American Revolution Cont.

American Revolution Cont.

Asking for Help

• Ben Franklin reached out to the French for help but they refused

• The French did not think the colonists could win against Britain

• They changed their minds after the Battle of Saratoga

• They helped lent money, ammunition, uniforms, weapons, and supplies

• Their helped allowed for victory in Yorktown

Open Ended

Why was French help important?

Allies

• The Dutch was under harsh rule at the time and decided to help colonists by sending ammunition

• Holland also joined on America's side.

• That angered Britain and they declared war on Holland

• Spain was an ally to America but was in the war for their own reasons

• They wanted the land west of the Mississippi

• Russia was neutral but helped by trading with colonists

Women during the Revolution

• Women would not gain any liberties after the war if colonists won

• worked as nurses, spies, cooks, and even soldiers

• there were some important women during the war

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Important women during revolution

• Deborah Sampson: fought as man

• Molly Pitcher: brought water to men

• Martha Washington: helped soldiers at camps during winter

• Mercy Otis Warren: political writer and advocate for independence

• Phyllis Wheatley (enslaved): poet and supporter of independence

Open Ended

How might the writers Mercy Otic Warren and Phyllis Wheatley have been important?

African Americans during Revolution

• The war did not call for the end of slavery

• These men (free and enslaved) fought alongside the Patriots and many were granted freedom after the war

• One African American man named James Arimstead worked as a spy under a French officer (Marquis de Lafayette). With his help the Patriots won an important battle

• One British governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore, granted freedom to those who fought with the Loyalists

Open Ended

What happened with many of the enslaved African Americans?

The Homefront

• People went to the country to find work when British were in the city

• Women ran family farms and often kept armies from advancing

• Armies destroyed and robbed farms

  British punished those who helped Patriots

Economy

• British blocked ports, which stopped ships from bringing supplies in (blockade)

• Lack of supplies cause the huge jump in prices

• People kept lots of goods (think of tissue at beginning of pandemic) or sold them at really high prices

• Congress passed laws against both

Open Ended

What affect did the blocking of the ships have on the economy?

Why did they fight?

• They fought for liberty and independent

• These same ideals were written in the Declaration of Independence and became the foundation of the new nation

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