chapter 7 the road to revolution 1763 to 1775. victory in the seven years war made britain the master of a vastly enlarged imperial domain in north america but victory including the subsequent need to garrison 10 000 troops along the sprawling american frontier was painfully costly the london government therefore struggled after 1763 to compel the american colonists to shoulder some of the financial costs of empire this change in british colonial policy reinforced an emerging sense of american political identity and helped to precipitate the american revolution the eventual conflict was by no means inevitable indeed given the tightening commercial military and cultural bonds between colonies and mother country since the first crude settlements a century and a half earlier it might be considered remarkable that the revolution happened at all the truth is that americans were reluctant revolutionaries until late in the day they sought only to claim the rights of englishmen not to separate from the mother country but what began as a squabble about economic policies soon exposed irreconcilable differences between americans and britons over cherished political principles the ensuing clash gave birth to a new nation in a broad sense america was a revolutionary force from the day of its discovery by europeans the new world nurtured new ideas about the nature of society citizen and government in the old world many humble folk had long lived in the shadow of graveyards that contain the bones of their ancestors for a thousand years past few people born into such changeless surroundings dared to question their social status but european immigrants in the new world were not so easily subdued by the scowl of their superiors in the american wilderness they encountered a world that was theirs to make afresh two ideas in particular had taken root in the minds of the american colonists by the mid-18th century one was what historians called republicanism looking to the models of the ancient greek and roman republics exponents of republicanism defined a just society as one in which all citizens willingly subordinated their private selfish interest to the common good both the stability of society and the authority of government thus depended on the virtue of the citizenry its capacity for selflessness self-sufficiency and courage and especially its appetite for civic involvement by its very nature republicanism was opposed to hierarchical and authoritarian institutions such as aristocracy and monarchy a second idea that fundamentally shaped american political thought derived from a group of british political commentators known as radical whigs widely read by the colonists the whigs feared the threat to the liberty posed by the arbitrary power of the monarch and his ministers relative to elected representatives in parliament the whigs mounted withering attacks on the use of patronage and bribes by the king's ministers symptoms of a wider moral failure in society that they called corruption in the sense of rot or decay the whigs warn citizens to be on guard against corruption and to be eternally vigilant against possible conspiracies to denude them of their hard-won liberties together republican and wig ideas predispose the american colonists to be on hair trigger alert against any threat to their rights the circumstances of colonial life had done much to bolster those attitudes dukes and princes barons and bishops were unknown in the colonies while property ownership and political participation were relatively accessible the americans had also grown accustomed to running their own affairs largely unmolested by remote officials in london distance weakens authority great distance weakens authority greatly so it came as an especially jolting shock when britain after 1763 tried to enclose its american colonists more snugly in its grip britain's empire was acquired in a fit of absent-mindedness an old saying goes and there's much truth in the jest not one of the original 13 colonies except georgia was formally planted by the british government all the others were haphazardly founded by trading companies religious groups or land speculators the british authorities nevertheless embraced a theory called mercantilism that justified their control over the colonies mercantilists believed that wealth was power and that a country's economic wealth and hence its military and political power could be measured by the amount of gold or silver in its treasury to amass gold or silver a country needed to export more than it imported possessing colonies thus conferred distinct advantages because the colonies could both supply raw materials to the mother country thereby reducing the need for foreign imports and provide a guaranteed market for exports the london government looked on the american colonists more or less as tenants they were expected to furnish products needed in the mother country such as tobacco sugar and ships masts to refrain from making for export certain products such as woolen cloth or beaver hats to buy imported manufactured goods exclusively from britain and not to indulge in bothersome dreams of economic self-sufficiency or worse self-government from time to time parliament passed laws to regulate the mercantilist system the first of these the navigation law of 1650 was aimed at rival dutch shippers trying to elbow their way into the american carrying trade thereafter all commerce flowing to and from the colonies could be transported only in british including colonial vessels subsequent laws require that european goods destined for america first had to be landed in britain where tariff duties could be collected and british middlemen could