The Revolutionary War (ADA)

After 1778 the British shifted their attention to the southern colonies, which brought them initial prosperity when they recaptured Georgia and South Carolina for the Crown in 1779 and 1780. In 1781 British forces endeavored to subjugate Virginia, but a French naval victory just outside Chesapeake Bay led to a Franco-American siege at Yorktown and the capture of over 7,000 British soldiers. The defeat broke Britain's will to perpetuate the war. Constrained fighting perpetuated throughout 1782, while tranquility negotiations commenced. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris pacified the war and apperceived the sovereignty of the United States over the territory bounded roughly by what is now Canada to the north, Florida to the south, and the Mississippi River to the west A wider international tranquility was acceded, in which several territories were exchanged. The expensive war drove France into massive debt, which would contribute to the outbreak of a Revolution there as well.

In 1775, thirteen colonies began a fight for their independence from Britain’s rule. Without formal training in artillery tactics or a proper armament of artillery pieces, early units had to overcome adversity and hardship. But with courage and dedication the artillery and its leadership were able to play a vital role in the success on the battlefields, and ultimately the victory resulting in America earning its freedom.

After about 4 years the Townshend acts were passed. The Townshend acts were originated by Charles Townshend. They were meant to add even more taxes on all imported goods, which makes everything almost double the original price. Great Britain needed to pass this act because they still had so much of the debt to pay ofF. This was a huge financial burden for the colonists. There were many violent protests.This act eventually led to the Boston tea

Beginning in 1764, Great Britain began passing acts to exert greater control over the American colonies. The Sugar Act was passed to increase duties on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies. A Currency Act was also passed to ban the colonies from issuing paper bills or bills of credit because of the belief that the colonial currency had devalued the British money. Further, in order to continue to support the British soldiers left in America after the war, Great Britain passed the Quartering Act in 1765. This ordered colonists to house and feed British soldiers if there was not enough room for them in the colonist’s homes. An important piece of legislation that really upset the colonists was the Stamp Act passed in 1765. This required stamps to be purchased or included on many different items and documents such as playing cards, legal papers, newspapers, and more. This was the first direct tax that Britain had imposed on the colonists. Events began to escalate with passage of the Townshend Acts in 1767. These taxes were created to help colonial officials become independent of the colonists by providing them with a source of income. This act led to clashes between British troops and colonists, causing the infamous Boston Massacre. These unjust requests and increasing tensions all led up to the colonist’s declaration as well as the Revolutionary War.

On october 19, 1781 the British army surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia. Although the treaty had yet to be signed, American independence had been accomplished. The Patriots had pulled off the most improvable upset by defeating the most powerful military of the day. Although the British had more troops, were highly trained, had more supplies, and a strong navy, the Patriots prevailed. Under the leadership of George Washington along with technological advancements in weaponry, aid from foreign allies, new fighting techniques, coupled with medical innovations and an extensive spy ring, a new nation is born.

The topic of revolution is extremely subjective. What may appear as an insurrection to some might not be as extreme to others. When talking about the American Revolutionary War, however, the answer is clear. While the War certainly brought about change within the United States, it wasn’t necessarily very revolutionary. The most important aspects of the colonies, such as ideas about government, various types of societal equality, slavery and freed blacks, and the rights of women remained for the most part, unaffected.

The American Revolution began in 1765 and ended in 1783 with the signing of a peace treaty, which confirmed the separation from the British Empire. The purpose of this paper is to acknowledge lessons learned from the American siege that took place in Yorktown, Virginia, known as the Battle of Yorktown. The battle between the Franco-American forces and British Army began September 28, 1781 and lasted until the British surrender in October 19, 1781. In order to best do this, we must first get an understanding of the intended purpose of the battle, the Franco-American cooperation, events leading up to the battle, the battle itself, and the aftermath.

Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, which placed taxes on paper, lead, paint, and tea that was imported to New England. The colonist began to boycott these goods which angered English authorities. They placed military officials so that they could force the colonists to pay the much needed taxes. Tensions between British soldiers and colonists escalated. This lead to the Boston Massacre; it was propagandized and impassioned many settlers to rebel. In response for the unfair taxes on tea, the colonists dumped the imported tea into the harbor. People became much more ardent to their side after the incident. You were either for the revolution; a patriot, or you sided with England; a loyalist.

