Campaign of 1777

This historical assessment of the American Revolution evaluates the significance of the Campaign of 1777. More specifically, this thesis examines whether the Campaign of 1777 was a turning point in the American Revolution. Each of the four elements of National Power: Diplomatic, Information, Military, and Economic (DIME); are used in order to determine whether there was a perceptible increase or decrease in power. The European balance of power dictated the effectiveness of diplomacy. After the Seven Year's War, Britain became diplomatically isolated affecting force replacement during the Revolution. Furthermore, research indicates the French were interested in developing an alliance with the Americans as early as 1775, discounting the transformation effects of the Saratoga victory. Both the information and economic elements of power seem to create more impact in historical writing than existed during the campaign. Finally, evidence indicates a perceptible turning point effect in the military element of power. Overall, the research indicates there was a perceptible increase in the military element of power coupled with a possible increase in diplomatic power for the Americans. Simultaneously there appears to be indications of a decrease in the military element of power for the British.