History Revisited #003: Americans did not decisvely win the American Revolution

Pro uses the terms "win," "decisive," and "draw" in their argument. However, since Pro gave no definitions for these terms, I will provide my own. Win (Victory): I will define victory as the achievement of a central goal that one’s opponent is trying to prevent. Decisive: Since we are discussing an American military action, it only makes sense to define “decisive” with American military doctrine. According to US Army ADP 3-0 Unified Land Operations, “Decisive operations lead directly to the accomplishment of a commander’s purpose [1]. ” In other words, a decisive victory is one that leads directly to the accomplishment of a combatant’s goal. Draw: Pro argues the war ended in a draw. I will define draw in accordance with the Merriam-Webster dictionary: “The final result of a contest that does not have a winner. ” Since I defined winning as achieving one’s goal, the absence of a winner means neither side achieved their goal. I believe these definitions are very reasonable and I hope my opponent agrees. Even if they do not however, they failed to provide their own definitions within the first two rounds which by default gives me the initiative to do so. I will save my rebuttals for round three and will begin with my opening arguments. Before we can evaluate if either side achieved their goals and won, we must know what those goals were. Both British and American leaders at the time confirm the war was fought primarily over the question of independence. King George III made his war aims very clear in 1775 when he said, “blows must decide whether [the colonies] are to be subject to [England] or independent [2]. ” After the Battle of Bunker Hill that same year, King George III resolved “to put a speedy end” to what he recognized as the Americans’ revolt “for the purpose of establishing an independent empire [3]. ” Clearly, the chief and expressed goal of the British was to prevent American independence. Unlike the British, the Continental Congress struggled to define what they wished to achieve. In 1775, the South Carolina delegate John Rutledge asked, “Do we aim at independency, or do we only ask for a restoration of rights [4]? ” This confusion changed after a disastrous campaign into Canada when it became clear America could not win without foreign aid. To achieve this, Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee exclaimed, “It is not a choice then, but necessity that calls for Independence, as the only means by which foreign Alliance can be obtained [5]. ” On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress unanimously voted to ratify the Declaration of Independence [6]. What began as a war with confused motives became a war with one central, unanimous objective - independence from England. Now that the goals of the Americans and British have been established – independence and the prevention thereof, respectively – we must look to the end of the war to discover its decisive result. On October 19th, 1781, the British and German garrison at Yorktown under General Cornwallis surrendered to American forces. While this event did not immediately end the war, it clearly and directly led to the British recognition of American independence. After news of the Yorktown surrender reached England, the House of Commons moved to end the war. In 1782, Member of Parliament Henry Seymour Conway motioned that, “this House will consider as enemies of his Majesty . . . all those who shall endeavor . . . the farther prosecution of the offensive war on the continent of North America for the purpose of reducing the revolted colonies to obedience by force. ” The motion carried by 19 votes [7]. Immediately after this resolution, the British began withdrawing their troops from America by abandoning Wilmington, Savannah, and Charleston. On September 3rd, 1783, delegates from England and America signed the Treaty of Paris. The first article of the treaty states, “His Britannic Majesty acknowledges the said United States, . . . to be free sovereign and Independent States; that he treats with them as such, and for himself his Heirs & Successors, relinquishes all claims to the Government, Propriety, and Territorial Rights of the same and every Part thereof [8]. ” Simply put, the treaty that ended the American Revolution recognized the United States as independent from England. By definition, the Americans won because they achieved their principle war objective of gaining independence from England. The surrender at Yorktown directly led to achieving this objective and therefore was a decisive victory by doctrine. Finally, England failed to accomplish its wartime goal of preventing American independence. Since one side succeeded and the other failed, it is impossible to characterize the American Revolution as a draw. I eagerly await Pro’s reply. [1] . http://usarmy.vo.llnwd.net... [2] Thomas, Peter. Tea Party to Independence: The Third Phase of the American Revolution, 1773-1776 (Oxford, 1991) 160. [3] “The King’s Speech to Parliament” Oct. 26, 1775 (English Historical Documents) [4] Diary of Silas Deane, May 16, 1775. [5] Ibid. , reference: Lee to Carter, June 2, 1776. [6] Ibid. , 119 [7] Ibid. , 545 [8] . http://www.ourdocuments.gov...