Geopolitics
There Were Egos Involved
Lord North refused to accept that the British position in North America was untenable and that the war was unwinnable. They still thought they could defeat a determined, if under-equipped, under-armed, underfunded but well-led and highly motivated army that now had French support.
Read MoreYorktown’s Significance Beyond the Battle
The size of Cornwallis’s surrender puts it high on an unpleasant list in British Army history. The real significance is that his (and the British Army’s defeat) set in motion a series of events that ultimately led, two years later, to the Thirteen Colonies being granted their independence.
Read MoreHunters of the Corps of Discovery
When the Spanish learned of the Lewis and Clark’s expedition, they sent Pedro Vidal and 51 – a mix of soldiers, local settlers, and Pueblo Indians – to arrest the members of the Corps of Discovery. Spain’s rationale was that the Americans were trespassing Spanish Territory.
Read MoreJefferson’s Piracy Problem
From a foreign policy perspective, Jefferson’s choices vis a vis the Barbary Pirates were limited. He couldn’t approach England or France or their allies for help because they were at each other’s throats. Luckily, he still had the navy created under the Adams administration which was sent to the Mediterranean.
Read MoreImpressment Is Kidnapping By Another Name
To sail these ships, the Royal Navy needed men, lots of them. Desertion, often exceeding 25% annually, compounded its manning problem. One solution was emptying its jails, but this didn’t provide enough men.
Read MoreOrigins of the Monroe Doctrine
While Monroe gets the credit, President Madison first stated what we know as the Monroe Doctrine because he was afraid that European leaders would try to suppress independence movements or take back colonies by force.
Read MoreAvoiding the Foreign Entanglements Vise
France tried to intimidate the U.S. to join its fight against Britain. England appealed to U.S. merchants desire for profits. The 1794 Jay Treaty was a bet that England would prevail in any fight against France.
Read MoreThe Politics of War in 1780 Are Similar to Those in 2021
The machinations of politicians in democratic legislative bodies to stay in power often put them out of touch with what is happening on the battlefield. During the American Revolution, the British government faced the same disconnects between what the generals in the field were telling them and their own political ambitions.
Read MoreProblems of Remaining Neutral in 1798
The French Revolution which began in 1789 presented a series of difficult foreign policy challenges for the United States. One of the clauses in the Franco-American 1778 Treaty of Friendship…
Read MoreThe Undeclared War Against France
The French Republic won the War of the First Coalition when Austria, Prussia, Spain and The Netherlands made peace. French royalty’s first attempt to restore the Bourbon monarchy had failed.…
Read More