What evidence does McCullough provide to support the idea that many in England underestimated the American colonies’ resolve to obtain independence? Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.
From the text:
"Suppose the colonies do abound in men, what does that signify?" he asked. "They are raw, undisciplined, cowardly men." And Lord Sandwich was by no means alone in that opinion. General James Grant, a member of the House of Commons, had boasted that with 5,000 British regulars he could march from one end of the American continent to the other, a claim that was widely quoted." pg. 6
Howe, a member of Parliament and a Whig, had earlier told his Nottingham constituents that if it came to war in America and he were offered a command, he would decline. But now duty called. "I was ordered, and could not refuse, without incurring the odious name of backwardness, to serve my country in distress," he explained. Howe, who had served in America during the Seven Years' War — or the French and Indian War, as it was known in America — was convinced the "insurgents" were few in number in comparison to those loyal to the Crown. pg. 7
1776
