American Revolution

Here’s the essay problem: “Given that the American Revolution was not a “traditional war” between nation-states in the eighteenth century, how would you explain American success against the most formidable empire on the planet?” Notes: (1) First off, let’s eliminate nationalistic or metaphysical explanations that presume concepts such as “American exceptionalism”, some sort of “innate superiority”, or “intervention by an exalted force” (unless you mean France). There may or may not be some truth to these examples, and you are free to believe any of them. But they are beyond the scope of this course – and how would you prove them using available evidence? (2) The key to this question is to understand and use the nature of the conflict in your answer. The American Revolution was not a “revolution” and not a war between two nations – although the American colonies were, in some ways, significantly different from the norms of the British Empire. The revolution was both a civil war and an intervention by an authority that – in some ways – was like a foreign power. So the first thing to do is to define what the American Revolution actually was; you won’t write an effective essay unless you set the “ground rules and characteristics of the conflict” — in other words, what sort of war did the Americans actually “win”? (3) There are specific factors that weighted heavily in the American success, and I don’t mind repeating what you read in the section introduction and the documents: the weakness of the British economy (wars cost money), the difficult logistical situation (supporting a major intervention on the other side of the planet using leaky wooden sailing ships), the terrible strategic issues involved in pacifying rural populations in a huge territory (the British controlled the ports, eventually the rebels controlled everything else), the simplified American strategy (just survive; nothing else mattered, no battles had to be won), the effective implementation of a strategy based on insurgency (particularly in the Southern Campaign), American diplomacy in Paris and the eventual intervention of France in the war, etc. (4) There are also specific factors that weighted heavily against the Americans: inconsistent and often incompetent leadership, a seriously-divided population, absolute British control of the seas (until 1780, when the French Navy got involved), and American economic problems (again, wars cost money). Both sets of factors – favoring the Americans or against them – need to be defined and analyzed in this essay. In other words, you can’t explain why the Americans won without explaining what they were up against. (5) Be specific in your use of evidence, facts, examples and cases. When you write about diplomacy in Paris, for example, explain what Franklin did. When you define American insurgency, refer to the Southern Campaign. How bad were British finances, and why… specifically? And etc. (6) Keep in mind that you’re making an argument through your analysis: the Americans won the war because…. Merely recounting the events of the American Revolution isn’t going to make your case convincingly; you’d be forcing the reader to make your case for you, using your narrative as a factual basis. And that’s not a good approach for any essay. Every fact you bring up should be connected (visibly) to a larger analytical point.

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