Introducing 

Prezi AI.

Your new presentation assistant.

Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.

Loading…
Transcript

The Revolutionary War

By Peter Skizas

1775

The War Begins

This timeline will explain how the Patriots went from being the inevitable losers in the American Revolution to coming out on top. The Underdogs always have a chance. The War began in 1775, when The Shot Heard 'Round The World was fired at the Battle of Lexington and Concord.

1776

Common Sense Is Published

January 1776

Common Sense is Published

  • Common Sense was written by Thomas Paine and was published in Philadelphia in January 1776.
  • It was fifty pages long and stimulated broad support for independence.
  • In the pamphlet Paine called King George III a "royal brute".
  • Paine claimed that Americans would be far better off if they governed themselves.
  • 500,000 copies of the pamphlet were sold between January and July of 1776.

The Declaration of Independence is Signed

August 2, 1776

The Declaration of Independence is Signed

  • The Declaration of Independence built on the ideas of the Enlightenment.
  • It used step-by-step logic to explain why the colonists wanted to break away from British rule.
  • The Declaration begins with a preamble, and then has three sections, with the first stating some general ideas about society and government.
  • The second section details a long list of specific grievances against King George III of England.

  • Section three of the Declaration is the conclusion, and the Declaration came to a resolution that the colonies are free and independent states.

The American Victory at the Battle of Trenton

December 26, 1776

The American Victory at the Battle of Trenton

  • After the British took over Long Island, the Continental troops retreated across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. The British now threatened Philadelphia.
  • American General Washington started making plans for a bold attack against the British to boost Patriot morale and to bring the Patriots back on top.
  • On Christmas night, 1776, Washington led 2,400 men across the Delaware river in small boats.
  • On the far bank, the troops trudged several miles through the snow while Washington urged them on.

  • Early on December twenty-sixth, the Patriots attacked Trenton (a town where British mercenaries from Hesse were camped) from both sides, achieving complete surprise.

1777

The American Victory at the Battle of Saratoga

October 17, 1777

The American Victory at the Battle of Saratoga

  • British General Burgoyne came up with a plan that he hoped would soon end the rebellion. His goal was to cut off New England from the rest of the states.
  • Burgoyne wanted British forces to drive toward Albany from the north, west, and south. However, almost immediately, Burgoyne's plan ran into trouble.
  • King George III mistakenly ordered the British force coming from the south to attack Philadelphia. At the same time, Patriot forces intercepted the troops coming from the west in the Mohawk Valley, about sixty-two miles east of Saratoga.
  • The force coming from the North was slowed down with baggage carts from a recaptured fort, and was running low on supplies.
  • The Americans rushed to block the British and were ready with 6,000 troops when they surrounded the British in Saratoga, New York. The British surrendered after suffering heavy casualties on October 17, 1777.

The Turning Point

The American victory at the Battle of Saratoga ended the British threat to New England and destroyed British hopes of an easy victory. It also raised Patriot morale at a time when the army was suffering defeats. Finally, it convinced Europeans that the Americans had a sound chance of winning, which helped the Americans acquire an alliance with the French later in the war.

1778

The Winter at Valley Forge

Winter of 1777-1778

The Winter at Valley Forge

  • Washington's Continental Army suffered through the cruel winter of 1777-1778 in a hastily built camp at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania.
  • The 11,000 Continental soldiers were not sufficiently clothed, fed or housed, but local civilians did their best to help the army.
  • At any one time, about one in four soldiers were sick with chills, fever, or worse.
  • Because food was so scarce, soldiers had to survive mainly on thin soup and dry bread patties.
  • At Valley Forge, Baron von Steuben, a German baron who had served in the Prussian army, trained the Continental Army and helped turn it into a real army instead of a ragtag group of civilians.

1781

The American Victory at the Battle of Yorktown

October 18, 1781

The American Victory at the Battle of Yorktown

  • In late summer of 1781, British General Cornwallis moved to the Yorktown peninsula in Virginia, hoping the British Fleet could reinforce his position there.
  • However, by the end of August, the French fleet arrived off Yorktown and chased off the British Fleet.
  • While this was happening, American General Washington rushed toward Virginia with American and French troops.
  • Cornwallis was now trapped on the Yorktown peninsula, barred in by American and French troops by land, and by the French fleet by sea.
  • After three weeks of combat, Cornwallis had no choice but to surrender, leaving the last major battle of the Revolution an American victory.

1783

The Treaty of Paris is Approved

April 15, 1783

The Treaty of Paris is Approved

  • Peace talks in Paris led to an agreement known as The Treaty of Paris, in which Britain recognized the independence of the United States.
  • The Treaty of Paris officially ended the American Revolutionary War.
  • The borders of this new nation were: The Atlantic Ocean to the east, Canada to the north, the Mississippi River to the west, and Florida to the south.
  • It had been only about eight years since the fighting began in Lexington, Massachusetts.
  • The success of the American Revolution inspired other nations to rebel against unjust governments, such as the French Revolution in 1789.

The War Ends

Once the Treaty of Paris was approved by Congress, America was a free country. America had achieved its dreams of freedom from the British, and American citizens now had acquired the right of self-government. Without the American Revolutionary War, who knows where we would be today?

Learn more about creating dynamic, engaging presentations with Prezi