American History I

In 1777 , there was a huge turning in the Revolutionary War between the American colonies and Great Britain . After long months of sporadic American wins , the Continental Army delivered a stunning blow to the British army by defeating them at the battle of Saratoga . This crucial win allowed the French , who had been watching the war unfold with keen interest , to finally decide to aid the Americans in their struggle for independence . However , it would be the British that would actually help the Americans gain their independence

Although it seems that the

French had not been aiding the Americans until they won at Saratoga , this was not the case . In actuality , under the guidance of the French foreign minister Charles Gravier , Comte de Vergennes , France had been providing military supplies to the Americans via a made up company . This was the extent of French commitment until Saratoga , when their involvement became much more intense

Britain also changed their attitude with regard to the Americans Realizing that the British army was having great difficulty decisively defeating the Continental Army , Lord North decided to present a peace offering to the Americans . He successfully repealed the Tea and Intolerable Acts , which he followed by sending a commission to negotiate directly with the Continental Congress . The commission offered the Congress the opportunity to return to the relationship the colonies had with Great Britain prior to 1763 , but the offer was turned down . It had come too late , and now , the Americans wanted full independence

To accomplish this , they entered into a formal alliance with France in February 1778 . According to the terms of the alliance , the French would give up their claim to Canada and all land east of the Mississippi River . They also promised to fight alongside the Continental Army until independence had been achieved . The Americans , in return , would open trade to the French merchants and would support French territorial gains in the West Indies

The Revolutionary War would finally end with the battle of Yorktown Although the British army had revamped their military strategy , all the gains they had made soon crumbled . They had managed to secure bases in the North - New York City and Newport , Rhode Island - and had gained control of most of Georgia and South Carolina in the South Unfortunately , a lack of troops prevented them from holding on to what they had gained

In the summer of 1781 , the British and American armies faced each other in Yorktown , Virginia . It was here that the French alliance came to fruition . The presence of a French army in Newport and New York City gave Washington and his men enough military force to attack Cornwallis taking him by surprise . Furthermore , the presence of a French fleet in the Chesapeake Bay prevented the British from getting fresh supplies as well as from evacuating out of the area . By September , the British troops - 7 ,000 in number - had to face a combined American and French army of over 16 ,000 . Greatly outnumbered...