Revolutionary War 1778 1783 French and American Alliance

Revolutionary War 1778 -1783

French and American Alliance ● French wanted to avenge loss of Quebec ● Win at Saratoga was enough for Louis XVI to publically and create an alliance (Dec 1777) ○ Meanwhile North (GB) got Tea and Probationary Acts repealed bc of defeat at Saratoga - Rebels didn't accept gesture ● Hoped to gain Britain's sugar islands from victory

War in the South ● Fear of slave uprising prevented lg amnts of recruits ● Clinton (GB) wanted control of southern profit centers and to defend the West Indies and sugar production ● British strategy very successful from winter 1778 -1780 ○ Cornwallis took control of S. British forces ○ By the end of ‘ 79, held coastal GA and ready to launch into S. Carolina ● Cornwallis and S. C. ○ End of 1780 had control of S. Carolina as well

South Carolina and Virginia ● A series of small guerrilla battles favored the Patriots ● Became a war or attrition which favored the more mobile and smaller Patriot forces → Greene (US) wins the Carolinas ● Cornwallis uses social divisions in VA to move quickly north ○ “The Rich wanted the Poor to fight for them”

Battle of Yorktown ● Cornwallis supported by Arnold against Lafayette (France) in York Peninsula (VA) ● France sent Navy→ took control of Chesapeake Bay while Washington marched to VA ● Rebels able to cut off Cornwallis on land sea ● Cornwallis surrendered Oct. 1781

Factors for Colonial Success ● Initial “gentler” treatment by GB of colonial army ● Defensive strategies ○ Decreased casualties ○ Use of locals to gain gov and ppls support ● Support of French ● Use of currency taxes on Continental $

Terms of Peace ● Took 2 years to negotiate lgly bc of Spain and France ● Treaty of Paris signed Sept 1783 → land east of Mississippi and south of Great Lakes released from GB ○ Natives lgly ignores, gave GB rights to collect debts, broke ties of South Atlantic system ● Treaty of Versailles → Spain reclaimed FL; France got Tobago ○ Did not match what the allies had expected

Economic shifts ● Many Loyalists left the colonies for BG or Canada ○ Felt a sense of isolation both at home and abroad ● States seized some Loyalist property, but mostly sold to highest bidder (not to yeoman who had fought) ○ N. Carolina had highest rate of small-scale farmers benefit ● Powerful merchant families replaced in Boston w/ Patriots ○ Lowell ● Quakers replaced in PA w/ Patriot traders ● More investment in trading ventures and domestic manufacturing than real estate

Liberty! Episode 6 (0 -32)