take a slice of the profits other laws stipulated that american merchants must ship certain enumerated products notably tobacco exclusively to britain even though prices might be better elsewhere british policy also inflicted a currency shortage on the colonies because the colonists regularly bought more from britain than they sold there the difference had to be made up in hard cash every year gold and silver coins mostly earned in illicit trade with the spanish and french west indies drained out of the colonies creating an acute money shortage to facilitate everyday purchases the colonists resorted to butter nails pitch and feathers for purposes of exchange currency issues came to a boil when dire financial need forced many of the colonies to issue paper money which swiftly depreciated british merchants and creditors squawked so loudly that parliament prohibited the colonial legislatures from printing paper currency and from passing indulgent bankruptcy laws practices that might harm british merchants the americans grumbled that their welfare was being sacrificed for the well-being of british commercial interests the british crown also reserved the right to nullify any legislation passed by the colonial assemblies if such laws worked mischief with the mercantilist system this royal veto was used rather sparingly just 469 times in connection with 8563 laws but the colonists fiercely resented its very existence another example of how principle could weigh more heavily than practice in fueling colonial grievances in theory the british mercantile system seemed thoroughly selfish and deliberately oppressive but the truth is that until 1763 the various navigation laws imposed no intolerable burden mainly because they were only loosely enforced enterprising colonial merchants learned early to disregard or evade troublesome restrictions some of the first american fortunes like that of john hancock were amassed by wholesale smuggling americans also reaped direct benefits from the mercantile system if the colonies existed for the benefit of the mother country it was hardly less true that britain existed for the benefit of the colonies london paid liberal bounties to colonial producers of ship parts over the protests of british competitors virginia tobacco planters enjoyed a monopoly in the british market snuffing out the tiny british tobacco industry the colonists also benefited from the protection of the world's mightiest navy and a strong seasoned army of redcoats all without a penny of cost but even when painted in its rosiest colors the mercantile system burdened the colonists with annoying liabilities mercantilism stifled economic initiative and imposed a wrangling dependency on british agents and creditors most grievously many americans simply found the mercantilist system debasing they felt used kept in a state of perpetual economic adolescence and never allowed to come of age as benjamin franklin wrote in 1775 we have an old mother that peevish is grown she snubs us like children that's scarce walk alone she forgets we're grown up and have sense of our own revolution broke out as theodore roosevelt laid a remark because britain failed to recognize an emerging nation when it sought one victory flushed britain emerged from the seven years war holding one of the biggest empires in the world and also less happily the biggest debt some 140 million pounds about half of which had been incurred defending the american colonies to justify and service that debt british officials now move to redefine their relationship with their north american colonies prime minister george grenville first aroused the resentment of the colonists in 1763 by ordering the british navy to begin strictly enforcing the navigation laws he also secured from parliament the so-called sugar act of 1764 the first law ever passed by that body for raising tax revenue in the colonies for the crown among various provisions it increased the duty on foreign sugar imported from the west indies after bitter protest from the colonists the duties were lowered substantially and the agitation died down but resentment was kept burning by the quartering act of 1765. this measure required certain colonies to provide food and quarters for british troops then in the same year 1765 grenville imposed the most odious measure of all a stamp tax to raise revenues to support the new military force the stamp act mandated the use of stamped paper or the affixing of stamps certifying payment of tax stamps were required on bills of sale for about 50 trade items as well as on certain types of commercial and legal documents including playing cards pamphlets newspapers diplomas bills of lading and marriage licenses grenville regarded all of these measures as reasonable and just he was simply asking the americans to pay a fair share of the costs for their own defense through taxes that were already familiar in britain in fact the british people for two generations had endured a stamp tax far heavier than that passed for the colonies yet the americans were angrily aroused at what they regarded as grenville's fiscal aggression the new laws did not merely pinch their pocketbooks far more ominously grenville also seemed to be striking at the local liberties they had come to assume as a matter of right thus some colonial assemblies defiantly refused to comply with a quartering act or voted only a fraction of the supplies that it called for worst of all grenville's noxious legislation seemed to jeopardize the basic rights of the colonists as englishmen both the sugar act and the stamp act provided for trying offenders in the hated admiralty courts where juries were not allowed the burden of