CHAPTER 7
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1776–1786
CHAPTER OUTLINE
AMERICAN COMMUNITIES
A National Community Evolves at Valley Forge
THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE
The Patriot Forces
The Loyalists
The Campaign for New York and New Jersey
The Northern Campaigns of 1777
The French Alliance and the Spanish Borderlands
Indian Peoples and the Revolution in the West
The War in the South
Yorktown
THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED
The Articles of Confederation
Financing the War
Negotiating Independence
The Crisis of Demobilization
The Problem of the West
REVOLUTIONARY POLITICS IN THE STATES
The Broadened Base of Politics
The First State Constitutions
Declarations of Rights
A Spirit of Reform
African Americans and the Revolution
CONCLUSION
KEY TOPICS
*The major alignments and divisions among Americans during the American Revolution
*Major military campaigns of the Revolution
*The Articles of Confederation and the role of the Confederation Congress during the Revolutionary War
*The states as the setting for significant political change
CHAPTER SUMMARY
AMERICAN COMMUNITIES: A NATIONAL COMMUNITY EVOLVES AT VALLEY FORGE
Around 11,000 men (including 1,000 African Americans) gathered in Valley Forge, drawn from all parts
of the country. Also, 700 women were present. Amid the suffering from wintry weather and want fostered
by greed, men from hundreds of localities found a common identity and created a “band of brotherhood”
among themselves. Leaving Valley Forge six months later, Washington commanded a much stronger and
united army. The vignette illustrates how the struggle helped to create a national community that served
as a popular democratic force, counterbalancing the conservatism of America’s elite leadership.
THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE British military might was not enough to defeat Americans, whose
cause had wide popular support.
The British assumed the colonial rebellion was the work of a small group of disgruntled conspirators. In
fact, resistance was widespread and geography stymied British strategy. Although white American males
preferred to serve in local militia companies, victory required a disciplined force able to stand up to the
brutal assaults of the professionally trained British adversaries. Regiments of the Continental Army
suffered casualty rates as high as 40%. Both Continentals and militias played political roles, pressuring
Congress when shortages of food and pay erupted. As men marched off to war, women remained at home
and ran the family farms and businesses. Many women eventually left homes to join their men and even
on rare occasions joined them on the battlefields.
About one-fifth of the population remained loyal to the Crown, including African Americans,
Indians, ethnic or religious minorities, and tenant farmers. Patriots cracked down on Loyalists, but as
many as 50,000 fought for the king and 80,000 fled the country.
British plans for 1776 called for attacks through New York and from Canada that would divide
New England from the rest of the colonies. The British drove Washington out of New York City and
pursued him as he fled into New Jersey. Washington’s Christmas Eve victory at Trenton salvaged morale,
but he realized that he would have to avoid confrontations and pursue a defensive strategy to ensure
survival of the Continental Army.
In 1777 the British tried again to move inland and north through New York. Another large British
force moved south from Canada, but Patriot militias harassed and then surrounded the British forces,
forcing their surrender to the larger Continental army at Saratoga. American forces in Pennsylvania were
less successful; they were forced to retreat into Valley Forge. Still, while the Americans could not defeat
the British, neither could the British force the Americans to stop fighting.
The victory at Saratoga led to an alliance with France. Spain joined the war one year later, though
without a formal American alliance. French entry into the colonial conflict forced the British to withdraw
troops from the mainland to protect their Caribbean colonies.
Although many Indians preferred a policy of neutrality, their fears of American expansion led
many to side with Britain. In the West, Ohio Indians allied with the British and attacked American
settlements. George Rogers Clark countered by capturing several British posts.
By the late 1770s the British had shifted their focus to the South. Virginia’s royal governor Lord
Dunmore emancipated all slaves and indentured servants who fought for the crown. He was defeated
nonetheless. Capturing Charleston in 1780, the British attempted to gain control over the rural South by
implementing a policy of pacification. But their plundering produced angry support for the Patriots.
Violence between Loyalists and Patriots also created unrest.
General Nathaniel Greene harassed British forces and drew them out of their base. They were
forced to march northward where Washington’s army trapped them along the Virginia coast at Yorktown.
There Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781. Although the British still controlled New York,
support for the war collapsed in London. The war was over.
THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED The Articles of Confederation created a
loose union of autonomous states and granted limited central power to Congress, reserving powers such
as taxation to the states. Maryland held up ratification for three years until states with western land claims
ceded them to the national government.
