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Tuesday, September 23, 2014

American Revolution

Why did the British Lose the American Revolutionary War??


48 comments:

  1. The reason why the British lost the American Revolutionary war, was because they were far from their headquarters which caused slow communication, and because they were badly informed. They also relied on uprisings from the Loyalist, which never occurred. Lastly, they underestimated the Americans, and the colonies has no single capital for the British to capture to win the war.
    ~India Coard

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  2. The British lost the war for numerous reasons. First, the British had an entire ocean in between them and their headquarters in England. Because of this, the British government was poorly informed about what was going on in the war. The British expected the Americans to be much weaker than they actually were. The British also thought the Loyalists were going to help them by having uprisings. These uprisings did not happen. The British army was not large enough to conquer a continent. The British also thought that their capture of New York City would end the war. The colonies did not have a capital that the British could capture to win the war. The American army had perseverance. George Washington was a courageous man with good judgement. Also, the aid of France was a huge impact on America's victory.
    - Ali Duryea

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  3. The British lost the American Revolutionary War for a number of reasons. From the beginning, the British underestimated the organization and strength of the colonists. The colonists were willing to work in new and unconventional ways to win, because they were willing to do whatever it took. The British were not ready for many of their new tactics, especially the attacks in the winter. This underestimation left them completely unprepared when Washington attacked on Christmas day. Another reason was the distance. The British were so far from their homeland, and this made getting supplies and information really difficult. This was a huge setback especially since the colonists took supplies from the British when they attacked.The French support of the colonists was another factor that hurt the British. The French gave supplies and troops, and these numbers really increased the colonists chances against the British. Lastly, the American spirit completely beat out the British spirit. The colonists had more drive and more reason to fight, which made them work harder and think cleverly when it came to warfare.
    -Annie Hubbard

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  4. The Colonists were out gunned and out manned during the Revolutionary War. A couple of critical mistakes from British Generals and key offensive moves from the George Washington gave the colonists independence. General George Washington knew that the odds were against him so he chose to fight an unconventional war. This meant they would not stand in lines like a professional army and take turns shooting. They would constantly be moving and taking advantage of British weaknesses. George Washington had once fought with the British so he knows what can defeat them. General Howe of Britain is just about the worst General for the British Army. His moves against the colonists will cost them the war. The first major mistake was at Bunker Hill when the Howe brothers decided it was a good idea to go down the middle of Bunker Hill instead of going around and hitting the colonists from behind. This cost the British 1000 troops while the Colonists lost 300. The second major mistake was at the Battle of Saratoga. Howe was given direct orders to go up the Hudson river and attempt to isolate New England. Instead of setting up a fleet in the Hudson river, he went to see his mistress and not care about his orders. From his choice the British lost one third of their forces in Saratoga. The other two thirds of the forces that were supposed to hold onto Saratoga were diminished by the Green Mt. Boys and fatigue from the mountainous terrain. It was not only mistakes from the British that won the war for the colonists. General George Washington made a few key offensive moves that weakened the British greatly. During Christmas the British and Hessians didn't think that Washington would attack since it was a holiday. It was exactly Washington's intention to do exactly that. A bunch of drunk Hessians and British Soldiers were having a good time when Washington attacked their camp. Washington didn't stop at Christmas. During New Years he did the same thing when they were all getting drunk again. There was no defense for the Hessians and British during either of those situations because of how drunk they all were. Just from a few of these choices from both sides of the war, the Colonists were able to grasp victory and gain independence from the British.

    -Hunter B

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  5. The British Army lost to the Americans for multiple reasons. One of these reasons was because they were so far away from their home. Due to the ocean separating the British government from the British Army, communicating and resupplying was incredibly hard to do and took a very long time. Another reason for losing the war was because the British Army underestimated what the Americans were capable of. Also, unlike the Americans who were helped by the French forces, the British fought alone. The British originally thought they were going to aided by the increased of loyalists, however that never happened.
    -Emily Walsh

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  6. The British lost the Revolutionary War because they underestimated the Colonists. British troops did not expect the Americans to use surprise attacks or to dig themselves into the ground during a battle. For example, George Washington and his troops rallied on Christmas Day to launch a surprise attack on the Hessians to capture Trenton and their supplies. Also, at Bunker Hill, the British marched straight at the Americans who were dug into the ground, so that only their head and hands were showing. This resulted in 1300 dead, with only 300 being colonials. The British didn’t expect this from the Patriots because they had never used these tactics themselves. They stuck to what they knew how to do, even though it wasn’t working. Then, the help from France on the American side ended the war. Having the extra soldiers and supplies at the Battle of Yorktown finally defeated the British.
    - Kate Klimaszewski

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  7. The colonists' victory in the American Revolution was due to their innovative and creative styles of warfare, which Washington learned during the French-Indian War. The British were arrogant, allowing the colonists to take advantage of this and outsmart the British by using tactics that their professional, hired militia were not trained to fight against. In addition to this, Britain's militia was being controlled from across the Atlantic Ocean, which created a great divide between the officials in England and the militia in the colonies. This also made it more difficult for the British to restock, which became a great issue when their supplies were stolen by the colonists. The British also relied on the assumption that the Loyalists in the south would have an uprising against the colonists,aiding the British in their fight. However, this uprising never happened and the British were left to fight all 13 colonies alone. Also, the colonists' fight was greatly aided by France, who viewed the British as their enemy. While the colonists completely cut off trade with Britain, they still traded with France who gave them supplies during the war. America also did not have a definitive capital, which means that when the British seized New York City this was not the end of the war. The British were arrogant and lazy during the war, allowing the colonists to excel and take advantage of this and win the war.
    -Caroline Skinner

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  8. The reason why the British lost the war was due to the fact that the British generals did not expect George Washington's unconventional way of fighting. Expecting ranks of men marching across fields, the British were overwhelmed, despite heavily outnumbering the Colonial Army, when they were dug in and protected by advantageous terrain while the British walked across open fields. The idea that there are "rules of war" by the British had also given Washington the advantage by breaking those "rules"; for example, when on Christmas and New Years, Washington expected the hired Hessians at Trenton and Princeton to be drinking and celebrating, and took advantage of that by attacking them while they were mostly drunk and asleep. Also, the British were used to the idea that if they took the capital of the 13 Colonies (which they believed to be New York) then they would win, as part of traditional warfare. However, even after thoroughly beating the Colonial Army at New York, the 13 Colonies fought on.