proof was on the defendants who were assumed to be guilty unless they could prove themselves innocent trial by jury and the precept of innocent until proved guilty were ancient privileges that british people everywhere including the american colonists held most deer and why was a british army needed at all in the colonies now that the french were expelled from the continent and pontiac's warriors crushed could its real purpose be to whip rebellious colonists into line many americans weaned on radical whig suspicion of all authority began to sniff the strong scent of a conspiracy to strip them of their historic liberties they lashed back violently and the stamp act became the target that drew their most ferocious fire angry throats raised the cry no taxation without representation there was some irony in that slogan because the seaports and tidewater towns that were most wrathful against the stamp act had long denied full representation to their own backcountry pioneers but now the aggravated colonists took the high ground of principle the americans made a distinction between legislation and taxation they conceded the right of parliament to legislate about matters that affected the entire empire including the regulation of trade but they steadfastly denied the right of parliament in which no americans were seated to impose taxes on americans only their own elected colonial legislatures the americans insisted could legally tax them taxes levied by the distant british parliament amounted to robbery a practical assault on the sacred rights of property grenville dismissed these american protests as hair splitting absurdities the power of parliament was supreme and undivided he asserted and in any case the americans were represented in parliament elaborating the theory of virtual representation grenville claimed that every member of parliament represented all british subjects even those americans in boston or charleston who had never voted for a member of parliament the americans scoffed at the notion of virtual representation and truthfully they did not really want direct representation in parliament which might have seemed like a sensible compromise if they had obtained it any gouty member of the house of commons could have proposed an oppressive tax bill for the colonies and the outvoted american representatives few in number would have stood bereft of a principle with which to resist thus the principle of no taxation without representation was supremely important and the colonists clung to it with tenacious consistency when the british replied that the sovereign power of government could not be divided between legislative authority in london and taxing authority in the colonies they forced the americans to deny the authority of parliament altogether and to begin to consider their own political independence this chain of logic eventually led link by link to revolutionary consequences colonial outcries against the hated stamp tax took various forms the most conspicuous assemblage was the stamp act congress of 1765 which brought together in new york city 27 distinguished delegates from nine colonies after dignified debate the members drew up a statement of their rights and grievances and beseeched the king and parliament to repeal the repugnant legislation the stand act congress which was largely ignored in england made little splash at the time in america its ripples however began to erode sectional suspicions for its brought together around the same table leaders from the different and rival colonies it was one more halting but significant step toward intercolonial unity more effective than the congress was the widespread adoption of non-importation agreements against british goods woolen garments of home spun became fashionable and the eating of lamb chops was discouraged so that the wall-bearing sheep would be allowed to mature non-importation agreements were in fact a promising stride toward union they spontaneously united the american people for the first time in common action mobilizing in support of non-importation gave ordinary american men and women new opportunities to participate in colonial protests many people who had previously stood on the sidelines now signed petitions swearing to uphold the terms of the consumer boycotts groups of women assembled in public to hold spinning bees and make home spun cloth as a replacement for shunned british textiles such public defiance helped spread angry resistance throughout american colonial society sometimes violence accompanied colonial protests groups of art and spirits known as sons of liberty and daughters of liberty took the law into their own hands crying liberty property and no stamps they enforced the non-importation agreements against violators often with a generous coat of tar and feathers patriotic mobs ransacked the houses of unpopular officials confiscated their money and hanged effigies of stamp agents on liberty polls shaken by colonial commotion the machinery for collecting the tax broke down on that dismal day in 1765 when the new act was to go into effect the stamp agents had all been forced to resign and there was no one to sell the stamps while flags flapped at half-mast the law was openly and flagrantly defied or rather nullified england was hard hit america then bought about one quarter of all british exports and about one half of british shipping was devoted to the american trade merchants manufacturers and shippers suffered from the colonial non-importation agreements and hundreds of laborers were thrown out of work loud demands converged on parliament for repeal of the stamp act but many of the members could not understand why 7.5 million britons