Analysis of the Continental Army, the Oneida People and Thomas Hutchinson

Joseph J. Ellis, the author of “The Founding Brothers,” identifies and give a better vision of what is happening in the American Revolution. Ellis states, “On the inevitability side, it is true there was voices back then urging prospective patriots to regard American Independence as an early manifest destiny” (3). The book introduces the revolutionaries: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin. Ellis focuses on the characteristics, actions, events, and the ideologies differences that affect the American Revolution.

Today, many American’s are proud to identify that the Declaration of Independence marks the beginning of freedom for North America. However, as students in history classes across American schools and colleges dig deeper into the realities of the country’s battles for freedom of rights it represents that from the beginning the Revolution was in the hearts and minds of the American people. The signing of the Declaration of Independence on the face of it depicts it as liberty and democracy, but the realism is that the American colonists had little choice or no choice at all, in how the American British governed its people. It is clear, the American colonies never gave up their fight for freedom and human rights, but the British Revolution still

“Martin's belief that the Continentals' contributions to final victory were underappreciated (both during the war and after) ties into the second part of his concluding argument: the role of the militia, which performed important service during the war: "I well know, for I have fought by their side" (183). Nevertheless, he contends that the Continental Army was the backbone of the Revolution. Ironically, the scholarly consensus has caught up with the old veteran in its view of the militia as a necessary but insufficient agent for Independence.” (G.W. Jones fifth paragraph)

The battles at Lexington and Concord were simply formalized versions of the resistance that had been going on in the streets of Boston for 10 years. The Sons of Liberty introduced violence into the British-American dispute and made reconciliation impossible, which was Adams’ goal all along, namely to alienate the moderates and make them choose sides. Events also revealed that “news” and “propaganda” often were one and the same, depending on who did the “reporting.” With that strategy in mind, Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty proved that rioting, looting, and violence—disgusting as they often were—could be effective Revolutionary

Despite of the defiant and vocal protests of the colonists against Parliamentary law in the 1760s, they went for a war very reluctantly in 1775 against the country. The historians like David McCullough in 1776, adequately demonstrated the reticence in their texts with which the colonists went to war (McCullough, 2005). The odds seemed stacked against the American patriot forces and they had every reason to be melancholy and tentative regarding the outcome of the war against their former countrymen. The colonists had the greatest military force in the whole world with 32,000 personnel and a powerful naval fleet. The colonists were undoubtedly the most well equipped and best trained military on earth at that time. However, the optimism prevailed

Joseph J. Ellis makes plain his argument in the preface of “Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation”. He argues that “the central events and achievements of the revolutionary era and the early republic were political” and that because these events shaped the development of the republic up to, and including, today, these events are “historically significant” (pg. 13). For this reason, Ellis argues—contrary to what historians such as T. H. Breen and Alfred F. Young argue in their own works—that the most important participants in the Revolution and the era immediately after it were not the ordinary individuals but rather the leaders and the political figures who history has chosen to remember the clearest (pg. 13). Ellis argues that these men developed a sense of their own historical significance long before they were historically significant. He suggests that the fact that they are remembered the clearest is not necessarily an oversight on the part of historians, but rather, they are remembered best because they are the ones we ought to be remembering (pg. 13).

Throughout the year of 1776, Americans developed ideas of independence from their mother country, Great Britain, which turned into a necessary cause that was fought for. Revolutionary Summer, by Joseph J. Ellis, goes into detail about the relationship between the Continental Congress and the Continental Army during that summer. His work elaborates on the mistakes of American leaders, as well as those made by Britain, and how they affected the war. Communication became important on both sides, and it was vital for the colonies to agree on how to reach the common goal of freedom. Ellis’ historical account of 1776 highlights the theme of unity and how it shaped the events of that summer.

Through anecdotes in his book, Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, Joseph J. Ellis gives a new take on this crucial period of this country’s history. Ellis crafts this work of nonfiction in such a way so the reader may understand the revolutionary generation the way Americans currently do: the present looking back to the past, and as the Founding Fathers did: the past (their present) looking forward to the future. This allows one to understand the intentions behind some of these historical figures’ actions and whether those actions led to desirable outcomes. Considering these different perspectives in which he writes, Joseph Ellis comes to prove that in order to understand the true significance of the revolutionary generation, it is necessary to take into account the values and relationships between the individual leaders. The author emphasizes social history throughout the narratives by highlighting the major issues that the public faced at that time. Judging the content of Ellis’ writing, it is evident that he is biased toward certain people for he does not highlight many of their flaws, nor does he explain the impact of these flaws on the revolution. Joseph Ellis composed this piece in

