Committees Committees of Correspondenceof Correspondence

PurposePurpose warn neighboring warn neighboring coloniescolonies about incidents with about incidents with BritishBritish

• William Dawes, Samuel Prescott, Paul Revere – warned militia of the British arrival

Lexington

• Americans formed minutemen (soldiers ready in a moments notice)

• General Gage (British)– ordered to round up colonial resistance and seize arsenal

The Shot Heard The Shot Heard ’’Round the WorldRound the World!!

Concord• British

– Marched was a disaster

– road were lined with minutemen some 3-4 thousand militiamen assembled (fired from behind stone walls and trees

– British fell by the dozens

– rescued by reinforcement from Boston

Division

– Loyalist• Support king (Crown or monarch)

– Patriots• Support independence

– Radicals– “I know not what course others may take; but as for me,

give me liberty or give me death” (Patrick Henry)

AdvantagesPatriots (Ame.)

• Advantages (Continental Army)– defending homeland– Know the land– used hit and run tactics– supply within reach– aided by France

• Disadvantages– few soldiers have

experiences– lack of strong navy

British• Advantages (Redcoats)

– generals and soldiers had wide experiences

– well-supplied with ammunition, food, money

– Has a strong navies• disadvantages

– Supplies and reinforcements takes months to arrive

– faced with new type of warfare

Bunker’s Hill (Breed’s Hill) June 17

• British won- technical victory

• American – moral victory– proved they could

hold own against better soldiers

• Letter to King George III– Hope for peace– King rejects the letter

• Prohibitory Act– Traitors will be hang– order naval blockade– Cut all trades, seize American

ships, – hired German Hessians (10,000)

mercenaries • (soldiers paid to fight)

Olive Branch Olive Branch PetitionPetition

Thomas PaineThomas Paine: : Common SenseCommon Sense• Wrote a pamphlet

– Stirred patriotism– Urged for

independence– owed no loyalty to king– “ for all men being

originally equals,

Declaration of Declaration of Independence Independence

(1776)(1776)

• Written by Thomas Jefferson• Reasons:

– can obtain aid from Britain’s enemies

– if captured can demand to be treated as prisoner not traitors (death penalty)

Parts of the Declaration: • preamble-

– explained the principles behind the act of declaring independence

• list of all grievances against the king• conclude with severing ties and becoming independent

– “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” “among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”

– Influence by John Locke- people are the fundamental source of power “governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed”

– July 4, 1776- colonies seized to exist– America was born

Quiz #41. Tax on all legal documents. S A

2. Policy that forbade settlers to settle beyond Appalachian Mountain P of 17_

3. Punishment policy to the colonist that dumped the tea into the ocean I A

4. Killing of innocent colonists by the British soldiers B M

5. Term for military rule M L

6. Event where colonist dumped tea into the ocean B T P

7. Tax on all import goods to raise King’s revenue T A

8. Term for housing the troops Q A

9. Term for refuse to buy

10. Secret society of men

George Washington

• Head of Continental Army

• commander in chief (43 yrs old)

• had limited military experience

• brought southerner support

• commanded the respect of the officers/soldiers

• take command of 14,000 soldiers to build a national army

Quiz # 5 1. Name the main author of Declaration of Independence

2. Name one reason for writing the Declaration

3. Name the author of Common Sense

4. He said “Give me Liberty or Give me Death.”

5. Name one part of the Declaration of Independence

6. This battle was a moral victory for the Americans

7-8. Name two advantage of the Americans

9-10. Name two advantage of the British

Fort Ticonderoga

• Colonists Take Action– Ethan Allen

led American rebels and captured the fort

– Took ammunitions

Battle of Long Island, NY• Washington with untrained soldiers (23,000) • British had 32,000 plus thousand mercenaries

– British burned city to the ground

• Washington retreat with heavy losses to Delaware• Thousands began to desert Washington’s army

Battle of Trenton• Washington needed victory- losing men’s confidence

• Washington conceived a bold plan

• Night of Dec 25 they crossed the ice-choked Delaware with 2,400 men– surprised the

drunk Hessian mercenaries

– within 45 minutes- Hessians capture more than 900

Battle of Saratoga• Burgoyne’s plan: to capture NY to

split US in two

– he would head down to Albany to meet Howe’s and Leger’s troops

• obstacles: forested wilderness, heavy equipments, large troops

• clashes with Americans

– Gen. Howe decided to seize Philadelphia

• Abandoned plan

• Americans able to surround Burgoyne- led to his surrender to Gen Horatio Gates

France Alliance• Victory in Saratoga

(turning point)• eliminated British

from north• brought France on

American side

– Dispatched money, military experts, large quantities of supplies

Valley Forge (Pennsylvania)– Soldiers demoralized, hungry, winter- cold– Washington troops whipped into fighting shape by French

military experts– Taught the Continental how to drill, maneuver and use bayonets like

professional soldiers

 

British General: Lord Cornwallis

• capable – hot headed- persisted in using battle tactics that did not work

– He would mass troops for a showdown in open battle only to be harassed by US milita with small units

• Greene destroyed more than a quarter of Cornwallis army at N. C

Battle of Yorktown– Cornwallis was supposed to go

to NY but retreated to Yorktown instead

• Rochambeau and Washington marched forces overland from NY to join Marqui de Lafayette in Virginia

• At the same time, Admiral de Grasse sailed with 30 ships and 3,000 French marines to Chesapeake Bay

• American and French allies cut off Cornwallis by land and sea- held out for 3 weeks

• Realized rescue impossible- surrender on Oct 17,.1781

Treaty of Paris• British agreed to

recognize America as independent nation

• Granted American all the land from the Atlantic coast to Mississippi River

• Agreed to evacuate military post