Most students commonly believe that the Revolutionary War was a short and relatively painless war. However, for Americans, only the Vietnam War...

To answer your question, I will explain why the war was a long and painful one. I will also include the costs both sides experienced as a result of the Revolutionary War. Based on these ideas, you should be able to create the essay you are required to do.

In order to understand why the war lasted so long, it is necessary to look at what each side wanted to accomplish, and how it planned...

To answer your question, I will explain why the war was a long and painful one. I will also include the costs both sides experienced as a result of the Revolutionary War. Based on these ideas, you should be able to create the essay you are required to do.

In order to understand why the war lasted so long, it is necessary to look at what each side wanted to accomplish, and how it planned to do these things. In the beginning of the war, the British wanted to isolate New England from the rest of the colonies. They believed doing this would cause the conflict to end very quickly. However, because one general didn’t follow the plan, one British army got defeated, and one general moved very slowly, the large British force that was supposed to arrive in Albany, New York never arrived there. Only one of the three armies made it to Albany. As a result, the British lost this battle. This opened the door to the colonists receiving aid from France and Spain. This aid helped us in the fight against Britain, leading to the war lasting longer.

Another factor in why the war was a long one was the British had to defend the entire empire. The colonists knew this and developed a strategy that would lengthen the war. The colonists didn’t want to engage the British in large-scale battles. They knew those battles would be hard to win. Thus, the colonists used guerilla warfare tactics that caused the British to have to chase the colonists throughout the empire, especially in the South. This lengthened the war, which is exactly what the colonists wanted. The colonists knew that support for the war would decrease in Britain the longer it took for the war to end. Thus, our strategy, combined with Britain having to defend the entire empire, helped to lengthen the war.

The war was very costly for both sides. Both sides suffered many deaths.  These deaths occurred from battles and from diseases. The financial costs were also very high. The United States spent about $50 million on the war while Britain spent about $375 million. Even France and Spain incurred costs by helping us. For more specific figures on costs and casualties, click here and scroll to the section of costs and casualties. Additionally, there was property damage and our land was damaged by the fighting taking place on it.

As with any war, there were significant costs associated with it. Additionally, wars rarely go according to plan, causing them to last longer than expected. The Revolutionary War was no different.