Factors That Contributed to American Victory - Essay Sample

Introduction

The American Revolution exhibited as an insurrection by the Patriots in America in all the 13 colonies to British rule hence, leading to the country's independence. Also termed as the Revolutionary War, the American Revolution was experienced between 1775 and 1783. The war resulted from tension amongst the 13 colonies in North America and the colonial government. It could be justified by taxes that were levied without colonial representation by the parliament of Britain. This led to political exchanges that resulted in punitive laws that resulted in the open war. However, the Patriots won the entire war against the British in alliance with France among others to become the United States of America (Wood, 2003). This influenced various political ideas and revolutions globally. Besides the French involvement in the Revolutionary War, various other factors such as long distances, the British debt, the battle at Yorktown, and fighting at the home ground led to the victory of Americans.

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First, American victory during the revolutionary war was attributed by the French involvement. France and America made an agreement, the Treaty of Alliance, which led to the fledgeling allies between Great Britain and the 13 colonies in collaboration with France (Marston, 2003). Through the treaty, the French assisted America in gaining full independence from Great Britain (Wood, 2003). The treaty also influenced collaboration between the United States and France in various other deals and pieces of an agreement. Even as France is the most prestigious nation in Europe, it was the colonial competitor of Britain and had lost various wars against them, therefore, looked to build a reputation while assisting colonists. At this time, France could prevent Britain from shipping any further hence, limiting their war only to America (Dickinson, 2016). Therefore, a lot of Britain militias could feel that France was their main rival hence, shifting their war to them, some quitting the war against the colonies to offer war to the French. However, Britain preferred to quit the war against the colonies to prevent them against starting another global war with France, leading to the American Victory.

Additionally, Americans won as a result of long distances. The revolutionary war covered a huge piece of ground and coupled with the fact that they knew their grounds better; the success of their rivals could not be any easy. The colonies could fight at the west, regardless of being prohibited to do so by the Royal Proclamation. This led to difficulty amongst the British troops in terms of movement from east to west of America to fight (Stokesbury, 2003). This could let the colonist victories in skirmishes including the Battle of Point Pleasant, an area where Britain was not familiar with hence, contributing to their success. Coupled with the local climate of America, the long distances were characterized by the intense cold at the Northeast and high temperatures at the south. These climatic dynamics led to the depletion of resources, hence, a reason why British troops could lose morale in the fight as they came from an area of mild climate. In addition, the British were required to move over the sea for months hence, their inability to continuously supply troops and good to their people. Therefore, long distances were an influence to American success of the war.

The success of Americans in the war was also influenced by the British debt. Great Britain could spend a lot of time and resources including money in fighting the Revolutionary War. This could see their national debt increasing hence, a raise of taxes to account for the deficits. This could interrupt the wealth, and stocks that they relied upon to effectively provide them with resources for the fight (Wood, 2003). The debt also affected their trading activities including imports and exports. As they looked for more people into their armies, they created unemployment hence, preferred to also hire German soldiers. All this debt added up with the previous debt from the French and Indian wars hence, an increment in the country's annual interest payment. Therefore, their great debt was an influence to them losing against the Americans as they could not add more of it to the already existing one, preferring to quit the fight.

American victory during the American Revolution was also influenced by the battle at Yorktown. The battle at Yorktown existed between 1782 and 1783, and it was during this time that there were peace negotiations amongst the rivals. The Americans fought against the British troops at Yorktown. George Washington could lead the American army into blocking the Cornwallis' escape through the land, the most renowned British general during the revolution (Stokesbury, 2003). As a result, he was less successful in invading the North, even though he won the south that he had to call for help. He later opened negotiations with Washington and without his consent; it all turned out to be surrender negotiations. At the same time, the French army could also assist in blocking the British escapade through the sea. As a result, Great Britain surrendered after Yorktown as a result of the need to maintain the remaining colonial empire to avoid further attacks by other European Nations including France. The rival army was taken into custody even after losing their men in the fight. Therefore, the battle at Yorktown was a contributing factor to the American Revolution.

Finally, Americans fought the British at their home ground, leading to their victory. The largest part of the war was fought on the grounds of America. Additionally, the populations of the colonists were loyal to the crown. The British could concentrate more on the loyalists, who were in their consent, the major American population (Marston, 2003). However, these loyal people could spread any propaganda to their people, and spy successfully in an attempt to assist Americans to win the war (Bradley, 2012). Through propaganda and information regarding the British army, the wider population of America could be kept well-informed regarding the next actions of the troops. The sentiment of the loyalists could be overestimated hence leading to the engagement of the Patriots (Marston, 2003). Some of them could be supplied and hidden amongst the local population hence, leading to a failure of their strategy. In addition, both women and men participated strategically in winning the war. Women could stay at home when their husbands left for war and later join some army camps, giving them morale to fight. Therefore, fighting on the home ground influenced American victory against Britain.

Indeed, while the French involvement was the prelude to the American victory, other factors including distance issues, the creation of additional debts for the British, the battle at Yorktown, and the entire fight being at the home ground led to the success of Americans in attaining independence from Great Britain. The American Revolution was successful and America can now make their decisions. The victory is now characterized by a self-democratic republic government that does not restrict Americans to outside powers.

References

Bradley, P. (2012). Slavery, Propaganda, and the American Revolution. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.

Dickinson, H. T. (2016). Britain and the American Revolution. New York, NY: Routledge.

Marston, D. (2003). The American Revolution, 1774-1783. New York: Routledge.

Stokesbury, J. L. (2003). A short history of the American Revolution. New York, NY: Perennial.

Wood, G. S. (2003). The American Revolution: A history. New York (NY): Modern Library.