had to pay heavy taxes to protect the colonies whereas some 2 million colonists refused to pay for only one-third of the cost of their own defense after a stormy debate parliament in 1766 grudgingly repealed the stamp act grateful residents of new york erected a lead-in statue to king george iii but american rejoicing was premature having withdrawn the stamp act parliament in virtually the same breath provocatively passed the declaratory act reaffirming parliament's right to bind the colonies in all cases whatsoever the british government thereby drew its line in the sand it defined the constitutional principle it would not yield absolute and unqualified sovereignty over its north american colonies the colonists had already drawn their own battle line by making it clear that they wanted a measure of sovereignty of their own and would undertake drastic action to secure it the stage was set for a continuing confrontation within a few weeks that statue of king george would be melted into thousands of bullets to be fired at his troops control of the british ministry was now seized by the gifted but erratic charles townshend a man who could deliver brilliant speeches in parliament even while drunk rashly promising to pluck feathers from the colonial goose with a minimum of squawking he persuaded parliament in 1767 to pass the townshend axe the most important of these new regulations was a light import duty on glass white lead paper paint and tea townsend seizing on a dubious distinction between internal and external taxes made this tax unlike the stamp tax on indirect customs duty payable at american ports but to the increasingly restless colonists this was a phantom distinction for them the real difficulty remained taxes in any form without representation flushed with their recent victory over the stamp tax the colonists were in a rebellious mood the imposed on t was especially irksome for an estimated one million people drank the refreshing brew twice a day the new townshend revenues worse yet were to be earmarked to pay the salaries of the royal governors and judges in america from the standpoint of efficient administration by london this was a reform long overdue but the ultra-suspicious americans who had beaten the royal governors into line by controlling the purse regarded townshend's tax as another attempt to enchain them their worst fears took on greater reality when the london government after passing the townshend taxes suspended the legislature of new york in 1767 for failure to comply with the quartering act non-importation agreements previously potent were quickly revived against the town send acts but they proved less effective than those devised against the stamp act the colonists again enjoying prosperity took the new tax less seriously than might have been expected largely because it was light and indirect they found moreover that they could secure smuggled tea at a cheap price and consequently smugglers increase their activities especially in massachusetts british officials faced with a breakdown of law and order landed two regiments of troops in boston in 1768. many of the soldiers were drunken and profane characters liberty loving colonists resenting the presence of the red-coated ruffians taunted the bloody backs unmercifully a clash soon erupted on the evening of march 5th 1770 a crowd of some 60 townspeople began taunting and throwing snowballs at a squad of 10 redcoats the bostonians were still angry over the death of an 11 year old boy shot 10 days earlier during a protest against a merchant who had defied the colonial boycott of british goods acting apparently without orders but nervous and provoked by the jeering crowd the troops opened fire and killed or wounded 11 citizens an event that became known as the boston massacre one of the first to die was crispus attucks described by contemporaries as a powerfully built runaway mulatto and a leader of the mob both sides were in some degree to blame and in the subsequent trial in which future president john adams served as defense attorney for the soldiers only two of the redcoats were found guilty of manslaughter the soldiers were released after being branded on the hand by 1770 king george iii then only 32 years old was strenuously attempting to assert the power of the british monarchy he was a good man in his private morals but he proved to be a bad ruler earnest industrious stubborn and lustful for power he surrounded himself with cooperative yes men notably his corpulent prime minister lord north the ill-timed townshend acts had failed to produce revenue though they did produce near rebellion net proceeds from the tax in one year were a paltry 295 pounds while in that same year britain's military costs in the colonies had mounted to 170 000 pounds non-importation agreements though feebly enforced were pinching british manufacturers the government of lord north bowing to various pressures finally persuaded parliament to repeal the townsend revenue duties but the three pence toll on t the tax the colonists found most offensive was retained to keep alive the principle of parliament's right to text the colonies flames of discontent in america continued to be fanned by numerous incidents including the redoubled efforts of the british officials to enforce the navigation laws resistance was further kindled by a master propagandist and engineer of rebellion samuel adams of boston a cousin of john adams unimpressive in appearance his hands trembled he lived and breathed only for politics his friends had to buy him a presentable suit of clothes when he left massachusetts on intercolonial business zealous tenacious and courageous he was ultra sensitive to