6-4 Notes: Declaring Independence
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The Continental Army is Formed
Militiamen from Massachusetts and other
colonies began to gather around Boston after
Lexington and Concord (around 20,000)
General Gage moved his soldiers from the
peninsula opposite Boston the city, thinking that
an attack by land would be almost impossible
May 10, 1775 ACE – Americans attacked
Britain’s Fort Ticonderoga on the New York side
of Lake Champlain
Ethan Allen named a group of backwoodsmen
known as the Green Mountain Boys,
successfully capturing the fort and a large
supply of artillery (cannons and other large
guns)
Same day – 2nd Continental Congress began
meeting in Philadelphia (delegates included
John and Samuel Adams, John Hancock,
Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and
Patrick Henry.
They agreed to form the Continental Army and
George Washington of Virginia was chosen as
the commanding officer
Washington had served as an officer with the
British during the French and Indian War.
Congress also began to print money to pay the
troops
The Battle of Bunker Hill
• Militiamen seized Bunker Hill and
Breed’s Hill behind Charlestown
(built fortifications on Breed’s Hill)
• General William Howe crossed
the bay with 2,200 British soldiers
and marched up Breed’s Hill
where the militia waited for them
• “Don’t fire until you see the
whites of their eyes!” – Colonel
William Prescott (according to the
legend!)
• British fell back when attacked
but eventually overtook the
militia
• The British won the Battle of
Bunker Hill but suffered more
than 1,000 killed or wounded,
while the militia suffered only 400
casualties
A Last Attempt at Peace
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Many still hoped peace could be salvaged with
Britain
July 1775 ACE – Moderates in Congress
drafted the Olive Branch Petition, asking the
king to restore harmony between Britain and
the colonies
The king rejected the petition and installed
new measures to punish the colonies; he
blockaded American ports with British
warships to stop supplies, goods from going in
or out, and hired thousands of hired German
soldiers (called “Hessians” because of Hesse, a
region in Germany where many of them came
from)
Washington knew his troops desperately
needed training, supplies – began to train
troops near the militia camp near Boston
Fall 1775 – Washington approved a plan to
invade Quebec in eastern Canada, defeat the
British, and draw the Canadians onto their
side
After a grueling march across Maine, the
Americans arrived at Quebec in November
1775 – winter quickly set in and the American
attack failed in the harsh conditions
The British Retreat from Boston
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In Massachusetts, the Continental
Army surrounded British forces in
Boston
Neither side broke the standoff;
Cannons from Fort Ticonderoga
arrived in Washington’s camp in
January 1776 (took two months to
haul them over the mountains
covered in snow)
Washington moved his troops and
cannons to Dorchester Heights
overlooking Boston
General Howe and his 9,000 British
soldiers departed Boston in more than
100 British troops, allowing the
Patriots to retake the city
More than 1,000 Loyalists left the city
too because anti-British sentiment
was so strong that they feared for
their safety (their property and homes
were seized)
Common Sense is Published
• Early 1776 ACE – publication of a
pamphlet called Common Sense
helped convince many Americans
that independence was necessary
• The pamphlet was written by
Thomas Paine, a recent immigrant
from England
• Paine made fun of the idea that
the king ruled by the will of God,
calling George III “the royal brute”
• Paine also argued that all
monarchies are corrupt and that it
made no economic sense to
remain subjects of Great Britain
• Common Sense sold over 100,000
copies in the first three months of
its publication
A Time of Decision
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The Continental Congress remained
undecided – a majority still could not agree
to independence
May 1776 – Congress adopted a resolution
authorizing each of the 13 colonies to
establish their own governments
June 7th, 1776 – Richard Henry Lee of
Virginia introduced a new resolution calling
the colonies “free and independent states”
and declared all political connections with
Britain to be dissolved
Congress appointed a committee (Franklin,
Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston,
and Thomas Jefferson) to draft a
“Declaration of Independence” a
The group chose Jefferson to write the
Declaration because he was an excellent
writer and from Virginia, a colony
considered by many to be crucial to the
success of any independence movement
Jefferson wrote most of the document in
two weeks
On July 2, 1776, Congress passed Lee’s
resolution
The Declaration is Adopted
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July 4th, 1776 – Congress adopted the
Declaration
John Hancock, the President of the Congress,
was the 1st to sign the Declaration
Core of the Declaration based on the
writings of English philosopher John Locke
Locke wrote that people have unalienable
rights, rights that government cannot take
away
When the government takes away those
rights, people have the right to abolish it (by
force if necessary) and form a new
government to protect those rights
The Declaration only intended to apply to
free white men; women and slaves were left
out of the Declaration
Declaration also explained the reasons for
breaking with Britain, and that the colonies
were free and independent states
From a British point of view, the Declaration
was treasonous – the founding fathers knew
that if they lost the war, they would be
hanged