    -Kevin Xu

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  9. The reason why the British lost the revolutionary war was because the British were really far away from England, so the communication was really slow between England and their troops in America. Another reason was that the British were use to a certain type of war, which was expected and normal between battles in war. They would fight on flat lands and had guidelines that were supposed to be followed on the battlefield and the Americans were not professionally trained soldiers like the British, so instead of lining up side by side all charging at once at the British, they would shoot and hide behind rocks and trees for protection. The Americans found that it was always a good time to attack, like when Washington attacked the Hessians during the time of Christmas, which is usually the time of a cease fire because they would be drinking and celebrating, but George Washington found this as an easy target and he was correct.

    -Terryl Wilson

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  10. there are perhaps several reasons for the defeat of the british and the victory by the american colonists. One reason being because of the fact that the americans had a secret weapon who went by the name of George washington. Washington was a very intelligent man who had fought with the british before against the french and knew that they could be beaten. Another reason is because of washingtons victories at trenton and princeton. It was predicted that the tired hessians who were drinking and getting drunk celebrating christmas and new years would not expect an attack from the americans. This is something that was taken advantage of and helped us win by attacking drunken tired british. Next and perhaps most important the battle of saratoga. After eliminating two out of the three armies american general gates and general arnold defeat the army of burgoyne. Next and the major turning point is when france the mortal enemy of england recognizes the americans as a country. This is crucial and what helped us win becuase essentially now we have the support the loyalty and trust of the french who will train guide and help us win. Distance was a nother deciding factor in the way that speed and response are a huge tactical advantage in warfare. Over all to sum it all up the main reasons why the british lost is because they underestimated the ability of the americans.There were unable to disband wachingtons great army. Next the french recognized america as a conuntry and aligned with them. Finally, the distance and how it made it difficult for the british to get supplies to and from the colonies.

    -Brandon Malarney

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  11. Jack Gustavson
    8:54 PM (11 hours ago)

    to me
    Hey Mr. Gulotta, my comment won't seem to upload, so here it is:

    There were many reasons why the British Empire lost to a much smaller group of colonies in America. For one thing, the British were far away from their kingdom and when winter froze the ports on the Atlantic Coast of America, communication became an issue. The British also attempted to get support from the Southern loyalists. When hardly any help was received from the South, Britain suffered a large loss in their effort to take control of the colonies before independence was achieved. America lacked a determined capital such as London, England or Moscow, Russia. This made the method of capturing the capital and winning the war impossible. Unable to capture New York, England was left scrambling for a new strategy. In addition, the entire continent of North America was much too large for England to control. Much like the German forces in World War II, the British would be stretched too thin across a colossal amount of land. George Washington was also a tremendous leader and was key to the defeat of Britain in the Revolutionary War.

    Thanks,

    Jack

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  12. Hi Mr. Gulotta,

    I am having trouble posting my blog again, I'm not sure why. When I go to post my response, it tells me I am not authorized to post it or something like that. I will try to figure it out with you tomorrow, but would it be okay if I sent you my answer again and you posted it? That would be great, thanks! I will attach it to this email. Thanks again.

    Best,
    Rawson Clough

    "There were several key elements and events that led to the British losing the American Revolutionary War. One key element was the style of warfare that the British soldiers and generals used. They fought a "gentlemen's style" war, where there were set rules and etiquette that generals would follow. They would line up face to face spread not far apart, and fire at each other. They would halt the fighting in the nighttime, and if the weather did not permit them to fight. The guns they used took a long time to reload, so the opposing sides would give each other time to reload. At night, the opposing generals would host each other and soldiers for dinner and cocktail parties, which is a very ironic thing because the next day, they would be trying to kill each other. This style of warfare was no match for the Americans', which was a much much different style completely. They had been accustomed to the Native American's ruthless, forest-based fighting style, and did not adjust to the British style. The Americans used a more defensive style, which was very effective. They would hide behind rocks and trees, fire at the British, who were easy to see with their red coats, and then retreat to reload. The British did not know how to defend this style of fighting, because they were so accustomed to their gentlemen's style. The next reason the British lost the American Revolution, is because the British had little motivation to fight the war. The British soldiers had been stuck in the colonies for an extremely long time, since the King sent them there to protect the colonists from the Native Americans. They did not want to be there, especially during the holiday season, which is ultimately around the time when the war ended. They, themselves did not care whether the British kept the colonies for their own, they simply wanted to return home to their families after all this time. Because of this, their motivation to win the war was lacking, and they fought with less passion than the colonists. In regards the actual battles, Britain made several mistakes as well. When they made the mistake of fighting at Breed's Hill, rather than Bunker Hill, they were surrounded and outnumbered vastly. There, over 700 more British soldiers were killed than Americans. Another battle where they made mistakes was at the Battle of Saratoga. When three British units were scheduled to meet in Albany to take New York, two did not show up, leaving the Americans in a one-on-one battle, which, using their better fighting style, the Americans were able to win easily. The final reason why Britain was defeated in the American Revolutionary War was because of the secret aid the colonists were receiving from France. France, who was the first country to recognize the United States as a country, was sending them naval ships, blankets, uniforms, and other materials the colonists desperately needed. This gave the colonists the morale boost they needed, and sent them over the edge to defeat the British. For all of these reasons, the British were defeated in the American Revolutionary War.