Though benefiting from foreign subsidies, Congress financed the revolution mainly by issuing
$200 million in paper currency, which when added to the $200 million issued by states led to runaway
inflation. Secretary of Finance, Robert Morris, was able to meet interest payments on the debt only after
founding the first private commercial bank in the United States, and issuing new currency.
Peace negotiations began in 1782 and resulted in a series of separate treaties between Great
Britain and the United States, France, and Spain. The United States gained independence, the promise of
the withdrawal of British troops, land to the Mississippi River, and fishing rights.
Peace brought new problems. Congress had neither paid the soldiers nor delivered the officers
their promised pensions. General Washington defused the situation; Congress paid bonuses to both
officers and soldiers, and Washington resigned.
Western land settlement raised new issues. Tens of thousands of Americans were rushing into the
newly acquired Ohio River Valley. British and Spanish governments plotted to strengthen their territorial
holdings. Three land ordinances provided for organizing the land for settlement, self-government and
eventual statehood. Subsequent ordinances provided for the orderly division of land into townships, and
regular land sales.
REVOLUTIONARY POLITICS IN THE STATES Most Americans focused their political attention
on their states. Most states had greatly expanded the electorate. Since independence made the Tory
political stance irrelevant, there was a shift to the left in politics. Many Americans accepted a new
democratic ideology that asserted that governments should directly reflect popular wishes. Conservatives
argued for balanced government, fearing majority tyranny could lead to a violation of property rights.
The new state constitutions were shaped by the debates between radicals and conservatives. State
constitutions fell in a range between liberal Pennsylvania and conservative Maryland.
The Virginia Declaration of Rights became a model followed by other states, and proved a
precursor to the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights.
The Revolution led to increased opportunities for women, though there were few legal sanctions
for gender equality. Led by Thomas Jefferson, states abolished aristocratic inheritance customs like entail
and primogeniture, and established religious freedom.
The American victory elicited little celebration from African Americans. More than 50,000
African American refugees emigrated from the South at the end of the war. Many whites recognized the
contradiction between a revolution for liberty and the continued support for slavery. Northern states
began to abolish slavery; the Upper South relaxed its bans on emancipation. The result was the emergence
of a free African American community with racially defined churches, schools and other institutions.
Several prominent Africa American writers also emerged.
CONCLUSION Americans sought to resolve their conflicts by building a strong, new national
community, but important questions remained unanswered about the nation’s future.
OUT OF CLASS ACTIVITY
Students could research and portray individuals from the Revolutionary era. The Revolutionary era
figures could be asked to explain why they took the actions that they took. Major characters as well as
anonymous members of occupational and ethnic groups could be selected. One student might be a Tory
Scotch-Irish debtor from the backcountry of South Carolina. Another might be a slave from New York
who enlisted in the New York City militia.
IF YOU’RE GOING TO READ ONE BOOK ON THE SUBJECT
Edward Countryman, The American Revolution (Hill and Wang, 1985) is crammed full of good material
for giving lectures.
AUDIO-VISUAL AIDS
“Deborah Sampson: A Woman in the Revolution” Tells the story of Deborah Sampson, who enlisted in
Washington’s army under the name of Robert Shurtlieff. (Color, 15 minutes, 1976)
“Liberty: The American Revolution” Parts 3 through 6 from PBS provides good coverage of this
material.