infractions of colonial rights cherishing a deep faith in the common people he appealed effectively to what was called his trained mob samuel adams's signal contribution was to organize in massachusetts the local committees of correspondence after he had formed the first one in boston during 1772 some 80 towns in the colony speedily set up similar organizations their chief function was to spread the spirit of resistance by exchanging letters and thus keep alive opposition to british policy one critic referred to the committee as the foulest subtlest and most venomous serpent ever issued from the egg of sedition intercolonial committees of correspondence were the next logical step virginia led the way in 1773 by creating such a body as a standing committee of the house of burgesses within a short time every colony had established a central committee through which it could exchange ideas and information with other colonies these intercolonial groups were supremely significant in stimulating and disseminating sentiment in favor of united action they evolved directly into the first american congresses thus far that is by 1773 nothing had happened to make rebellion inevitable non-importation was weakening increasing numbers of colonists were reluctantly paying the tea tax because the legal tea was now cheaper than the smuggled tea even cheaper than tea in england a new ogre entered the picture in 1773. the powerful british east india company overburdened with 17 million pounds of unsold tea was facing bankruptcy if it collapsed the london government would lose heavily in tax revenue the ministry therefore decided to assist the company by awarding it a complete monopoly of the american tea business the giant corporation would now be able to sell the coveted leaves more cheaply than ever before even with the three pence attacks tacked on but many american tea drinkers rather than rejoicing at the lower prices cried foul they saw this british move as a shabby attempt to trick the americans with the bait of cheaper tea into swallowing the principle of the detested tax for the determined americans principle remained far more important than price if the british officials insisted on the letter of the law violence was highly likely faithfully the british colonial authorities decided to enforce the law once more the colonists rose up in wrath to defy it not a single one of the several thousand chests of tea shipped by the east india company ever reached the hands of the consignees in philadelphia and new york mass demonstrations forced the tea-bearing ships to return to england with their cargo holds still full at annapolis marylanders burned both cargo and vessel while proclaiming liberty and independence or death in pursuit of it in charleston south carolina officials seized the t for non-payment of duties after intimidated local merchants refused to accept delivery ironically the confiscated charleston t was later auctioned to raise money for the revolutionary army only in boston did a british official stubbornly refuse to be cowed massachusetts governor thomas hutchinson had already felt the fury of the mob when stamp act protesters had destroyed his home in 1765 this time he was determined not to budge ironically hutchinson agreed that the t tax was unjust but he believed even more strongly that the colonists had no right to flout the law hutchinsons infuriated boston's radicals when he ordered the t ships not to clear boston harbor until they had unloaded their cargos sentiment against him was further inflamed when hutchinson's enemies published one of his private letters in which he declared that an abridgement of what are called english liberties was necessary for the preservation of law and order in the colonies apparently confirming the darkest conspiracy theories of the american radicals on december 16th 1773 roughly a hundred bostonians loosely disguised as indians boarded the docked ships smashed open 342 chests of tea and dump their contents into the atlantic an action that came to be known as the boston tea party a crowd of several hundred watched approvingly from the shore as boston harbor became a vast teapot donning indian disguise provided protesters with a threatening image and a convenient way of avoiding detection tea was the perfect symbol to rally around as almost every colonist rich or poor consumed this imported caffeinated beverage reactions varied all up and down the eastern seaboard sympathetic colonists applauded referring to tea as a badge of slavery they burned the hated leaves in solidarity with boston but conservatives complained that the destruction of private property violated the law and threatened anarchy and the breakdown of civil decorum hutchinson chastened and disgusted with the colonies retreated to britain never to return the british authorities meanwhile saw little alternative to whipping the upstart colonists into shape the granting of some measure of home rule to the americans might at this stage still have prevented rebellion but few british politicians were willing to swallow their pride and take the high road the perilous path they chose instead led only to reprisals bitterness and escalating conflict an irate parliament responded speedily to the boston tea party with measures that brewed a revolution by huge majorities in 1774 it passed a series of acts designed to chastise boston in particular and massachusetts in general they were branded in america as the massacre of american liberty most drastic of all was the boston port act it closed the tea stained harbor until damages were paid and order could be insured by other intolerable acts as they were called in america many of the