The American Revolution
By Sam Vaknin
Author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited"
The American Revolution was a civil war between Loyalists to the British
crown (aka Tories, about one fifth of the population), supported by
British expeditionary forces, and Patriots (or Whigs) in the 13 colonies
that constituted British North America.
About 20-25% of the populace in the colonies - c. 600,000 - were blacks.
About one third of the white denizens were non-British. Local patriotism
ran high. All adult, white, property-owning, men (about two thirds of the
male numbers) were eligible to vote in elections to the lower house of the
legislative assembly of the colony they resided in. Each colony also had
its governor.
Some colonies (e.g., Rhode Island and Connecticut) were, in effect,
incorporated under royal charter as semi-commercial ventures. Others
belonged to the descendants of their founders (proprietary colonies such
as Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware). Georgia, North and South
Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire
were royal provinces, under direct British rule.
Some of the colonists - for instance, the New Englanders - were among the
wealthiest and best educated people in the world, better off than the
British themselves. But, per capita, they paid only 3% of the taxes levied
on a typical Briton. The colonies supplied the West Indies with most of
their foodstuffs and consumed British finished products - but they were
not economically crucial to the British Empire.
In the years leading to the War of Independence (1765-1776), the British
actually repealed all the taxes on products imported into the colonies -
with the single exception of tea (and even this tax was drastically
reduced). The colonists' slogan "no taxation without representation" was,
therefore, more about local representation than about foreign taxation.
And even this bit ringed hollow. The Encyclopedia Britannica: "The
assemblies had the right to tax; to appropriate money for public works and
public officials, and to regulate internal trade, religion, and social
behavior". The role of British government was confined to foreign affairs
and trade.
But both parties to the conflict breached this modus vivendi. During the
Seven Years (French and Indian) War (1754-1763), the colonies
refused to relinquish control over their militias to the British command
and smuggled French goods into British North America (France being
Britain's enemy). The British, on the other hand, began interfering in the
colonies' internal affairs, notably (but not only) by imposing taxes and
customs duties in order to ameliorate Britain's growing national debt and
by rendering tax officials financially independent of the local colonial
assemblies.
Add to this a severe recession in the colonies brought on by unbridled
spending financed with unsustainable personal indebtedness and, not
surprisingly, acts of resistance to British taxation - such as the Boston
Tea Party - were organized mainly by smugglers, artisans, and shopkeepers.
Secret groupings, such as the Sons of Liberty resorted to violence and
intimidation to achieve their (mostly economic but disguised as
"patriotic") goals. Even women got involved in a "buy American" campaign
of boycotting British goods.
Many British merchants, bankers, politicians, intellectuals, and
journalists supported the colonies against the crown - each group for its
own reasons. The merchants and bankers, for instance, were terrified of a
mooted unilateral debt moratorium to be declared by the colonies if and
when militarily attacked. Others found it
distasteful to kill and maim white British subjects (as the insurgents
were). Yet others resisted imperialism, the monarchy, taxes, or all three.
Even within the British Army there was strong dissent and the campaign
against the rebellious colonies was carried out half-heartedly and
lackadaisically. On the other hand, British die-hards, such as Samuel
Johnson, demanded blood ("I am willing to love all Mankind, except an
American").
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The denizens of the colonies tried, till the last moment, to avert a
constitutional (and, consequently, military) crisis. They suggested
a model of two semi-autonomous nations (the United Kingdom and the
colonies), united by the figurehead of the King. But it was too little and
way too late. Violent clashes between the citizenry and British units
started as early as October 1765 with the First Nonimportation Movement,
directed against the Stamp Act. They continued with the Boston Massacre
(five dead) in 1770; the attack on the British customs ship, the Gaspée,
in Rhode Island, in 1772; and the Boston Tea Party in 1773.
In April 1775, General Gage, governor and military commander of
Massachusetts, suffered a humiliating defeat in a skirmish in Concord and
Lexington. The Patriots were alerted to his movements by Paul Revere who
rode all night to inform them that the "regulars (not the British, as the
legend has it) are coming." He was one of many such scouts.
The Loyalists fielded 50-55,000 armed men and the Patriots countered by
organizing "militias" - irregular units of ill-trained and undisciplined
volunteers. The Continental Army was established only in June 1775, under
the command of George Washington, a veteran of
the French and Indian War. At their peak, the rebels mastered less than
100,000 men in arms - only 25-30,000 of which were on active duty at any
given time.
The Continental Army was, in the words of General Philip Schuyler of New
York "weak in numbers, dispirited, naked, destitute of provisions, without
camp equipage, with little ammunition, and not a single piece of cannon."
Late pay caused frequent mutinies and desertions. In 1783, Washington had
to personally intervene to prevent a military coup. Only repeated promises
of cash bonuses and land grants kept this mob of youngsters, foreigners,
and indentured servants intermittently cohesive.
Still, they outnumbered the British and the "Hessians" - the 30,000 German
mercenaries who participated in the 8 years of fighting. In all of North
America, the British had 60,000 soldiers as late as 1779. They had to face
a growing presence of hostile French, Spanish, and Dutch armies, supplies,
and navies. The Native-Americans (Indians) supported mostly the British,
especially west of the Appalachians. This provoked numerous massacres by
the Patriots.
The War spread to other parts of the world: the Gulf Coast, the Caribbean,
India, the Netherlands, the Mediterranean. The US Navy
even invaded the British port of Whitehaven in 1778.
The conflict affected the civilian population as well with both sides
committing war crimes and atrocities aplenty. With many men gone, women
took over traditionally male roles and vocations, such as farming.
Hyperinflation - brought on by $500 million in newly minted and printed
money - led to mob scenes as storekeepers were attacked and warehouses
looted.
The blacks largely sided with the British - but many joined the Patriots
and, thus, won their freedom after the war. Virginia planters alone
manumitted 10,000 slaves. By 1800, slavery was abolished in all the states
north of Delaware.
All told, less than 7000 Patriots died in battle (and 8500 wounded). About
1200 Germans perished, too. No one knows how many British
troops, Indians, and other combatants paid with their lives in this
protracted conflict. About 100,000 Loyalists emigrated to Canada and
thousands others (mainly of African ancestry) went to Sierra Leone and the
Bahamas. They were all fully compensated for the property they left behind
in what came to be known as the United States of
America (USA).
AUTHOR BIO (must be included with the article)
Sam Vaknin ( http://samvak.tripod.com
) is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After
the Rain - How the West Lost the East. He served as a columnist for Global
Politician, Central Europe Review, PopMatters, Bellaonline, and eBookWeb,
a United Press International (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent, and the
editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open
Directory and Suite101.
Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of
Macedonia.
Visit Sam's Web site at
http://samvak.tripod.com |