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE NEW NATION, 1786–1800
CHAPTER OUTLINE
AMERICAN COMMUNITIES
A Rural Massachusetts Community Rises in Defense
THE CRISIS OF THE 1780s
Economic Crisis
State Remedies
Movement toward a New National Government
THE NEW CONSTITUTION
The Constitutional Convention
Ratifying the New Constitution
The Bill of Rights
THE FIRST ADMINISTRATION
The Washington Presidency
An Active Federal Judiciary
Hamilton’s Controversial Fiscal Program
The Beginnings of Foreign Policy
The United States and the Indian Peoples
Spanish Florida and British Canada
Domestic and International Crises
Jay’s and Pinckney’s Treaties
Washington’s Farewell Address
FEDERALISTS AND JEFFERSONIAN REPUBLICANS
The Rise of Political Parties
The Adams Presidency
The Alien and Sedition Acts
The Revolution of 1800
Democratic Political Culture
“THE RISING GLORY OF AMERICA”
American Artists
The Liberty of the Press
The Birth of American Literature
Women on the Intellectual Scene
CONCLUSION
KEY TOPICS
*The tensions and conflicts between local and national authorities in the decades after the American
Revolution
*The struggle to draft the Constitution and to achieve its ratification
*Establishment of the first national government under the Constitution
*The beginning of American political parties
*The first stirrings of an authentic American national culture
CHAPTER SUMMARY
AMERICAN COMMUNITIES: A RURAL MASSACHUSETTS COMMUNITY RISES IN
DEFENSE Massachusetts farmers once again marched in protest against high taxes – but this time the
taxes had been imposed by their own state legislature. What became known as Shays’ Rebellion began in
front of the Northampton county courthouse on the morning of August 29, 1786. Hundreds of farmers,
many of them veterans of the recent war for independence, succeeded in shutting down the court. Their
action inspired similar protests throughout New England and mid-Atlantic states. Economic depression
heightened antipathy between rural farmers and urban merchant elites. The results of these protests were
decidedly mixed – protesters were arrested, and in some cases sentenced to death, while legislatures
changed course, and national political leaders saw the threat of anarchy – but they clearly demonstrated
the solidarity felt by rural residents.
THE CRISIS OF THE 1780s Nationalist sentiment grew in reaction to mass protests fueled by
economic depression.
Economic problems like wartime inflation plagued the nation. High prices led to food riots. After
the war the key problem was depression. The trade imbalance with Britain drew hard currency out of the
United States, leaving farmers with no cash to pay taxes or debts. Repayment of debt became both a
political and economic problem.
Farmers called for laws to require creditors to accept a state’s nearly worthless paper currency at
face value. Rhode Island’s legislation along these lines shocked merchants throughout the nation.
Nationalists called for a stronger central government to deal with the economic crisis of the
1780s. Representatives from five states, meeting in Annapolis in September 1786, called for a convention
to propose changes in the Articles of Confederation.
THE NEW CONSTITUTION The 55 delegates from 12 states who assembled in Philadelphia in May
of 1787 represented the nation’s political and social elite. They were patriots and republicans, and they
distrusted democracy.
James Madison was instrumental in formulating the Virginia Plan, which would greatly reduce
state power in favor of a “consolidated government.” Small states opposed the plan, and William Paterson
counted with the New Jersey Plan, in which states were equally represented in a single house of Congress.
Eventually, the interests of both small and large states were met in the Great Compromise: there would be
a bicameral legislature, with representation in one house based on population, and the representing all
states equally. The convention compromised free-state and slave-state interests by agreeing to count five
slaves as three freemen in the census. Southern slavery was preserved. In September, the Constitution was
submitted for ratification.
Supporters of the Constitution called themselves Federalists. Anti-Federalists feared that the
Constitution gave too much power to the central government and that a republic could not work well in a
large nation. James Madison, speaking for the Federalists, argued that the multitude of interests in a large
state would create a balance of power and prevent special interests from seizing control. The ratification
struggle divided Americans. Opponents tended to be agrarian localists while supporters tended to be
commercial cosmopolitans. Five states agreed to ratification only with the understanding that a bill of
rights would be added.
The first ten amendments to the Constitution served to restrain the growth of governmental power
over citizens.
THE FIRST ADMINISTRATION Following ratification of the Constitution, a new government was
set up with George Washington as president.
Washington dressed in plain republican broadcloth, but he was hardly a man of the people.
Congress established executive departments, the heads of which coalesced into the cabinet.
Congress also created the federal judiciary. Contrary to nationalist wishes, states maintained their
individual bodies of law. Federal courts became the appeals bodies, establishing the federal system of
judicial review of state legislation. Localists supported the eleventh amendment, which prevented states
from being sued by citizens of another state.
The new Congress turned to the nation’s fiscal problems. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander
Hamilton submitted a series of financial proposals that strained the Federalist coalition. Debate broke out
over paying off government securities at face value. Congress also debated the federal assumption of state
debts because Southern states had already paid off most of theirs. Hamilton proposed a Bank of the
United States, which many opponents considered an unconstitutional expansion of power. Jefferson
espoused the doctrine of strict constructionism while Hamilton was a loose constructionist. Hamilton also
called for a protective tariff to develop an industrial economy. Hamilton’s plan did restore financial health
and encouraged economic growth.
