Readings #2: War for Independence, Governing a New Nation PDF Fall 2024

Readings #2: War for Independence, Governing a New Nation To-Do Date: Sep 17 at 11:59pm War for Independence Although the Second Continental Congress increasingly assumed the powers of an independent government, the decision to formally declare independence was not...

Readings #2: War for Independence, Governing a New Nation To-Do Date: Sep 17 at 11:59pm War for Independence Although the Second Continental Congress increasingly assumed the powers of an independent government, the decision to formally declare independence was not made until more than a year after the fighting had begun. Indeed, colonial officers toasted the good health of the king at dinners. Throughout the crisis that led to the revolution, it was not the king but Parliament and the king's ministers who were blamed for causing the rift between the colonies and Great Britain. In time, though, a dramatic change in attitude toward George III transformed the American Revolution into a war for independence. In January 1776, Thomas Paine, who had come to America from England hardly more than a year earlier, published a pamphlet titled Common Sense, which was a clear call for independence. Paine's theme was not corrupt politics but the struggle between liberty and monarchy in the person of George III. The pamphlet was a huge success—more than one hundred thousand copies were quickly in circulation—and provided the impetus needed for most Americans to favor independence. In the months that followed its publication, the colonial legislatures were replaced with new state governments that approved a final break with Great Britain. :  The Declaration of Independence. In June 1776, a committee appointed by the Continental Congress took up the task of drafting a declaration of independence. Its members included Thomas Jefferson (the principal author), John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin. The Congress first voted for independence on July 2 and then discussed the document Jefferson had prepared, making a significant change during the debates. Jefferson's attack on slavery and the slave trade was stricken from the draft at the insistence of South Carolina, Georgia, and some of the representatives from the northern states. The notion that “all men are created equal” clearly did not apply to blacks. The Declaration of Independence, as amended, was adopted on July 4, 1776, affirming the vote taken two days earlier. The Declaration of Independence is an itemized list of grievances against the misrule and abuses of George III; Parliament is not mentioned. Jefferson drew heavily on the political philosophy of the Enlightenment, particularly John Locke's contract theory of government. His main points were that people have natural rights—the “unalienable rights” of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”—and that governments are created to protect those rights; when a government, whose authority stems from the consent of the people, attempts to destroy those rights, the people can and should abolish it. Fighting the war. The main theaters of fighting shifted during the course of the war from New England (1775–76) to the middle states (1776–78) to the southern states (1778–82). In the spring of 1776, the British left Boston and moved their military headquarters to New York City, where they had the advantages of an excellent harbor, ample food supplies, and Loyalist support. George Washington also moved his forces south but was defeated in major engagements on Long Island :  and Manhattan. He retreated from New York in the fall, convinced he needed to adopt more innovative tactics. During the eighteenth century, armies usually retired to winter quarters and resumed their campaigns in the spring. On Christmas in 1776, however, the Americans surprised the Hessian garrison at Trenton by crossing the Delaware River in a daring night raid. This victory was quickly followed by a successful attack on Princeton on January 3. Both battles were important in raising American morale. Another major victory occurred in October 1777 at Saratoga in upper New York state. Taking advantage of a series of blunders, the Continental Army defeated the British forces under General Burgoyne, which included significant numbers of Loyalists and Indians, and took more than five thousand prisoners. Burgoyne and American General Horatio Gates agreed that the British troops would lay down their arms and return to England, pledging not to serve in the war again, but this compact was never implemented. The true significance of the Battle of Saratoga is that France was persuaded to become an ally of the Americans. Diplomacy during the war. The Americans realized that the war for independence would be lost without the support of other nations. Indeed, they had looked to France as a potential ally in the struggle with Great Britain as early as 1774. In late 1776, with both France and Spain already secretly providing munitions and money for the war, a delegation led by Benjamin Franklin went to Paris hoping to negotiate a formal alliance. Franklin was a popular figure at the French court, but it took news of Saratoga before France recognized the United States as a sovereign nation. A commercial agreement and a formal alliance, which actually :  became effective when France and England went to war in June, were concluded. French aid ultimately tipped the balance in favor of the Americans. In addition to providing direct assistance in the form of men and ships, the French alliance forced Britain to bolster its troops in other parts of the empire, spreading its forces even more