How did the political and military strategy employed by General Washin

How did the political and military strategy employed by General Washington and the Second Continental Congress help ensure an American victory in the war for independence?

Answer:

ANSWER
An ideal answer will:
1. Discuss the importance of the selection of the experienced General Washington as commander of the Continental Army by the Second Continental Congress and the Congress’s successful efforts to find money to fund the army in helping win the war.
2. Note the importance the Declaration of Independence had in lifting the morale of the army and popular support for independence from Great Britain.
3. State how the creation of the Articles of Confederation in 1777 created a loose confederation of states that created a national, though weak, government that allowed it to prosecute the war.
4. Discuss General Washington’s effectiveness in transforming the colonial militia into a well-disciplined, well-trained, brave, and effective army.
5. Analyze the importance of General Washington’s understanding that he had to fight a defensive war using nontraditional tactics and avoid a decisive loss until the training, discipline, manpower, and materials of the Continental Army were adequate to take on the British army.
6. Discuss the importance of the American victory at Saratoga in 1777 in persuading the French and later the Spanish to provide military support, supplies, and diplomatic recognition to the United States.
7. Discuss how dividing American forces in the southern campaign into two armies, utilizing smaller colonial militias, and gaining military assistance from Spain and France enabled General Washington and the American army to overcome the British military strategy after 1778 of focusing mostly in the South and the West.
8. Analyze how the French army and naval troops were critical to the climactic battle of the war resulting in the American victory at Yorktown in the fall of 1781.
9. Write a concise and effective conclusion.