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  13. Sophie Roberts

    History

    9/24/14

    There were numerous reasons for why the British lost the revolutionary war and could not control the

    rising colonist empire. First, England and America were on two different continents with the Atlantic

    Ocean in between them, which made it almost impossible to communicate with one another. This meant

    that they could not really keep a close eye on the colonists’ movements and could made communication

    unreliable with their military. Another was that the war style was different to the way of fighting in

    Europe. The geography was different which meant that the fighting strategy changed. The British

    were used to fighting on flat lands but in America nothing was flat there were hills, trees and rocks

    everywhere. Unlike the British, the colonists did not have a skilled army so they used their land to their

    advantage by firing, hiding behind rocks and trees for safety. The Americans knew their army was weak

    compared to the one of the British and could not defeat them on the battlefield. So, they looked for their

    opponent’s weaknesses in order to target them when were vulnerable. George Washington attacked them

    Christmas, when he knew

    because George Washington outsmarted them.

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  14. There were numerous reasons for why the British lost the revolutionary war and could not control the rising colonist empire. First, England and America were on two different continents with the Atlantic Ocean in between them, which made it almost impossible to communicate with one another. This meant that they could not really keep a close eye on the colonists’ movements and could made communication unreliable with their military. Another was that the war style was different to the way of fighting in Europe. The geography was different which meant that the fighting strategy changed. The British were used to fighting on flat lands but in America nothing was flat there were hills, trees and rocks everywhere. Unlike the British, the colonists did not have a skilled army so they used their land to their advantage by firing, hiding behind rocks and trees for safety. The Americans knew their army was weak compared to the one of the British and could not defeat them on the battlefield. So, they looked for their opponent’s weaknesses in order to target them when were vulnerable. George Washington attacked them Christmas, when he knew they would be celebrating and not prepared to fight. The British lost the battle because George Washington outsmarted them.

    Sophie Roberts

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  15. There were several things responsible for causing the British to lose the war. First of all, perhaps the most obvious reason is that they were thousands of miles away from their home, and communication from America to Britain took months at a time. The next reason is that the British made the Americans seem much weaker than they actually were when they described the situation to the king. Therefore, the king sent far less troops than what they actually needed to succeed in winning the war. Even if the king had sent enough troops, there would never be enough British soldiers in America to be able to occupy a continent and suppress a country thriving with rebellion. The biggest reason for the failure of the British was that the believed that after they captured New York City, the continent would be theirs. Because the 13 colonies were individually run, and each had their own economic strengths, there was no single city that the British could capture to destroy the economic and political basis of the United States. Thinking that they would win the war after only capturing New York was their fatal flaw.

    Brooks Hamilton

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  16. They’re where many contributing factors that led to the defeat of the British in the American Revolution. To start, the British government was very far away and might not reach generals in time. In addition, to not being able to communicate with there superiors timely, the British where fighting a dated, unfavorable way of engaging in war. This warfare consisted of standing in rows and using accepted maneuvers, which made the British predictable and easy to defeat. This was demonstrated in the Battles of Saratoga and Trenton. Another flaw in the military strategy for keeping the colonies as part of the British Empire was that they still believed that if you captured the country’s capital, the rest of the country would fall under the rule of the conquering opponent. This wasn’t true for the colonies, because they where not united and considered themselves to be separated states, therefore making it impossible for Britain to take its capital. In spite of this the British still tried to capture many prominent colonial cities. This tactic and the way they fought proves how little the British really knew about the Americas. In hopes of having more help from the Loyalists, people whom where from America but supported the British crown, the British moved the fight to the South. Although they had small bursts of success, the British did not receive help from the Loyalists, and eventually surrendered at the Battle of Yorktown. This defeat led to the Treaty of Paris.
    -Emma Weinstein

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  17. There were many reasons why the British lost the war. The British were separated from their home by a gigantic ocean. They had almost no lines of communication; it took months to just send a letter between the Americas and Britain. Then, the British thought and were told that the American forces were much weaker then they actually were. To help them win the war, Britain expected an uprising from all the Loyalists in the 13 colonies but these never happened. Also, the British set themselves on a task to occupy a continent. The British army is very big and all but not big enough to occupy a continent. Because of Britain knowing so little of America, they thought that if they captured New York, it would end the war. They believed that was the capitol, but really, there is no capitol of the Americas yet because the colonies considered themselves to be separate states, not all together. After the Battle of Saratoga, Britain thought that if they moved the battle to the south, they could win because there were more loyalist and then they could focus on New England. The British soon found out that the Loyalists did not help them which then caused the British to surrender at the Battle of Yorktown.
    -Cody Lucey

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  18. The British lost the American Revolution for more than one reason. The most evident reason would be distance, separation between their home made it harder and harder for communication. The British also underestimated what the Americans could do, and that allowed the Americans to take advantage of the British. George Washington's attacks on Christmas Day and New Years were smart because not only did it catch them off guard, but it was not a day that the British had energy. The colonists thought long and hard about ways to win the war and they were more prepared. Since the Americans had aid from France, who didn't get along with Britain, that was an extreme advantage. That made the British suffer the war because they were outnumbered, which resulted in a loss.
    -Hanna Derrig

