fea Neen ‘wo struggles occurred simultaneously during the seven years of war that began in April 1775. One was the military conflict with Great Britain. The second was a political conflict | ‘within America. The military conflict was, by the standards of later wars, a relatively modest one. By the standards of its ow. day, however, it was an unusually savage conflict, pitting not only army against army but the civilian population against a powerful external force. The shift of the war from a traditional, con- ventional struggle to 2 new kind of conflict—a revolutionary war for liberation—is what made it possible for the United States to defeat the more powerful British, ‘At the same time, Americans were wrestling with the great politcal questions that the conflict necessarily produced: first, whether to demand independence from Britain; then, how to structure the new nation they had proclaimed. ' THE STATES UNITED Although some Americans had long been expecting a military conflict with Britain, the actual of hostilities in 1775 found the colonies generally ny for war against the world’s greatest armed power. Defining American War Aims Three weeks after the battles of Lexington and Concord, when the Second Continental Cor met in Philadelphia, delegates agreed to support the war. But they disagreed about its purpose. At one gxreme was o group led by the Adams cousins (John and Samuel), Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, and others, who already favored independence; at the other extreme was a group led by such moder- ates as John Dickinson of Pennsylvania, who hoped for a quick reconciliation with Great Britain, ‘Most Americans believed at first that they were fighting not for independence but for a redzess of grievances. During the frst year of fighting, how- ever, many of them began to their minds, “The costs of the war were so high that the original -war aims began to seem too modest to justify them. Many colonists were enraged when the British be- gan tying to recruit Indians, African slaves, and German mercenaries (the hated “Hessians”) against them. When the British government blockeded the colonial ports and rejected all effort a conciliation, many colonists concluded that independence was the only remaining option, gait, impetioned pamphlet crysallized these lings in January 1776: Thomas Peine’s Common Common See ‘Sense, Paine, who had emigrated from England to America less than two years before, wanted to turn the anger of Americans away from particular parlia~ mentary measures and toward what he considered the root of the problem—the English constitution itself. Tt was simple common sense, he wrote, for Americans to break completely with a political sys- tem that could inflict such brutality on its own peo- ple. Consmon Sense sold more chan 100,000 copies in only a few months. It helped create a rapid growth ‘of support for the idea of independence in the early months of 176. The Declaration of Independence In the meantime, the Continental Congress was mov- ing toward a complete break with England. Ar the be- sing of che suman i appined a commie wo a declaration of inde- pendence; and on July 2, 1776, _isPendence Declared a it adopted a resolution: “That these United Colonies are, and, of right, ought to be, free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to che British crown, and that all political connexion between them and the sate of Great Britain is, and cought to be, totally dissolved.” Two days later, on July 4, Congress approved the Declaration of Inde~ pendence, which formal justficaions for the actions the delegates had taken two days earlier,‘The Declaration hunched a Cetcbeeton a period of energetic political innovation, as one colony af- ‘ter another reconstituted itself as a “state.” By 1781, most states had produced written constitutions for themselves. At the national level, however, the process was more uncertain. In November 1777, fi- nally, Congress adopted a plan for union, the Art- cles of Confederation. The document confirmed the existing weak, decentralized system. “Thomas Jefferson, a thiry-three-year-old Vir ginian, wrote most of the Declaration, with help from Benjamin Franklin and John Adams. The Dec- laration expressed concepts that had been circulat- ing throughout the colonies in the form of at least ninety other, local “declarations of independence” — declarations drafted by town meetings, artisan and militia organizations, coun By treme jteron ‘ffcias, grand juries, Sons of Liberty, and colonial assemblies. The final document was in evo parts. In the fist, the Declaration restated the familiar contract the- ory of John Locke: the theory that governments were formed to protect what Jefferson called “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” In the second part, it listed the alleged crimes of the king, who, with the backing of Parliament, had violated his EL contract with the colonists and thus had forfeited all claim to their loyalty. For a Where Historians Dis- agree essay on “The American Revol @ tion,” visit Chapter 5 of the book's Online Mobi Learning Center website. ing for War Financing the war was difficult, because Congress ‘had no authority to levy taxes on its own, and when. it requisitioned money from the state governments, none contributed more than a small part of its ex- pecred share, Congress had ide sucess borrowing the public, since few Americans could afford to buy bonds. In the end, there was no alternative ‘but to issue paper money. Printing presses turned ‘out enormous amounts of “Continental currency,” and the states printed currencies of their own. ‘The result, predicaably, was soaring inflation, and ‘Congress soon found that the Continental currency was virtually worthless. Ultimately, it financed the war mostly by borrowing from other nations. After a first surge of patriotism in 1775, volun- teer soldiers were scarce. States had to pay bounties or use a draft to recruit the needed men. At first, the militiamen remained under the control of their respective states. But Congress recognized the need for a centralized military command, and it72 REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIERS Jean Bape de Vergara French ofa serving in rere curing Revolution, kape an lustre Jour, of his experiences Mare be porayt four American tlders carne ‘iferene Hinds of ame Baek Infaeryman with a Whe rifle, 8 ‘muskacan 2 lean, and an artleryman. (hae SK rove Mary ect, Bro UnbeyUrr) created a Continental with a single com- mander in chief: George Washington. Washington hhad considerable milicary experience and was 2d- Wastingontates ited, respected, and crusted Gare by nearly all Patriots. He took command of the new army in June 1775. With the aid of foreign military expercs such as the Marquis de Lafayewe from France and the Baron von Steuben from Prussia, he buile force that prevailed against the mightiest power in the world. His courage, and dedication to his cause provided the army—and the people—with a symbol of stability around which they could rally, THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE ‘The British seemed to have overwhelming advan- ‘tages as the War for Independence began: the great- est navy and the best-equipped army in the world, the resources of an empire, a coherent structure of command. Yet the United States had advantages, too. Americans were fighting on their own ground, Pet more committed to the ne were the British. And, beginning in 1777, they re- ceived substantial aid from abroad. But the American victory was also a result ofa se- ries of blunders and: 'miscalculations by the British in the eary stages of the fighting. And it was, nally, a result of the transformation of the war into a new kind of conflict that the British military, for all its strength, was unable to win, The First Phase: New England For the first year of the conflict —from the spring of 1775 to the spring of 1776—many English authori- Ses thought chat British forces were not fighting a eal war, but simply quelling pockess of rebellion in the contentious area around Boston. After the redeoats ‘withdrew from Lexington and Concord in April, American ntact forces besieged them in Boston. In the Battle of Bunker Hill (actually fought on Breeds Hill) on June 17, 1775, the Patriots suffered severe casual- ties and withdrew. But they indicted even greater losses on the enemy. The siege continued. Early in 1776, finally, the British decided that Boston was a oor place from which to ight. Ir was in the center ‘of the most anti-British part of America and tact cally dificult to defend because it was easily iso. lated and surrounded, And so, on March 17, 1776, the redeoats evacuated Boston for Halifax’ Nova ‘Scotia. In the meantime, a band of southern Patriots, at Moore Creek Bridge in Noth Carling, cred an uprising of Loyalists (: i cans sl loyal to England "asonof Canada if and its king) on February 27, 1776. And to the north, the Americans began an invasion of Canada, Generals Benedict Arnold and Richard Mont. gomery unsuccessfully threatened Quebec in late1775 and early 1776 ina battle inwhich Montgomery was killed and Arnold wounded. By the spring of 1776, it had become clear to the British that the conflict was not just a local phenom- enon. The American campaigns in Canada, the agitation in the South, and the growing evidence of Colonial unity all suggested that England must pre~ pare to fight a much larger confict. The Second Phase: The Mid-Atlaritic Region During the next phase of the war, which lasted from 1776 until early 1778, the British were in 2 good po- sition to win. Indeed, had it not been for a series of mistakes and misfortunes, they probably would have done so. . ‘The British regrouped quickly after their retreat from Boston. During the summer of 1776, hun dreds of British ships and 32,000 British soldiers arrived in New York, under the command of General William Howe. He offered Congress a choice between surrender with royal pardon and a battle agnins apparently cvervhelming odds: The Americans rejected Howe's offer. The British then pushed Washington's forces off Long Island, forced them to abandon Manhattan, and then drove them in slow retreat over the plains of ‘The War for Independence 73 ‘THE REVOLUTION IN ‘THE NORTH, ATTS=17T6 Aber bil bates in and around Boston, the Brith forces New Jersey, across the Delaware River, and into Pennsylvania. ‘The British settled down for the winter in northern and central New Jersey, with an ourpost of Hessians at Trenton, on the Delaware River. But on Christmas night 1776, Washington daringly _WemonendPinceen a recrossed the icy Delaware River, surprised and scattered the Hessians, and occupied Trenton. ‘Then he advanced to Princeton and drove a force of redcoats from their base in the college there. But Washington was unable to hold either Princeton or ‘Trenton and finally took refuge for the rest of the winter in the hills around Morristown. In 1777 the British devised a strategy to divide the United States in two. Howe would move from ‘New York up the Hudson to Albany, while another force would come down from Canada to meet him. John Burgoyne, commander of the northern force, began a two-pronged attack to the south along both the Mohawk and the upper Hudson ap- proaches to Albany. But instead of moving north to meet Bi , Howe went south end captured Philadelphia, hoping that his seizure of the rebel capital would bring the war to a speedy conclusion. Philadelphia fell with litle resiseance—and the Continental Congress moved into exile in York,‘THE REVOLUTION IN THE MIDDLE COLONIES, 1776-1778 These raps thacrate the major ‘of the Revolucion in che mide colonies—New York, New Jercey, and Pennsyfrani—becween 1776 and 1778. The large map on the left shows the Ono prongs of the Brush strategy: Arse 8 ‘movement of Bridth forces south from Canada into the Hudson Valley, and second, 2 movement of ‘other Srdsh forces, under General Willa Howe, out from New York. The strategy was designed to ‘rap the American army in between the ewo Bridsh movements. What movements of Hove heed ‘wort the plon? The two smaller maps on the right show a more detaled picure of some of the major tarde. Pennsylvania. After launching an unsuccessful Patriot attack against the British on October 4 at Germantown (just outside Philadelphia), Washington went into winter quarters at Valley Forge. Howe's move to Philadelphia left Burgoyne to carry out the campaign in the north alone. He sent ‘Colonel Barry St. Leger up i gimievitory st the St. Lawrence River toward Lake Ontario. B him- self advanced directly down the upper ‘Hudson Valley and essily seized Fort Ticonderoga. But Burgoyne soon experienced rn staggering defeats. In one of them—at Oriskany, New York, on August 6— Patriots held off a force of Indians and Tories com- manded by St. Leger. That allowed Benedict Amold to close off the Mohawk Valley to St. Leger’s advance. In the other barle—at Bennington, this map go to srw [Link] ‘Vermont, on August 16—New England militiamen mauled a detachment that Burgoyne had sent to seeic plies. Burgoyne fought several costly engage- mens and then withdrew t Sartogy where Gove eral Horatio Gates surrounded him. On October 17, 1777, Burgoyne surrendered. The campaign in upstate New York was not just a British defeat. It was a setback for the ambitious ef- forts of several Iroquois leaders. Although the Iro- quois Confederacy had declared its neutrality in the Revolutionary War in 1776, some of its members allied themselves with the British, among them a ‘Mohawk brother and sister, Joseph and Mary Brant. This ill-fated alliance farcher divided the already weakened Iroquois Confederacy, because only three of the Iroquois nations (the Mohawk, the Senece, and the Cayuga) followed the Brants in support of theBritish. A year after the defeat at Oriskany, Iroquois forces joined British troops in a series of raids on white setelementsin upstate New York. Patriot forces under the command of General John Sullivan harshly retaliated, wreaking such destruction on Indian settle~ ‘ments that large groups of Iroquois fled north into ‘Canada to seek refuge, Many never returned. Securing Aid from Abroad ‘The leaders of the American effort knew that vic- tory would not be likely without sid from abroad. ‘Their most promising allies were the French. At first, France provided the United States with badly needed supplies but remained reluctant to grant formal diplomatic recoguition to the new nation. ‘After the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin himself went co France to lobby for sid and. diplomatic recognition. Franklin quickly became a hero to the French, but France's foreign minister, the Count de Vergennes, wanted evidence that the Americans had a real chance of winning. The British defeat at Saratoga, he believed, offered that evidence. ‘When the news from Saratoga arrived in London and Paris in early December 1777, a shaken Lord North made a new peace FrmechOiplemte offer: complete home rule within the empire for Ameri- ‘cans if they would quit the war. Vergennes feared ‘the Americans might accept the offer and thus de- ‘France's opportunity to weaken Britain. En- couraged by Franklin, he agreed on February 6, 1778, to give formal recognition to the United States and to provide it with greatly expanded mili- tary assistance. ‘France’ decision made the war an international conflict, which over the years pitted France, Spain, and the Netherlands aguinst Great Britain. That helped reduce the resources available forthe English effortin America. France was America’ most immpor- tant aly. Ie farished the new nation with most ofits ‘money and munitions, and it provided a navy and an ‘expeditionary force that were vital to the final, suc- ‘cessful phase of the Revolutionary conflict. ‘The Final Phase: The South The American victory at Saratoga and the interven tion of che French transformed the war. Instead of mounting a full-scale military struggle against the ‘The War for Independence 75 American army, the British now tried to enlist the support of Loyalists. And since Loyalist sentiment ‘was thought ro be strangest in the South, and since the English also hoped slaves would rally to their ey the main focus of the British effort shifted ‘The new strategy was a dismal failure. British forces spent three years moving through the South. Bur they had badly overestimated the extent of Loy- alist sentiment. And they had underestimated the logistical problems they would face. Patriot Forces could move at will throughout the region, blending in with the civilian population and leaving the British unable to dist lish friend from foe. The British, by contrast, suffered all che disadvantages of ‘an army in hostile tersitory. Tewas this phase of the conflict that made the war “revolutionary”—not on! because eineodaced anew Toomey ces kind of warfare, but because ithad the effect of mobilizing and politicizing large groups of the population. With many civilians forced to involve themselves whether they liked it ‘or nor, the political climate of the United States {grew more heated than ever. And support for inde lence, far from being crushed, greatly increased. ‘In the North, the fighting settled into a stalemate. ‘Sir Henry Clinton replaced the unsuccessful William Howe in May 1778 and moved what had been ‘Howe's army from Philadelphia back to New York. ‘There the British troops stayed for more than a year. In the meantime, George Rogers Clark led a Patriot expedition over the Appalachian Mountains and cap- tured settlements in the Illinois country. On the whole, however, there was relatively little military activity in the North after 1778. There was, however, considerable intrigue. In the fall of 1780, American forces were shocked by the exposure of treason on the part of General Benedict Amold. Convinced that the American cause was hopeless, Amold conspired with British agents to betray the Patriot stronghold at West Point on the Hudson River. When the scheme was exposed, Amold fled to the safety of the British camp, where he spent the res of the war. ‘The British did have some significant military successes during this period. On December 29, 1778, they captured Savannah, Georgia. On May 12, 1780, they took the port of Charleston, South Carolina, and advanced into the interior. But the76 ‘THE REVOLUTION IN ‘THE SOUTH, 1778-1781 The final phase of the Amerlean Revolution Shows the fal chapter of {he Revoluion around the ‘Chesapeake Bay and the James River What fooled Ue Brith wo hee Serendr attriown? version of this map go #2 wereimbiecom! LUnfinahediaternctive a British were constantly harassed by Patriot guerrillas led by such resourceful fighters a5 Thomas Sumter, Andrew Pickens, and Francis Marion, the “Swamp Fox.” Penetrating to Camden, South Carolina, Lord Cornwallis (whom Clinton ‘named British com- mander in the South) met and crushed a Patriot force under Horatio Gates on August 16, 1780. Congress recalled Gates, and Washington replaced him with Nathanael Greene. Even before Greéne arrived in the South, the tide of battle had begun to tum against Cornwallis. At King’s Mountain (near the North Carolina—South Carolina border) on October 7, 1780, a band of Patriot riflemen from the backwoods killed, wounded, or captured every man in a force of 1,100 New York and South Carolina Loyalists, upon whom Cornwallis had depended as auxiliaries. Once Greene arrived, he divided the American forces into fast-moving contingents, one of which inflicted what Cornwallis admitted was “a very unexpected and severe blow” at Cowpens on January 17, 1781. Finally, after receiving reinforcements, Greene combined all his forces and maneuvered to meet the DS ee ae ee wera 1 batde there on March 121761, Gresne _ eeCoustiowe Bl ‘was driven from the field; but Cornwallis had lost so. any men that he decided wo abandon te Carclina campaign, Instead, he moved north, hoping to ton raids in the interior of Virginia. Bue Clinton, fear. fal that the southern army might be destroyed, om dered him to take up a defensive position at Yorktown.At that point, American and French forces de~ scended on Yorktown, Washington and the Count de Rochambeau marched a French-American irmy_ from New York to join the By verison Marquis de Lafayette in Virginia, while Admiral de Grasse took French fleet with additional troops up Chesapeake Bay to the York River. These joine operations caught Cornwallis berween land and sea. After a few shows of resistance, ‘he surrendered on October 17, 1781. Two days later, he surrendered his whole army of more than 7,000. Winning the Peace Cornwaliss defeat provoked outeries in England against continuing the war. Lord North resigned 2s prime minister; Lord Shelburne emerged from the political wreckage to succeed him; and British emis- saries appeared in France to talk informally with the ‘American diplomats there, of whom the three prin cipals were Benjamin Frankdin, John Adams, and John Jay. ‘The Americans were under instructions to cooper- ate with France in their negotiations with England. Bur the French foreign minister, insisted that France could not agree to any settlement of the war with England unti its ally Spain had achieved its principal war aim: winning back Gibraltar from the British. There was no zeal of tha soon, and the Americans began to fear that the alliance with France might keep them at war indefinitely. Asa result, the Americans began proceeding on their own, ‘without informing Vergennes, and soon drew up 2 preliminary treaty with Great Britain, which was signed on November 30, 1782. Benjamin Frankiin, in the meantime, stllully pacified Ve ‘The final treaty was signed September 3, 1783. ‘The agreement was, on the whole, remarkabiy favor- able to the United States. It provided a clear-cut recognition of independence and a large, though am- biguous, cession of territory to the new nation—from the courbem boundary of Canada to the order boundary of Florida and from the atlantic to the ‘Mississippi. The American people had good reason to celebrate as the last ofthe British ion forces embarked from New York. For further on the global context of the U.S. fight for independence, visit Chapter 5 of the book's Online Lea ing Center fora feature essay on “The Age of Revolutions.” War and Socieey: 77 WAR AND SOCIETY Historians have long debated whether the American Revolution was a social as well as a political revolu- tion. But whatever the intention of those who launched and fought the war, the conflict had im- portant effects on the nature of American society. Loyalists and Minorities Estimates differ as to how many Americans remained Joyal to England during the Revolution, but itis clear that there were many—at least a fifth of the white population. Some were officeholders in the imperial government; others were merchants, Still others were people who lived in relative isolation and had retained their tradicional loyalties. And there were those who, expecting the British to win the war, were simply currying favor with the anticipated victors. ‘Many of these Loyalists ; were hounded by Patrice Teterte'riem Bf and harassed by legislative and judicial ecions. Up. to 100,000 fled the country. Those who could afford to moved to England. Others moved 10 Canada, establishing the first English- ‘community in the province of Quebec. Some returned to America after the war and gradually managed to reenter the life of the nation. ‘The war weakened other groups as well. The An- glican Church, many of whose members were Loy- alists, lost its staeus asthe official religion of Virginia and Maryland. Also weakened were the Quakers, ‘whose pacifism won them widespread unpopularity when they refused to support the war. ‘Other Protestant denominations, however, grew stronger. Presbyterian, Congregational, and Baptist ‘churches successfully tied themselves to the Patriot cause. And most American Catholics also supported the Patriots and won increased popularity as a re~ sult, Shordy after che peace treaty was signed, the Vatican provided the United States with its own hi- ‘erarchy and, in 1789, its first bishop. ‘The War and Slavery For the largest of America’s minorities—the African- American population—the war had limited, bu nev- ertheless profound, significance. For some, it meant freedom, because the British enabled many escaped slaves to leave the country. In South Carolina, for ex- ample, nearly a third of all slaves defected.Oiienneuas us 78 For other African Americans, the Revolution at Peidom pa oa in 10) ys erty. WD ercncesottery More black Americus could not