Chapter 6 Lesson 2 THE WAR CONTINUES Gaining

Chapter 6 Lesson 2 THE WAR CONTINUES

Gaining Allies • Benjamin Franklin: helped gain many allies for the U. S. , France was secretly giving U. S. money • Victory at Saratoga was a turning point in the American Revolution: France and Spain thought that the Americans might win now • Feb. 1778: France declared war on Britain and sent money, troops, and equipment to aid Americans • 1779: Spain declared war on Britain and Spanish troops fought British troops in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida

Winter at Valley Forge • Washington and his troops suffered a harsh winter in 1778 • They lacked food, clothing, shelter, and medicine • It was hard to keep the Continental Army together • Many soldiers became sick and died • Other men deserted (left without permission) and some officers quit • In April 1778, Washington told his troops of the French help and this lifted everyone’s spirits

Foreigners Help on the Battlefield • Marquis de Lafayette – French, worked for Washington without pay, a trusted aid to Washington, believed that the American cause was the future for humankind • Thaddeus Kosciuszko and Casimir Pulaski – Polish, helped build defenses • Friedrich von Steuben – Prussian, helped train Patriot troops at Valley Forge • Juan de Miralles – Spanish, helped persuade Spain, Cuba, and Mexico to send money to the United States • Even with all this foreign helped, the Continental Army lacked one important thing: MONEY

Life on the Home Front • War changed all lives, even those left behind • Women had to take care of families by themselves, they had to run farms or businesses • Children had to help their mothers and make do without a father in their lives • Continental Congress had no power to raise money through taxes • Congress started to print their own money • This money quickly lost value: the amount of bills was greater than the amount of gold to back it up • Congress stopped printing money, which meant no way to pay for the war

Life on the Home Front • The American Revolution had many question what freedom really meant, was it meant for all? • 1778, Governor William Livingston of new Jersey asked his government to free all enslaved people • 1780: Pennsylvania adopted a plan to gradually free enslaved people- the first legislature in the world to take action against slavery • Many northern states soon took steps to free slaves, but slavery would remain in the south for much longer