Causes Of The American Revolution

In the aftermath of the American War for Independence great Britain was forced to grapple with this major defeat. Within parliament two camps arose. One believed that the war was unwinnable and that the major mistake that lead to the loss of the colonies was the militarization of the conflict. The other faction believed that the British force sent to crush the rebellion would have proven successful had it not been for the mismanagement of the campaign by General William Howe. While it may have been a better policy for the British to have avoided war altogether, the war was hardly unwinnable. If the British army had destroyed the Continental Army during the New York campaign it is much more likely that the American Revolution would have ended
One cannot know the outcome of this alternate history, but there is significant evidence to suggest that this assertion is not far from the truth. After General Howe’s victory at Long Island the political climate within the congress shifted away from resolute support of independence. Adams and Washington both recognised this shift in opinion. Washington even estimated that more Americans would join Howe’s army from New York and New Jersey than would join the Continental Army. This shift in opinion was clearly not enough to sway the Continental Congress. When General John Sullivan brought an offering of peace from Howe the congress rejected it after some debate. However, had Sullivan come to the congress with a peace offering and the news that the Continental Army had been completely obliterated the argument against peace would have little ground to stand on. Howe’s terms of peace would have appeared much more favorable if there was no more Continental Army and if George Washington, one of the most prominent figureheads for the cause, were dead or held captive by Howe. This devastating defeat would have shaken the resolve of even those committed to independence and completely altered the political climate in the Continental
Had the Continental Army been completely demolished at New York the press would have a hard time putting a positive spin on the story. Even if many newspapers chose not to report the story at all it would be difficult to keep the people from hearing of such a devastating event. If this news spread around the colonies it is likely that a large portion of the population, who outside of New England were uncommitted to independence, would switch over to the loyalist