<h2><SPAN name="CHAPTER_16"></SPAN>CHAPTER 16</h2>
<h3>INDEPENDENCE</h3>
<p class="side">Invasion of the South.<br/>
Capture of Charleston, 1780.</p>
<p><b>157. Fall of Charleston, 1780.</b>--It seemed quite certain
that Clinton could not conquer the Northern states with the forces
given him. In the South there were many loyalists. Resistance might
not be so stiff there. At all events Clinton decided to attempt the
conquest of the South. Savannah was easily seized (1778), and the
French and Americans could not retake it (1779). In the spring of
1780, Clinton, with a large army, landed on the coast between
Savannah and Charleston. He marched overland to Charleston and
besieged it from the land side. The Americans held out for a long
time. But they were finally forced to surrender. Clinton then
sailed back to New York, and left to Lord Cornwallis the further
conquest of the Carolinas.</p>
<p class="side">Battle of Camden, 1780.</p>
<p><b>158. Gates's Defeat at Camden, 1780.</b>--Cornwallis had
little trouble in occupying the greater part of South Carolina.
There was no one to oppose him, for the American army had been
captured with Charleston. Another small army was got together in
North Carolina and the command given to Gates, the victor at
Saratoga. One night both Gates and Cornwallis set out to attack the
other's camp. The two armies met at daybreak, the British having
the best position. But this really made little difference, for
Gates's Virginia militiamen ran away before the British came within
fighting distance. The North Carolina militia followed the
Virginians. Only the regulars from Maryland and Delaware were left.
They fought on like heroes until their leader, General John De
Kalb, fell with seventeen wounds. Then the survivors surrendered.
Gates himself had been carried far to the rear by the rush of the
fleeing militia.</p>
<p class="side">Battle of King's Mountain, 1780. <i>Hero Tales</i>,
71-78.</p>
<p><b>159. King's Mountain, October, 1780.</b>--Cornwallis now
thought that resistance surely was at an end. He sent an expedition
to the settlements on the lower slopes of the Alleghany Mountains
to get recruits, for there were many loyalists in that region.
Suddenly from the mountains and from the settlements in Tennessee
rode a body of armed frontiersmen. They found the British soldiers
encamped on the top of King's Mountain. In about an hour they had
killed or captured every British soldier.</p>
<p>[Illustration: THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGNS.]</p>
<p class="side">General Greene.<br/>
Morgan's victory of the Cowpens, 1781.</p>
<p><b>160. The Cowpens, 1781.</b>--General Greene was now sent to
the South to take charge of the resistance to Cornwallis. A great
soldier and a great organizer Greene found that he needed all his
abilities. His coming gave new spirit to the survivors of Gates's
army. He gathered militia from all directions and marched toward
Cornwallis. Dividing his army into two parts, he sent General
Daniel Morgan to threaten Cornwallis from one direction, while he
threatened him from another direction. Cornwallis at once became
uneasy and sent Tarleton to drive Morgan away, but the hero of many
hard-fought battles was not easily frightened. He drew up his
little force so skillfully that in a very few minutes the British
were nearly all killed or captured.</p>
<p>[Illustration: GENERAL MORGAN THE HERO OF COWPENS.]</p>
<p class="side">Greene's retreat.<br/>
The Battle of Guilford, 1781.</p>
<p><b>161. The Guilford Campaign, 1781.</b>--Cornwallis now made a
desperate attempt to capture the Americans, but Greene and Morgan
joined forces and marched diagonally across North Carolina.
