Post by djxkorean on Jul 12, 2009 7:44:53 GMT -8
The American Revolution 1775 - 1783
*Note: I chose not to list all the battles and other important events. That will done at a later time.
I. The Great Experiment in Self-Government
. . A. Social and economic status did not change before and after the American Revolution.
. . . . 1. Shows that it wasn't a war to change status of people, but instead one to experiment in self-government
. . . . 2. Loyalists (people who favored British rule) lost property in many cases.
. . B. A whole government was to govern themselves through a representative framework of officeholders chosen by soverign people.
. . C. Ideology of "natural rights" and right of people to govern themselves through chosen officials permeated colonial America.
. . D. Inspired many foreigners to support the American Revolution:
. . . . 1. Marquis de Lafayette (French): helped before France becomes Colony ally
. . . . 2. Major General Johann de Kalb (German) and Count Casimir Pulaski (Polish) die fighting for the cause
. . . . 3. Colonel Thaddeus Kosciusko (Polish) and General Freidrick Baron von Steuben (Prussia) fight for the cause.
II. Strengths and Weaknesses
. . A. England's Strengths
. . . . 1. Had a great navy, well-equipped army, and money
. . . . 2. Loyalist Support
. . B. England's Weaknesses
. . . . 1. War 3,000 miles away (4-6 wks to cross)
. . . . 2. Had internal struggles
. . . . . . a. Whig Party members more pleased with failure of king's policies
. . . . 3. Slow on countering fighting style of colonists
. . C. America's Strengths
. . . . 1. George Washington's leadership
. . . . 2. American rifles > English rifles
. . . . 3. had experience after fighting French and Indian War
. . . . 4. Determined to avoid capture and continue resistance
. . . . . . a. A must to win the war. Evaded all battles that they could lose. Similar to guerrilla warfare tactics.
. . . . . . b. had to fight with few forces
. . . . 5. Defensive tactics served American cause
. . D. America's Weaknesses
. . . . 1. Poor discipline and frequent desertions
. . . . . . a. Pay was rarely on time for soldiers and held little value.
. . . . . . b. Due to recruitment by a lot of farmers, desertion high during planting and harvesting seasons
. . . . . . c. poor discipline led to bad management
. . . . . . . . i. Valley Forge could have been prevented by good management. Not just due to limited supplies
. . . . . . d. Many soldiers demanded back pay, and deserted posts.
. . . . 2. Short enlistments and poor organized government
. . . . . . a. led to Generals Charles Lee and Benedict Arnold being traitors
. . . . 3. American's lacked military supplies, money, and adequate navy.
. . . . . . a. had few rations, which angered the militia men
III. Major Campaigns of the American Revolution
. . A. 1st Major American campaign: end British plan to take New England
. . . . 1. British determined to end war in 1777
. . . . 2. tried to separate New England from other colonies with a three way attack
. . . . 3. Came to be called the "British Blunder of 1777"
. . . . . . a. Sir William Howe leaves late for Albany
. . . . . . b. General Burgoyne is caught up in very difficult terrain for overburdened troops and never reaches Albany.
. . . . . . . . i. trapped at Saratoga and later surrenders on Oct. 17, 1777, leading to American alliance with France
. . . . . . . . ii. Saratoga turning point of the war
. . . . . . c. Colonel St. Leger gives up on attack on Fort Stanwix and retreats to Canada
. . . . 4. The plan looked great on paper, but execution was complete failure due to:
. . . . . . a. mismanagement, difficult terrain, long distances, plus American generals, and several sharp-shooting Americans.
. . B. 2nd Major American campaign: set the trap to capture Corwallis at Yorktown
. . . . 1. Washington gets word of French fleet under Admiral de Grasse leaving West Indies for Chesapeake
. . . . 2. Cornwallis is in York peninsula
. . . . 3. Washington slips away with troops and combines with French troops under Lafayette and Rochambeau.
. . . . . . a. These forces attack Cornwallis, while de Grasse enters Chesapeake Bay, cutting off a sea retreat
. . . . 4. Cornwallis surrender, ending the war on October 19, 1781.
IV. American Naval Operation during the war
. . A. Continental Navy made up of ships built/bought by order of Congress and paid for by United States
. . . . 1. Services uncoordinated and were of very little account.
. . . . 2. Didn't pay well and was very dangerous
. . B. Privateers: privately owned ships whose captains were certified to act with permission of gov't against ships of enemy nation.
. . . . 1. Appealed to more people than Continental Navy, and raised havoc with British commerce
. . C. John Paul Jones: one of the only naval heroes
. . . . 1. Took many prizes, outmaneuvered British warships too powerful for him to fight, and defeated those he did engage.
Commentary: It is quite obvious the bias in this section as well as the last section. The author clearly is in support of the American revolutionaries and colonists, praising their methods of fighting. In my opinion, the tactics used by the American soldiers is little different from the guerrilla warfare tactics used by soldiers in the Vietnam and the Middle East. Interestingly, the author overlooks this fact (or chooses to ignore it) and instead praises Washington's method of running away from whatever battles he couldn't win. The author states that he "didn't give up".
On the other hand, I find it quite interesting that the Americans were able to have such successful campaigns against the British, even though they did have a lot of luck on their side. The campaign to end the British takeover of New England was not much of a campaign, seeing as how those in charge of the British troops largely failed. However, the setting of the trap to end the war was truly genius on Washington's part (if it was truly him who thought of this plan). It seems that experience was gathered greatly during the American Revolution, experience that hopefully proved useful as President of the United States.
