American Revolutionary War and the Events that Related to It

Patriots began protesting the Taxation Act. They were against the taxation without representation in the parliament that the colonial master had passed. The Stamp Act that was later passed only made matters worse as the protests turned into boycotts and they peaked 1773. Some Americans destroyed tea shipment at the Boston Harbor but Britain retaliated and closed down the harbor and instituting other punitive measures against the North American colonies (Peckham, 1974). The war Britain waged against France and India had cost them a lot of money and they imposed the Taxation Act on the North American colonies so as to pay for it. General Thomas Gage had been commanded by the British government to enforce the shutdown of the Massachusetts legislature and enforce the Intolerable Acts.

He then decided to head to Concord and confiscate colonial arms. Despite the meeting by the redcoats being of utmost secrecy, Paul Revere and William Dawes managed to get wind of their plan and preceded them to warn the people in the countryside (Simms, 2008). On April 19, 1775, Gage's troops were ambushed by patriot colonialists at the town of Lexington in an attempt to stop them. This sparked a battle between the British and the Minutemen on the Lexington Green. They had to put more focus on organizing, supplying, and directing military efforts. The Lee Resolution was adopted. On July 2, 1776, it established a new country and the declaration of the independence of the United States was agreed on 4th of July 1776. The Congress continued to act in the capacity of a de facto government that made treaties such as the Olive Branch Petition, appointed diplomats, raised armies and directed strategies (Peckham, 1974).

In June the continental congress appointed a new commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, General George Washington (Dull, 1985). The fort bolstered their artillery and increased their supply of military equipment. Benedict Arnold collaborated with colonial master later on and his treachery earned his name the tag traitor (Simms, 2008). Battle of the Bunker Hill. On June 17th, 1775 in the onset of the American Revolutionary War, the major battle for independence was the Battle of Bunker Hill (Simms, 2008). General Gage attacked Breeds and Bunker Hill in the bloodiest battle of the war. The soldiers engaged 4000 British regulars led by General Gage but they were bottled in the city (Farrand, 1913). This was the first time since the Royal Navy controlled the Boston harbor the British were besieged; their supplies came in by ship.

The prices of pork which was a daily meal escalated rapidly and the town fell into short rations. The American forces had an advantage in that they had the intelligence of what transpired in the city yet Gage did not have information about the rebels’ activities (Peckham, 1974). On May 25, 1775, 4500 officers and three generals were sent to General Gage as reinforcements. Washington had no choice but to agree because he had the arsenal of guns without the gunpowder. On March 17, 1776, the siege came to an end after the British troops left for Halifax, Nova Scotia (Farrand, 1913). Army Bands. General Washington commanded all officers to provide music for their troops in 1777. This lead to the formation of the first military band that comprised of fifes and drums (Peckham, 1974).

There were, however, other attacks led by Benedict Arnold and other generals on the Canadian coasts and also other raids across the country (Dull, 1985). The Independence Declaration Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet titled “Common Sense” in 1776 which was based on an anti-Monarchy argument (Ward , 1952). The Englishman encouraged American independence through his writing. He argued from both republican virtues that maintained that monarchy was never good for people of a free state and from a biblical point of view (Dull, 1985). After his appointment by the Congress, Washington forfeited his salary throughout the war. General Howe led a large troop of thirty thousand British troops in July 1776 to New York in the Island of Staten. The army was too superior against Washington’s troops in the Battle of Long Island (Peckham, 1974).

The American forces were captured and the only choice Washington was left with was a retreat. He orchestrated a skilled breakout from New York and his Army later was forced to settle in Pennsylvania (Simms, 2008). General Howe was better poised to end the war by pursuing the American forces but he avoided unnecessary risks and remained cautious. This victory gave the Continental Army troops a morale boost and it later let to re-enlistments. Many historians believe the triumph in The Battle of Trenton saved the revolution as it gave the forces more strength to continue the revolution war (Lowell, 1884). The British army regrouped and came back on January 2, 1777, to take back Trenton. They once again overwhelmed Washington men. He once again led a clever withdrawal avoiding further causalities but this time proceeded to Princeton.

At this point, the French allied with the Americans who had shown so much resilience in the fight against the British Army. France was now convinced that the American forces could overthrow the British rule. After the Battle of Saratoga, the British ceased advancing north (Dull, 1985). The Iroquois. The Iroquois Confederacy was divided on whom to support in the Revolutionary war (Dull, 1985). This ended the 700 years of Iroquois supremacy (Simms, 2008). The End War. The Saratoga defeat prompted France and another British rival to offer their support in the Revolution. In 1778 the United States and France alliance was formed. The Dutch Republic and Spain also joined the French/US alliance both offering funds and engaged Britain in war as well (Farrand, 1913). The half that was led by Cornwallis won the Battle of Guilford Court House.

The win came at a cost as Cornwallis was forced to withdraw and regroup in Yorktown, Virginia after a bloody the bloody battle (Dull, 1985). Washington heard of the presence of the British in Yorktown. The French fleet was also arriving. General Washington led the Continental Army to Yorktown with the French troops and they surrounded the British (Dull, 1985). The Yorktown defeat was the last stroke by the allied armies. There were no hopes for the British army to crush the rebellion (Ward , 1952). So they negotiated for a peace treaty with the United States, Spain, and France. On 3rd September, 1783, the Paris treaty was signed and had the following provisions: • The United States independence was to be recognized and treated as a sovereign state (Ward , 1952).

• Its boundaries were clearly defined from the Canadian border to the Mississippi River and to the northern border of Florida (Ward , 1952). The rebellion crushed, however, it had drawn the now-retired general George Washington back to light and consequently, he won two terms as the first American president (Richards, 2002). Constitutional Convention This happened on form 25th may to 17th of September in 1787 in the old Pennsylvania state house. The conventions intentions were to review the league of states and the initial government systems under the Confederation Articles (Farrand, 1913). Creation of a new government was favored over fixing the one that existed. The convention success was the United States got its first independent constitution and this became one of the most significant events in the History of America (Farrand, 1913).