Cornwallis followed so closely that frequently the two armies
seemed to be one. When, however, the river Dan was reached, there
was an end of marching, for Greene had caused all the boats to be
collected at one spot. His men crossed and kept the boats on their
side of the river. Soon Greene found himself strong enough to cross
the river again to North Carolina. He took up a very strong
position near Guilford Court House. Cornwallis attacked. The
Americans made a splendid defense before Greene ordered a retreat,
and the British won the battle of Guilford. But their loss was so
great that another victory of the same kind would have destroyed
the British army. As it was, Greene had dealt it such a blow that
Cornwallis left his wounded at Guilford and set out as fast as he
could for the seacoast. Greene pursued him for some distance and
then marched southward to Camden.</p>
<p class="side">Greene's later campaigns, 1871-83.</p>
<p><b>162. Greene's Later Campaigns.</b>--At Hobkirk's Hill, near
Camden, the British soldiers who had been left behind by Cornwallis
attacked Greene. But he beat them off and began the siege of a fort
on the frontier of South Carolina. The British then marched up from
Charleston, and Greene had to fall back. Then the British marched
back to Charleston and abandoned the interior of South Carolina to
the Americans. There was only one more battle in the South--at
Eutaw Springs. Greene was defeated there, too, but the British
abandoned the rest of the Carolinas and Georgia with the exception
of Savannah and Charleston. In these wonderful campaigns with a few
good soldiers Greene had forced the British from the Southern
states. He had lost every battle. He had won every campaign.</p>
<p class="side">Lafayette and Cornwallis, 1781.</p>
<p><b>163. Cornwallis in Virginia, 1781.</b>--There were already
two small armies in Virginia,--the British under Arnold, the
Americans under Lafayette. Cornwallis now marched northward from
Wilmington and added the troops in Virginia to his own force;
Arnold he sent to New York. Cornwallis then set out to capture
Lafayette and his men. Together they marched from salt water across
Virginia to the mountains--and then they marched back to salt water
again. Cornwallis had called Lafayette "the boy" and had declared
that "the boy should not escape him." Finally Cornwallis fortified
Yorktown, and Lafayette settled down at Williamsburg. And there
they still were in September, 1781.</p>
<p class="side">The French at Newport, 1780.<br/>
Plans of the allies, 1781.</p>
<p><b>164. Plans of the Allies.</b>--In 1780 the French government
had sent over a strong army under Rochambeau. It was landed at
Newport. It remained there a year to protect the vessels in which
it had come from France from capture by a stronger British fleet
that had at once appeared off the mouth of the harbor. Another
French fleet and another French army were in the West Indies. In
the summer of 1781 it became possible to unite all these French
forces, and with the Americans to strike a crushing blow at the
British. Just at this moment Cornwallis shut himself up in
Yorktown, and it was determined to besiege him there.</p>
<SPAN name="141.jpg"></SPAN><br/>
<p class="ctr"><ANTIMG src="images/141.jpg" width-obs="100%" alt=""><br/>
<b>THE UNITED STATES IN 1783.</b></p>
<br/>
<br/>
<p class="ctr"><ANTIMG src="images/143.jpg" width-obs="60%" alt=""><br/>
<b>The Siege of Yorktown.</b></p>
<br/>
<p class="side">The march to the Chesapeake.<br/>
Combat between the French and the British fleets.<br/>
Surrender of Yorktown, October 19, 1781. <i>Higginson</i>,
211-212.</p>
<p><b>165. Yorktown, September-October, 1781.</b>--Rochambeau led
his men to New York and joined the main American army. Washington
now took command of the allied forces. He pretended that he was
about to attack New York and deceived Clinton so completely that
Clinton ordered Cornwallis to send some of his soldiers to New
York. But the allies were marching southward through Philadelphia
before Clinton realized what they were about. The French West India
fleet under De Grasse reached one end of the Chesapeake Bay at the
same time the allies reached the other end. The British fleet
attacked it and was beaten off. There was now no hope for
Cornwallis. No help could reach him by sea. The soldiers of the
allies outnumbered him two to one. On October 17, 1781, four years
to a day since the surrender of Burgoyne, a drummer boy appeared on
