Describe the progression of the American War for Independence

Assess the battles of Yorktown and Saratoga The British general John Burgoyne surrendered in Saratoga and lost the battle. This victory convinced the French that the rebels had formidable forces and were serious in their resolve. This eventually led to the French who were supporting the Americans covertly to come out in the open about formally recognizing the independence of America with the help of brilliant maneuvering strategizing by Benjamin Franklin. AfterWashingtonmadeCornwallissarmysurrenderwiththehelpoftheFrencharmythewarwas consideredtobevirtuallyover.TheBritishstillcontrolledsomeNewYorkCityandCharlesTownbut fighting had ended except for a few skirmishes. Now the task of securing Independence of America rested in the hands of diplomats. Analyze the importance of the Second Continental Congress TheSecondContinentalCongressmetinPhiladelphiaonMay1775.AftertheBritishgovernmenthad ceased to function in mainland colonies the congress slowly took control of the war. The delegates formed aContinentalarmyandappointedGeorgeWashingtonasitscommander.Theypurchasedmilitary suppliesand topayforthemissuedpaper money.They refusedtodeclareindependenceeventhough they were assuming powers of a sovereign nation. Analyze the importance of the First Continental Congress The FirstContinental Congress Met in Philadelphia on September 5. It took themsometime toget to know each otherastheyallwerestrangersfromdifferentparts.Differencesinopinionsuffered.Moderatemeasureswere rejected. They decided to halt all commercewith Britain until the IntolerableActs was repealed.They authorized localcommunitiestoenforcenonimportation.Violatorshadtopayapricethroughdifferentmeanslikepublic apologies or being shunned by patriot neighbors. Analyze the "Representation" issue from the American and British perspectives From the British perspective even though the colonists did not elect any members to parliament nor did they have anycontactwiththem,theywerevirtuallyrepresentedbythebodyandthemembersrepresentedthepolitical interest of everyone who lived in the British Empire. Thecolonistsdidnotbelieveinvirtualrepresentation.Theyonlyrecognizedrepresentativesaslegitimateifthey were actually chosen by the people they represented. The members should think, act, feel and reason like the public and since the members of parliament could not possibly do any of them they were not representatives. Assess the effects of the Stamp Act The effects of the Stamp Act started with passing of an act in Virginia which declared that Virginians had the right to taxthemselves as they saw fit. This eventually led to convening of theStamp ActCongress which drafted petitions to the King and the Parliament which stated that no taxes should be imposed on them without their own consent. After this the resistance spread to the streets as taxing deed, marriage licensesandplayingcardsaffectedordinarypeople.InBostontherewasviolenceagainststamp distributorandLieutenantGovernor.Duetothisstampdistributorsineverymajorportcityresigned. ColonialmerchantsboycottedBritishgoodsuntiltheactwasrepealed.Theboycottmobilizedcolonial women. They reformed consumption and cut out luxury. This all helped in shunning of the British goods. Analyze the effects of the series of French and Indian Wars During the French and Indian wars a meeting was held which had the representatives of different colonies in America to secure their loyalty to British. The delegates declared a union, a president appointed by the king and delegates chosen by the assemblies. After winning the war London had to organize its new vast colonies to facilitate defense and distribute evenly cost of imperial administration. The old colonial system was inadequate for these tasks. Describe British Politics in the 1700's In 1700s the British politics was underrepresented. People elected to House of Commons came from the same background of those who served the House of Lords. They represented the interests of the elites who owned land. There was no constitutional separation as the King had political followers in the House of Commons. As of 1715 only 20% of adult males had the right to vote.Size of electoral districts varied which led to some constituencies choosing representatives by hundred thousand votes and some only a handful. There were only a few people who spoke out against these problems and they did not win much support for political reforms. Describe the effects of the Great Awakening The first signs of Great awakening appeared in 1730s but it was not until 1750s and 1760s that it made a big impact. The effect of Great Awakening was that young people started flocking to the church. They experienced conversion and dependence on god. Evangelical ministers concluded that god must be preparing Americans his chosen people for the millennium. One of the most important ministers in this was Jonathan Edwards. He played an active role in the awakening that their fate had been determined by an omnipotent Godand that they could do nothing to save themselves and were totally dependent on gods will. Analyze the effect of Non-English immigration to the colonies Scots-Irish These settlers were welcomed at first as the authorities thought that they would serve as a barrier between the Indians and the older coastal communities. They soon changed their minds but these immigrants took lands whichever they felt was the best. Germans These settlers insisted on speaking German in America. This made the English suspicious and they were worried about the German population outnumbering theirs. Both the groups preferred to settle beyond the authority of the colonial government. They preferred to live with the people of their own background and fought to keep the members of other nationalities out. Describe the typical English views of American Colonials English thought of colonials asungrateful. They provided the troops and funds to liberate the colonists from the threat of a French attack. The Americans appreciated the aid but refused to pay the bills. This was one of the reasons why the parliament later taxed America. Describe the emergence of the Atlantic commercial empire By1660sthedominantpowersofEuropethoughtthatonenationscommercialsuccesswasdirectly translated into loss for its rival. Due to this England wanted to protect its own market. For this it passed a NavigationActwhichcontainedrulessothatthecoloniescouldtradecertaingoodsthatwerenot produced in England only with England. These rules boosted the shipbuilding industry in England. After the colonists started ignoring these rules England passed more rules to impose taxes for ships that passed through British ports. This created more exports by England and less imports and gave rise to the Atlantic Commercial Empire. Analyze the emergence of race based slavery In the beginning most of the slaves were sold in the Brazil or the Caribbean and relatively small number reached North America. Slavery existed in all the thirteen colonies but more in South as there was more physicallaborrequired.EnglishenslavedAfricanandNativeAmericanpeople.Themainreasonwas economic considerations. English masters however justified slavery with religion. They associated Africans with heathen religion and barbarous behavior. They maintained that if the slaves converted to Christianity they would benefit. To meet the demand for slaves Royal African Company was created. The English got frightenedduetotheincreasingpopulationofAfricansandpassedstricterslavecodestopreventany revolt.