How colonists won the revolutionary war Introduction The revolutionary war of 1775 – 1783 was a victorious military uprising against Great Britain of 13 American colonies which merged to form United States of America in 1776. Initially, the war was between the colonies and Great Britain but it escalated to involve other countries such as Spain and France. The taxes imposed on Americans by the British parliament were the cause of the war. Many Americans felt that the taxes were unlawful hence they started resisting (Greene & Pole, 2008). In 1774, the rebellion started officially when the Patriot Suffolk Resolves successfully eradicated the legal government of the province of Massachusetts Bay (Greene & Pole, 2008). After two years of fighting, the rebels had seized control of all thirteen colonies and they declared their independence. How the colonies were able to win independency The task of conquering all the colonies was almost an impossible task for the British soldiers. This is because the enormous geographical size of the colonies made it impossible for the British forces to inhabit the countryside. The failure of the British forces to control the countryside made it impossible for them to protect the loyalist from patriots (Mintz & McNeil, 2013). The patriots tarred and feathered and even killed those who were loyal to the crown. The British actions also alienated them from their supporters. They failed to take advantage of loyalist who had formed about seventy regiments to help the British control the colonies (Mintz & McNeil, 2013). The British commanders did not trust the loyalists nor respect their fighting ability, in the process alienating their potential supporters. The rebels employed guerilla warfare ... ... middle of paper ... ...triumph of patriots in the revolutionary war. The enormous size of the colonies made it impossible for the British to protect the loyalist hence losing their support. The British also alienated themselves by disregarding the fighting prowess of the royalist regiment (Mintz & McNeil, 2013). The rebels also used guerilla techniques rather than mount a large scale confrontation that would helped the British deliver a knout out blow. The tilt of the scale happened when other nations such as Spain, France and Netherlands joined in the war. References Greene, J. P., & Pole, J. R. (Eds.). (2008). A Companion to the American Revolution (Vol. 17). John Wiley & Sons. Mintz, S., & McNeil, S. (2013). How were the colonies able to win independence? Digital History. Retrieved (May 1, 2014) from http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3220
the colonists, specifically the Loyalists, had been told that King George III refused to consider, nor open their letter of negotiation it changed their perspective of him. Many of the Loyalist, no longer wanted to live under the rule of their ignorant King (lively 266). In fact, the ignorance of his actions raised the levels of revolutionary talk and ideas within the colonies. With the colonist, now, being pro-revolutionary, this eventually led to the Colonist winning the American Revolutionary War.
On the brink of revolution, the colonies were divided amongst themselves. Two factions with different ideologies “The Patriots” & and the “The Loyalist”, to know these factions we must first know another. Because both parties played a pivotal role in the “American Revolution”.
Historians may argue that the British lost the war more than the Colonists won it. Simply looking at the statistics of the British three to one ratio over the colonists, and their overwhelming wealth and naval power, it is virtually impossible to believe that the Americans came out victorious. During this war, the newly emerging colonists proved to the rest of the world that they were becoming an upcoming world power. Although unknown at the time, Washington would prove to be a military genius. This would benefit the colonists in many ways. The colonists, although only one-third of them were pro-war, were patriots who were willing to die for their country. The colonists had more to gain from the war then the British had to lose, thus creating more of an incentive to win. The colonists also had aid from other countries such as France and created allies that would eventually be useful in other wars. The Colonists won the war more than the British lost it because of Washington's great military skills, their patriotism and motives to triumph, and aid of foreign countries.
Gordon S. Wood. The Radicalism of the American Revolution. Vintage; Reprint edition. March 2, 1993
...e. On the other hand, the British had up to the Battle of Lexington had colonist’s rebellion as a simple nuisance. However, as the American colonists retaliated and killed British soldiers, the British knew they had to use a stronger hand to force the colonies into submission. Thus the point of no return had finally been reached and the American Revolution began.