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  19. There were multiple factors that contributed to the British loosing the Revolutionary war. Firstly, they were half the world away from their homeland, which made it very hard for information to be passed on quickly. It was hard for the British Empire to support their military when they were not up to date with the war. Secondly, the British army seriously underestimated the colonist militia. Although they had no professional training whatsoever, the colonist were not afraid to die fighting for what they believed in. They would put up a fight to the last man. Another reason the British lost the Revolutionary war was because of the utter carelessness of their generals. The British generals did not value the lives of their men whatsoever. In one instance, British General Howe disobeyed his orders to March his army to Albany in order to spend time with his mistress. The final, and possibly most important, reason the British lost the war was their failure to adapt to the guerilla fighting style of the colonist militia. The British army believed that battles were meant to be fought in an open field face to face, and shoulder to shoulder. The colonist however, would have no problem with hiding behind a tree and ambushing the British before making a getaway. Had the British adapted this fighting style they would have had a much greater chance of winning the war.

    -Sam Merrill

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  20. The reasons the British lost the American Revolution was due to various reasons: the first reason was that the British were a long way away from their headquarters, it must have been hard for them to receive orders because it would take a while for the soldiers to hear from them. Also, the British were misinformed about the Americans, they thought the Americans were much weaker than they turned out to be and were unprepared for what they faced in the war. The British forces were enough to hold off the Americans for a day, but would be no match to take over an entire continent. They anticipated that after taking over New York, it would all be over. Since the Americans teamed up with the French, the US had an extra boost of troops which ended up being a huge advantage for them since the Americans won the American Revolution and the British did not.

    -Annie Love

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  21. There were many reasons why the British had lost the American Revolution. First of all, the British army in America had a very hard time communicating with their homeland, which made it very hard to receive supplies and other necessities. So when parts of the British army were forced to surrender to the colonists, the colonists made sure to take every bit of supplies the British had, which made the British's situation worse considering they weren't able to receive supplies and now they were losing their supplies. Other reason they lost the war is because they underestimated the colonists and their fighting tactics. The colonists used very unconventional tactics that the British were not used to seeing or even dealing with. The colonist would take out British men from behind and then retreat, and by this the Americans were not losing any men but the British slowly were. The British also believed in open field battle, and soon as the Americans noticed this, they decided to hide behind trees and take out the British army when they were reloading and defenseless. Besides not adapting to these American tactics, the British armies were not prepared to fight in the winter and especially not on holidays. Due to this, Washington took advantage and decided to attack when the British were enjoying their holidays and not expecting to be attacked during this time. Lastly, the Americans had other countries support to defeat the British. The Americans had France on their side who were constantly sending supplies and men to help defeat the British, considering France also wanted the downfall of the British.

    -Cam Robinson

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  22. The British lost the Revolutionary War for a ton of reasons, but the main reason could be that they were both led differently. The Americans had George Washington running their army, against the British army who thought that it would be easy to wipe out an army that was just put together unlike them who have been trained and ordered to fight. The British army was separated from their headquarters during this war and the communication that they had was bad compared to George Washington’s army. The British underestimated the ability of the Americans army and the fleets that they had. Even though the British outnumbered the Americans they did not have the grit and will to win the war like George Washington and his militia. The British commanders did not know enough about the Americans and the area they were in so they jumped right into the battle without having a distinct plan. Even though they decided to corner and close in on the American army, they lacked in the communication and executing their plan resulted in them losing the battle. The Americans success was mainly due to the fact that they preserved their army and kept all the soldiers from leaving the militia that was fighting against the British. Along with preserving their army, the French came to the aid of the Americans and helped defeat the British. George Washington’s leadership and ability to lead was beyond better than any of the British leaders that were fighting against him, resulting in Washington coming up on top. One of his best ideas was attacking during the holidays while the British were off their guard and not ready to be ambushed by the Americans resulting in losing. The British were in for something that was impossible for them, and underestimated everything about the American army, and didn’t have the right people at charge or the right materials to defeat the Americans in the revolutionary war.

    Barclay

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  23. The British lost the American Revolutionary War for a number of reasons. However, before you even consider tactics, leaders or anything else you have to remember that they don't want to be in America. They have zero incentive to fight, but the colonists had everything on the line, the British were just not motivated enough. Besides the fact they wanted to be back home, they were all trained soldiers who obeyed any order even if it meant certain death. The colonists hid behind trees and shot at the British who were lined up with no protection. This is a huge reason the British lost so many men. Also the Colonists were under the control of General George Washington who was a master motivator and a great tactician of war, while the British generals just sent their men out to battle not really caring too much about what happened to his men. Also the majority of the country was fighting and planning against the British not just the Continental Army, the people who were not fighting were helping the colonial soldiers by storing weapons and providing vital information. One of the biggest factors in the British defeat was the fearless and genius leadership of George Washington. He was not afraid to use unorthodox methods to get what he needed like attacking the Hessians on Christmas morning and attacking Fort Ticonderoga at night while everyone was asleep. All of these factors and many many smaller, unnoticed factors were the reasons the British lost the war and the Colonists got their independence.

