The Line in the Sand

In The united states, I briefly described the events involved in the American colonies taking the startling position of declaring themselves independent of their king and homeland, with the intention of creating their own nation, with a government created by the people, and with the charge of protecting the rights of citizens.

The Declaration of Independence drew the line in the sand. Although Parliament was primarily responsible for the complaints the colonies had against Britain, popular King George III reacted to the declaration with indignation at the challenge to his rule, and ordered a crackdown on the upstarts. Like many wars, it began slowly, gradually escalating. Britain originally believed that the revolt could be easily stopped, but, over time, found that the colonists were more determined and capable than expected. Distracted for some time by battles with the French, the initial British attempts at restoring the colonies did little more than antagonize more colonists, giving them real cause to add to their ideological aims.

The next 7 years, from 1776 through mid 1782, would see a conflict of legendary description. King George threw both his army and navy at the colonies, all well-equipped, uniformed, trained, experienced and full-time. Militarily, Britain reigned supreme throughout the world, and added mercenary Hessians to their forces in America. George Washington, with little military experience himself, commanded a haphazard force of farmers, tradesmen, and laborers from various colonies. Their lack of uniforms and equipment matched their lack of discipline and committment. Often, large numbers would simply return home to tend to their affairs, which had been left in the hands of wives and families. Supplies were perpetually lacking, at times to the point of starvation. Disease and lack of warm clothing was common.

It was a David and Goliath struggle, even though numbers of combatants were similar. The slow communications of the day meant that commanders usually didn't know where their opponents were, and battles sometimes began when they happened to encounter each other. Luck was a major factor. Washington embarrassed the Tories by driving them out of Boston, but the war raged on in New York, where Washington was lucky (and sneaky enough, with a night retreat) to escape total annihilation. Without extremely lucky bad weather, the revolution might easily have ended right there.

After New York, Washington's troops retreated clear across New Jersey, until General Howe, believing victory was only a matter of "mopping up", chose to stop chasing, and left a guard of Hessian forces at Trenton, New Jersey. In desperation, because the enlistments of many of his bedraggled troops would soon expire, and in hopes of grasping some hopeful results to counter what was looking like a hopeless cause, Washington planned an arduous and risky assault on Trenton, across the freezing Delaware River. Although many things went wrong with the audacious move, they surprised the hated and feared Hessians, and captured Trenton. It was a victory that reignited a spark of hope within the colonies. That battle, and several more successful ones following, were probably the "turning point" in the revolution. Later, the French would add their military and naval assistance, and the war would end with the Battle of Yorktown. On October 19, 1781, General Lord Cornwallis would surrender his army to Washington.

That loss caused the toppling of Lord North's Tory government in Britain and forced the British to negotiate with the colonies. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay negotiated a treaty that included British recognition of American independence, and more. The final treaty was signed on September 3, 1783, and ratified by the Continental Congress early in 1784. The "united states" were no longer British colonies.

No longer British colonies... but what were these "united states"? Having won a costly fight to gain their freedom to do what they might, could these bold Americans build a nation that enabled and ensured the grand purposes they had so desired? They had paid dearly for the opportunity, and so began "The struggle for definition" (to be continued)