Liberty and Crisis: The History of the American Revolution during 1776

By April of 1776, talk had heated up concerning independence, and a consensus was quickly growing in Congress. However, one problem was in the way: did the Congress have the authority to declare independence for its 13 member colonies? The process was riddled with confusion across the colonies. Some, such as North Carolina, had sent explicit instructions to their Congressional delegation to support Independence, suggesting Congress has the authority. Others, such as Rhode Island and New Hampshire, declared independence directly and unilaterally, suggesting individual colonies had the authority. Elsewhere, in Massachusetts and New York, even individual towns and cities sent declarations of independence to King George III. The royal mailbox was packed with letters declaring colonial independence.

During the summer of 1776, John Adams, Samuel Adams and others arguing for a formal break with Britain convinced their fellow Congressmen that the time had come to formalize their break from Britain. John, along with Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston, were appointed to draft the announcement informing Britain of their intentions. Together they completed the rough draft of the preamble on May. The committee then wanted John Adams to complete the document, but he felt that Jefferson was a better writer. Ultimately the two men worked together to create Declaration of Independence in late June, with Adams providing much of the legal insight and Jefferson the prose.

Of course, simply declaring independence did not mean the British were going to grant it, and during that time, things were looking quite dire for the cause. After the siege of Boston forced the British to evacuate that city in March 1776, Continental Army commander George Washington suspected that the British would move by sea to New York City, the next logical target in an attempt to end a colonial insurrection. He thus rushed his army south to defend the city.
Washington guessed correctly, but it would be to no avail. Unlike Boston, New York City's terrain featured few defensible positions. The city lacked a high point from which to launch a siege, as the peninsula of Boston was fortunate to have. Moreover, Washington wasn't sure defending the city was necessary, hoping that an expedition launched toward Quebec like the one Benedict Arnold had led in late 1775 would keep the British away from New York anyway. However, Congress thought otherwise, and demanded that Washington defend New York.

Washington thus did what he was told, and it nearly resulted in the army’s demise. In the summer of 1776, the British conducted the largest amphibious expedition in North America’s history at the time, landing over 20,000 troops on Long Island. British General William Howe, who had led the British at Bunker Hill and would later become commander in chief of the armies in North America, easily captured Staten Island, which Washington was incapable of defending without a proper navy. Washington’s army attempted to fight, but Washington was badly outmaneuvered, and his army was nearly cut off from escape. The withdrawal across New York City was enormously disorderly, with many of Washington's troops so scared that they deserted. Others were sick as a result of the dysentery and smallpox plaguing the Continental Army in New York. In what was arguably the worst defeat of the Revolution, Washington was ashamed, and he also felt betrayed, by both his troops and Congress.

By the early months of 1777, the colonists were in dire straits and the British were plotting a campaign in the coming months to put down the revolution once and for all.