8. Joseph Ellis, *The Cause: The American Revolution and Its Discontents, 1773 to 1783*. The victory at Yorktown was secured through Clinton's poor orders and the providential arrival of the French fleet. Diplomat John Jay then achieved a stunning victo

8. Joseph Ellis, *The Cause: The American Revolution and Its Discontents, 1773 to 1783*. The victory at Yorktown was secured through Clinton's poor orders and the providential arrival of the French fleet. Diplomat John Jaythen achieved a stunning victory by breaking his orders to negotiate a treaty that secured the Mississippi River as the western border. Robert Morrispersonally funded the army's final movements, writing 10,000 checks to prevent total financial ruin. Ultimately, the war ended with a confederation of sovereign states rather than a unified nation, leaving the tragic legacies of slavery and indigenous displacement unresolved by the new political structure. (8)
1670