George Washington Case
Austin Rothschild
9/17/15
P#6
‘
Chapter 8 Questions
Congress chose George Washington as the commander of the Continental Army mainly due to political reasons. Some Americans were beginning to distrust the large New England army around Boston. Prudence suggested a commander from Virginia, the largest and most populous of the colonies. As a man of wealth and high class, Washington could not be accused of being a fortune seeker.
Benedict Arnold was so necessary to American military success in the revolution because of a few of his key military achievements. His capture of British munitions allowed for Boston to be sieged and if Arnold had not been able stop the British invasion from Canada, they almost certainly would have recaptured Fort Ticonderoga. Being ambitious, greedy, unscrupulous, and suffering from a well-grounded but petulant feeling that his valuable services were not fully appreciated, he eventually turned traitor. He plotted with the British to sell out the key stronghold of West Point, which commanded the Hudson River, for £6,300 and an officer’s commission. By the sheerest accident, the plot was detected in the nick of time, and Arnold fled to the British. Major Andre was a friend of Arnold who helped coerce him into defecting to Britain.
It took over a year for Americans to declare independance because loyalty to the British Empire was deeply ingrained; many Americans continued to consider themselves part of a transatlantic community in which the mother country of Britain played a leading role; colonial unity was poor; and open rebellion was dangerous, especially against a formidable Britain. Rebels of that day were brutally executed, and the average American did not wish to face such a demise. This mentality changed with the widespread success of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense. Paine’s call to reject monarchy and empire and embrace an independent republic fell on receptive ears.
Most people found John Adams obnoxious and disliked him because he was stubborn and frustrating to argue with. His allies in the 2nd Continental Congress were Thomas Jefferson and Richard Lee. He eventually got his way when Lee’s motion for independence from Britain was passed and Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independance.
Thomas Paine's ideas about creating an independent republic spread like wildfire throughout the colonies and popularized the idea of declaring independence from Britain. Richard Lee declared that the United American colonies ought to be and had a right to be free, independent states. The passing of Lee's motion was the official "declaration" of independence. Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independance turned the Patriot movement to an all out rebellion against Britain.
The “Tories” were colonists that took the side of Britain in the American Revolution. Often called “Tories,’’ after the dominant political factions in Britain. The “Rebels” were colonists that battled for independence. “Patriots” refers to American rebels while “Loyalists” refers to those loyal to Britain. During the revolution, there were approximately 400 or 500 thousand loyalists and 1 million Patriots.
Washington’s military campaigns had a lot of highs and lows. His worst battle was the Battle of Long Island where was totally wiped out and narrowly escaped to Manhattan. His greatest contribution to the war effort was his New Jersey campaign, where, at Trenton, on December 26, 1776, he surprised and captured 1000 Hessians who were sleeping off after their Christmas celebration. A week later, leaving his campfires burning as a ruse, he slipped away and inflicted a sharp defeat on a smaller British detachment at Princeton.
Benedict Arnold was important to the Saratoga campaign because he kept the British forces trapped in Canada, away while the Americans drove back St. Leger’s force at Oriskany. Unable to advance or retreat, Burgoyne was forced to surrender his entire command at Saratoga on October 17, 1777, to the American general Horatio Gates.
Bailey was talking about how it would have been ridiculous for the colonies