thinly. Spain declared war on Britain in 1779 but did not recognize the United States; the Dutch Republic did the same in 1780. The combined French, Spanish, and Dutch fleets outnumbered the British warships. Catherine the Great of Russia created the League of Armed Neutrality, a coalition of European states that followed a policy of passive hostility toward Great Britain. The British had to deal with Russia and Sweden in 1780 and Prussia and Portugal in 1782. These diversions were costly and helped make the American war increasingly impractical in both economic and political terms. Winning the war. By enduring several major defeats and surviving the harsh winter encampments at Valley Forge (1777–78), the Continental Army matured into a disciplined fighting force. The British no longer won easy victories over poorly trained American troops. In 1778, when the war expanded to the west and south, George Rogers Clark moved into the Ohio Valley and fought several battles against the British and their Loyalist and Indian allies. Hoping to take advantage of Loyalist sentiment, the British turned their attention south in late 1778. The strategy was to take Georgia and South Carolina and then move north to Virginia, but after capturing Savannah and Charleston, major port cities, the British found controlling the interior much more difficult. Then, in 1781, the British made a fatal strategic mistake. General Lord Cornwallis set up a base at Yorktown in Virginia, intending to press the campaign into Virginia and Pennsylvania. Yorktown was located on a :  peninsula; when the French fleet blockaded by sea and a combined force of American and French troops laid siege to the city, Cornwallis was cut off. While skirmishes continued, the war was effectively over when Cornwallis and his eight thousand soldiers laid down their arms on October 19, 1781. The Peace of Paris. In June 1782, an American delegation led by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay opened peace talks with British and French diplomats in Paris. Several issues complicated the peace conference. France wanted all the parties involved to sign the treaty, and, indeed, the Americans had been instructed by Congress not to sign a separate agreement. Jay ignored his instructions when it became clear that France wanted to limit the United States to the territory east of the Appalachians. Through the Peace of Paris, Great Britain recognized the independence of the United States with the Mississippi River as its western boundary. Americans were granted fishing rights off Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, and British troops and ships were to depart from American territory “with all convenient speed.” Left unresolved, however, were issues that damaged Anglo-American relations for years. The United States agreed to compensate Loyalists for property confiscated during the war, but the new government lacked the power to compel the states to do so; the British refused to leave several military outposts until this matter was resolved. The fate of the tribes that had fought with the British was omitted from the treaty; Native Americans in the Ohio Valley refused to recognize the sovereignty of the United States, leaving open the potential for further conflict. The British also did nothing for the luckless slaves who had sided with them. :  Governing the New Nation After eight years of war preceded by more than a decade of political uncertainty and crisis, the United States had won its independence. With peace, it faced the challenge of working out the most effective and practical means of governing itself and the proper relationship between the national government and the states, a task that had begun while the war was still being fought. New state governments. The colonial governments collapsed when the war broke out. The royal governors fled, and in eleven of the thirteen states, revolutionary conventions took it upon themselves to write new constitutions. Almost all provided for a strong two-house legislature that, in most of the states, could elect the state's governor. A general distrust of executive authority made for weak governors; frequently, they might serve only a one-year term, could not veto laws, and were not free to make appointments without the approval of the legislature. Property qualifications for both voting and holding an office were the rule, meaning the franchise was limited to a portion of each state's white males. The new state governments were not democratic in the modern sense because “democracy” in the eighteenth century was associated with mob rule, something that was feared just as much as oppressive monarchy. On the other hand, many of the states included a bill of rights in their constitution to protect basic liberties. The Articles of Confederation. The first national government was created through the Articles of Confederation, a document adopted by the Second Continental Congress in November 1777. It went into effect when ratified by all the states in March 1781. During the intervening period, the business of government and the conducting of war were :  carried out by the Continental Congress. The delay in moving from a provisional to a permanent government was caused by a dispute among the states over western lands. Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia claimed their western boundaries were the Mississippi River, which was disputed by other states. Maryland in particular feared the potential size and power of New York and Virginia and did not ratify the Articles until 1781, when the claims were relinquished. Under the Articles of Confederation, the national government consisted of a unicameral (one-house) legislature, often called the Confederation Congress. There was no national executive or judiciary. Delegates to Congress were appointed by the state legislatures, and each state had one vote, regardless of the number of its delegates. Nine votes were needed to pass a law, or ordinance, as it was called then. Amending the Articles required a unanimous vote. Congress had the power to declare war, develop foreign policy, coin money, regulate Native-American affairs in the territories, run the post office, borrow money, and appoint officers to the army and navy. Quite significantly, all powers not specifically given to Congress belonged to the states. The Articles had several weaknesses. Congress could not tax the states; when funds were needed for whatever purpose, it could ask the states for money but could not compel them to pay. Nor could Congress regulate interstate or foreign trade, and the states, in fact, had the right to impose their own duties on imports, which played havoc with commerce. And although Congress could declare war, it had no authority to raise an army on its own; it had to requisition troops from the states. Finance and Shays's Rebellion. When the war ended, the United States was $160 million in debt. To meet the need for a national :  currency, Congress printed paper money backed by European loans. More money was printed than the value of the loans, however, and its worth plunged while inflation shot up. The problem of paying off its debts plagued the new nation. Army officers even threatened to mutiny unless they were given their back pay. Inflation was also a serious problem for the states, which printed their own money. High taxes along with the refusal of creditors to accept paper money led to an increasing number of farm foreclosures, triggering social unrest. Daniel Shays, a captain during the American Revolution and a farmer who had fallen on hard times himself, led two thousand men on a campaign to shut down courthouses (where foreclosure documents were issued) in several Massachusetts counties. Concern mounted when Shays marched on Springfield, the site of an arsenal, but the farmers and veterans that joined him were easily dispersed by the militia. Shays's Rebellion caused the Massachusetts legislature to reduce taxes and exempt personal items, such as household goods and tools, from seizure in a foreclosure. Achievements of the Confederation Congress. Despite its political and economic shortcomings, the Confederation Congress achieved some notable successes, especially in the administration of western lands. The Ordinance of 1785 created a basic system for surveying land. Surveys established townships of six square miles and divided them into thirty-six sections of 640 acres. In turn, each section was divided into half sections (320 acres) or quarter sections (160 acres). The government calculated that a family of four could live independently on a 160-acre farm, a concept that endured well into the twentieth century. One of the thirty-six sections in each township was reserved to be a source of income for public education. :  The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established the Northwest Territory (eventually the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan) and outlined the process by which almost all territories have become states. When a territory was organized, Congress first appointed a territorial governor and judges. When five thousand adult males lived in the territory, a territorial legislature was elected and a temporary constitution written. When the total population reached sixty thousand, a state constitution was prepared, and the territorial residents petitioned Congress for admission to the union as a state. Frontier and foreign policy problems. The Northwest Ordinance pledged that Native Americans' land and property would not be taken without their consent. In fact, the treaties by which the United States acquired Indian lands were often negotiated under duress. U.S. commissioners, for example, refused to recognize the Six Nations and insisted on dealing with individual Iroquois tribes. Most of the tribes repudiated the treaties and openly resisted the expansion of settlements. By 1786, fighting was common along the Ohio River frontier, involving the Shawnee, Delaware, Wyandotte, and Miami tribes, and had broken out in Georgia with the Creek. Spain added to the problems in the southeast by encouraging the Creek. Alexander Mc- Gillivray, the Creek leader, won some concessions by playing one country against the other. The inability of the Confederation Congress to maintain peace on the frontier added to calls for a stronger national government. As its reward for joining with France against Great Britain, Spain regained East and West Florida, which it had lost to the British after the Seven Years' War. The Spanish claimed that the boundary of West Florida extended to the Mississippi River, so it was able to close the :  port of New Orleans to American shipping in 1784. The shutdown was a severe blow to farmers in the trans-Appalachian territory. Lacking roads across the mountains, they could get their crops to market only by traveling down the Mississippi. The attempt to work out the problem through the Jay-Gardoqui Treaty, which would have denied the United States navigation rights on the lower Mississippi for twenty-five years but opened Spanish markets to East Coast merchants, failed completely. Pressure from southern and western farmers made it unlikely that Congress would have ratified the agreement. The issue was not resolved until 1789 when access to New Orleans was finally achieved. :