chartered rights of colonial massachusetts were swept away restrictions were likewise placed on the precious town meetings contrary to previous practice enforcing officials who killed colonists in the line of duty could now be sent to britain for trial there suspicious americans assumed the officials would be likely to get off scot-free particularly intolerable to bostonians was a new quartering act which gave local authorities the power to lodge british soldiers anywhere even in private homes by a fateful coincidence the intolerable acts were accompanied in 1774 by the quebec act passed at the same time it was erroneously regarded in english-speaking america as part of the british reaction to the turbulence in boston actually the quebec act was a good law in bad company for many years the british government had debated how it should administer the 60 000 or so conquered french subjects in canada and it had finally framed this far-sighted and statesmanlike measure the french were guaranteed their catholic religion they were also permitted to retain many of their old customs and institutions which did not include a representative assembly or trial by jury in civil cases in addition the old boundaries of the province of quebec were now extended southward all the way to the ohio river the quebec act from the viewpoint of the french canadians was a shrewd and conciliatory measure if britain had only shown as much foresight in dealing with its english-speaking colonies it might not have lost them but from the viewpoint of the american colonists as a whole the quebec act was especially noxious all the other intolerable acts slapped directly at massachusetts but this one had a much wider range by sustaining unrepresentative assemblies and denials of jury trials it seemed to set a dangerous precedent in america it alarmed land speculators who were distressed to see the huge trans-allegheny area snatched from their grasp it aroused anti-catholics who were shocked by the extension of roman catholic jurisdiction southward into a huge region that had once been earmarked for protestantism a region about as large as the 13 original colonies one angry protestant cried that there ought to be a jubilee in hell over this enormous gain for potpourri american dissenters responded sympathetically to the plight of massachusetts it had put itself in the wrong by the violent destruction of the t cargoes now britain had put itself in the wrong by brutal punishment that seemed far too cruel for the crime flags were flown at half-mast throughout the colonies on the day that the boston port act went into effect and sister colonies rallied to send food to the stricken city rice was shipped even from far away south carolina most memorable of the responses to the intolerable acts was the summoning of the first continental congress in 1774. it was to meet in philadelphia to consider ways of redressing colonial grievances 12 of the 13 colonies with georgia alone missing sent 55 well-respected men among them samuel adams john adams george washington and patrick henry intercolonial frictions were partially melted away by social activity after working hours in 54 days george washington dined at his own lodgings only nine times the first continental congress deliberated for seven weeks from september 5th to october 26 1774. it was not a legislative but a consultative body a convention rather than a congress john adams played a stellar role eloquently swaying his colleagues to a revolutionary course he helped defeat by the narrowest of margins a proposal by the moderates for a species of american home rule under british direction after prolonged argument the congress drew up several dignified papers these included a ringing declaration of rights as well as solemn appeals to other british american colonies to the king and to the british people the most significant action of the congress was the creation of the association unlike previous non-importation agreements the association called for a complete boycott of british goods non-importation non-exportation and non-consumption yet it is important to note that the delegates were not yet calling for independence they sought merely to repeal the offensive legislation and return to the happy days before parliamentary taxation if colonial grievances were redressed well and good if not the congress was to meet again in may 1775 resistance had not yet ripened into open rebellion but the fatal drift toward war continued parliament rejected the congress's petitions in america chickens squawked and tar kettles bubbled as violators of the association were tarred and feathered muskets were gathered men began to drill openly and a clash seemed imminent in april 1775 the british commander in boston sent a detachment of troops to nearby lexington and concord they were to seize stores of colonial gunpowder and also to bag the rebel ringleaders samuel adams and john hancock at lexington the colonial minutemen refused to disperse rapidly enough and shots were fired that killed eight americans and wounded several more the affair was more the lexington massacre than a battle the redcoats pushed onto conquered where they were forced to retreat by the rough and ready americans whom emerson immortalized by the rude bridge that arched the flood their flag to april's breeze unfurled here once the embattled farmer stood and fired the shot heard round the world the bewildered british fighting off murderous fire from militiamen crouched behind thick stone walls finally regained the sanctuary of boston licking their wounds they could count about 300 casualties including some 70 killed britain now had a war on its hands aroused americans