    Jim Streett

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  24. The British lost the revolutionary war for plenty of reasons. The main reason was because the British fleet was very far away from its headquarters. It was very hard and a timely task to communicate orders back and forth over the ocean. The British commanders back in England were very misinformed about the strength of the Americans. They underestimated their fleets. The British commanders knew absolutely nothing about the geography of America and they jumped into a war and battles where they knew absolutely nothing about. The Americans success could be pointed directly to the fact that they were able to keep an army in the field throughout the long years. Their leader, George Washington, had the strength and leadership to push his men on with the hopes of being able to start a new free world. Another reason is because the French came into the war on our side. The French treasury forked out a fortune to support the war. French officers and nobles, such as the Marquis de Lafayette, proved critical to George Washington. George Washington also had many key plans that would give the Americans an advantage. For example, Washington and his men attacked on Christmas day when many of the British soldiers were hung-over. They were able to wipe out the entire fleet and take all of their food and supplies to feed his militia. The British also had a lack of loyalist support. They believed that they had a huge loyalist group in the southern states. They believed that this would increase their manpower without actually having to send in more troops. However the mass of loyalists they thought would join never actually ended up helping which would put the British at a huge disadvantage. The Americans were able to win the revolutionary war because they were under command of a very smart and courageous leader in George Washington, and they had the advantage of knowing and understanding the land, where the British did not.
    -Hunter Reynolds

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  25. The British lost in the American Revolutionary war for a number of reasons. A primary reason for their defeat was because the British were attempting to fight a war with its headquarters remaining across the Atlantic Ocean. This put the British troops at a large disadvantage not only with difficulties communicating but also due to their lack of knowledge about the land. They British thought that if they were able to capture a major city, such as New York, the war would be won. However, the Americans had multiple power cities and no capital. The colonist just continued to fight. The American’s had lived on the land for years giving them the home field advantage.
    Another important reason why the British lost the war was their lack of information on the American colonists. They underestimated their opponents and believed that they had a more influential group of Loyalist living in the colonies. When the Loyalist uprisings didn’t occur, the British were forced the fight the war without help. The British continued to lose due to there ignorance as they believed that they would fights battles in the colonies similar to how they did in Europe, through good weather, disciplined lines and honorable tactics. However, George Washington did not fight using those rules and attacked the British during the night and had his soldiers shoot from hiding. France was also a benefiting factor to the American’s success. France helped provide money and soldiers to the Americans making the colonists a bigger threat.
    Finally, the American troops were relentless and persevered until the end of the war. After losing hundreds of colonists, George Washington was able to keep his militia in the war long enough to gain their independence. This was done through smart war tactics such as those seen in the war of Saratoga, important battle victories such as the Battle of Yorktown and finally a leader who truly believed, and has seen, that the British military could be beat.

    Jamie Ernst

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  26. In the Revolutionary War, the Americans came out on top simply because they were more motivated and more familiar with the surroundings. While the British were fighting for control of the colonies, the Americans were aware that if they lost, they would most likely be hung. This provided them with much motivation to win or die. In addition, the Americans knew the terrain that they were fighting on much more than the Brits, and this provided them with immense strategic knowledge. While fighting in a classic European style, the British put themselves in danger by underestimating the colonists and not being as motivated to succeed.

    -Henry Thomas

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  27. The American Revolutionary War was a complete underdog story for the Colonists, the odds were stacked completely against them. They were facing the strongest and biggest empire in the world at the time and they were weak but somehow untrained militia men defeated the British. The main reason I think the British loss was because of how they went into the war. The British took the war kind of as a joke, they didn't realize that they had a chance of losing didn't think that the colonists would put up a fight. Another reason that the British end up losing the war is because of George Washington's excellent leadership and strategic attacks. He struck on holidays when he knew that The British wouldn't be as ready to combat the attacks. The Colonists fought hard and against everything conquered one of the biggest empires in the world at that time.
    --Lane Mayher

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  28. All throughout the American Revolutionary War, the British had a more dominant/efficient army whereas America had a militia which was practically formed by civilian populations. The British had all the right facets to defeat the Americans such as equipment,clothing, and size but they didn't know the land well. It was through tactics and planning that lead George Washington and his troops to success. Washington's powerful speaking skills furthered the mens enlistment duration as well as moral when they won the battle at Trenton. This victory was the beginning of Washington's road to success. It was Washington's constant perseverance and uplifting attitude that kept his soldiers on the field longer. His leadership skills brought them success and strengthened the army. Another contributor which strengthened America would be the aid from France. There are a few reasons why the British did not win the war. For instance, they misjudged the amount of land and didn't understand that it was impossible to take control over such vast areas. Another main reason would be the expansive space between the homeland and America which directly hindered communication. In conclusion, one would say that Americas leader George Washington is the primary reason they won the war along with the fact that they persevered for so long. The British weren't as determined to win the war and therefore lost focus at times which hindered their unity.

    ___Taylor Wray

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  29. Mr. Gulotta,

    I haven't used WFG blog before and I tried to post my response but it is not letting me. Not sure if I need to make an account or if it just not working. Could I attach my response to this email and talk to you about it tomorrow?

    Thank you,
    Harrison Yaste



    The British lost the war to the patriotic Americans due to many factors. One of the most prominent factors would be the ocean separating their home country of England to the unknown continent of North America. The British were separated from their headquarters which led to very long lines of communication in which the British government was very poorly informed. Other factors include the fact that the British underestimated both the Patriots and the Loyalists. For the Patriots, the British thought that they were much weaker than they really were. With the Loyalists, they believed that eventually the Loyalists would start an uprising against the Americans and aid them into a victory but instead this uprising never occurred. One of the greater factors would be the American’s unorthodox way of fighting in battle and war in general. The British were based on the idea of battle being very orderly and following the unwritten rules of war. The British would normally line up in order and fire muskets one at a time. They never fought during the night and often socialized with the opposing side during time after battle. The Americans on the other hand grew up on a Native Indian style warfare where rules don’t apply. Many attacks were strategized and often built on surprise and ambush. All men, women, and children were apart of the war unlike the British. It was almost seem as if even though British had a surplus of troops, they were never going to win the war. With George Washington’s perseverance and leadership he was able to rally his troops to ultimately gain their freedom and result in a British loss.

