Why the Patriots Won
The odds, stated first
- Despite considerable loyalist opposition, as well as Great Britain's apparently overwhelming military and financial advantages, the Patriot cause succeeded...
- The CED opens with what should have prevented the outcome: loyalist opposition and overwhelming British advantages.
- Apparently is doing work — it signals that the advantages did not translate into victory, and asks why.
Select all the reasons the CED gives for Patriot success.
Five factors, unranked.
Five reasons, listed
- ...because of the actions of colonial militias and the Continental Army, George Washington's military leadership, the colonists' ideological commitment and resilience, and assistance sent by European allies.
- Five factors: two military forces, one leader, one attribute of the population, and one external contribution.
- The CED gives no ranking, so an answer naming only Washington or only France has taken a fifth of the claim.
'Apparently overwhelming' signals that...
And asks why.
Loyalist opposition was 'considerable'
- The CED does not describe a united colonial population, and that matters for how the war is understood.
- It was a war within the colonies as well as against Britain, which is why the Patriot cause needed resilience.
- Recording that accurately is more useful than a story of unanimous rebellion.
An obstacle, a Patriot strength, or outside help?
Sort each element of the American victory.
The CED describes considerable loyalist opposition, not a united population.
A war inside the colonies as well as against Britain.
Loyalist opposition was "considerable", and the CED says so first. This was a war inside the colonies as well as against Britain — which is why the Patriot cause needed resilience, and why a story of unanimous rebellion is less accurate than the CED's own sentence.
The motive of the European allies is best explained by...
A continuation of the rivalry, not a judgement about ideals.
European allies, and why they helped
- Assistance sent by European allies is the CED's phrase, and 3.2 explains the motive without stating it.
- A power that lost territory and prestige in the Seven Years' War has a reason to weaken the victor.
- So the alliance is a continuation of the imperial rivalry, not a judgement about republican ideals.
The sentence that raises an answer above a list explains how the factors ____.
Commitment sustained the army; the army kept the cause alive for allies to join.
Various factors, weighed
- The objective is how various factors contributed to the American victory — various invites more than one.
- A strong answer gives three of the five and says how they interacted: commitment sustained the army, the army kept the cause alive long enough for allies to join.
- The interaction sentence is what raises an answer above a list.
An army that cannot win a decisive battle can still win a war by not being destroyed, because the other side must pay for every month it stays. Endurance is a strategy, not a consolation.
Despite considerable loyalist opposition, as well as Great Britain's apparently overwhelming military and financial advantages, the Patriot cause succeeded because of the actions of colonial militias and the Continental Army, George Washington's military leadership, the colonists' ideological commitment and resilience, and assistance sent by European allies. Five factors, unranked — and the apparently invites the question of why overwhelming advantages did not decide it.