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

But he did not provide definitions. Con only showed the usage of terms. Therefore I will provide the definitions, strictly according to dictionary definition. Victory:"an instance of defeating an enemy or opponent"[1]. http://www.merriam-webster.com...Decisive: "serving to put an end to all debate or questioning"[2]. http://www.merriam-webster.com...Draw: "A situation in which neither participant in a contest, competition"[3]. http://www.merriam-webster.com...[noun]I think these definitions, directly from a dictionary should be sufficient. "Before we can evaluate if either side achieved their goals and won, we must know what those goals were. "My opponent goes on talk about the goals of both sides. Goals are not what this debate is about. Otherwise the resolution would of been "The Americans did not reach their goals in the American Revolution. " This is not a debate about goals and who may or may not have reached them. It is strictly a debate about whether victory for the Americans was decisive. This a debate is about outcomes not intentions. Con throughout his Round 2 argument continues to argue about the intentions of the Continental Congress and the King George III. I will ignore this since it is not relevant to the issue at hand. Or perhaps I should say he has not connected it to the resolution at hand from my observation. I would be interested in his connection of it. If this is a miscommunication issue on my part; my apologies. "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 . ” Simply put, the treaty that ended the American Revolution recognized the United States as independent from England. "I agree with Con that the American Revolution resulted in American independence. But was this decisive victory? No. The alleged "victory" was negotiated. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 granted the Americans independence when the British acknowledged it[4]. This is not a decisive victory because the Americans had to acknowledge the British as power to negotiate. That is not decisive. The outcome of World War II for the Japanese and the Germans were decisive victories[5]. The Allies made those two countries submit to unconditional surrender. The Allies did not negotiate the terms of surrender. The Allies were able to control the future of those countries exclusively due to their decisive victory. There was no negotiation from the Germans or Japanese when they lost. [4]. http://www.ourdocuments.gov...[5]http://www.history.com...[5]http://www.history.com...The other reason why my opponent fails to address the Americans decisive victory was because of point #5 of my Round 2 argument. "5. It was a draw not a win. "I said it was a draw for the reasons I provided. But there was something more lying underneath my claim. I was trying to get at that the American victory could not of been decisive. It could not of been a decisive victory because the War of 1812 happened which finally solidified American legitimacy[6]. It was the War of 1812 that was brought about the end of the dispute between the British and the Americans. The American Revolution did not end the dispute between the British and the Americans. The American Revolution did not serve "to put an end to all debate or questioning" as the definition of decisive says. Therefore , strictly by definition, the victory the Americans received was not decisive. [6]. http://www.sageamericanhistory.net...