Modern History I: "The American Revolution"

Because of my interest in modern history as opposed to ancient history, I move up about a thousand years or so in the timeline, to the late 18th century, where something that would change the world forever happened...

Dissent is brewing in the British-American colonies...

The battle cry for some was "NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!", a catchy little phrase that sounds more like a string of syllables than anything that actually makes sense. It was really a protest against taxes set by an English Parliament that refused to give any of the colonies a seat in its houses. (However, the colonists were, in reality, paying much less that most other English citizens.) Formerly profiting British-American merchants and the day-to-day, practical, economical (read: money-minded) colonists didn't see things that way. Some cried democracy, some religon, some something else altogether...
The stage was set- the colonial tea pot had been left on the stove to boil too long, and it was about to blow its lid. Lift the curtain; let the play begin; change the course of history.

Lining Up the Odds

The colonies weren't, as some of the old histories tell us, an association of united, militant patriots heroically fighting against overwhelming odds, but rather a mixed bunch of various, allied groups determined to win on their home ground for their own reasons. So how did they end up winning, anyway?


The Odds:

The Patriots' Top-Five Advantages

1. It was their home ground. The Patriots knew the land better than their opponents; the Loyalists might have known it as well, but the Redcoats were mostly British. They didn't know the colonies, the ground, and the way it could be turned to a fighting advatage as well as the Patriots did.
2. The Redcoats were overconfident. They thought the Patriots could be brought back under control in a few months or a year and didn't plan for a long campaign in unfamiliar terrain. Also, they thought the "average colonist" was on their side, not that of the "Rebels".
3. Supply lines. The Patriots lived next to where they fought, giving them short supply lines. The Redcoats had to have their supplies shipped all the way from England, which could take from two weeks up to more than a month.
4. Support. Your average person was more likely to look the other way if a Patriot "appropriated", say, some corn from their field than they were if a Redcoat did the same thing. Also, the French threw their hats in with the Patriots later in the war. They helped with training, fighting, and so on.
5. And their biggest advantage... The Patriots "invented" a new style of fighting for the Western world- guerrilla war. The Redcoats were used to fighting a battle by marching out onto the field (marching band, polished calvary officers, infantry, and pretty, clean uniforms and all), and beginning the "required" regimen for a battle prior to this time: saluting and being saluted, pacing backwards a certain number of steps, waiting for a saber to drop, and then firing while the other side fires, and each waiting politely for the other side to fire again. Then the battle is joined. In contrast, guerrila tactics actually capitalized on the disorganized nature of the Patriots' forces and on their knowledge of the land.

The Patriots' Top-Five Disadvantages

1. They were unruly and disorganized. These people weren't Americans yet; they were Pennsylvanians, or New Yorkers, or Virginians, or whatever-colonists. They thought of the colony first, and the country second. And, whilesome of them may have fought in the French and Indian War, they weren't professional soldiers. In reality, these people had no training, and were very likely not to have someone to train them.
2. They were overconfident. One estimate for death tolls and monetary costs, by a Patriot, counted on only a six-month war before an easy victory. (That was Thomas Jefferson's count, by the way.)
3. Lack of support. At the height of patriotism, about 33% of the population of the colonies were Patriots; about 33% were Loyalists; and about 34% were undecided, didn't really care one way or the other, or were pacifists like the Quakers of the day.
4. Lack of proper supplies. The colonies weren't really prepared to outfit, clothe, feed, pay, and otherwise provide for an army. Patriots deserted for lack of pay and/or food, died from diseases/cold/hunger, etc., and had a number of other problems.
5. There weren't really very many of them. The Redcoats were the largest, most well-organized (and most undefeated) army in the world at the time. In contrast, the Patriots were lacking in numbers, organization, and any experience at all, let alone experience winning (aside from hunters shooting at animals or borderline patrolers).

The Patriots- the Americans- won, as we know. They were determined, had the home ground, and fought with guerrilla tactics. Now all they had to do was create a country from scratch.


Vocabulary:

• Patriots- Noun. Historically, in the American Revolution, the Patriots were the colonists, the Americans. Linguistically, a patriot is someone who loves their country.
• Loyalist- Noun. In the American Revolution, a colonist who was on the side of the British.
• Rebel- Noun. Degrogatory name for a Patriot, used by the Loyalists or Redcoats
• Tory- Noun. Derogatory name for a Loyalist, used by the Patriots.
• Quakers- Noun. Proper name is "The Society of Friends". A pacifistic religious group dedicated to nonviolence and living peacefully. Singular- Quaker.
• Redcoats / Lobsterbacks- Noun. Derogatory Patriot name for the British soldiers. Given because the British uniform was covered by a bright red long coat, making the soldiers look something like cooked lobsters.
• Guerrilla war / Guerrilla tactics- Strategy where the attacking party fires, fights, and fades back into the surroundings before the attacked party can retaliate. Gives the advantage to the attacking party.
• French and Indian War- War fought just prior to the American Revolution with the British and their few Native American allies versus the French and their larger number of Native American allies. The British won.