    Harrison Yaste

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  30. The British lost the American Revolutionary war for numerous reasons. Perhaps the first, and most obvious, was the distance between America and Britain. They had close to no means of communication, and the British generals in the US badly informed the British Government of what was occurring in America. Also, although the British had a large and impressive army, they were overly ambitious when they chose to take on an entire continent. The British also weren’t familiar with the land they were trying to conquer, as they believed taking over New York City would fully defeat the colonists.
    The British also lacked information on the American colonists. The British Government was expecting Loyalist groups, especially from some of the southern colonies, to rebel against America and fight for the British side, which didn’t happen. The British also had a different understanding of what war really was, compared to George Washington. The British believed in a type of chivalry and respect, for example they thought it was rude to attack when night fell. George Washington did not share these concerns, and was relentless and strategic with his attacks. He gained victories for America because of this, and they eventually won him the war.
    The Americans also gained help, both financially and in battle, from other powerful nations, such as France. Without the French army, the Americans would’ve been outrageously outnumbered by the British, and would have had more of a struggle with the expenses of war and the weapons required. The Americans came out with victory because of all these reasons, and because they had a leader who knew the British could be beat, and would be completely relentless trying to prove it. With such a strong leader, the Americans believed they could defeat England, and agreed to fight until the very end, which paid off.
    -Sophia Peluso

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  31. The British lost the revolutionary war to the American for three main reasons. Firstly, the altitudes of soldiers were so different between British soldiers and American soldiers. As American soldiers were traitors to the British King when they started fighting in the war, they were going to be killed anyway if they lost the war. As a result, they had nothing to be afraid of. They went all in to fight the war because they were not afraid of death. On the other hand, British soldiers and Hessians soldiers, who had families back home, their determination was not as strong as the Patriots. Secondly, unskilled British Generals were another main reason why the British lost the war. British General Howe lost two important wars which they could have eliminated the American army. For the Battle of Bunker Hill, Howe used the wrong tactic by commanding his men expose to the enemy gun fire. This battle let the American knows that British soldiers are defeatable even they outnumbered the American army. Also, Battle for Control of New York City and State and Battle of Saratoga are also the wars which a great win for the American. These shows having a good General like Washington can really change the war for the America. Lastly, support from France was the last knockout punch for the British. After giving money, fleet and generals to the America, the American army was able to defeat the British in the last battle in the battle of Yorktown. After that battle, Britain and the America signed the Treaty of Paris and the United States of America formed.

    Jason Tao

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  32. The British loss in the Revolutionary War can be contributed to their over-confidence and the methods fighting in the war. First off, the British relied heavily on the loyalist, who did not end up helping nearly as much as they wanted them to do. More importantly, the British underestimated the American forces. Considering the massive size of the British army, they expected to be able to easily wipe out the colonists. They were wrong. The Americans, led by George Washington, fought an unconventional war which the red coats just could not handle. The British were accustomed to a European Warfare which was much more formal and "gentleman-like". The way European Warfare works is that the soldiers would line up face to face and fire at each other. This would only occur during the day time in this type of war for the Generals, from opposing sides, would have dinner with one another at night. The British could just not handle the unconventional warfare brought by George Washington and the colonists. On top of this, the reasons for fighting for both sides were very different. The British couldn't care less. The British generals didn't care for their soldiers at all. On the other side, the colonists were fighting for their freedom. The colonists had the motivation and drive to win the war. Also, the French helped the colonists in the end when they really needed it.

    Ben Wolf

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  33. The British lost to the colonies in the American Revolution for many reasons. One of the reasons was that Britain was so far away from America. This affected the war because the king couldn’t give direct orders to his generals and it took a few weeks for them to get the orders. It also took a few weeks for the king to get news back on things that happened. With an ocean in between America and Britain, resupplying the British troops was hard too and took a long time. The British also didn’t know the land as well as the colonists’ did because they hadn’t been there as long. Another reason the British lost the American Revolution was because they underestimated the power of the colonies. The British expected the colonies to be weak and expected there were more Loyalists than Patriots and that the Loyalists would rise up against the Patriots but instead most of the Loyalists went back to Britain. The British were also behind the times and fought the war thinking that all they had to do was capture New York City and the war would be over. That was not the case, the colonists’ did many sneak attacks and caught the British off guard by attacking on Christmas and New Years taking many British causalities and outsmarting the British generals.

    -Taylor Rathbun

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  34. The British lost the American Revolution primarily due to their own hubris. The crown had seen myriad victories overseas in territories such as India and in the French & Indian War and underestimated the disadvantage of distance while controlling land. Much like losing game of risk or how the Roman Empire fell, the British were spreading their forces too thin throughout their empire and communications were unreliable and slow. Thinking their military was strong enough even with this fault, the British thought that it would be simple holding colonies across an ocean. Another aspect of pride that fell the British was their underestimation of American resolve in the colonies. Even after sickening taxes and casualties in battle, the American colonists would always still fight. During this time we can attribute much of our perseverance to our determined and gifted government, the Continental Congress, which wasn’t taken seriously by the crown. Our soldiers weren’t the professionals of the British Army but we defeated them in guerilla warfare, a style of battle the British thought themselves too good for. Their pride even hid the premise that France would become our ally or that we would be able to unite ourselves. With their overconfidence, our underdog forces became victorious in the war of our genesis.

