Revolutionary War Notes

Revolutionary War Notes

You can compare many of the reasons the British eventually let the colonies go with the reasons why the United States got out of Vietnam: 1) Distance - supply lines were thousands of miles long and expensive to maintain 2) Cost over time in blood and treasure 3) Colonists' knowledge of the terrain 4) Motivation of a volunteer army fighting for independence vs. a draftee army fighting to make it home again 5) George Washington, Nathaniel Greene and Henry Knox - effective colonial Generals - British ones were hard to come by 6) Colonies could play defense - all the revolutionaries had to do was survive, British had to conquer and pacify 7) Support of a significant part of the local population

One essential factor was the support of France. The assistance of the French was absolutely key in the victory by the Americans. The French support provided the American forces with generals who knew the enemy British very well. French aid helped to pay the costs of the Revolution. General Lafayette was one of General Washington's strongest allies and advisors.

Are not the majority of these points largely relevant in a number of conflicts throughout history? These factors certainly crop up again and again when we examine a wide variety of wars and other nations' foreign policy commitments. #2 is also correct however in identifying foreign aid as another vital factor that contributed to victory

One of the most important reasons the Revolutionaries were more successful was that they had the home field advantage. They knew the terrain, and had sympathetic individuals everywhere to help them if they needed it. They also had home-grown malitia.