February 6 & 7, 2012

1. February 6 & 7, 2012 U.S. History

2. British Strengths • Established army • Experienced officers • Trained, professional soldiers • Strong government • Taxes to support the army

3. British Weaknesses • Distance between England and North America • Officers had trouble working with each other • Two goals: defeat the army and win back the people

4. American Strengths • Aided by French government • Home field advantage • Knowledgeable scouts and guides • Strong leadership • Just had to wear down the British army

5. American Weaknesses • Volunteer army • No training, order, or discipline • Few supplies • Men left the army • Short enlistment terms • Weak government that could not raise money

6. Loyalists • 1/5 of the colonists • Opposed independence for several reasons • Had served the king • Ignorance • Scared to be punished as rebels

7. New Roles and Opportunities Women Blacks Some fought at Bunker Hill Later they were not allowed to enlist in the American army Many joined the British to gain freedom after the war • Took over family farms and businesses • Served as nurses, tailors, cooks, clerks, and porters • Some fought on the battlefield or served as spies and messengers

8. War in New England • April 1775 - Lexington & Concord • June 1775 - Bunker Hill • March 1776 - Washington drove British from Boston to New York • Washington stayed in New Jersey because he could not drive the British from New York

9. War in the Middle Colonies • Two victories gave the Americans hope: • Dec 1776 – Trenton, NJ • Jan 1777 – Princeton, NJ • 1777 - Saratoga • Americans defeated the British who were led by General Burgoyne • Turning point of the war • France allied with the Americans because of this victory

10. War in the Middle Colonies • Winter 1777-1778 – Valley Forge • Washington camped out with his army through the harsh winter • Many died and deserted • Washington brought in a Prussian General, Baron Von Steuben, to train them • Fighting continued in New York and on the frontier where the British were allying with Native Americans

11. War in the Southern Colonies • Lord Cornwallis, the British commander in the South, fought in Georgia and the Carolinas before moving north to Virginia • Washington moved his army south to Virginia and met up with French commander, General Lafayette, to defeat Cornwallis • Washington and Lafayette cornered Cornwallis at Yorktown and forced him to surrender on October 19, 1781

12. Peace of Paris • English recognized American independence • Americans received all land east of the Mississippi south of the Great Lakes to Florida • Congress agreed to repay Loyalists for their losses • Promised not to interfere with efforts to collect debts owed by Americans to British • Florida was returned to Spain