Oh my goodness. It is time at long last to talk about the American Revolution, baby. So, excuse me while I high five a bald eagle.
Oh, that felt good. All right, if you're ready to get them brain cows milked Revolution style, then let's get to it. So, let me begin by stating what may not be obvious.
Namely, that on paper, the American should not have won this war against the British. Like, this was not David versus Goliath. This was more like the flee in David's hair against Goliath.
And the British Goliath had two massive advantages. First, Great Britain had developed arguably the most powerful military in the world after amassing such a large maritime empire, especially their naval power. Not to mention, they had plenty of practice killing other armies, what with their almost constant wars with France and other European powers.
Additionally, the British army was about 50,000 strong. And in order to fight this war, the British hired German soldiers known as Hessins to fight with them to the tune of about 30,000. And in addition to all of that, they had long-standing alliances with various American Indian groups.
All of which swelled their ranks to numbers that greatly overwhelmed the untrained ragtag American patriot militias. Like I said, on paper, the math is mathing all the way in favor of a British victory. But then the second advantage on the British side of the ledger was the significant loyalist opposition in the colonies.
So the best estimates say that no more than half of the population in the colonies supported the patriot cause for independence. like it was very much not the case that all the colonists in North America were stoked about a war of independence against Great Britain. No, hopefully you'll recall from previous videos that for a long time most of the colonists wanted to remain British subjects but they just wanted their full rights as such.
And so by the time of the revolution a significant number of those people still wanted to remain loyal to Great Britain, which is why they were called loyalists. And by significant number, I mean 15 to 20% of the population were loyalists who opposed the revolution and wanted to remain loyal to Britain. And those loyalists were made up of various socio-economic groups.
A large percentage of the loyalists were elite folks who had gained much wealth and land and therefore wanted no part in a revolution that might threaten the system that had made them rich. However, there were also many common folks that remained loyalists because they resented the elite patriots who dominated affairs in their region and had marginalized the interest of the lower class. So yeah, those two realities presented significant obstacles to the patriot cause in the American Revolution.
And before I tell you how they overcame those obstacles, let me just say that you two might be feeling like a flea in David's hair against the Goliath of this a push course. You know I got you, boo. Behold my a pushheimler review guide which has everything you need to study for your unit exams and that beast of a national exam as fast as possible.
So if that's something you're into, then get that clicky finger out and check the link in the description. Okay. Now, despite all those obstacles working against the colonial patriots, I hope it's not a spoiler to let you know upfront that the American patriots won the war.
Now, excuse me while I ch bump the Declaration of Independence. Okay, now that I've sufficiently demonstrated my patriotism, let me give you a piece of bad news. This is not strictly a video about the history of the American Revolution.
This is a curriculum video for the A push course and that means that I'm leaving out most of the juicy bits that Americans have come to cherish and I'm focusing only on what you need to know for your exam. But to assuage any potential disappointment, behold once again my patriotism. Okay, now there are essentially four factors that contributed to the American victory that you're going to need to know.
The first factor includes the actions of colonial militias and the Continental Army. Now, the Continental Army was formed by the Second Continental Congress in response to British aggression at Lexington and Conquer. And prior to this creation of a national army, each colony could muster their own militia in order to respond to a crisis.
But this was the first time an army was formed to represent all the colonies. Even so, these American soldiers were in general poorly equipped, poorly trained, and often deserted their ranks. Therefore, in the first 6 months of the war, the Continental Army never won a single victory in battle, and it appeared that the overwhelming forces of the British would prevail.
And I know I said their actions were a factor in the American victory and at this point it very much sounds like the American army was about as effective as a woodpecker with rubber lips. But stick with me cuz it's going to get better. Anyway, the second factor was the leadership of George Washington.
A very insightful move. The Continental Congress appointed Washington as the general of the Continental Army. And though he was endlessly frustrated at the lack of discipline in his troops, he was able to achieve some strategic victories that helped turn the tide.
Case in point, the Battle of Trenton in 1777. So in the winter of that year, the British General William How followed the long wartime tradition of suspending military action during the coldest months. Cuz you know, nobody likes to shoot and kill other human beings with cold fingies.