had brashly rebelled against a mighty empire the population odds were about three to one against the rebels some 7.5 million britons to 2.5 million colonists the odds in monetary wealth and naval power overwhelmingly favored the mother country britain then boasted a professional army of some fifty thousand men as compared with a numerous but wretchedly trained american militia george iii in addition had the treasury to hire foreign soldiers and some 30 000 germans so-called hessians were ultimately employed the british enrolled about 50 000 american loyalists and enlisted the services of many indians who though unreliable fair-weather fighters inflamed long stretches of the frontier one british officer boasted that the war would offer no problems that could not be solved by an experienced sheepherder yet britain was weaker than it seemed at first glance oppressed ireland was a smoking volcano and british troops had to be detached to watch it france bitter from its recent defeat was awaiting an opportunity to stab britain in the back the london government was confused and inept there was no william pitt organizer of victory only the stubborn george iii and his pliant tory prime minister lord north many earnest and god-fearing britons had no desire whatever to kill their american cousins william pitt withdrew a son from the army rather than see him thrust his sword into fellow anglo-saxons struggling for liberty the english whig factions opposed to lord north's tory wing openly cheered american victories at least at the outset aside from trying to embarrass the tories politically many whigs believe that the battle for british freedom was being fought in america if george iii triumphed his rule at home might become tyrannical this outspoken sympathy in britain though plainly a minority voice greatly encouraged the americans if they continue their resistance long enough the whigs might come into power and deal generously with them britain's army in america had to operate under endless difficulties the generals were second rate the soldiers though on the whole capable were brutally treated there was one extreme case of 800 lashes on the bareback for striking an officer provisions were often scarce rancid and wormy on one occasion a supply of biscuits captured some 15 years earlier from the french was softened by dropping cannonballs on them other handicaps loomed the redcoats had to conquer the americans restoring the pre-1763 status quo would be a victory for the colonists the britain was operating some 3 000 miles from its home base and distance added greatly to the delays and uncertainties arising from storms and other mishaps military orders were issued in london that when received months later would not fit the changing situation america's geographical expanse was enormous roughly 1 000 by 600 miles the united colonies had no urban nerve center like francis paris whose capture would the country as a whole british armies took every city of any size yet like a boxer punching a feather pillow they made little more than a dent in the entire country the americans wisely traded space for time benjamin franklin calculated that during the prolonged campaign in which the redcoats captured bunker hill and killed some 150 patriots about 60 000 american babies were born the revolutionaries were blessed with outstanding leadership george washington was a giant among men benjamin franklin was a master among diplomats open foreign aid theoretically possible from the start eventually came from france numerous european officers many of them unemployed and impoverished volunteered their swords for pay in a class by himself was a wealthy young french nobleman the marquis de lafayette fleeing from boredom loving glory and ultimately liberty the french gamecock was made a major general in the colonial army at age 19. his commission was largely a recognition of his family influence and political connections but the service of this teenage general in securing further aid from france were invaluable other conditions aided the americans they were fighting defensively with the odds all things considered favoring the defender in agriculture the colonies were mainly self-sustaining like a kind of robinson crusoe's island the americans also enjoyed the moral advantage that came from belief in a just cause the historical odds were not impossible other peoples had triumphed in the face of greater obstacles greeks against persians swiss against austrians dutch against spaniards yet the american rebels were badly organized for war from the earliest days they had been almost fatally lacking in unity and the new nation lurched forward uncertainly like an uncoordinated centipede even the continental congress which directed the conflict was hardly more than a debating society and it grew feebler as the struggle dragged on their congress now is quite disjointed gibbed an english satirist since gibbets gallows are for them appointed the disorganized colonists fought almost the entire war before adopting a written constitution the articles of confederation in 1781 jealousy everywhere raised its hideous head individual states proudly regarding themselves as sovereign resented the attempts of congress to exercise its flimsy powers sectional jealousy boiled up over the appointment of military leaders some distrustful new englanders almost preferred british officers to americans from other sections economic difficulties were nearly insufferable metallic money had already been heavily drained away a cautious continental congress unwilling to raise anew the explosive issue of taxation was forced to print continental paper money in great amounts as this currency