Objectives
A thorough study of Chapter Five should enable the student to understand:
1. The history debate concerning the nature of the American Revolution and the reasons for disagreement.
2. American war aims and the problems experienced by the Revolutionary governments in carrying on a protracted war.
3. The aim of the Declaration of Independence, the reasons for its issuance, and its influence throughout the world since 1776.
4. The indispensible contributions of George Washington to the successful outcome of the Revolution.
5. The diplomatic triumph for American negotiators embodied in the Treaty of Paris.
6. The types of governments created by the new states, and the important features in their governments.
7. The features of the Articles of Confederation, and the reasons for its creation.
8. The problems faced by the government under the Articles of Confederation and how they were addressed.
Main Themes
1. How the thirteen American colonies were able to win their independence from one of the most powerful nations on earth.
2. How the American Revolution was not only a war for independence, but also a struggle to determine the nature of the nation being created.
3. How Americans attempted to apply Revolutionary ideology to the building of the nation and to the remaking of society.
4. The problems that remained after, or were created by, the American Revolution.
Glossary
1. confederation: A group of sovereign states that unite for specific purposes (defense, foreign policy, trade, and so on), yet otherwise act as independent bodies.
2. constitution: The fundamental laws and principles by which an organization (nation, state, and such) is governed. In America, after the Revolution had begun, the state constitutions were written so as not to rely on tradition and previous legal practices as guides for governing.
3. depression: The reverse of inflation, caused by a reduction of the money supply that retards economic activity, drives prices down, and results in business failures and unemployment.
4. inflation: The economic condition caused by an oversupply of money (generally paper) in a market undersupplied with goods to buy. The result is high prices and a corresponding reduction in the value (buying power) of money. If the inflation is prolonged, a serious disruption of the economy might occur.
5. rebellion: The rising against a power or government; organized resistance.
6. revolution: A successful rebellion, in which one form of government or one ruling group is replaced by another.
Summary
Between 1775 and 1787, Americans struggled to win a war, make a peace, and create ideologically sound, stable governments on both the state and the national levels. By the end of the era, there was little doubt that they had accomplished the first two of their goals, but serious questions were being raised concerning the success of the last. Despite problems that would have stopped lesser men, George Washington and his army had been able to successfully keep the British at bay, winning when they could and losing as seldom as possible. Meanwhile, the Continental Congress, blessed with some remarkable diplomats, maintained a foreign policy the success of which can be seen in the Franco-American alliance of 1778 and the Treaty of Paris of 1783. But once the war ended, the government that the British threat had held together found that its member states' unwillingness to centralize power created more problems than it solved. Economic dislocation, exemplified by Daniel Shays and his followers, plagued the nation, as many thoughtful men searched for a way to transform Revolutionary rhetoric into reality and to restore order without sacrificing liberty