*Note: I chose not to list all the battles and other important events. That will done at a later time.
I. The Great Experiment in Self-Government
. . A. Social and economic status did not change before and after the American Revolution.
. . . . 1. Shows that it wasn't a war to change status of people, but instead one to experiment in self-government
. . . . 2. Loyalists (people who favored British rule) lost property in many cases.
. . B. A whole government was to govern themselves through a representative framework of officeholders chosen by soverign people.
. . C. Ideology of "natural rights" and right of people to govern themselves through chosen officials permeated colonial America.
. . D. Inspired many foreigners to support the American Revolution:
. . . . 1. Marquis de Lafayette (French): helped before France becomes Colony ally
. . . . 2. Major General Johann de Kalb (German) and Count Casimir Pulaski (Polish) die fighting for the cause
. . . . 3. Colonel Thaddeus Kosciusko (Polish) and General Freidrick Baron von Steuben (Prussia) fight for the cause.
II. Strengths and Weaknesses
. . A. England's Strengths
. . . . 1. Had a great navy, well-equipped army, and money
. . . . 2. Loyalist Support
. . B. England's Weaknesses
. . . . 1. War 3,000 miles away (4-6 wks to cross)
. . . . 2. Had internal struggles
. . . . . . a. Whig Party members more pleased with failure of king's policies
. . . . 3. Slow on countering fighting style of colonists
. . C. America's Strengths
. . . . 1. George Washington's leadership
. . . . 2. American rifles > English rifles
. . . . 3. had experience after fighting French and Indian War
. . . . 4. Determined to avoid capture and continue resistance
. . . . . . a. A must to win the war. Evaded all battles that they could lose. Similar to guerrilla warfare tactics.
. . . . . . b. had to fight with few forces
. . . . 5. Defensive tactics served American cause
. . D. America's Weaknesses
. . . . 1. Poor discipline and frequent desertions
. . . . . . a. Pay was rarely on time for soldiers and held little value.
. . . . . . b. Due to recruitment by a lot of farmers, desertion high during planting and harvesting seasons
. . . . . . c. poor discipline led to bad management
. . . . . . . . i. Valley Forge could have been prevented by good management. Not just due to limited supplies
. . . . . . d. Many soldiers demanded back pay, and deserted posts.
. . . . 2. Short enlistments and poor organized government
. . . . . . a. led to Generals Charles Lee and Benedict Arnold being traitors
. . . . 3. American's lacked military supplies, money, and adequate navy.
. . . . . . a. had few rations, which angered the militia men
III. Major Campaigns of the American Revolution
. . A. 1st Major American campaign: end British plan to take New England
. . . . 1. British determined to end war in 1777
. . . . 2. tried to separate New England from other colonies with a three way attack
. . . . 3. Came to be called the "British Blunder of 1777"
. . . . . . a. Sir William Howe leaves late for Albany
. . . . . . b. General Burgoyne is caught up in very difficult terrain for overburdened troops and never reaches Albany.
. . . . . . . . i. trapped at Saratoga and later surrenders on Oct. 17, 1777, leading to American alliance with France
. . . . . . . . ii. Saratoga turning point of the war
. . . . . . c. Colonel St. Leger gives up on attack on Fort Stanwix and retreats to Canada
. . . . 4. The plan looked great on paper, but execution was complete failure due to:
. . . . . . a. mismanagement, difficult terrain, long distances, plus American generals, and several sharp-shooting Americans.
. . B. 2nd Major American campaign: set the trap to capture Corwallis at Yorktown
. . . . 1. Washington gets word of French fleet under Admiral de Grasse leaving West Indies for Chesapeake
. . . . 2. Cornwallis is in York peninsula
. . . . 3. Washington slips away with troops and combines with French troops under Lafayette and Rochambeau.
. . . . . . a. These forces attack Cornwallis, while de Grasse enters Chesapeake Bay, cutting off a sea retreat
. . . . 4. Cornwallis surrender, ending the war on October 19, 1781.
IV. American Naval Operation during the war
. . A. Continental Navy made up of ships built/bought by order of Congress and paid for by United States
. . . . 1. Services uncoordinated and were of very little account.
. . . . 2. Didn't pay well and was very dangerous
. . B. Privateers: privately owned ships whose captains were certified to act with permission of gov't against ships of enemy nation.
. . . . 1. Appealed to more people than Continental Navy, and raised havoc with British commerce
. . C. John Paul Jones: one of the only naval heroes
. . . . 1. Took many prizes, outmaneuvered British warships too powerful for him to fight, and defeated those he did engage.
Commentary: It is quite obvious the bias in this section as well as the last section. The author clearly is in support of the American revolutionaries and colonists, praising their methods of fighting. In my opinion, the tactics used by the American soldiers is little different from the guerrilla warfare tactics used by soldiers in the Vietnam and the Middle East. Interestingly, the author overlooks this fact (or chooses to ignore it) and instead praises Washington's method of running away from whatever battles he couldn't win. The author states that he "didn't give up".
On the other hand, I find it quite interesting that the Americans were able to have such successful campaigns against the British, even though they did have a lot of luck on their side. The campaign to end the British takeover of New England was not much of a campaign, seeing as how those in charge of the British troops largely failed. However, the setting of the trap to end the war was truly genius on Washington's part (if it was truly him who thought of this plan). It seems that experience was gathered greatly during the American Revolution, experience that hopefully proved useful as President of the United States.