Lesson 4: The War Ends

Lesson Focus

Despite British efforts to cut off foreign aid, the American rebels persisted. This lesson explores how the war shifted south, culminating in the decisive final battles that secured American victory and reshaped the world.

People to Know

Lord Cornwallis, Benedict Arnold, George Rogers Clark

Learning Objectives

• Identify the significant challenges both the British and Americans faced as the long war continued.
• Explain the military strategy that trapped and defeated Lord Cornwallis's army at the pivotal Battle of Yorktown.

Beginning in 1778, the British shifted their military focus to the South, unable to defeat Washington in the North. While they won battles, they struggled to hold territory against guerrilla fighters like Francis Marion, “the Swamp Fox.” The American cause faced a grim year in 1780 with betrayals like that of Benedict Arnold at West Point. However, Spanish aid under General Bernardo de Galvez helped divert critical British troops.

In 1781, British commander Lord Cornwallis moved his army to Yorktown, Virginia, expecting to be safe. This decision became a fatal error.
Following French naval victories that secured the Atlantic, American and French forces under Washington marched south and surrounded Yorktown by land, while the French fleet blocked any escape by sea.
Trapped and without support, Cornwallis was forced to surrender, ending the last major battle of the war.

Britain offered generous peace terms to divide the United States from its allies, France and Spain.
American commissioners negotiated directly with Britain, using George Rogers Clark’s western victories from 1778 to strengthen their claims.
As a result, the Treaty of Paris in 1783 not only recognized American independence but also granted the new nation vast territory from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River, a major diplomatic victory.

The American victory showed that a people could successfully rebel against a king.
France’s financial support for the war pushed its own government toward bankruptcy. When the French king tried to raise taxes, citizens used the American cry of “no taxation without representation,” forcing him to call the Estates-General.
Pay special attention to this: The American example directly inspired French revolutionaries, helping to trigger the French Revolution.

The American victory and loss of the colonies discredited King George III and his attempt to control Parliament.
After the defeat at Yorktown, Parliament removed Lord North from office and passed reforms to limit the king’s power.
This outcome helped transform the British monarchy into more of a figurehead role and persuaded Britain to grant its remaining colonies greater self-government to prevent future rebellions. The world was truly “turned upside down.”