Several conflicts between the colonist and soldiers ended in the Boston Massacre which resulted as a response to some laws imposed in the colonies from the British Empire. Examples of these laws were: the stamp act in perpetuity, which was repelled after colonists’ protests; the Townshend Revenue Act, which add new taxes to goods like sugar, tea, glass, etc.; and

When colonists were required to actually start paying their taxes to Britain, they became outraged causing Parliament to repeal the Sugar Act. Additionally, the Stamp Act was the first direct tax on the colonists. By requiring a tax to be paid on nearly every colonial document, colonists could not bear the oppressive Stamp Act. This act was also het with heavy opposition and it would set the volatile scene for Britain’s next laws and acts that would ignite “The Boston Massacre.” The most prominent taxes that were placed on the colonists right before “The Boston Massacre” were the Townshend Duties. This law taxed paper, lead, paint glass and tea. Colonists were furious with Britain’s various taxes, provoking boycotts and high tensions. (Arrison) With opposition increasing in the colonies, the British Parliament felt it was necessary to place British soldiers on watch in the colonies under the Quartering Act. However, the soldiers’ presence was not the only annoyance the colonists would have to suffer. The colonists were responsible for providing for the soldiers’ necessities. This included providing shelter that in most cases was shared between the colonists and the soldiers. Most notably, the soldiers were often unruly, drunk, and pugnacious and treated as low-paid civilian servants. (Gilje) Personally, if I was a colonist forced to surrender my own space for disrespectful

The American colonies had good reason to suspect some other motives were at play in Britain and with their fears came more taxes. With their ever-growing belief that in some way Britain was devising a plan to seize their liberties, colonists started to boycott British luxury goods so Britain would have to stop the taxes since they would not be making revenue. However, this did not stop Parliament from adding new taxes to the list. In 1767, the Townshend Revenue Acts were imposed and set a new series of taxes on the colonists to offset the costs of administering and protecting the American colonies. Items taxed include imports such as paper, tea, glass, lead and paints. The restrictions Britain

The American Revolutionary War was a long hard fought war that lasted about 8 years. Many Countries were involved in the war, such as The United States, France, Great Britain, Spain, and The Dutch Republic. Not all countries actually fought but they provided either side with weapons and supplies to help them have a greater chance of winning the war. More than 70,000 people were killed during the great American Revolutionary War. The Americans were tired of the loyalist British taking advantage of them. They were tired of the new taxes that kept being created by the British. The Americans were tired of being pushed around, so they decided to do something about it. High Tensions eventually got between the two countries and they began to start a war, which was known as The American Revolutionary War. Before the war began, a great man implied, “One of the most essential branches of English liberty is the freedoms of one’s house, a man’s house is his castle”, informing everyone that the colonies should be freed from British control (Otis). The American Revolutionary war was a war started, so the 13 colonies of America could gain there independence from Great Britain. Thousands of soldiers were killed while many others were severely wounded. The American Revolutionary war was one of the greatest wars in American history, because it had many great battles, was led by some of the greatest leaders, and got the 13 colonies independence from Great Britain.

This Act placed taxes on glass, tea, lead, paper and paint. The tax from these materials was used to pay for the British troops. During this time Benjamin Franklin argued the position of internal and external taxes. Franklin claimed the Act internal, but Townshend disagreed. At this point the Massachusetts Assembly wrote a letter to the colonial government ordering them to stand against all the Townshend Acts. Philadelphia and New York and some colonies from the South agreed to boycott the British. Once the boycott took place the colonies had to find a way to create some of their own clothes because they couldn’t buy them from the British any more. This situation lead to homespun groups and other domestic obligations and trends. In 1770 the Townshend Act was no longer used except for the tax on tea and this lead to the development of the Tea

The Townshend Act was the most significant event that led to the American Revolution. The Townshend Acts were imposed taxes on glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea which were everyday things that the colonist needed. This angered many colonists because it was taking power away from the colonial government and giving more power to the British government. Townshend hoped the acts would defray imperial expenses in the colonies, but many Americans viewed the taxation as an abuse of power.

A motivating force behind the revolution was the American embrace of a political ideology called "republicanism", which was dominant in the colonies by 1775. The "country party" in Britain, whose critique of British government emphasized that corruption was to be feared, influenced American politicians. The commitment of most Americans to republican values and to their rights, helped bring about the American Revolution, as Britain was increasingly seen as hopelessly corrupt and hostile to American interests; it seemed to threaten to the established liberties that Americans enjoyed. The greatest threat to liberty was depicted as corruption. The colonists associated it with luxury and, especially, inherited aristocracy, which they condemned.