Joseph J. Ellis attempts to analyze historic events during the revolutionary era for greater significance in his Founding Brothers. He achieves this by exploring the long-term and short-term effects of the event and scrutinizing each detail to observe how it affected the development of the “American experiment” (Ellis 47). Specifically, he interprets these events with a political ideology to demonstrate how political events during the revolutionary era have affected the course of American history. Furthermore, he places a particular emphasis on social history by citing events related to politicians and other politically focused people. Ellis intends to establish that the key achievements of the revolutionary era were political circumstances

In Richard Wheeler’s book, Voices of 1776, Wheeler, an American author and former newspaper editor, uses the journal and diary entries of military personnel and civilians alike to describe the chaos of the Revolutionary War. Each entry details the daily onslaught of the war that founded America. By using these first hand accounts in chronological order, Wheeler has painted the patriotic image to create a well organized and firmly structured work of literature. This book is an excellent resource for students, educators, and reenactors, for Wheeler portrayed this war for independence with both sides input, and a neutral respect for both sides.

“1776” is a story of war. This book chronicles the year 1776 and the different battles that took place during the year. Instead of exploring the political changes the year oversaw, Pulitzer Prize winner, David McCullough explores in a different perspective on the battles that occurred during the year. From battle strategies, to the lives of Major Generals, McCullough takes you through the story in a more realistic and factual perspective. “1776” offers an intimate look into the military aspects of the revolutionary war which creates a more lively and engaging literature. McCullough opens the book in London, where King George III appears on behalf of his people to announce war with the North American colonies. American patriots sought to overthrow British government that overexerted its power and pressed the American colonists, which manifested in the former taxes and troops. The American colonists began to protest and riot, which increased tension, eventually leading to the Battle of Lexington and Concord,

The creation of the American nation became what it is today from years of struggle in which the common people, as well as the Founding Fathers, played a vital part for independence. The promise of the Revolution, a nation based on the republican ideals of liberty, independence, and equality, was to some extent achieved. Yet the great principles of the Revolution have long shaped our thoughts of what it means to be an American. All the events leading up and after the American Revolution will have effects on the common people. The story of George Robert Twelves Hewes helps historians comprehend the part that the common people played in their struggle for freedom and republican ideals they wanted to achieve for the generations to come in the new nation.

An important question in American Revolutionary history is how the public transformed from a loyal British population into a radical, revolutionary one. Speakers like John Hancock helped precipitate this change by capitalizing on a growing resentment toward Colonial rule and used this momentum to outline a plan of action. In analyzing his speech, “An Oration; Delivered March 5, 1774, at the Request of the Inhabitants of the Town of Boston: to Commemorate the Bloody Tragedy of the Fifth of March 1770,” it is equally important to understand the audience as it is to understand the rhetoric and motivations of the speaker. The speech was so effective because John Hancock drew upon the public memory of the Boston “Massacre” (whether or not it was factually accurate) and connected it to the recent Boston Tea Party. Hancock capitalizes on a common grievance to advocate for unification and build support for more radical measures such as creating militias.

The term “citizen soldiers” refers to the unreliable and untrained army that Washington assembled to fight the British. The army consisted of the poor farmers and indentured servants that were supported by the supplies of other farmers. After Washington realized he needed a professional army of his own, he recruited full-time soldiers from various colonies and called it the Continental Army. The term is important to the study of American history because the “citizen-soldiers” initially fought against

This bridge is where the irregular forces, for this essay the militia, build space for a conventional force to be fielded and provide momentum for the movement. One of the first scenes of the traditional guerrilla attack came after the opening shots in Lexington and subsequent march to Concord. Once word spread, the militia was called out and took to the hills and trees and harassed the British all the way back to Lexington resulting in 273 British casualties. When the British fired on the militia in Lexington, they showed that they were not legitimate and galvanized the support of the local populace resulting in a “moral victory for the insurgents.” Militia service was viewed as a requirement for all patriots and served as an extra-legal military arm of the larger political struggle for legitimacy. If an individual failed to turn out for muster he would suffer the consequences of a mob or militia visit that served to “sway” them to the revolutionary view. In John Shy’s words “the mechanism of their political conversion was the militia.” While the militia was continuing small attacks and harassing the British Army and posts, George Washington and the Continental Army were fighting a more conventional battle and standing up a regular