the rampart of Yorktown and beat a parley. Two days later the
British soldiers marched out to the good old British tune of "The
world turned upside down," and laid down their arms.</p>
<p class="side">Treaty of Peace, 1783.</p>
<p><b>166. Treaty of Peace, 1783.</b>--This disaster put an end to
British hopes of conquering America. But it was not until
September, 1783, that Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay
brought the negotiations for peace to an end. Great Britain
acknowledged the independence of the United States. The territory
of the United States was defined as extending from the Great Lakes
to the thirty-first parallel of latitude and from the Atlantic to
the Mississippi. Spain had joined the United States and France in
the war. Spanish soldiers had conquered Florida, and Spain kept
Florida at the peace. In this way Spanish Florida and Louisiana
surrounded the United States on the south and the west. British
territory bounded the United States on the north and the
northeast.</p>
<hr style="width: 25%;">
<p>QUESTIONS AND TOPICS</p>
<br/>
<p>CHAPTER 14</p>
<p>§§ 134-136.--<i>a</i>. Compare the advantages of the
British and the Americans. Which side had the greater
advantages?</p>
<p><i>b</i>. Explain the influence of geographical surroundings
upon the war.</p>
<p><i>c</i>. Why were there so many loyalists?</p>
<br/>
<p>§§ 137-139.--<i>a</i>. Mold or draw a map of Boston
and vicinity and explain by it the important points of the
siege.</p>
<p><i>b</i>. Who won the battle of Bunker Hill? What were the
effects of the battle upon the Americans? Upon the British?</p>
<p><i>c</i>. Why was Washington appointed to chief command?</p>
<p><i>d</i>. What were the effects of the seizure of Ticonderoga on
the siege of Boston?</p>
<br/>
<p>§§ 140, 141.--<i>a</i>. Why did Congress determine to
attack Canada? <i>b</i>. Follow the routes of the two invading
armies. What was the result of the expedition?</p>
<p><i>c</i>. Describe the harbor of Charleston. Why did the British
attack at this point?</p>
<p><i>d</i>. What was the result of this expedition?</p>
<br/>
<p>§§ 142, 143.--<i>a</i>. What advantage would the
occupation of New York give the British?</p>
<p><i>b</i>. Describe the Long Island campaign.</p>
<p><i>c</i>. Why did Congress give Washington sole direction of the
war? Who had directed the war before?</p>
<br/>
<p>§§ 144, 145.--<i>a</i>. Describe the battle of
Trenton. Why is it memorable?</p>
<p><i>b</i>. Who were the Hessians?</p>
<p><i>c</i>. At the close of January, 1777, what places were held
by the British?</p>
<br/>
<br/>
<hr style="width: 35%;">
<br/>
<br/>
<h2>CHAPTER 15</h2>
<p>§§146, 147.--<i>a</i>. What had been the feeling of
most of the colonists toward England? Why had this feeling
changed?</p>
<p><i>b</i>. Why was Jefferson asked to write the Declaration?</p>
<p><i>c</i>. What great change was made by Congress in the
Declaration? Why?</p>
<p><i>d</i>. What truths are declared to be self-evident? Are they
still self-evident?</p>
<p><i>e</i>. What is declared to be the basis of government? Is it
still the basis of government?</p>
<p><i>f</i>. When was the Declaration adopted? When signed?</p>
<br/>
<p>§§ 148, 149.--<i>a</i>. Describe Howe's campaign of
1777.</p>
<p><i>b</i>. What valuable work was done at Valley Forge?</p>
<br/>
<p>§§ 150-153.--<i>a</i>. What was the object of
Burgoyne's campaign? Was the plan a wise one from the British point
of view?</p>
<p><i>b</i>. What do you think of the justice of removing
Schuyler?</p>
<p><i>c</i>. How did the battle of Bennington affect the campaign?
What was the effect of St. Leger's retreat to Canada?</p>
<p><i>d</i>. Describe Arnold's part in the battles near
Saratoga.</p>
<br/>
<p>§§ 154, 155.--<i>a</i>. What was the effect of
Burgoyne's surrender on Great Britain? On France? On America?</p>
<p><i>b</i>. What were the results of the French alliance?</p>
<p><i>c</i>. Describe the battle of Monmouth. Who was Charles
Lee?</p>
<p>§ 156.--<i>a</i>. Describe Clark's expedition and mark on a
map the places named. <i>b</i>. How did this expedition affect the
later growth of the United States?</p>
<p>§ 157.--<i>a</i>. Describe Arnold's career as a soldier to
1778. <i>b</i>. What is treason? <i>c</i>. Was there the least
injustice in the treatment of André?</p>
<br/>
<p>Chapter 16</p>
<p>§§ 158, 159.--<i>a</i>. Why was the scene of action
transferred to the South? <i>b</i>. What places were captured?