    Peter Bahr

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  35. Looking back on the history of the United States of America it is hard to believe that thirteen colonies formed by British citizens who left home to seek a brighter future, beat the British who had a large and professional army. When the revolution started the British army also thought this way. Much like what Peter Bahr said, “The crown had seen myriad victories overseas in territories such as India and in the French & Indian War and underestimated the disadvantage of distance while controlling land.” The British had thought that since they faced a battle against the French and Indians that could handle being overseas. They thought that America was weak and that Britain would have support from loyalist but both of these things turned out not to be true. Britain was relying on a loyalist uprising but the uprising never occurred so Britain never got help from the inside. Britain had enemies such as France who were willing to help and fund the colonist throughout the war, which made them stronger. During the war Britain was also a little over 3,000 miles across water from their headquarters. Being this far away with water in-between caused communication to be very slow. The British also knew so little about America and even though they had a big army it wasn’t big enough for the size of America. The colonist fought using new forms of warfare. Washington crossed the Delaware and surprised the Hessians on Christmas morning because he knew that they would be hung over and be caught off guard due to the holiday. This kind of warfare surprised the British and challenged the old fashion way of meeting in a battlefield to fight. A very important reason for the British defeat was the American citizens were fighting to save their homes, which gave them a lot of courage to keep fighting.

    -Katherine Frick

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  36. The British lost the revolutionary war for many reasons. The biggest reason in my opinion that they lost was because the ocean that separated them from the Americas. The amount of time it would take supplies like guns, weapons etc. could be weeks, also making communication extremely difficult. Another reason the British lost was because of the something the Americans didnt have and that was a capital city. Many thought the war was over after the capture of New York but since the Americans had many major cities, if one fell another one could take that cities spot as a popular city. While the British were having trouble coming over and trying to get supplies over, the Americans were enjoying their home turf. I also believe that since the Americans were fighting on their own soil that gave them confidence to fight. Like in any sport when you play at home you feel more comfertable, you know where everything is and that is how the Americans felt. A real momentum sifter in the war and another reason the british got defeated was because the aid the Americans got from France, this aid came after the battle of saratoga. A major contributing factor from the french was the ability to help better our navy. A point on how the British beat themselves was because some loyalist, or Americans who opposed the war were scared to fight because there land could be taken away easily and also they had seen or heard of some of the actions that took place by the sons of liberty. Another reason the British lost was because of their soldiers. They were chosen to fight and paid so compared to the American soldiers who where fighting for the lifes and freedom the American Soldiers where more motivated and it showed on the battlefield. "Even though the British outnumbered the Americans they did not have the grit and will to win the war like George Washington and his militia."- Barcey G. The militia were a group of citizen who were untrained but still fought. A lot of the reasons why the British lost was because there own mistakes but you have to give a lot of credit to the Americans and their style of war.

    Matt Koopman

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  37. The British lost the American Revolution for many reasons. The first big reason was because of the big gap over seas of where they were fighting. They were too far away with very bad, slow communications. Also the gap made it very hard for the British to restock their supplies that they were either out of or restock what was stolen from the colonists. Another main reason the British lost the American Revolution was because of how they were fighting a war they thought they were going to win. The British underestimated how much the colonists were going to fight and how well, making the British very lazy in war. The British also thought they were just fighting the colonist which ended up not to be true; they were fighting the colonists with the aid of France. That making it a reason they lost because they weren’t prepared to fight two separate forces on the same team. One last reason the British lost the American Revolution was because of the battle of Bunker Hill. The British made the mistake of going straight into the colonists, hurting their numbers verse the colonists, killing 1,300 English and only 300 colonists. The British lost the American Revolution for many reasons, some being those main reasons.

    -Lindsy Dario

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  38. The British had a bigger, stronger, and better trained army than the Colonies had in the American Revolutionary War. However, the Colonies had two advantages. One being that the war was being fought in their territory and the other was that they were being underestimated by the British. George Washington knew his advantages and used them as much as he could. Washington attacked British mercenaries on Christmas day, figuring they had spent the night drinking. He was right and this helped knock out a portion of Britain's strong army. A British General also decided not to follow his orders and instead traveled to Chicago, which took another large portion of Britain's army out of the war. Britain also heavily relied on the loyalists in the war. Unfortunately for the British, most of the loyalists went back to Britain and fortunately for the colonies, the patriots stayed. Another factor as to why the British lost the war is because they were able to be supplied arms. General Charles Cornwallis cut his supply lines extremely short and by the Siege of Yorktown, the British army was completely out of weapons. The Colonies were successful because of the British. The British made multiple mistakes and George Washington exposed their weaknesses.

    - Trevor Berry

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  39. The reasons why the British lost the American Revolution were because they had many obstacles in their way to victory. One obstacle was distance, as the British were receiving commands and weapons from an ocean away. This meant that it took a long time to restock and communications were difficult to give and receive. Another reason why the British lost the war was because they were fighting by themselves, while America had the French on their side. Moreover, Britain's army was not large enough, making it hard to conquer a significant amount of land. Another reason why the British lost was because they were relying on Loyalist groups in the South to have uprisings, however the Loyalists never followed through. Lastly, a major impact on the war was that George Washington was leading the Americans through the war. Because of his drive and intensity, he was able to motivate the soldiers to want to win and fight as hard as they could. His style of warfare managed to throw the British off as they were only used to European Warfare.

