American Colonies Defeat The British In The Revolutionary War

Identify and explain three factors (there are many) that helped the American colonies defeat the British in the Revolutionary War.

Colonial forces were clearly outmatched by the British in sheer numbers, training, experience and equipment. Despite the clear advantage held by British forces, the American colonies managed to defeat them by making allies, using new innovative combat techniques, and by possessing the homefield advantage. A combination of all of these advantageous attributes allowed the American forces to overcome their superior enemy. If American forces would have confronted their adversary in a conventional way they would have been crushed by the experienced British forces. The first factor that allowed them to face British forces on an equal footing was their skill at making allies. Allies were easy to come by because of the
amount of enemies Britain had made in its long history of conquest and warfare. France had a long history of conflict with Britain, making it an ideal partner for the Colonies. This deal was a win win scenario for France because it allowed them to increase their friendship with the Colonies while weakening their long time enemy. Facing enemies on multiple fronts made it difficult for Britain to focus all of their firepower on the rebellious colonies. France also provided the Colonies with much needed ammunition and firearms, this allowed the colonist to fight on an equal footing with well equipped Redcoats. A second factor that allowed the Colonies to defeat Britain was their use of new and innovative combat techniques. A revolutionary tactic introduced by American forces was guerrilla warfare. Guerrilla warfare was highly effective against British forces because it was an effective counter to the tried and true strategies used by the Redcoats. The British army was accustomed to fighting their opponents in large open spaces that gave them room to fight in large formations. These formations allowed them to fire and reload in a rapid and organized fashion that gave them a large advantage against unorganized foes. American forces defeated this tactic by harassing British troops with small groups of sharpshooters capable of picking off key British officers and them slinking back into the woods. These tactics allowed the smaller American forces to take out a disproportionate number of enemy troops. A final factor that assisted Colonial troops in defeating the British army was their home field advantage gained by fighting in their own land. Many American soldiers were mountain men and fur trappers that had excellent knowledge of the land and wilderness survival skills. These were two qualities that the majority of British troops did not possess. Knowledge of the land they fought in allowed American forces to cut off key supply lines and disrupt troop movement vital to the British war effort. They would even use barricades and block roads with large trees. A combination of these efforts greatly assisted the American war effort. It can also be argued that fighting for the freedom of their new country gave colonial troops a moral advantage over their opponents. Superior motivation likely allowed American forces to fight on while the British soldiers fought a conflict their hearts were not in.

Explain Alexander Hamilton’s plan to tackle the nation’s war debt as well as his plan to create a national bank (make sure to include opposition point of view).

Alexander Hamilton’s plan to tackle the nation’s debt was to strengthen the country’s credit and to consolidate the debt accumulated by individual states.
His plan would allow the U.S. to take control of its debt and to prepare for the possibility of conflict with Spain and Britain. He recommended that the U.S. government fund the first 54 million dollars of debt by selling new government bonds. Investors took the offer because it made their investments more secure and valuable. He decided to pay off the 25 million dollars of state debt caused by the war in the same way. Hamilton then suggested that the interest would be payed off by taxing whiskey throughout the country. This would kill to birds with one stone, it would reduce intoxication while paying for the national debt. He also argued that debt was not necessarily a bad thing if dealt with in the correct manner. Many people were opposed to his suggestions because certain states had far more debt than others. This meant that some states would benefit more from his proposed plan than others would. A majority of the protesting states were located in the southern
U.S..
After he dealt with the national debt, Hamilton decided to further strengthen the U.S. Economy by creating a national bank. He stated that the bank would cost U.S. taxpayers nothing while providing many diverse benefits. The bank would be able to safely hold government money and make inexpensive loans to support the government when tax revenue was limited. The national bank would also regulate state banks and produce a common paper currency. Critics of Hamilton’s idea pointed out that the national bank would increase the power of a small elite group of people. This power would allow these people to influence the actions and decisions of the government. They also pointed out how the similar structure bank of England had damaged the integrity of that country's government. In the end, Hamilton’s national bank idea was narrowly passed by congress and put into action.