<i>c</i>. Compare the British and American armies at Camden. What
was the result of this battle?</p>
<p>§§ 160-163.--<i>a</i>. Describe the battle of King's
Mountain. <i>b</i>. What was the result of the battle of the
Cowpens? <i>c</i>. Follow the retreat of the Americans across North
Carolina. What events showed Greene's foresight? <i>d</i>. What
were the results of the battle of Guilford? <i>e</i>. Compare the
outlook for the Americans in 1781 with that of 1780.</p>
<p>§§ 164-166. <i>a</i>. How did the British army get to
Yorktown? <i>b</i>. Describe the gathering of the Allied Forces.
<i>c</i>. Describe the surrender and note its effects on America,
France, and Great Britain.</p>
<p>§ 167.--<i>a</i>. Where were the negotiations for peace
carried on? <i>b</i>. Mark on a map the original territory of the
United States. <i>c</i>. How did Spain get the Floridas?</p>
<br/>
<p>General Questions</p>
<p><i>a</i>. When did the Revolution begin? When did it end?
<i>b</i>. Were the colonies independent when the Declaration of
Independence was adopted? <i>c</i>. Select any campaign and discuss
its objects, plan, the leading battles, and the results. <i>d</i>.
Follow Washington's movements from 1775-82. <i>e</i>. What do you
consider the most decisive battle of the war? Why?</p>
<p>Topics For Special Work</p>
<p><i>a</i>. Naval victories. <i>b</i>. Burgoyne's campaign.
<i>c</i>. Greene as a general. <i>d</i>. Nathan Hale. <i>e</i>. The
peace negotiations.</p>
<p>Suggestions</p>
<p>The use of map or molding board should be constant during the
study of this period. Do not spend time on the details of battles,
but teach campaigns as a whole. In using the molding board the
movements of armies can be shown by colored pins.</p>
<p>The Declaration of Independence should be carefully studied,
especially the first portions. Finally, the territorial settlement
of 1783 should be thoroughly explained, using map or molding
board.</p>
<br/>
<br/>
<hr style="width: 35%;">
<br/>
<br/>
<h2><SPAN name="VI"></SPAN>VI</h2>
<h3>The Critical Period, 1783-1789</h3>
<h4>Books for Study and Reading</h4>
<p><b>References</b>.--Higginson's <i>Larger History</i>, 293-308;
Fiske's <i>Civil Government</i>, 186-267; McMaster's <i>With the
Fathers</i>.</p>
<p><b>Home Readings</b>.--Fiske's <i>Critical Period</i>, 144-231,
306-345; <i>Captain Shays: A Populist of 1786</i>.</p>
<br/>
<h2><SPAN name="Chapter_17"></SPAN>Chapter 17</h2>
<h3>The Confederation, 1783-1787</h3>
<p class="side">Disunion and jealousy. <i>Source-Book</i>,
161-163.</p>
<p><b>167. Problems of Peace.</b>--The war was over. But the future
of the American nation was still uncertain. Indeed, one can hardly
say that there was an American nation in 1783. While the war
lasted, a sense of danger bound together the people of the
different states. But as soon as this peril ceased, their old
jealousies and self-seekings came back. There was no national
government to smooth over these differences and to compel the
states to act justly toward one another. There was, indeed, the
Congress of the Confederation, but it is absurd to speak of it as a
national government.</p>
<p class="side">Formation of the Articles of Confederation.<br/>
Weakness of the Confederation. <i>McMaster</i>, 163.</p>
<p><b>168. The Articles of Confederation, 1781.</b>--The
Continental Congress began drawing up the Articles of Confederation
in June, 1776. But there were long delays, and each month's delay
made it more impossible to form a strong government. It fell out in
this way that the Congress of the Confederation had no real power.
