Essay -1776 by David McCullough
1776 by David McCullough
“Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.” This quote in a letter to James Madison, from George Washington, on March 2nd, 1788, explains that once the push for liberty comes through and change is made, it is like the snowball effect. At this point of the war, there were constant losses for the Continental Army they were lacking faith and hope for their liberty. The soldier’s enlistments were also very near to their end and time was going by fast; many were prepared to leave and not signing up again. Overall, the Continental Army was headed towards failure. They needed something to give them a push in the right direction. The battle that raised high spirits in the army was The Battle of Trenton. The Battle of Trenton had the most profound impact on thecourse of events because, the Continental Army got high spirits and hope for success, many were persuaded to continue their term with the army as a soldier, and with George Washington’s tactics and leadership, they were able to capture over 900 hessians that would have otherwise been aid to the British. After all the depressing times that brought down the faith of everyone in the army, something to change the way the war was going was very much needed. The win at Trenton was the perfect way to motivate soldiers to keep trying and it definitely persuaded them. “ In appreciation of such ‘spirited behavior’ he would see that all who has ‘crossed the river’ would receive, in cash, a proportionate part of the total value of the cannon, arms, horses, and ‘everything else’ captured at Trenton,” (McCullough 282). These promises, as a result of the Continental army win, drove the army to be even more determined because not only did the win motivate them but the reward did too. If it was not for Trenton, the path of the war would have kept going down hill. Also, if the war kept going the way that it was before Trenton, they most likely would not have succeeded in
“Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.” This quote in a letter to James Madison, from George Washington, on March 2nd, 1788, explains that once the push for liberty comes through and change is made, it is like the snowball effect. At this point of the war, there were constant losses for the Continental Army they were lacking faith and hope for their liberty. The soldier’s enlistments were also very near to their end and time was going by fast; many were prepared to leave and not signing up again. Overall, the Continental Army was headed towards failure. They needed something to give them a push in the right direction. The battle that raised high spirits in the army was The Battle of Trenton. The Battle of Trenton had the most profound impact on thecourse of events because, the Continental Army got high spirits and hope for success, many were persuaded to continue their term with the army as a soldier, and with George Washington’s tactics and leadership, they were able to capture over 900 hessians that would have otherwise been aid to the British. After all the depressing times that brought down the faith of everyone in the army, something to change the way the war was going was very much needed. The win at Trenton was the perfect way to motivate soldiers to keep trying and it definitely persuaded them. “ In appreciation of such ‘spirited behavior’ he would see that all who has ‘crossed the river’ would receive, in cash, a proportionate part of the total value of the cannon, arms, horses, and ‘everything else’ captured at Trenton,” (McCullough 282). These promises, as a result of the Continental army win, drove the army to be even more determined because not only did the win motivate them but the reward did too. If it was not for Trenton, the path of the war would have kept going down hill. Also, if the war kept going the way that it was before Trenton, they most likely would not have succeeded in