Moving Toward Independence
 “Acts” outrage people of all colonies
 British actions threaten colonial rights and
liberty
 June 1774- Committee of Correspondence of
Boston
 Call mtg. of colonial reps
 Aug. 1774- delegates from all colonies
(except Georgia) meet in Philly
 55 men
 Major players include…
 Samuel and John Adams, Patrick Henry, John
Jay, Richard Henry Lee, George Washington,
John Hancock
 Draft letter to Parliament
 Demand repeal of all “Acts”
 Ban all trade w/ Britain until they comply
 All colonies to form militias (colonial
volunteer armies)
 Set date for May to meet again if demands not
met
 Conflict over Intolerable Acts turns
Massachusetts into armed camp
 Both Groups (militia and British)
 Mass. colonial militia call themselves
“Minutemen” b/c ready in minute’s
notice
 Parliament sends General Thomas
Gage and 6,000 “Redcoats” to occupy
Boston
 His instructions were to take weapons
from militia and arrest leaders
 Learns colonials storing guns and
ammo in Concord (20 miles NW of
Boston)
 18 April 1775 sends 700 Redcoats to Concord to
“seize and destroy all artillery and
ammunition you can find.”
 18 April 1775 Dr. Joseph Warren walks streets of
Boston to observe the acts of the
Redcoats
 Redcoats form and march north out
of the city
 Warren rushes to alert Paul Revere
and William Dawes (Sons of
Liberty)
 Revere, Dawes and others ride to
Lexington and Concord to warm the
colonials
 Sam Adams and John Hancock are
to be arrested in Lexington
 Moonlit ride they gallop off yelling
“the regulars are coming!” to every
home along the way
 Revere caught and arrested
 Dawes and others get the message
out

Redcoats arrive in Lexington @ dawn


70 “Minutemen” meet them in center of city
ready to fight
Standoff ensues

Suddenly…



When smoke clears



Found not much left, turned back for Boston
Outside of Concord, Minutemen gathered



8 Minutemen lay dead
1 Redcoat wounded
Redcoats continue their march to Concord


Someone fires- no one knows who, or what side
1st shot of the Revolutionary War
Hiding in bushes waiting for Redcoats
As passed, showered the Redcoats with
bullets
1,000’s soon joined in grabbing their muskets
and running toward the gunfire all the way
back to Boston

By time reached Boston, 174 Redcoats were
wounded and 73 killed
 Shortly after…
 Capt. Benedict Arnold of
Connecticut militia ordered to
take Fort Ticonderoga on Lake
Champlain
 Ethan Allen & Vermont’s militia
given same order
 Join together become “Green
Mountain Boys”
 Catch Brits by surprise
 Take fort on 10 May 1775
 In Massachusetts…
 Colonial militia’s numbers grow to
20,000+!!!
 For weeks the 2 armies nervously
wait to see what happens next
 16 June 1775 1200 colonial militia move into
Bunker and Breeds Hills under Col.
William Prescott
 Across harbor from Boston
 Dug in for protection
 British Gen. William Howe (replaced
Gage)
 Sends troops up the hills
 Militia tired from digging all night
now face British Army!
 Prescott orders militia…
 “Don’t fire until you see the whites of
their eyes!”
 Colonials beat back charge 4 times
killing over a 1000!!!
 Unfortunately… run out of gun
powder and forced to retreat
 GIVES British victory, but it’s a
costly one
 10 May 1775- 2nd Continental
Congress assembles
 Delegate Heavyweights
 John & Samuel Adams, Patrick
Henry, Richard Henry Lee,
George Washington, Ben
Franklin, Thomas Jefferson
 Began to govern the colonies
 Printed Money
 Established committees to
communicate w/ natives and
other countries
 Even set up a Post Office
 Most important…
 Created the Continental Army
 George Washington General in
Command
 Despite Battles of Lexington
and Concord, many not
prepared to break away form
England
 Washington leaves to take
charge of army in Boston
 Delegates offer Britain last
chance to avoid all-out-war
 July 1775- send petition, or
formal request to King George
III
 Olive Branch Petition
 Asks King to protect the rights
of the colonists which
Parliament seemed determined
to destroy
 King George III refuses to even
read it!!!
 Instead ready's for war
 Hires 30,000 Hessians as
mercenaries to fight along
Brits
 German army for hire, known for
ruthlessness
 Meanwhile, Congress learned Brits in Canada
plan to attack NY
 Decide to strike first
 Patriot force from Fort Ticonderoga, led by
Benedict Arnold attack and conquer Montreal
 Continue onto Quebec
 Failed to take Quebec though
 Patriots waited outside of Quebec B4 returning to
Fort Ticonderoga
 Washington reaches Boston just after Battle of
Bunker Hill
 Numbers growing everyday, but young,
inexperienced, and undisciplined
 Begins work on shaping them up
 Colonial civilians into Continental Army
 March 1776- Washington feels they’re ready
 Form horseshoe around British-occupied
Boston
 Begin bombing Brits lead by General Howe
 Retreat to ships in harbor and sail to Nova
Scotia, Canada
 17 March 1776- Washington leads troops into
Boston
 Late 1775 - early 1776, most
still hope to avoid war, hope
call for independence
growing
 January 1776- Thomas Paine
publishes pamphlet called
Common Sense
 Calls for complete
independence from Britain
 Agues that it is “common
sense” to stop following a
bully and stand up for
ourselves as a nation
 Not a squabble over taxes,
but a “struggle for
freedom… the cause of all
mankind”
 2nd Continental Congress filled w/ debate
 Central issue
 Should they declare themselves
independent nation?
 April 1776- NC delegates instructed to vote
for independence if proposed
 7 June 1776- Richard Henry Lee (VA)
proposes resolution of independence
 Congress debates resolution
 Some think not ready
 Others believe battles have already decided
our fight
 All fear British power!
 While debate, form committee to draft
Declaration of Independence
 John Adams, Ben Franklin, Thomas
Jefferson, Robert Livingston, Roger
Sherman
 Jefferson selected to write it; draws
inspiration from English philosopher
John Locke
 People born w/ inalienable rights; life
liberty, and pursuit of happiness
 4 July 1776- Voted on and adopted
 As colonists heard of battles…
 Faced major decision
 Loyalist or Patriot?
 Loyalists: colonials who wanted
to stay loyal to crown
 Did not consider unfair taxes
and poor laws reason enough
to break away
 Also Brits best army in world
 Going to win, why end up
hanged as a traitor?
 Patriots: colonials wanted
freedom and independence
from the crown
 Felt these taxes and unfair laws
were just the beginning and
would stop at nothing to be
treated as free, independent
men
PATRIOT Parkway