Foreign affairs further strained the Federalist coalition. Americans initially welcomed the French
Revolution, but when the Revolution turned violent and war broke out with Britain, public opinion
divided. Hamilton favored closer ties with Britain; Jefferson feared them. The arrival of French
ambassador “Citizen Genêt” increased domestic tensions. Washington issued a neutrality proclamation
which outraged Jefferson’s supporters.
One of the most pressing problems faced by the new government was relations with Indian
nations. The Indian Intercourse Act made treaties the only legal way to obtain Indian lands, but did not
stop violence by white settlers. Under the leadership of Little Turtle of the Miami tribe, an Indian
coalition defeated a large American force in the Ohio Valley.
The Spanish, who had acquired French claims, forged alliances and promoted immigration to
resist American expansion. Britain granted greater autonomy to its North American colonies,
strengthened Indian allies, and constructed a defensive buffer against Americans.
By 1794, the government faced a crisis. Western farmers were refusing to pay the whiskey tax, so
an army was sent into western Pennsylvania to suppress resistance. Strong military action was also seen
in the West against Indian resistance. Britain had blockaded France and confiscated the cargoes of 250
American ships. The British were anxious to settle their American disputes and concentrate on defeating
France.
The Jay Treaty resolved several key disputes between the United States and Britain, but did so at
the expense of the French alliance and without addressing slaveholder interests. Opponents held up the
treaty in the House until Pinckney’s Treaty with Spain granted them sovereignty in the West.
The political battles over the Jay Treaty brought President Washington off his nonpartisan
pedestal. In his farewell address he summed up American foreign policy goals: “peace, commerce, and
honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.”
FEDERALISTS AND JEFFERSONIAN REPUBLICANS No one anticipated the emergence of
organized political parties, but they were a significant national presence by the election of 1800.
Shifting coalitions began to polarize into political factions during the debate over the Jay Treaty.
Hamilton’s supporters claimed the title “Federalist.” The opposition chose “Republican,” implying that
the Federalists were really monarchists. These coalitions shaped the election of 1796, which Federalist
John Adams narrowly won. Jefferson became vice president.
Adams faced rising tensions with France which began seizing American shipping. When
negotiations broke down, the nation was on the brink of war. The XYZ Affair discredited France, and
brought Adams popularity.
The Federalists pushed through the Alien and Sedition Acts, which severely limited freedoms of
speech and of the press and threatened the liberty of foreigners. Republicans organized as an opposition
party. Federalists saw opposition to the administration as opposition to the state and prosecuted leading
Republican newspaper editors.
The Republicans won the election of 1800. Adams negotiated an end to the quarrel with France.
The Federalists were divided over Hamilton’s dispute with Adams. They waged a defensive struggle for
strong central government and good order. But by controlling the South, the West, New York, and
Pennsylvania, the Republicans prevailed, though due to a technicality, the Federalists nearly tied up the
final outcome.
The rise of partisan politics greatly increased participation as American politics became more
competitive and democratic.
“THE RISING GLORY OF AMERICA” A thriving national culture emerged. Painters Benjamin
West and John Singleton Copley introduced Europeans to American subjects. Gilbert Stuart, Charles
Wilson Peale, and John Trumbull brought their own perspectives to American painting.
The Revolutionary years saw a tremendous increase in the number of newspapers. During the
1790s newspapers became media for partisan politics. In response to prosecutions under the Sedition Act,
Jeffersonian Republicans helped to establish the principle of a free press.
As a highly literate citizenry, Americans had a great appetite for books. The literature of the
Revolutionary era reflected political concerns. Writers explored the political implications of independence
or examined the new society that was emerging in America. Mason Locke Weems’s Life of Washington
created a unifying symbol for Americans.
Although women’s literacy rates were lower than men’s, a growing number of books were
specifically directed toward women. Several urged that women in a republic ought to be more
independent than before.
CONCLUSION The nation withstood a decade of stress and rapid population growth. New political
structures helped manage disagreements.
OUT OF CLASS ACTIVITY
Students could compare the Articles of Confederation with the Constitution of 1787. They could examine
which groups of people were better served by each system of government. They could research supporters
and opponents of the Constitution and present to the class arguments in favor of and against the
Constitution.
IF YOU’RE GOING TO READ ONE BOOK ON THE SUBJECT
The past decade has seen a spate of biographies of Revolutionary figures, including several by Joseph J.
Ellis. Ellis’s Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation is a good place to start.
AUDIO-VISUAL AIDS
A & E’s Biography – George Washington: Founding Father is one of several recent mass-market profiles
of the founding fathers that could be useful here.