read, but few could avoid to thenew and exciting ideas circulating through the colonies. In sev- eral communities, slaves exposed to revolutionary ideas engaged in open resistance to white control. In Charleston, South Carolina, for example, Thomas Jeremiah, 2 fee black, wat executed after white ‘authorities leamed of plans for a slave uprising. Slaveowners opposed British efforts to emanci- pate their slaves, but they also feared that the revo- fidion itself would foment slave rebellions. Al- though the ideals of the Revolution produced ‘ceasional challenges to slavery by white southern- ‘ts (including laws in Virginia and Maryland per- mitting slaveowners to free—‘manumic’—their Slaves if they wished), white suppore for slavery sur- ‘ived: Southern churches quiely rejecred the anc- slavery ideas of the North and worked instexd to re- inforce ideas about white superiority. In much of the North, by contrast, the combina- tion of revolutionary sentiment and evangelical (Christian fervor helped spread antslaery sentiments widely through society. The fist target was the slave trade, which was prohibited by several tes. The next target was state laws forbidding owners from freeing thir slaves. Quakers and other antsaveryac- tivists succeeded in pressuring legislatures to allow legal manumission in all te northem states before the end ofthe Revolution, and even in Kentacky and ‘Tennessee. The final step was emancipation of saves, Pennsylvania was the frst state to declare slavery ile- gal within its borders in 1780. One by one, all the northern states abolished slavery by 1804. “The Revolution exposed the continuing tension besween the nation’ commitment to liberty and its ven commitment to slavery. To aoe people in our time, it seems dewey Pbvious that Uiberry and sv xy are incompatible with one another. But to many white Americans in the eighteenth centuy, espe- cially in the South, that did not seem obvious. Many white southerners believed, in face, that eslaving Aficans—whom they considered inferior and unfit for ctizenship—was the best way to ensure iberty for white people. They feared chat without slaves, it would be necessary to recruit a servile white work force inthe South, and that the resulting inequalities The American Revolution would jeopardize the survival of liberi. One ofthe ironies of the American Revolution was that white Americans were fighting both to secure freedom for themselves and to preserve slavery for others. Native Americans and the Revolution Indians viewed the American Revolution with con- siderable uncertainty. Many feared that the Revolu~ tion would replace a ruling group in which they had developed some measure of trust (the British, who had tried to limit the expansion of white setvement into tribal land) with one they considered generally hostile (the Patriots, who had spearheaded the ex- pansion). Thus some Indians chose to join the Eng- lish cause. Still others took advantage of the conflict to launch attacks of their own. In the western Carolinas and Virginia, Cherokee led by Chief Dragging Canoe launched a series of at- tacks on outlying white settlements in the summer of 1776, Patriot militias responded in great force, rav- ‘aging Cherokee lands and forcing the chiefand many of his followers to flee west across the Tennessee River. Those Cherokee who remained behind agreed to a new treaty by which they gave up still more land. Some Iroquois, despite the setbacks at Oriskany, continued to wage war against Americans in the West and caused widespread destruction in agricultural areas of New York and Pennsylvania. retaliating American armies inflicted heavy losses on the Indians, but the attacks continued. In the end, the Revolution atv Americans i ‘weakened generally weakened the posi- tion of Native Americans in several ways. The Patriot victory increased white demand for western lands. Many whites resented the assistance such nations as the Mohawk had given the British and insisted on treating them 2s ‘conquered people. Others drew from the Revolu- tion a paternalistic view of the tribes. Thomas Jefferson, for example, came to view the Indians as “noble savages,” uncivilized in their present state but redeemable if they were willing to adapt to the norms of white society. Women's Rights and Women’s Roles The war hada profound effect on American women. The departure of so many men to fight in the Patriot armies left women in charge of farms and businesses. Often, women handled these tasks ‘with great success, But in other cases, inexperience,inflation, the unavailability of male labor, or the threat of enemy troops led to failure. Some women ‘whose husbands or fathers were called away to war did not have even a farm or shop to fall back on. Cities and towns had significant populations of im- poverished women, who on accasion led protests against price increases or rioted and looted for i food. On several other occasions, women launched 3 attacks on occupying British troops, whom they were required to house and feed at considerable expense. Not all women stayed behind when the men ‘went off to wat. Many joined their male relatives in the camps of the Patriot armies. These female “camp followers” increased army morale and pro- vided a ready source of volunteers to do cooking, loundry, nursing, and other necessary tasks. In the rough environment of the camps, traditional gen- der distinctions proved difficult to maineain. Con- siderable numbers of women became involved, at least intermittently, in combat. A few women even disguised themselves as men so as to be able to fight. “The emphasis on liberty and the “rights of man” Jed some women to begin to question their own po- sition in society. “By the way,” Abigail Adams wrote to her husband John Adams in 1776, “in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, [ desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.” Adams was calling simply for ‘new protections against abusive and tyrannical men. A few women, however, went farther. Judith Sargent Murray wrote in 1779 that women's minds ‘were as good 25 those of men and that girls deserved ‘access to education, But little changed as