Could the US have won the Revolutionary war without foreign intervention - Essay Example

The Americans needed support because of the logistical difficulties of a protracted war, and so France and Netherlands provided critical support that hastened the victory of the former. Weigley, in his book The American Way of War: A History of United States Military Strategy and Policy, explains the dire circumstances of General George Washington and he stresses that “military poverty” shaped Washington’s generalship.3 When the British arrived by sea in New York before the raid of Trenton, General William Howe had 31,625 soldiers from all ranks, where 24,464 were well-equipped and ready for battle.

4 Aside from these troops, Howe also had ten ships, twenty frigates, hundreds of transport, and 10, 000 seamen.5 To defend New York, General Washington only had 19,000 people, with around 9,000 having military discipline and training.6 In addition, the Americans had no naval forces and limited land transports. Though Washington scored with the elimination of the Hessian garrison at Trenton, throughout the entire Revolutionary War period, he perennially faced the problem of the limited number of soldiers, resources, and money.

The Revolutionary confederation and the weakening agricultural sector could not supply enough for these needs of the war. David McCullough dwells in 1776 on the role of the financial backing from France and the Netherlands as well as the support from the French army and navy.7 For him, they were offered critical help in hastening America’s victory instead of merely waiting for Britain to give up on the war or to wait for other foreign nations to realize that America’s independence would result in a greater balance of powers in Europe.

If the Revolutionary War had extended due to the absence of foreign intervention, it would not have been impossible for Washington and his generals, as well as the American people who supported him, to maintain their strategies until Britain gave up on its American colonies. In the book A Shattered Nation: The Rise and Fall of the Confederacy, 1861-1868, Rubin expresses the will of the American people to support the war. She mentions letters circulating among the masses, who knew that the revolutionary forces must somehow show some power enough to “overthrow” the British before foreign nations would start acknowledging America as an independent nation that they should support through money or troops or both.

8 The people, as well as Washington and the generals, resisted the idea of becoming a colony once more, especially when they realized that they could be finally freed from the abusive taxation and other oppressive policies of Britain.9 McCullough stresses, nevertheless, that “…it was Washington and the army that won the war for American Independence…”10 These historians understood the tenacity of the American army in forcing on through their guerilla tactics and attacking Britain where it was at its weakest, specifically in land battles.

Other scholars insisted that America could not have won the war without foreign support. In “