...ere why the crown did not want the colonists to expand their territory because issues had not been settled yet. Still, the colonists felt that their rights were still being violated. The colonists saw the rest of the land as part of their states and believed that they should be able to expand there. These geographic factors prevented the colonists from expanding their territory and economy and pushed the colonists further into rebellion.
The American Revolution: the war for our independence. This revolution opened the door to our liberty, freedom, and basically what America is now. Most Americans have heard the stories of famous battles, important people (George Washington for instance), and everything in between. However, this was only for our side of the American Revolution and a small fraction of people have been told of Britain’s campaign of the revolution. The only thing people have been told was the Britain lost the war. What of Britain’s triumphs, strategies, and everything that happened in the span of a few years? Not many people know it, but the British struck a major blow against the Patriots in the last few years of the war. Even though the United States won the American Revolution, Britain struck a major blow against the colonists when the British successfully and brutally took the town of Charleston, South Carolina.
The colonies did not initially desire to succeed and become independent from the British, at first they were very proud of being British. Throughout the years of being a British Colony, The mother country of Britain committed actions that the colonists could not stand much longer. From taxation without representation to quartering British soldiers unwillingly, the tension built up until the colonists eventually rebelled. Some colonists remained loyal to the crown, while others joined the rebellion. These rebellious forces grew in strength and number, when the rebellion grew too big, the Revolution sparked. No longer would the colonist be forced to the British law, the colonists were willing to fight and die for their freedom. This event was
Lancaster, Bruce, J. H. Plumb, and Richard M. Ketchum. The American Heritage History of the American Revolution. New York: Bonanza, 1984. Print.
In the 1770’s the British army was well known for its monetary wealth and professional well trained militia. American colonists were slowly getting more and more fed up with the inequality and taxation under British rule so they took a stand. Americans known as Rebels or Patriots fought in the Revolutionary War to gain independence from Britain. Some colonists also known as loyalists, thought that the Patriots had no chance against the professional militia so they stayed loyal to the crown. Although improbable at the start of the American Revolution, the colonists were able to defeat the British army and formally gain independence because they had great leadership from George Washington, similar goals that created high morale, and aided from
It is unimaginable for any historian to depict the Age of Revolutions without reference to the American Declaration of Independence, the keystone and symbol of freedom from empires and of self-determination of a state. Words within the article characterised and reflected the beliefs of the thirteen colonies with their post-colonial attitudes that drove their will power to segregate themselves from governance of the British parliament. It signified new forms of national identities, separated from imperial states that exploited the natural resources and both the indigenous population and depriving new settlements from sovereign protec...
Most American colonists were more motivated than the Redcoats were to fight and defeat their rivals in the war. The colonists had many reasons for them to defeat the British. The Colonists were treated unfairly by the British and they believed Great Britain had too much control over them. “The colonists' disappointment began shortly after the French and Indian War ended in 1763, when the British government tried to reduce the debt incurred during the war by collecting additional taxes and gaining more control over the colonies,” ("Reasons for the Revolution on Colonial Williamsburg's Website."). These factors angered the colonists to keep fighting until Great Britain was
Humphrey; Carol Sue, ed. The Revolutionary Era: Primary Documents on Events from 1776 to 1800 Greenwood Press, 2003
...he fact that they had no political power and were controlled by a country that was thousands of miles away from them. The American Revolution began as a conflict over political and social change, but soon developed into a dispute over personal rights and political liberty. A decade of conflicts between the British government and the Americans, starting with the Stamp Act in 1765 that eventually led to war in 1775, along with The Declaration of Independence in 1776. Americans united as one and knew that they wanted to be an independent country, have their own laws, rights, and not be colony of the Great Britain. They fought hard for their independence and people lost their lives in the process of it but in the end they succeeded. Never give up, keep fighting till the mission is accomplished just like the Americans did when they were fighting for their independence.
Shmoop University, (2013). The French, the Indians, and the Americans. Retrieved 17 December 2013 from: http://www.shmoop.com/american-revolution/politics.html