The Miracle of American Independence: Twenty Ways Things Could Have Turned Out Differently

198 Pages·2015·3.181 MB·English

by  Jonathan R. Dull

the miracle of american independence

The Mir acle of
A m e r i c a n

I n d e pe n d e n c e
twenty ways things could have
turned out differently
jonathan r. dull
potomac books
An imprint of the University of Nebraska Press
© 2015 by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska
All rights reserved. Potomac Books is an imprint of the
University of Nebraska Press.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Dull, Jonathan R., 1942– author.
The miracle of American independence:
twenty ways things could have turned
out differently / Jonathan R. Dull.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978- 1- 61234- 767- 7 (pbk.: alk. paper)
ISBN 978- 1- 61234- 780- 6 (epub)
ISBN 978- 1- 61234- 781- 3 (mobi)
ISBN 978- 1- 61234- 782- 0 (pdf)
1. United States— History—
Revolution, 1775–1783. I. Title.
E208.D85 2015
973.3— dc23
2015024062
Set in Lyon Text by L. Auten.
contents
Preface . . vii
PART 1. Seven Ways the British Might Have
Averted American Independence
1. Britain Could Have Continued to Accept America’s
Partial Autonomy . . 3
2. There Might Have Been a Peaceful Resolution of the
Colonial Rivalry of 1748– 1755 . . 11
3. The War of 1755 Could Have Ended in a Quick
British Victory . . 20
4. The French Could Have Won the War . . 29
5. The British Army Could Have Withdrawn from the
American Frontier . . 38
6. The British Government Might Have Learned a Lesson
from the Stamp Act Fiasco . . 46
7. The British Might Have Avoided War with the
American Colonies . . 54
PART 2. Twelve Ways the British Could Have
Overcome American Independence
8. American Resistance Might Have Been Fatally
Weakened during 1775 . . 63
9. The Seven Years’ War Could Have Permanently
Weakened the French Navy . . 70
10. The British Might Have Accepted France’s Pleas
for Better Relations . . 78
11. King Louis XVI Could Have Refused to Arm
the Americans . . 85
12. The British Might Have Crushed the
Continental Army . . 91
13. Louis XVI Could Have Pulled Back from War . . 97
14. Spain Might Not Have Joined the War . . 107
15. Spain Might Have Made Peace with Britain . . 113
16. The British Might Have Captured West Point . . 119
17. A Financial Collapse Could Have Doomed
the Revolution . . 122
18. The Allies Might Not Have Achieved the Cooperation
Needed for Victory . . 127
19. The Peace Treaty Could Have Left the United States
Too Weak to Survive . . 134
PART 3. The Way the United States Could
Have Lost Its Independence
20. The American Union Might Not Have Lasted . . 147
Notes . . 151
Index . . 177
preface
I
n the long run, American independence was not a mir-
acle. The inhabitants of what is now the eastern half of
the United States were so rapidly multiplying and the
land they inhabited was so distant from Great Britain that
eventually they would have become independent. The early
timing of that independence and its huge extent, both polit-
ical and territorial, however, do seem miraculous or close to
it. The American Revolution might have been indefinitely
postponed had British leaders been wiser or Americans less
suspicious of them; I will discuss seven ways the revolution
might have been averted. Once hostilities began, the Brit-
ish might have forced Americans back into obedience or at
least forced them to accept less independence or less terri-
tory; I will examine a dozen turning points. These two sec-
tions are closely linked by a common theme: the disastrous
results of British ignorance and arrogance. Finally I will look
at the postwar fate of American independence.
There, of course, could be far more than twenty chapters
in this book, because there are many things that could have
happened differently. For example, the warship Reprisal sank
during a storm on its return voyage from taking Benjamin
Franklin to France in 1776; it could easily have happened
during its voyage to France. How then did I make my selec-
tion? Partly it was on the basis on how possible it was that
things could have happened other than they did, although
in some cases (for example, chapter 7), the likelihood of a
different outcome was small. Partly it was on the basis of
the significance of a different outcome, although the stakes
involved were not equally crucial; American independence
might have survived a different outcome to the events in
chapter 16, for example. As I wish to reach nonspecialists in
the field, I also have selected topics that are not only impor-
tant but also interesting for general readers (and in some
cases relatively unfamiliar). I have paid particular attention
to having the chapters flow into each other so as to form a
unified narrative. I hope it will be a stimulating introduc-
tion or reintroduction to one of the most exciting periods in
American and European history
I have drawn on my nearly fifty years of research and writ-
ing on the American Revolution and its “parent,” the Seven
Years’ War (or, as it is frequently called in the United States,
the French and Indian War). I have written seven previous
books on French, British, and American history. The present
book is a mixture of these national histories, the only way
to do full justice to such a complex and interesting subject. I
could not have written it without the support of my wonder-
ful wife, Susan, and children, Max, Anna, Rob, and Veron-
ica. I dedicate it to the memory of a wonderful man, my late
father- in- law, Dr. Stanley Kruger.
viii Preface
the miracle of american independence