EconAir

  This was an existential war for the rebellious Americans. If they lost, leaders would be hung, Tories (loyalists) would retaliate, English rule would be harsh and revengeful. On the other hand, England could sail away and still remain a global power. The Americans did not have to win battles to win the war. They just had to continue to exist until the British decided that the war could not be won and had become too expensive. Opposition to the war in England rose rapidly after 1780. King George’s cabinet was forced to resign and Parliament passed a bill trying to limit George’s unilateral power to fight wars. England had an average of about 30,000 troops to fight in an area of about 100,000 square miles. During the war, English troops could not hold Philadelphia after defeating the Americans and occupying the city. England also could not hold isolated garrisons throughout the area, which were exposed to attacks by local militias. At most, England could hold New York City and some...

  The Causes of the American Revolution How the Colonials Won Creating a New Nation   Prologue:  America on the Brink of Revolution America in 1775 was a very different English colony than in 1700. In 1700, America was a poor "country" compared to England. By 1775, America's total output was about 40% of England's. About one-third of England's total trade (imports plus exports) was with the American colonies. America's total output and population were growing faster than England's. Besides providing raw material imports that England taxed and exported to other countries, primarily tobacco, America was becoming an important market for English manufactured goods. America also provided ships, shipbuilding, and sailors augmented the British merchant marine in times of peace  and the English navy in times of war. About one-fourth of England's merchant marine was American. But England had to be careful. Again,  America  was a very different colony in 1775 th...

Thucydides A friend of mine recently said that the most “useless” course he took in college was history. Let’s start with Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War . This was a war that took place over 2,400 years ago. What possible relevance could it have to Americans? In this war, Athens and Sparta, the two “superpowers” of Greece, were locked into a long war for the dominance of Greece. The climax to the story in Thucydides was that Athens decided to send its formidable fleet and much of its army to attack Syracuse, an ally of Sparta, far away across the Mediterranean Sea in Sicily (still there). The campaign was a disaster, leading to political instability at home and weakening Athens’ military position in Greece. Sound familiar? Remind you of our involvement in Vietnam? This is not a direct analogy but suggestive of some of the consequences of the Vietnam War. These potential consequences were not factored into the decision to make a major commitment in V...