaty of Paris (1783) Officially ended the American War for Independence Great Britain recognized independence of the US US gained territory Where? Great Britain to leave all forts in territory ceded to the United States, but what actually happens?

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14 Losers of the War of IndependenceNative Americans-loss of British leaves them with only Americans to deal with, which ultimately hurts them why? Loyalists and slaves were also big losers from the War. Displacement, retribution.

15 An Independent Nation: How to Govern?Why not unify? Strong loyalty to the individual states Individual governments Communication Not economically interdependent Traded more with England than with each other Why unify? Common language, culture No tradition of hostility to each other Had a common effort to beat England

16 State Constitutions Continental Congress in 1776 called upon the states to draft new state constitutions where authority rests with the people Theory of Republicanism Most of these constitutions had: Bill of Rights Annual elections of legislatures Weak executive and judicial branches Still need a central government to work with the states

17 Discussion Question Why were early Americans so hesitant to create a strong national government?

18 Articles of ConfederationFirst framework for US government Established a Confederation- loose alliance of states with a weak central gov’t and strong state gov’ts State gov’ts were supreme and national gov’t existed with Congress only-which was a one house legislative assembly

19 Articles of ConfederationPowers Granted to Congress: Each state had 1 vote in Congress Gave Congress the power to: declare war make peace sign treaties borrow money set standards for coins establish a postal service deal with Native Americans

20 Articles of ConfederationWhat it did not do: Did not create a separate executive department to carry out and enforce the acts of Congress No national court system to interpret the meaning of laws Could not collect taxes All other powers belonged to individual states

21 Conflicts over Western LandBy 1779, 12 states agreed to accept the new gov’t under the Articles of Confederation (all but Maryland) MD feared that states with land claims west of the Appalachian Mtns would overpower smaller states and refused to ratify. Extra land forfeited to national gov’t from the Paris Peace Treaty of 1783) Jefferson comes up with 2 land plans

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23 Land Ordinance of 1785 Established a procedure for surveying the landTwo problems over land led to this 1) States (particularly VA, PA, and MA) have competing claims 2) Land speculators are out in this newly acquired territory claiming land for themselves to sell off for profit Established a grid system Divided land into townships of 36 square miles, then divided into 36 sections of 1 square mile One section set aside for public education

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25 Northwest Ordinance of 1787Established a procedure for dividing the land into 5 territories: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin Established a system for those territories to become states Territory could apply for statehood when population reached 60,000 Banned slavery from Northwest Territory This would serve as precedent for emitting new states in the future (although, there were adjustments for some states). These plans for dealing with the newly acquired Western Lands was one of the few successes of Articles of Confederation

26 Articles of Confederation Ratified!Went into effect in March 1781 Big question is, Will it work? No! 2 big problems show how Articles of Confederation cannot control the new country

27 Shays’ Rebellion Winter Taxes very high, farmers can’t pay-losing their farms Those who were largely indebted tried to ... Anger erupted as the government sided with the creditors and these farmers ... Springfield, Massachusetts- Daniel Shays leads rebellion Put down but scared people Questions over whether the central gov’t can step in. Nationally, caused issues that would lead to the Constitution Some, like John Adams, feared this type of action, whereas others, such as Thomas Jefferson, were not as concerned about the rebellion and felt it necessary to check central authority.

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29 Discussion Question What is interstate commerce and why would it cause issues in the newly independent United States?

30 Interstate Commerce Trade between statesNew York was taxing New Jersey goods high Virginia and Maryland were fighting over the Potomac River Can central gov’t do anything?

31 Political Problems of the AoCLacked national unity- each state considered completely independent Each state had 1 vote- regardless of population 2/3 majority needed (9/13 states) to pass a law Unanimous vote needed to amend No executive branch to enforce laws No court system to interpret the laws

32 Economic Problems Huge debt from Revolutionary War owed to foreign nations (France) Congress had no power to tax Congress printed it’s own money “Continentals”=worthless Led to inflation (worsened by the debt incurred by both national and state governments.) No power to regulate interstate commerce

33 Foreign Policy ProblemsWith debts unpaid, GB refused to evacuate soldiers from forts around the Great Lakes Congress had no power to regulate foreign trade Spain closed the Mississippi River to American trade- hurt western farmers Royal Navy often hindered American trade vessels, making commerce much more difficult for the new nation. America not allowed to trade with British West Indies

34 Need to Revise Decided to meet May 25, 1787 in Philadelphia55 delegates from 12 states (RI didn’t make it-distrustful of central authority and only ratified the Constitution once the Bill of Rights was guaranteed-didn’t do so until May of 1790) George Washington Elected chairman- no outsiders allowed Decided to scrap the Articles of Confederation and begin anew