poured from the presses it depreciated until the expression not worth a continental became current one barber contemptuously papered his shop with the near worthless dollars the confusion proliferated when the individual states were compelled to issue depreciated paper money of their own inflation of the currency inevitably skyrocketed prices families of the soldiers at the fighting front were hard hit and hundreds of anxious husbands and fathers deserted debtors easily acquired handfuls of the quasi-worthless money and gleefully paid their debts without mercy sometimes with the bayonets of the authorities to back them up basic military supplies in the colonies were dangerously scanty while many families and towns did own firearms widespread militia service meant men needed weapons for training the colonists had long relied heavily on britain for troops armaments and military subsidies during expensive wars against indians france and spain the rebels were caught in an unavoidable trap at the very moment that the supply of british funds and war material evaporated the cost of home defense mounted sufficient stores of gunpowder cannon and other armaments let alone ships to transport them could not be found among the reasons for the eventual alliance with france was the need for a reliable source of essential military supplies other shortages bedeviled the rebels at valley forge pennsylvania shivering american soldiers went without bread for three successive days in the cruel winter of 1777 to 1778. in one southern campaign some men fainted for lack of food manufactured goods were also generally in short supply in agricultural america and clothing and shoes were appallingly scarce the path of the patriot fighting men was often marked by bloody snow at frigid valley forge during one anxious period 2800 men were barefooted or nearly naked woolens were desperately needed against the wintry blasts and in general the only real uniform of the colonial army was uniform raggedness during a grand parade at valley forge some of the officers appeared wrapped in woolen bed covers one rhode island unit was known as the ragged lousy naked regiment american militiamen were numerous but also highly unreliable able-bodied american males perhaps several hundred thousand of them had received rudimentary training but poorly trained plowboys could not stand up in the open field against professional british troops advancing with bare bayonets many of these undisciplined warriors would in the words of washington fly from their own shadows at the same time deadly smallpox outbreaks ravaged the army further weakening forces women played a significant part in the revolution many maintained farms and businesses while their fathers and husbands fought large numbers of female camp followers accompanied the american army cooking and selling for the troops in return for money and rations one massachusetts woman dressed in men's clothing and served in the army for 17 months a few thousand regulars perhaps seven or eight thousand at the war's end were finally whipped into shape by stern drill masters notably among them was an organizational genius the salty german baron von steuben he spoke no english when he reached america but he soon taught his men that bayonets were not for broiling beefsteaks over open fires as they gained experience the soldiers of the continental line more than held their own against crack british troops blacks also fought and died for the american cause although many states initially barred them from militia service by war's end more than 5 000 blacks had enlisted in the american armed forces the largest contingents came from the northern states with substantial numbers of free blacks blacks fought at trenton brandywine saratoga and other important battles some including prince whipple later immortalized in emmanuel lutz's famous painting washington crossing the delaware became military heroes others served as cooks guides spies drivers and road builders african-americans also served on the british side in november 1775 lord dunmore royal governor of virginia issued a proclamation promising freedom for any enslaved blacks in virginia who joined the british army news of dunmore's decree traveled swiftly virginia and maryland tightened slave patrols but within one month 300 slaves had joined what came to be called lord dunmore's ethiopian regiment in time thousands of blacks fled plantations for british promises of emancipation when one of james madison slaves was caught trying to escape to the british lines madison refused to punish him for coveting that liberty that white americans proclaimed the right and worthy pursuit of every human being at war's end the british kept their word to some at least and evacuated as many as 14 000 black loyalists to nova scotia jamaica and england morale in the revolutionary army was badly undermined by american profiteers putting profits before patriotism they sold to the british because the invader could pay in gold speculators forced prices sky-high and some bostonians made profits of 50 to 200 percent on army garb while the american army was freezing at valley forge washington never had as many as 20 000 effective troops in one place at one time despite bounties of land and other inducements yet if the rebels had thrown themselves into the struggle with zeal they could easily have raised many times that number the brutal truth is that only a select minority of the american colonists attached themselves to the cause of independence with a spirit of selfless devotion these were the dedicated souls who bore the burden of battle and the risks of defeat seldom have so few done so much for so many