Kathleen Krull - A Kids Guide to the American Revolution

CONTENTS

CONTENTS

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A KIDS GUIDE TO THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION . Text copyright 2018 by Kathleen Krull. Illustrations copyright 2018 by Anna DiVito. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

www.harpercollinschildrens.com

Cover art by Anna DiVito

Cover design by Chelsea C. Donaldson

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017951333

Digital Edition JUNE 2018 ISBN: 978-0-06-238111-8

Print ISBN: 978-0-06-238109-5

ISBN 978-0-06-238110-1 (trade bdg.) ISBN 978-0-06-238109-5 (pbk.)

18 19 20 21 22 CG / LSCH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

FIRST EDITION

To patriotic revolutionaries Dr. Jacqui Ignatova

and Dr. Anatoli Ignatov

K. K.

For Claire Oyster

A. D.

Oceans of words have been devoted to the American Revolution. Its a gigantic, complex topichow do we boil it all down?

First off, our War for Independence was basically a blowup between a parent figure and unruly children. Thirteen colonies, so new they didnt quite know what they were doing, blew up against a mighty kingdom, resenting its reign.

The colonists were unhappy with the kings treatment of them and eventually had to rebel.

Okay, it was a lot more complicated than a blowup. Considerably more deadly, messy, scary, and supenseful. This was a blowup that exploded on the world stage, affecting all of history afterward.

The war itself was not a straightforward thing. It wasnt that one daybamwar was declared. Leading up to it was a long, incredibly annoying series of insults and injuries between the two parties, mostly against the colonies. It lacked a clear-cut beginning or even an endand the Declaration of Independence, one of its most electric moments, was sort of in the middle.

WISE WORDS

The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people.... Thirteen clocks were made to strike togethera perfection of mechanism, which no artist had ever before effected.

John Adams, 1818

The Revolutionary War was the opposite of a fair fight. It was very David against Goliath, an underdog versus a superpower. On one side was the kingdom of Great Britain. It combined two very old, very well-established countriesEngland (founded in 1066) and Scotland (founded in 843). Once they joined together in 1707, they plotted world domination, intent on growing into the mighty British Empire.

Great Britain had the most sophisticated and well-supplied army and navy in the world. They had been exploring and colonizing up a stormareas around the Caribbean, parts of Canada, and parts of Africa. As of 1775, Britain ruled over some eight million subjects. The British began to brag that the Empire owned so much of the earth that the sun never set on its people.

The American colonies were a moneymaker for the Empire, planned as its cornerstonea crown jewel, in fact, with their wildly abundant natural resources and theoretically grateful colonists.

A LL THE S OURCES OF M ONEY

To the British, the colonies were the entry point to some 950 million acres in what would later become the lower 48 states. An entry, in fact, into a seemingly unlimited source of money. This was clean, unpolluted land with unparalleled resourcesforests dense with valuable timber, rivers with glittery fish all but jumping ashore, wild animals to be hunted for their precious furs, mines producing coal and iron. In a generally mild climate, the fertile land was perfect for farming crops and raising livestock. Early industries benefiting Britain included whaling, shipbuilding, and production of alcohol. On top of all that, America would supply an ever-expanding market for its own goods. The trading possibilities were endless.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the warand the Atlantic Oceanwere the brand-new colonies. They had begun forming only as of 1607, and by the time of the Revolutionary War had about 2.5 million people, of which half a million were slaves. They were far from united, with no one official government. They had no navy. For an army, there were only ill-trained volunteers in various colonies militias.

This blowup could have gone so, so bad.

A N I NSULT FROM S OMEONE IN E NGLAND W HO A CTUALLY L IKED A MERICA

In all laws relating to trade and navigation especially, this is the mother country, [Americans] are the children; they must obey, and we prescribe.

Lord William Pitt, 1770