THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR HISTORY

CARLOS ANDRES HOSTIA VILLANUEVA

STUDENT:

PASCUALE PACICCA
TEACHER:

FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS BÁSICAS Y EDUCACIÓN

DEPARTAMENTO DE LENGUAS MODERNAS
PROGRAMA DE LENGUA CASTELLANA E INGLÉS
ENGLISH CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION
VALLEDUPAR
CESAR
2020-I
 The American Revolutionary War History

The American Revolution began in Massachusetts at Lexington and Concord on 19 Apr

1775. On 3 Sep 1783, 8 years later it officially ended. Although the war took 8 years to
end, the fighting was not one constant continuous effort without any major battle being
fought after 1781 (Revolutionary War, 1996). The war was victorious with 13 British
colonies in North America winning their freedom and becoming what is now known as
the United States.

In 1770 the Boston Massacre occurred. It was a direct result of Parliament, being
compelled by British store owners who were losing their colonial trades (Agresto,
1979). This was an effort to try to soothe the colonists by repelling the Townshend Acts.
The Townshend Acts came into existence in 1767 and was created by Charles
Townshend. The act was passed by English Parliament. It was put into place to collect
taxes from American Colonists by adding import customs to items such as paint, glass,
lead, and the well-know tea (Townshend Act, 2007).

Colonial relationships with their home country were already strained due to events such
as the Townshend Acts and the Boston Massacre. However, it is believed that when an
attempt was made to tax tea is what laid the foundation for the American Revolution.
Parliament was already facing resistance from the colonies as they would not pay the
taxes on the Townshend Acts. They argued that they were not obligated to pay because
they were not represented by Parliament. Parliament went along with this; however, tea
was excluded (The Boston Tea Party, 2002). Parliament attempted to devise a plan to
fool the Colonies thinking they would rather pay taxes than live without tea, but it failed
with tea sitting in a Charleston dock warehouse for 3 years. That December in Boston,
tea from 3 ships was dumped into the harbor and the Boston Tea Party was born.

In 1776 the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. The rebel
leaders wanted their independence more and more as year one of war was ending and
the Common Sense Pamphlet by Thomas Paine was in mass circulation (Independence
Declared, p. 200). A committee was appointed by the Continental Congress to propose a
draft for the “declaration of free rights”. Eventually, on 4 July 1776, the Declaration of
Independence was adopted which was pen and inked by Thomas Jefferson.

At this point, the war was becoming one that was willing to give men the right to be free
and also the right to set up their own government. Although the King may have more
than encouraged a fight, independence was imminent. Talk of independence spread
through the colonies like wildfires. The Royal government was eventually forced out as
the colonies started devising out constitutions which was exhilarating as everyone loved
the thought of freedom (Independence, 2004).

Although the Declaration of Independence was passed in 1776, what followed that
passing was grim for the Americans. Immediately after the Declaration of Independence
was passed, a British fleet arrived in New York City with soldiers hired by German
rulers. The Battle of Trenton was fought in Trenton, New Jersey on the Delaware River.
It was a battle between the British Troops and Hessians against the Americans (Battle of
Trenton, 2010).
Washington had no choice but to organize his own troops. Washington and his men
paraded into Trenton with blood traces following them in the snow. Colonel Rahl,
which was the commander for the Hessians had direct orders to build defenses
throughout the towns, but decided to go against the orders. Rahl was given information
about the imminent American attack the prior night at dinner, but he did not respond;
those missteps lead to his death and an American victory.

In the year to follow, 1777, it was a critical one with many developments. General John
Burgoyne concocted a plan to conquer the Americans. A British Army lead by General
Burgoyne began to move from Canada to Saratoga, New York. The bands of American
soldiers were completely warned of the fact that of Burgoyne and his being there
(Burgoyne, 2004). Because of this information the American’s were ready and out in
record numbers.

When the 2 battles of Saratoga were finally fought, Burgoyne’s troops were
outnumbered by American troops by almost 2 to 1. There was a treaty put into place
that said that Burgoyne’s troops would be taken as prisoners in Boston and allowed to
be returned to England under the condition that they never fight in North America
again. Burgoyne gave up the rest of his men and that was a turning point for the war
(Hickman, 2010). Saratoga’s victory played a key role with the treaty of alliance with
France.

Victory was finally won in Yorktown, Virginia in 1781. The end of the fighting seemed
near when for the American Colonies when Cornwallis signed orders to surrender his
British Army to both American and French forces outside of the tobacco port of the
town of Yorktown in Virginia (Yorktown, 2004). Washington thought he had a small
time period to corner Cornwallis in Virginia, so he and Rochambeau moved from New
York and headed south fast. When an officer from the British Army finally surfaced, he
surfaced with white flag on the stockade that was surrounding them in Yorktown. When
this happened, quiet fell upon the land with all of the American and French guns falling
silent.

As the battle ended, the British drums played “The World Turned Upside Down” which
meant that the colonies no longer belonged to the British, but to the America’s. Prime
Minister Lord North resigned his position after Yorktown’s victory. The successor
Prime Minister thought that France and America should make peace and that the war
should end (Taking Action, n.d.). 17 October 1781 was the official date that the British
laid down their arms at Yorktown. The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 and was the
contract put into place to end the Revolutionary War.

The Treaty of Paris represented peace between Britain and what is now the United
States. The treaty was signed by Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, and John Adams, all of
whom represented the United States. Despite the end of the Revolutionary War, smaller
battles continued between the colonists and the British. The Proclamation of Cessation
of Hostilities was issued by George III in February of 1783, concluding in the Peace
Treaty of 1783 (The Peace Treaty, 2010). This Treaty is what officially put an end to the
United States War for Independence.

In summation, two centuries of British rule was ended by the American Revolution for a
large portion of the North American colonies which resulted in the creation of today’s
United States of America. The Revolutionary War was an odd time for the Colonies and
Great Britain. It has been described as “exhilarating and disturbing”. No matter how one
describes this era it can absolutely be understood that without that era progression may
have never happened.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 across_cultures_ course_ book pdf (page 43)

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