It could not make a state or an individual pay money or do anything
at all. In the course of a few years Congress asked the states to
give it over six million dollars to pay the debts and expenses of
the United States. It received about a million dollars and was
fortunate to get that.</p>
<p class="side">Distress among the people.</p>
<p><b>169. A Time of Distress.</b>--It is not right to speak too
harshly of the refusal of the state governments to give Congress
the money it asked for, as the people of the states were in great
distress and had no money to give. As soon as peace was declared
British merchants sent over great quantities of goods. People
bought these goods, for every one thought that good times were
coming now that the war was over. But the British government did
everything it could do to prevent the coming of good times. The
prosperity of the northern states was largely based on a profitable
trade with the West Indies. The British government put an end to
that trade. No gold and silver came to the United States from the
West Indies while gold and silver constantly went out of the
country to pay debts due to British merchants. Soon gold and silver
grew scarce, and those who had any promptly hid it. The real reason
of all this trouble was the lack of a strong national government
which could have compelled the British government to open its ports
to American commerce. But the people only saw that money was scarce
and called upon the state legislatures to give them paper
money.</p>
<p class="side">Paper money.</p>
<p><b>170. Paper Money.</b>--Most of the state legislatures did
what they were asked to do. They printed quantities of paper money.
They paid the public expenses with it, and sometimes lent it to
individuals without much security for its repayment. Before long
this paper money began to grow less valuable. For instance, on a
certain day a man could buy a bag of flour for five dollars. In
three months' time a bag of flour might cost him ten dollars. Soon
it became difficult to buy flour for any number of paper
dollars.</p>
<p class="side">Tender laws.</p>
<p><b>171 Tender Laws.</b>--The people then clamored for "tender
laws." These were laws which would make it lawful for them to
tender, or offer, paper money in exchange for flour or other
things. In some cases it was made lawful to tender paper money in
payments of debts which had been made when gold and silver were
still in use. The merchants now shut up their shops, and business
almost ceased. The lawyers only were busy. For those to whom money
was owed tried to get it paid before the paper money became utterly
worthless. The courts were crowded, and the prisons were filled
with poor debtors.</p>
<p class="side">Stay laws.</p>
<p><b>172. Stay Laws.</b>--Now the cry was for "stay laws." These
were laws to prevent those to whom money was due from enforcing
their rights. These laws promptly put an end to whatever business
was left. The only way that any business could be carried on was by
barter. For example, a man who had a bushel of wheat that he did
not want for his family would exchange it for three or four bushels
of potatoes, or for four or five days of labor. In some states the
legislatures passed very severe laws to compel people to receive
paper money. In one state, indeed, no one could vote who would not
receive paper money.</p>
<p>[Illustration: STATE STREET, BOSTON, ABOUT 1790. The Boston
Massacre occurred near where the two-horse wagon stands.]</p>
<p class="side">Disorder in Massachusetts.</p>
<p><b>173. Shays's Rebellion, 1786-87.</b>--In Massachusetts,
especially, the discontent was very great. The people were angry
with the judges for sending men to prison who did not pay their
debts. Crowds of armed men visited the judges and compelled them to
close the courts. The leader in this movement was Daniel Shays. He
even threatened to seize the United States Arsenal at Springfield.
By this time Governor Bowdoin and General Lincoln also had gathered
a small force of soldiers. In the midst of winter, through
snowstorms and over terrible roads, Lincoln marched with his men.
He drove Shays from place to place, captured his followers, and put
down the rebellion. There were risings in other states, especially
in North Carolina. But Shays's Rebellion in Massachusetts was the
most important of them all, because it convinced the New Englanders
that a stronger national government was necessary.</p>
<SPAN name="153.jpg"></SPAN><br/>
<p class="ctr"><ANTIMG src="images/153.jpg" width-obs="60%" alt=""><br/>
<b>CLAIMS AND CESSIONS.</b></p>
<br/>
<p class="side">Claims of the states to Western lands.