a result. Under English ‘common law, an unmarried woman had some legal "hs, buea married woman bad virally no rights at all. Everything she owned By rectrcystrengtened and everything she earned be- longed to her husband. She could noc vote. She had no legal authority over her children. Nor could she initiate a divorce; that, too, was a right reserved al- ‘most exclusively to men. After the Revolution, it did ‘become easier for women to obtain divorces in a few states. Otherwise, there were few advances and some setbacks—including the loss of the right of widows to regain their dowries from their husbands’ estates. The Revolution, in other words, did not ‘The Creation of State Governments 79 really challenge, but actually confirmed and strength- hed, the patrarchal legal sytem. But the Revolution did encourage people to reevaluate the contribution of women to the family and society. As the new republic searched for a cul- ‘tural identity, it attributed a higher value to the role ‘of women as mothers. The new nation was, many Americans liked to believe, producing a new kind of citizen, steeped in the principles efter: te had a particularly important task, therefore, in in- structing their sn in the virtues that the re- publican citizenry now was expected to possess. ‘The War Economy The Revolution also produced important changes in the structure of the American economy. After more than a century of dependence on the British imperial system, American commerce suddenly found vel on is own. Engh hie no longer pro- tected American vessel i tied to drive them from the Newfane oftade ‘seas. British imperial ports were closed to American trade. But this disruption in traditional economic patterns served in the long run to strengthen the American economy. Enterprising merchants began to develop new commerce in the Caribbean and South America. By the mid-1780s, American mer- chants were alo developigan important rade with a. ‘When English imports to America were cut off, there were desperate efforts throughout the states to stimulate domestic manufacturing of cercain ne- ‘cessities. No great industrial expansion resulted, but there was a modest increase in production and an ‘even greater increase in expectations. THE CREATION OF STATE GOVERNMENTS At the same time that Americans were struggling to win their independence on the batdefield, they were also struggling to create new institutions of government to replace the British system they had repudiated. The Assumptions of Republicanism Af Americans agreed on nothing else when they be- gan to build new governurents for themselves, they agreed that those governments would be republican.‘To them, that meant a political system in which all pover came from the people, rather than from some supreme authority (euch as a king). The success of such 2 government depended on the nature of its citizenry. If the population consisted of independent property owners, the republic could survive. If it consisted of a few aristocrats and a mass of workers, ie would be in danger. From dhe beginning, here~ fore, the ideal of the small frecholder (the inde- pendent landowner) was basic to American political id "Another crucial part of that ideology was the concept of equality. The innate talenes and energies of individuals, nor their positions at birth, would de~ termine their roles in society. Some people would inevitably be wealthier and more powerful than oth- cers. But all people would have to earn their success. ‘There would be no equality of condition, but there would be equality of opportunity. In reality, of course, the United States was never 4 nation in which all ciizens were independent property holders. From the beginning was a vole d ‘dependent labor force, white and black. ‘Women remained subordinate. Native Americans ‘were systematically exploited and displaced. Nor was there ever full equality of opportunity. Ameri- can society was more open and more fluid than that of most nations, but the condition of a person's birth was almost always a crucial determi- zhant of success. ‘Nevertheless, in embracing the assumptions of republicanism, Americans were adopting a power- fal, even revolutionary, ideology, and their experi- ‘ment in statecraft became a model for many other ‘countries. The First State Constitutions ‘Two states—Connecticut and Rhode Island— already had ents that were republican in all butname. They simply deleted references co England and the king from their charters and adopted them as constitutions. The other eleven states, however, produced new documents. The Gt and perhaps most bse decision was that the constitutions were to GurbraEsecwve be written down. The second decision was that the power of the executive must be limited. Pennsylvania elimi- nated the executive altogether. Most other states 5 The Anserican Revolution inserted provisions limiting the power of governors over appointments, reducing or eliminating their right to veto bills, and preventing them from dis- missing the legislature. Most important, every state forbade the governor or any other executive officer from holding a seat in the legislature, thus ensuring that the evo branches of government would remain wholly separate, Butmost new constitutions did not embrace direct popular rule, In Georgia and Pennsylvania, the legis- lature consisted of one popularly elected house. But in every other state, there was an upper and a lower chamber, and in most cases, the upper chamber was designed to represent the “higher orders” of society. “There were property requirements for voters—some modest, some substantial —in all states. Revising State Governments By the late 1770s, Americans were growing con- cemed about the apparent instability of their new state governments Many belived the problem was ‘one of too much democracy. As a result, most of the states began to revise their constitutions to limie popular power. Massachusetts was the first to act on the new concems. By waiting until 1780 to ratify its Grst constitution, Massachuserts allowed these ‘changing ideas to shape its government. ‘Tivo changes in particular differentiated the ‘Massachusetts and later constitutions from the earlier ones. The first was a change in the process of constitution writing itself. Most of the first documents had been wricten by state legislatures and thus could easily be A amended (or violated) ‘Constitution i tem Masha cox the constitutional convention: a special assembly of the people that would meet only for the purpose of iting the conection. second change was a significant strengthen- ing of the executive. The 765 Macachusers con stitution made the governor one of the strongest in any state. He was to be elected by the peo- ple; he was to have a fixed salary (in other words, he ‘would not be dependent on the good will of the leg- islature each year for his wages); he would have sipuiican appointmene powers andrew ore leg islacion. Other states followed. Those with weak or nonexistent upper houses strengthened or created. them. Most increased the powers of the governor.By the late 1780s, almost every state had either re- vised its constitution or drawn up an entirely new one in an effort to produce stability in government. Toleration and Slavery ‘Most Americans continued to believe that religion should play some role in government, but they did not wish to give special privileges to any particular denomination. The privileges that churches had Scatute of | once enjoyed were now imeny “Setwlous largely stripped away. In 1786, ‘Virginia enacted the Statute of Religious Liberty, written by Thomas Jefferson, which called for the complete separation of church and state. ‘More difficult to resolve was the question of slav- ery. In areas where slavery was already weak—in ‘New England and Pennsyivania—it was abolished. Even in the South, there were some pressures to amend or even eliminate the institution; every state but South Carolina and Georgia prohibited farther importation of slaves from abroad. Virginia passed a law encouraging manumission. eons forSunrys Nevertheless, slavery sur- Pewee vvived in all the southern and border states. There were several reasons: racist assumptions among whites; the enormous economic investments many white southerners had in their slaves; and the inability of even such men as Washingcon and Jefferson, who hhad moral misgivings about slavery, to envision any alternative to it. Few whites believed blacks could be integrated into American sociery as equals. THE SEARCH FOR A NATIONAL GOVERNMENT Americans were much quicker to agree on state in~ stitations than they were on the structure of their national government. At first, most believed that the central government should remain relatively weak and that each sate would be virtually a sover~ eign nation, Ie was in response to such ideas that the Articles of Confederation emerged. The Confederation The Articles of Confederation, which the Conti- rental Congress had adopted in 1777, provided for ‘The Search for a National Government: a1 2 national government much . like the one already in place, uate rer ote coe bere the cen- institution of national authority. Its powers ex- panded to give authority to condoce wars and for. ‘cign relations and to appropriate, borrow, and issue money. But it did not have power to regulate trade, draft troops, or levy taxes directly on the people. For troops and taxes it had to make formal to the state legislatures, which could—and often ddid—refuse them. There was no separate executive; the “president of the United States” was merely the presiding officer at the sessions of Congress. Each state had a single vote in Congress, and atleast nine of the states had to approve any important measure. All thirteen state legislatures had to approve any amendment of the Articles. ‘During the process of ratifying the Articles of Confederation (which required approval by all thir- teen states), broad disagreements over the plan be- came evident. The small states had insisted on equal state representation, but the larger states wanted representation to be based on population. The smaller states prevailed on that issue. More impor- tant, the states claiming western lands wished to ‘keep them, but the rest of the states demanded that all such territory be turned over to the national gov- ernment. New York and Virginia had to give up their western claims before the Articles were finally approved. They went into effect in 1781. The Confederation, which existed from 1781 un- til 1789, was not a complete failure, but ic was far from a success. Diplomatic Failures In the peace treaty of 1783, the British had promised to evacuate American territory; ‘but British forces continued to occupy a string of frontier posts along the Great Lakes within the ‘United States. Nor did the British honor their ag ment to make restitution to slaveowners whose slaves the British army had confiscated. Mose American trade remained within the British Empire, and Amer- icans wanted full access to British markets; England, however, placed sharp restrictions on that access. In 1784, Congress sent John Adams as minister to London to resolve these differences, but Adams made no headway wich the English. Throughout Postwar Problems ‘wich Betaln82 LAND SURVEY: ‘ORDINANCE OF 1785 In the Ordinance of 1785, Sd sang wesern finds ‘These maps ilscrate che sway In whieh the ln ‘rere ded in an area ‘oT Ohla Noe te ighiy {eomecreal gd pattem ‘he the Ordirance Iosed on hese nd keh of che squares in he larger map on the lef was ‘bdhided in 36 secon, 2 tered inthe map ‘on ahe righe 8 Why ‘wos thi gid poem $0 “ppealng toe poner of the western lands? miRcINA the 1780s, the British government refused even to send a diplomatic minister to the American capital. Confederation diplomats agreed to a treaty with Spain in 1786. The Spanish accepted the American interpretation of the Florida boundary. In return the Americans recognized the Spanish possessions in North America and accepted limits on the right of United States vessels wo naignte the Misisppi for twenty years. Souther states, incensed at idea of giving up their access to the Mississippi, blocked ratification. The Confederation and the Northwest ‘The Confederation’ most important accomplish ment was its resolution of some of the controvers