7-4 The Legacy of the War

Ø After the war, the new nation faced issues such as a high national debt and calls for equality.

Ø To promote liberty, some states assed laws outlawing slavery and protecting religious freedom.

ONE AMERICAN'S STORY

In 1776, 15-year-old Joseph Plumb Martin of Connecticut signed up to fight for the Americans. He stayed with the army until the war ended and rose in rank from private to sergeant. Among his experiences were the terrible winter at Valley Forge and the winning battle at Yorktown. One of the hardest things Martin faced was leaving the army after the war was over. Many years later, he wrote about that day.

A VOICE FROM THE PAST

There was as much sorrow as joy. . . . We had lived together as a family of brothers for several years, setting aside some little family squabbles, like most other families, had shared with each other the hardships, dangers, and sufferings incident to a soldier's life; had sympathized with each other in trouble and sickness; had assisted in bearing each other's burdens. . . . And now we were to be . . . parted forever.

Joseph Plumb Martin, quoted in The Revolutionaries

At war's end, Martin and his country faced an uncertain future. How would the United States recover from the war? What issues would confront the new nation?

Why the Americans Won:

In November 1783, the last British ships and troops left New York City, and American troops marched in. As Washington said good-bye to his officers in a New York tavern, he hugged each one. Tears ran down his face. He became so upset that he had to leave the room.

Earlier in the fall, Washington had written a farewell letter to his armies. In it, he praised them by saying that their endurance "through almost every possible suffering and discouragement for the space of eight long years, was little short of a standing miracle."

By their persistence, the Americans won independence even though they faced many obstacles. They lacked training and experience. They were often short of supplies and weapons. By contrast, the British forces ranked among the best trained in the world. They were experienced and well-supplied professional soldiers. Yet the Americans had certain advantages that enabled them to win.

1. Better leadership. British generals were overconfident and made poor decisions. By contrast, Washington learned from his mistakes. After early defeats, he developed the strategy of dragging out the war to wear down the British. Despite difficulties, he never gave up.

2. Foreign aid. Britain's rivals, especially France, helped America. Foreign loans and military aid were essential to America's victory.

3. Knowledge of the land. The Americans knew the land where the war took place and used that knowledge well. The British could control coastal cities but could not extend their control to the interior.

4. Motivation. The Americans had more reason to fight. At stake were not only their lives but also their property and their dream of liberty.

The Treaty of Paris 1783: As the winners, the Americans won favorable terms in the Treaty of Paris of 1783, which ended the Revolutionary War. The treaty included the following six conditions:

1. The United States was independent.

2. Its boundaries would be the Mississippi River on the west, Canada on the north and Spanish Florida on the south.

3. The United States would receive the right to fish off Canada's Atlantic Coast, near Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.

4. Each side would repay debts it owed the other.

5. The British would return any enslaved persons they had captured.

6. Congress would recommend that the states return any property they had seized from Loyalists.

Neither Britain nor the United States fully lived up to the treaty's terms.

Americans did not repay the prewar debts they owed British merchants or return Loyalist property. For their part, the British did not return runaway slaves. They also refused to give up military outposts in the Great Lakes area, such as Fort Detroit.

Costs of the War:

No one knows exactly how many people died in the war, but eight years of fighting took a terrible toll. An estimated 25,700 Americans died in the war, and 1,400 remained missing. About 8,200 Americans were wounded. Some were left with permanent disabilities, such as amputated limbs. The British suffered about 10,000 military deaths.

Many soldiers who survived the war left the army with no money. They had received little or no pay for their service. Instead of back pay, the government gave some soldiers certificates for land in the West. Many men sold that land to get money for food and other basic needs.

Both the Congress and the states had borrowed money to finance the conflict. The war left the nation with a debt of about $27 million-a debt that would prove difficult to pay off.

The losers of the war also suffered. Thousands of Loyalists lost their property. Between 60,000 and 100,000 Loyalists left the United States during and after the war. Among them were several thousand African Americans and Native Americans. Most of the Loyalists went to Canada. There they settled new towns and provinces. They also brought English traditions to areas that the French had settled. Even today, Canada has both French and English as official languages.

Issues After the War:

The American Revolution was not just a war, but a change in thinking about government. Before the war, Americans had demanded their rights as English citizens. But after declaring their independence, they replaced that goal with the idea of republicanism. This idea stated that instead of a king, the people would rule. The government would obtain its authority from the citizens and be responsible to them.

For this system to work, individuals would have to place the good of the country above their own interests. At first, only men were allowed to take part in governing by voting or holding public office-and not even all men. However, women could help the nation by teaching their children the virtues that benefited public life. Such virtues included honesty, duty, and the willingness to make sacrifices.

As part of their liberty, Americans called for more religious freedom. Before the war, some laws discriminated against certain religions. Some states had not allowed Jews or Catholics to hold public office. After the war, states began to abolish those laws. They also ended the practice of using tax money to support churches.

Many people began to see a conflict between slavery and the ideal of liberty. Vermont outlawed slavery, and Pennsylvania passed a law to free slaves gradually. Individual African Americans also tried to end slavery. For example, Elizabeth Freeman sued for her freedom in a Massachusetts court and won. Her victory in 1781 and other similar cases ended slavery in that state. Freeman later described her desire for freedom.

A VOICE FROM THE PAST

Anytime while I was a slave, if one minute's freedom had been offered to me, and I had been told I must die at the end of that minute, I would have taken it-just to stand one minute on God's earth a free woman.

Elizabeth Freeman, quoted in Notable Black American Women

With freedom, African Americans began to form their own institutions. For example, the preacher Richard Allen helped start the Free African Society. That society encouraged African Americans to help each other. Allen also founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first African-American church in the United States.

Perhaps the main issue facing Americans after the war was how to shape their national government. American anger over British taxes, violation of rights, and control of trade had caused the war. Now the United States needed a government that would protect citizens' rights and economic freedom.

Free Enterprise

One cause of the Revolution was the colonists’ resentment of British mercantilism. Parliament passed laws to discourage the colonists from developing their own manufacturing and to force them to buy British goods. During the war, British economic control weakened. British exports of woolens to the colonies dropped from £645,900 in 1774 to only £2,540 in 1776.

As a result, the colonists were able to make more economic choices—for example, they could choose to manufacture wool clothing. The end of Britain’s mercantilist control allowed free enterprise to begin to develop in the United States. In a free-enterprise system, business can be conducted freely based on the choices of individuals. The government does not control the system, but only protects and regulates it.

Ø Competition encourages businesses to improve goods and services and to keep prices down.

Ø Property is owned by individuals and businesses.

Ø The desire to make a profit motivates business people.

Ø Individuals, not the government, decide what to buy and what to manufacture and sell.

Ø The government protects private property and makes sure businesses operate fairly.