Anyway, hearing that House Hessen troops were camped in Trenton, New Jersey, weathering the ice and rain, Washington seized the opportunity. On Christmas Day, Washington led a contingent of American troops across the river and sprung a surprise attack on the Hessen camp, scoring an easy victory. And the historical record actually preserved General Washington's own words upon that victory.
Merry Christmas. Y'all just got Washington. Ho ho ho.
Anyway, from there, Washington led the army to Princeton, New Jersey, and scored another victory. And to be clear, these were not major strategic wins and would ultimately play very little role in the American victory, but they were of huge importance to the patriot morale and proved that the British could be defeated even with cold fingers. Anyway, after this battle, Washington made camp in Valley Forge for 6 months.
And during this time, he enlisted a Prussian military drill boss named Friedrich von Stuben. During those six months, von Stuben worked tirelessly to whip Washington soldiers into shape and help them learn and enact the military discipline that they sorely lacked. And in the end, it worked pretty well, which was a big morale boost for the troops.
Okay. Now, the third factor in the American victory was the alliance with France. You see, to leaders in the Patriot cause, it was a given that they needed French help to defeat the British.
And to that end, the Continental Congress had sent Benjamin Franklin to France late in 1776 in order to secure the alliance. And look, they were pretty confident that France would agree to this because, as you may recall, France and Britain were ancient enemies. And here was an opportunity to French slap the stupid British.
But for over a year, France would not commit to the patriot cause. And why says you? Well, says I, because the Americans hadn't really shown sufficient signs that victory was possible.
But all that changed in 1777. In the fall of that year, patriot militias won a victory against British forces at the Battle of Saratoga in New York. And not just a victory, like a resounding and decisive victory.
The British lost almost twice as many soldiers as did the Patriots. And when the British returned to take Saratoga, the Patriots beat them yet again, leading to the British surrender of the town. So after that, Franklin was able to secure the French alliance.
French troops were quickly dispatched to reinforce the Continental Army with the promise that Americans would help defend France's Caribbean territories. And then about a year later, Spain joined France in support of the Patriot Cause in order to protect their North American territory. Okay.
Now, the fourth cause for the American victory was the colonist ideological commitment and resilience. Remember what I said in the last two videos, namely that the colonial mind was a wash in ideas like liberty and independence and natural rights and all the rest. And when the fighting got tough and the war dragged on and on, a commitment to those ideas helped sustain them.
I mean, think about it. Great Britain was fighting to keep economic and political control of an empire. Woof.
But the patriots believe they were fighting for liberty and freedom from tyranny. And so, it's not hard to imagine which motive was more inspiring to people on the battlefield than all the people at home supporting the cause. Like Thomas Payne's words and common sense inflamed this desire for liberty, saying that by emerging victorious in this conflict, the Americans have it in our power to begin the world again.
And oh, what a tantalizing prospect that is. And that idea was repeated in sermons and pamphlets and articles spread throughout the colonies arguing that America was the one place on earth that true liberty and freedom could take root. And thus, their victory in the struggle was of existential importance.
If you put those four factors in a pot, then baby, you got a stew going. And that stew tastes like an American victory in the Revolutionary War. And here's how it happened.
So, seeking to crush the patriot opposition in the south, the British occupied Yorktown in Virginia and waited for reinforcements to arrive from New York. And then Washington along with French generals the Marque de Lafayette and K de Roshambo cut off the British reinforcements and eventually forced their surrender. And so it was that the Battle of Yorktown in 1781 proved to be the final victory for the patriots.
Now the war was officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783. And this document did several important things. First, it, you know, ended the war.
But second, and perhaps more significant, the Treaty of Paris essentially doubled the land holdings of the freshly born United States. They got everything south of Canada, north of Louisiana and Florida, and all the way to the Mississippi River. And all of that meant that the war had been won and now it was time to see if they really could begin the world again.
And spoiler alert, they definitely began something, but it wasn't nearly as romantic as all of that. But I'm going to save that story for the next video. Okay, click here to watch my other unit 3 videos.
And here's my A push Himler review guide, which is going to help you get an A in your class and a five on your exam in May. I appreciate you coming around and I'll catch you on the flipflop. I'm lar.