    - Tatum Boyle

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  40. There are many reasons the British lost the American Revolutionary War but in my opinion I believe that there are three main reasons why. The fact that the British were over 3,000 miles away from the homeland and structured government, made it a lot harder for the colony members. Also the fact that the only source of communication was by letter and sometimes it would take months/years to get the letter across. The second reason was military strategies. Washington was the leader of the American army at this point of time and was an absolute military genius. On Christmas Night George Washington planned an attack on the Hessians soldiers, with it being Christmas; they were drunk and not fit to fight at the time. Finally, the British lost the war because they were not used to the new style of warfare that the Americans were using against them. The British were used to lining up and firing in a line at the army, but the Americans were using a new type of warfare strategy. They would hide behind rocks and flank and surprise the British. The British were not used to this at all and it was like fishing in a barrel for the Americans.

    -Lewis

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  41. The British lost the Revolutionary War due to multiple reasons. Even though the colonists victory is remarkable and unexpected, they were triumphiant as a result of Britain's misinformation about the events unfolding in America. Britain lacked knowledge about the occurrences in the colonies because of the seperation of England and the United States by the Atlantic Ocean. Britain was relying heavily on the Loyalists in the colonies, however the Loyalists never helped the English army throughout their time in the colonies. The colonists took the upper hand because they kept a loyal army deoployed throughout the entire war and had the best general of all time, George Washington. The Americans knew the land of America better than the British, and used their surroundings and the witty tactics of George Washington to their advantage. The Americans fought with more pride and passion for freedom, and eventually their fervor for indepedence drove them to victory.

    - Connor Shalleck

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  42. The reasons why the British lost the American Revolution were because they were away from their headquarters and they underestimated the Americans. Due to the fact that they weren't near their headquarters, they weren't able to resupply quickly enough, like Tatum said. They also were on our territory, they didn't know the ropes of our territory like we did, so that "home field" advantage we had gave us an edge. On top of that they underestimated the Americans, they thought we were weaker. They believed they had a stronger, better, bigger military and thought they were going to easily win. There were couple battles were they won, and they asked for a peace commission, but we didn't give in, we hit them harder. Also the lack of keeping their guard up and not smart decisions, for example, on Christmas eve, when Washington attacked them while they were mostly drunk and in their underwear. This was smart of Washington, but dumb of the British to let their guard down. They thought the Americans wouldn't do anything, but cause of their dumb assumptions, they were captured or killed. So George Washington was also a big reason to why they loss because of his courage and good decisions.

    -Brian Rodriguez

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  43. The reason why the British lost the American revolution was simply due to the fact that they underestimated the Americans soldiers, and their determination to be free. On top of this, the british thousands of miles away from their homeland. This made resupplying on ammunition, food and other supplies very challenging. If they needed more supplies or needed to contact mainland Britain it would months! The only communication their was, was by letter which was extremely unreliable, Lewis said. Another reason why the British lost the American Rev was due to the Leader of the American army: George Washington. Washington was an amazing leader and encouraged the American army to fight for what they believe in and never give up. Also, his immense tactics when manny battles over the british including the Christmas night attacks. The British were drunk, partying and unaware that the americans were about to strike. This was an amazing plan by Mr. GW. The british were use to lines of men firing thousands of rounds at a time, but the American army was using a new type of warfare which the British were unprepared for. Ultimately, the distance away from britan, lack of communication and army tactics lost the british the American rev.


    -Noah Abrams

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  44. The British lost the Revolutionary War because they were fighting a prideful group of colonist, in an enormous territory extremely far away from their homeland. The British did not expect the American Soldiers to be as strong and as dedicated. The American territory was to vast and there wasn’t a single “capital,” for them to capture. This being said, George Washington and the American Colonist also played a big role. Knowing he had only days left with his army, General George Washington visionary plan attacking Trenton on December 25th and then Princeton was one of his greatest accomplishments in this war. This victory allowed Washington to maintain his army, and boost moral. And then while the British invaded small towns, local militia were ready to fight. The British turned to the South but many were defeated at Kings Mountain in South Carolina. Combined with an allied France, British had no choice but to give up.

    - Andrew Koudijs

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  45. There were a number of events that lead to the downfall of the British within the American colonies. From the start of the Revolutionary War the British misjudged the power of the colonists and continued to undermine their tactics. George Washington knew that the colonists must target the British weaknesses in order to have any chance in gaining independence. One of these weaknesses was the fact that the British were fighting in a foreign land, which meant there was a large lack of communication, as well as little knowledge about the land within the colonies. As the book states the war fell into two important stages, those being when the fighting took place in the north and secondly when the British turned to the loyalists in the south. These were to crucial moments in the war and the events that occurred are a large factor in the colonist defeat of the British. For example, the Battle of Saratoga. This was a turning point for the Americans as Howe chose to disobey orders and retired to Pennsylvania. As a result only two thirds of the British army was present which forced the British to surrender. What was left of the British turned to the loyalists for help but many Native Americans chose not to fight and at that point the French began recognizing the Americans as a country. At this point there was not much hope left for the British as the Americans were receiving aid from both the French and the Spanish. These leading powers backing the Colonists was crucial as it gave them more land and sea power and prevented the British from receiving supplies mid war. It wasn’t until after a victory and the capture of 7,000 British soldiers that British finally gave up.

    -Lexi Merison

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  46. British lost the American revolutionary war because they were far away from the colonies; they couldn’t rule them all the way from England. Communication was very hard; sometimes I took months to get letter to the king in England. British had little influence in terms of ruling the colonies, so the colonies were basically free. American military was also more powerful than British though, and they were smarter in terms of war strategies. Washington attacked the British when they were most vulnerable, Christmas day and New Year’s Eve. Also, America got aid from France after the battle of Saratoga which helped them since British was more technologically advance than them.

    Maria Ahmed

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