Chapter Six - The American Revolution

Section One - The Revolution Begins

The First Continental Congress

• First Continental Congress (9/1774) - First time the colonies get togther to discuss the actions of Britain; all colonies present except for Georgia
• Recommended colonists continue to boycott British goods
• Warned colonial militia to be prepared to fight

The "Shot heard round the World"

• Minutemen - Massachusetts militia
• Minutemen stored its weapons in an armory in Concord, Mass - 20 miles from Boston
• British decide to capture the weapons in the armory
• Paul Revere and William Dawes ride to warn the Minutemen of the Britsh army
• Lexington - 70 minutemen easily defeated by British, who continue to Concord
• Concord - British find few weapons (they'd been moved) and were fired upon
• Redcoats - British soldiers
• Minutemen cause 250 British casualties and defeat the British army

Second Continental Congress

• Second Continental Congress - met in Philadelphia in May, 1775
• Two major accomplishments
• Continental Army - created to fight the Brish with George Washington as commander
• Olive Branch Petition - Letter sent to King George III stating the colonies were loyal and that they wanted the Intolerable Acts repealed

Early Battles

• Fort Ticonderoga - Green Mountain Boys (Vermont milita) capture this NY fort and take over much needed weapons and supplies
• Bunker Hill - Battle outside of Boston where the Britsh have to attack three times before they are unable to overcome the undersupplied colonial army (actually fought on Breed's Hill)
• William Prescott - issues the order at Bunker Hill "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!"

Section Two - Declaring Independence

Paine's Common Sense

• Thomas Paine - Patriot writer who pens "Common Sense" and "The Crisis"
• Common Sense - States that a monarchy led bykings and queens is not fair and that the citizens should rule a country; persuades many people to join the Patriot cause

Declaring Independence

• Declaration of Independence - written by Thomas Jefferson and contains three parts
• 1) Jefferson says all people have the unalienable rights - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
• 2) Lists ways in which the King has violated those rights
• 3) States that because the King violated the rights of all men, the citzens have the right to abolish (get rid of ) the government and declare independence
• Approved July 4, 1776

Choosing Sides

• Patriots - colonists who wish to be free from Britain; 1/3 of colonists at the beginning of the war
• Loyalists - colonists who desire to stay under the control of Britain; 1/3 of the colonists at the beginning of th war

Other Reactions to the Declaration of Independence

• John Adams' wife, Abigial, asks her husband to protect the rights of women in the colonies as well as the men

Section Three - Dark Hours for the Revolution

Comparing Strengths and Weaknesses

• British Strengths - more money, more experience, more troops, best navy in the world
• British Weaknesses - 2500 miles from home, Hessians (German mercenaries)
• Partriot Strengths - George Washington, motivation, home field advantage, French allies later in war
• Patriot Weaknesses - no navy, few supplies, few trained troops, no government, no money

A Call to Arms

• 230,000 troops serve in Continental army, including African Americans and people as young as 10

Other Sources of Help

• Some women serve as spies
• Molly Pitcher - brings water to troops and fills in on a cannon team when her husband is hurt at Battle of Monmouth

British Victories

• General Benedict Arnold's attack on Canada fails when the under supplied men are beaten at Quebec
• General Howe pushes Washington and his men out of New York City

Section Four - The Patriots Gain New Hope

Victory in New Jersey

• Hessians - German soldiers who were hired to fight for the British; not motivated to fight hard
• The Crisis - written by Thomas Paine to inspire the soldiers

Turning Point at Saratoga

• British plan to split the colonies in two parts - New England and the Middle/Southern colonies by taking over New York State
• Continental Army, led by Horatio Gates, stops the British at Saratoga, NY
• The victory convinces the French that the Continental Army might win and they join on our side
• French supply fresh troops, weapons, and a navy

Foreign Allies

• Marquis de Lafayette - Frenchman who assists the Patriot cause

Winter at Valley Forge

• Valley Forge, PA (winter of 1777-78) - Known for terrible weather, lack of food, clothing, and suffering
• 1 of 5 soldiers die of disease and starvation
• Baron Friedrich von Steuben - comes from Prussia to train troops at Valley Forge

Section Five - Independence

The War in the South

• Francis Marion - Patriot leader known as the Swamp Fox who had men hide during the day in marshes and attack the British at night
• Guerilla Warfare - swift, hit-and-run attacks used by the Continental Army in the south

Victory at Yorktown

• French navy blockades Brtish at sea
• French and Patriot armies surrounded British on land
• Battle of Yorktown (10/1781) - Britsh surrender and war is over

Treaty of Paris

• Treaty of Paris - ends the war, gives the United States independence and control of land to the Mississippi River