<i>McMaster</i>, 155.<br/>
<i>Hero Tales</i>, 19-28.<br/>
Opposition of Maryland and of other states.</p>
<p><b>174. Claims to Western Lands.</b>--The Confederation seemed
to be falling to pieces. That it did not actually fall to pieces
was largely due to the fact that all the states were interested in
the settlement of the region northwest of the Ohio River. It will
be well to stop a moment and see how this came about. Under their
old charters Massachusetts, Connecticut, Virginia, Carolina, and
Georgia had claims to lands west of the Alleghanies. Between 1763
and 1776 the British government had paid slight heed to these
claims (pp. 75, 89). But Daniel Boone and other colonists had
settled west of the mountains in what are now the states of
Kentucky and Tennessee. When the Revolution began the states having
claims to western lands at once put them forward, and New York also
claimed a right to about one-half of the disputed territory.
Naturally, the states that had no claims to these lands had quite
different views. The Marylanders, for example, thought that the
western lands should be regarded as national territory and used for
the common benefit. Maryland refused to join the Confederation
until New York had ceded her claims to the United States, and
Virginia had proposed a cession of the territory claimed by
her.</p>
<p class="side">The states cede their claims to the United States.
<i>McMaster</i>, 159-160.</p>
<p><b>175. The Land Cessions.</b>--In 1784 Virginia gave up her
claims to the land northwest of the Ohio River with the exception
of certain large tracts which she reserved for her veteran
soldiers. Massachusetts ceded her claims in 1785. The next year
(1786) Connecticut gave up her claims. But she reserved a large
tract of land directly west of Pennsylvania. This was called the
Connecticut Reserve or, more often, the Western Reserve. South
Carolina and North Carolina ceded their lands in 1787 and 1790, and
finally Georgia gave up her claims to western lands in 1802.</p>
<p class="side">Reasons for the ordinance.<br/>
Passage of Ordinance of 1787. <i>McMaster</i>, 160-162;
<i>Source-Book</i>, 169-172.<br/>
Passage of Ordinance of 1787. <i>McMaster</i>, 160-162;
<i>Source-Book</i>, 169-172.</p>
<p><b>176. Passage of the Ordinance of 1787.</b>--What should be
done with the lands which in this way had come into the possession
of the people of all the states? It was quite impossible to divide
these lands among the people of the thirteen states. They never
could have agreed as to the amount due to each state. In 1785
Congress took the first step. It passed a law or an ordinance for
the government of the Territory Northwest of the Ohio River. This
ordinance was imperfect, and few persons emigrated to the West.
There were many persons who wished to emigrate from the old states
to the new region. But they were unwilling to go unless they felt
sure that they would not be treated by Congress as the British
government had treated the people of the original states. Dr.
Cutler of Massachusetts laid these matters before Congress and did
his work so well that Congress passed a new ordinance. This was in
1787. The ordinance is therefore called the Ordinance of 1787. It
was so well suited to its purpose that nearly all the territories
of the United States have been settled and governed under its
provisions. It will be well to study this great document more at
length.</p>
<p class="side">Provisions of the Ordinance of 1787.</p>
<p><b>177. The Ordinance of 1787.</b>--In the first place the
ordinance provided for the formation of one territory to be called
the Territory Northwest of the Ohio. But it is more often called
the Northwest Territory or simply the Old Northwest. At first it
was to be governed by the persons appointed by Congress. But it was
further provided that when settlers should arrive in sufficient
numbers they should enjoy self-government. When fully settled the
territory should be divided into five states. These should be
admitted to the Confederation on a footing of equality with the
original states. The settlers in the territory should enjoy full
rights of citizenship. Education should be encouraged. Slavery
should never be permitted. This last provision is especially
important as it saved the Northwest to freedom. In this way a new
political organization was invented. It was called a territory. It
was really a colony; but it differed from all other colonies
because in time it would become a state on a footing of entire
equality with the parent states.</p>
<br/>
<br/>
<hr style="width: 35%;">
<br/>
<br/>
<div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />