American Political History

On September 3rd, 1783, the definitive peace treaty was signed, by the end of 1783 all English forces had withdrawn from Colonial America.   

Political support for the war will breakdown in Parliament, although the peace will take years to negotiate, Yorktown and its fallout marked the end of armed conflict in colonial America.   

General Washington will lead his army to siege General Cornwallis at Yorktown, provoking another English's army to surrender just a day before Genral Clinton can arrive with reinforcements 

At the battle of Hana's cow pens, the whole revolution will change when General Morgan devises and implements a militia strategy that defeats an English army on the battlefield. The system of defense in depth will lead General Morgan and Greene to repeated victories against the English. 

General Cornwallis will comment, it seems the war between the English and the continentals is but a side show to the partisan war raging within the southern colonies   

General Washington would face the truth of his friendship with General Charles Lee. Americas new French friends would struggle to work with the rabble of America officers. 

We turn to the politics in Europe. Whitehall changes leadership while the French court negotiates a treaty of economic friendship with the colonies 

The Continental army goes to its winter quarters in Valley forge on the brink of disillusion.  

General Howe makes his move, defeats General Washington and captures Philidelphia  

We discuss the continuing breakdown between the triad of generals, which leads to a disaster at Satatoga  

The battle of Trenton, militarily unimportant but spiritually vital   

The cause is in crisis, once again Thomas Paine to revitalize the American spirit  

The America cause delays an invasion from Canada, but the army is crumbling and might not even need to be defeated on the battlefield.     

The continental Army escapes destruction at New York through providence, but the English army's strategy seems to be on the precipice of complete victory  

We return to the battlefield as England returns with four times the troops, this time coming for New York. 

The full text of the Declaration of Independence

We discuss the philosophical foundation of the declaration of independence. 

Congress debates if reconciliation or revolution is the path forward culminating in the Declaration of independence  

We discussed Henry Knox and his retravel of the artillery from fort Ticonderoga. The buildup of troops around Boston. And the release of the writings of Thomas Paine in "Common Sense" which galvanized Americans towards revolution 

We discuss the American Invasion of Canada in 1776, and the battle for Quebec on the Plains of Abraham  

The continental army is authorized, and the Continental Congress appoints Geroge Washington and his command staff. 

We discuss the triad of English generals, typical European armies, their tactics and then go into the first major battle of the revolutionary war, Bunker Hill   

Genera Gage makes a move to seize the armory at Concord. At Lexington, "the shot heard around the world" marks the first blood drawn in the American Revolution. 

As sentiments harden, King Geroge makes his opinion known and the path to civil war opens. 

Colonial America reacts to the intolerable acts by forming the first congenital congress. The congress agrees to an economic pact call "the association" and send their grievances to King Geroge III   

The Boston Tea party is responded to with a set of acts of parliament designed to bring Massachusetts to its knees, known in Colonial America as the Intolerable Acts.  

Parliament, dealing with the failing East India Company. Lower the duty on Tea into England and shipped the warehoused tea to the colonies. Unaware of the brewing storm around the last remaining Townshend Act tax.

English troops fire into a crowd of Bostonians killing five colonial Americans. This moment creates reflection and hopes to avert more violence.  

"I lament the want for wisdom" We explore the English from the Stamp act, right into the Townshend Act which though a slower reaction, created a much deeper crisis in colonial America then the Stamp Act Crisis.  

In Committe Parliament would grill the colonial agent Benjiman Franklin about the stamp act and repeal considerations.   

Parliament takes of the debate over the stamp act, decided if America is in rebellion or defending their property 

As the Stamp act passes, colonial American is engulfed in political violence by the Sons of Liberty who bad the start of 1766 had forced out every stamp collector in colonial America.  

As England exits the Seven Year War, it as a mounting debt and looks to alleviate their debt issues from Colonial America. issuing the Sugar Act and then the Stamp Act over the growing protest in Colonial America    

In preparation for discussing the stamp act, we will review the competing political views/reactions to the passage of the stamp act  

Whitehall will turn its attention to finding victory in the south. Sending General Clinton to attack Charleston  

We set the stage of the area of discontent in the colonies. With a new King, came a new colonial policy but no one could see the course that was being set. Even Benjimin Franklin thought it an Impossibility that the colonies could unite against the mother country. 

Welcome to this season of American Political History, The Intolerable Acts. This season will cover the events/decade that leads up to the American Revolution.

We will detail the general uprising of Ohio Valley native nations before we end this season. 

We will detail the Cherokee war and its outcome. 

We will detail final battles defending Quebec from French Canada's last-ditch offensive and the surrender at Montréal.   

We detail the events of the campaign of 1759 and the conquest of Quebec on the plains of Abraham.  

We detail the battles of each of the English expeditions in North America 

A major inflection point of the contest in north America would happen after the French took Fort William Henry in northern New York. 

A shuffling of the Privy council changes leadership in colonial America. The earl of Loudon comes to New York with most expansive political and military powers any official will have in North America.  

White hall responds to the French incursion into the Ohio Valley with an Army. which is promptly defeated by self-inflected wounds.   

We continue the events in the Ohio Valley,  covering the defeat of Lt colonel Washington at Fort Necessity  

After the end of the King Geoge's War, Canda, Virginia and Pennsylvania begin the contest to control the Ohio Valley 

We work the the events of King Goerges war, including the many broken promises of this war.  

As King Geroge's war opens, New England attacks Fort Louisburg 

We discuss how James Oglethorpe bluffed the survival of the colony of Georgia and a single well timed lie.   

We open season 10 by comparing the growth between the European colonies. We also discuss the creating of Geogia.