involving the western lands. The landed states gan to yield their claims to the national government in 1781, and by 1784 the Confederation controlled enough land to permit Congress to begin makin, policy for the national domain. . ‘The Ordinance of 1784 divided the western terri- tory into ten self-governing districts, each of which could petition for statehood when its pop- ‘ulation equaled the number of free inhabitants of the smallest existing state. Then, in the Ordinance of 1785, Congress creaved a system for surveying and selling the western lands. The territory north. of the Ohio River was to be surveyed and marked off into neat rectangular townships, each di- vided into thirty-sixidentical sections. In every town- ship four sections were to be set aside for the United States; the revenue from the sale of one of the other sections was to support creation of a public school. ‘The precise rectangular pattern imposed on the Northwest Territory—the grid—became « model for all subsequent land policies of the federal gov- ‘ernment. The grid also became characteristic of the layout of many American cities. It eliminated the uncertainty about property borders that earlier, ‘more informal land systems had produced. It sped the development of the western lands by making land ownership simple and understandable, But it also encouraged a dispersed form of settlement thatmade the formation of community more difficult, Whatever its consequences, however, the 1785 Ordinance made 2 dramatic and indelible mark on the American landscape, ‘The original ordinances proved highly favorable to land speculators and less so to ordinary setlers. Congress compounded the problem by selling much of the best land to the Ohio and Scioto Companies before making it available to anyone else. Criticism of these policies led to the passage in 1787 of legisla- tion that became known as the “Northwest Ordi nance.” The 1787 Ordinance abandoned the ten dis- trices established in 1784 and ena created a single Northwest Territory out of the lands north of the Ohio; the territory could be divided sub- sequently into between three and five territories. It also specified a population of 60,000 as a minimam for statehood, guaranteed freedom of religion and the right co wial by jury to residents of the Norch- ‘west, and prohibited slavery the territory. “The western lands south of the Ohio River received less attention from Congress. The region that became Kentucky and Tennessee developed rapidly in che late 1770s as slaveowning territories, and in the 1780s be~ gan setting up governments and asking for statehood. Indians and the Western Lands On paper at least, the western land policies of the Confederation created a system that order and stability to the process of white setdement in the Northwest. But in reality, order and stability came slowly and at great cost, because much of the land was claimed by the Indians. tried to resolve that problem in 1784, 1785, and 1786 by persuading Iroquois, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and ‘Cherokee leaders to sign treaties ceding lands to the United States. But those agreements proved inef- fective, In 1786, the leadership of the Iroquois Con- federacy repudiated the treaty it had signed evo ‘years earlier. Other tribes had never really accepted the treaties affecting them and continued to resist white movement into their lands. ‘Violence between whites and Indians on the Northwest frontier reached a erescendo in the early 1790s. In 1790 and again in 1791, the Miami, led by the famed warrior Lite Turde, defeated United States forces in two major battles. Efforts to negotiate 2 settlement failed because of the Miami’ insistence that no treaty was possible unless it forbade white set- ement west of the Ohio River. Negotiations did not ‘The Search for a National Government 83 resume until after General Anthony Wayne led 4,000 soldiers into the Ohio Valley in 1794 and defeated the Tninnsin the Bate of Fallen a eters ‘A year later, the Miami signed the Treaty of Greenville, ceding substantial new lands to the ‘United States in exchange for a formal acknowledg- ment oftheir elim to the territory they had managed to retain. This was the first time the new federal gov- emment recognized the sovereignty of Indian na- tions; in doing so, it was that Indian lands could be ceded only by the tribes themselves. That hard-won assurance, however, proved a frail protce- tion against the pressure of white expansion. Debts, Taxes, and Daniel Shays The postwar depression increased the perennial American problem of an inadequate money supply, 2 problem that weighed particularly heavily on debtors. The Confederation itself had an enormous outstanding debt and few means with which to pay it Ithad sold war bonds that were now due to be re- paid; it owed money to its soldiers; ithad substantial debss abroad. But it had no power to tax. It could ‘only make requisitions of the states, and it received ‘only about one-sixth of the money it requisitioned. The fragile new nation was faced with the grim roped of defikng on ts obligations. is alarming possibility brought to the fore a ‘group of leaders who would play a crucial role in the shaping of the republic for several decades. Robert ‘Mortis, the head of the Confederation’ treasury; ‘Alesander Hamilton, his young protégé; James ‘Madison of Virginia; and others called for a “conti- rental impost”—a 5 percent duty on imported goods. “Comensl port i ‘Americans, however, feared that the impost plan would concentrate too much financial power in the hands of Morris and his allies in Philadelphia. Congress failed to approve the impost in 1781 and again in 1783. ‘The states had war debts, too, and they generally relied on increased taxation to pay them. But poor farmers, already burdened by debt, considered such policies unfair. They demanded that the state gov- ernments issue paper currency to increase the money supply and make it easier for them to meet their obligations. Resentment was especially high ‘among farmers in New England. ‘Throughout the late 1780s, mobs of distressed farmers rioted periodically in various parts of New