American Revolution - Research Paper Example

Rousseau and Montesquieu effectively promoted republicanism, liberal thought, democratic principles and religious tolerance and therefore, served as a major predecessor to the American Revolution (Ray, 24). In addition to significant political basis for the American Revolution, economic relations formed inside American Colonies were more advanced than those in Britain, thus further escalating the movement towards independence. Political movement towards American independence started with the first Continental Congress, occurred in 1774 at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Practically, it represented a convention of delegates from twelve American colonies but the Province of Georgia. The First Continental Congress made two major political decisions with first being boycott announcement of British goods and the second - announcement of Second Continental Congress (Schecter, 39). During the latter, the United States Declaration of Independence has been declared, a major political step to the sovereignty of a young state. Furthermore, this political action triggered the ratification of the Articles of Confederation, which occurred after a year of political discussions.

During the American Revolution, political progress has been continuously accompanied with military action, occurring not only on the North America territory but internationally (Higginbotham, 19). British military campaign established against the Revolutionaries has been largely concentrated in Massachusetts. According to historical opinion, the battles of Lexington and Concord are considered the official beginning of the American Revolutionary War (Higginbotham, 22). The so called Boston campaign resulted in two notable events: one of the bloodiest battles of the war - the Battle of Bunker Hill (1775) and unification of colonist militia into coherent regular army by George Washington.

From the critical perspective, the early British military strategy in the North American has been recognized as ineffective due in part to the Secretary of State for Colonies Lord George Germain's incompetent leadership. The lack of effective coordination for the total war effort allowed the two main British armies in North America - General Howe in New York and General John Burgoyne in Canada - to act almost as independent forces, rather than a synchronized team (Black, 117-121). In 1777, Burgoyne attempted to sever New England from the middle states by driving south along the Richelieu River, through Lake Champlain, and down the Hudson River (Banes and Charles Royster, 94-99).

To resist Burgoyne's movement, George Washington with newly formed Continental Army rushed reinforcements north to Philip Schuyler and Horatio Gates, while keeping his remaining force in New Jersey where he could defend