First Continental Congress
• Sep. 1774, 55 men met in Philadelphia to
discuss the plan of action the colonies
would take against Great Britain
– 1. Defining American colony grievances
– 2. Develop a plan of resistance
– 3. Articulate constitutional relationship with
Great Britain
• 1. American rep. in Parliament
• 2. Obey the King and Parliament, but not the taxes
opposed
Committee of observation
• This committee was created to make sure
that colonist were adhering to the British
boycott.
– These men were elected to the committee
– Colonies agreed to live a simple life, no extras
In most colonies they ignored the government
of Great Britain and created their own
Second Continental Congress
• 6 months before the war local
governments were run by the colonist,
however they still considered themselves
loyal to the crown of England
• They even chose delegates to meet for a
Second Continental Congress
– Organized the Militia
– Gather arms and ammunitions
Indian Problems
• Floods of people moved West ignoring the
Proclamation of 1763
• Some used Indians for trade partner, while
other pushed them off their lands
• Second Continental Congress sent Indians
letters urging them to stay out of the Rev.
War
• Many Indians took advantage and raided
the male less lands
Patriots vs. Loyalists
• Patriots – about 2/5 of the colonist wanted
political reform not independence
• They feared what might happened
because of the Intolerable Acts
• Loyalists – 1/5 of the colonies remained
loyal to the crown. (most new immigrants)
• Neutrals – 2/5 remained neutral to either
side
Neutrals
– Patriots considered Neutrals just as bad as
Loyalists
• Second Continental Congress made some
people take oaths of allegiance before
they allowed them to vote
• Patriots would seize their lands, tax them
extra or send them back to England
Slavery issue
• Outnumbered 25 to 1 in the South
• Southern colonies were afraid of Slavery
revolts
• However fear of such revolt never hurt the
cause for independence
Lexington and Concord
• Colonist had a stockpile and training near
Lexington ( both with help from France)
• General Thomas Gabe (GB) heard of this
stockpile and sent troops to cease the
stockpile
• 2 Patriot riders were sent to warn the
militia
– William Dawes and Paul Revere
– “The British are Coming”
The Shot heard around the world
• April 19 1775, 70 militia met the redcoats on
their way to the stockpile
• Even though they retreated, shots were fired,
redcoats returned killing 8 and wounding 8
– “Shots heard around the World”
– First time in history that a colony of a country went to
war with their mother country
– In Concord, Militia shot at redcoats behind trees and
from houses, Redcoats retreated. Would had been
bigger victory if Militia would had been more
organized
First Year of the War
• June 17 1775 – Bunker Hill/ Breed Hill
• Colonist learned of British strategy to take
Boston
• General Prescott (col) fortified the Bunker Hill
with 1,200 soldiers
• British attacked the hill 3 times before Prescott
and his men retreated
• Even though Colonial troops retreated British
suffered more casualties
• Considered to be a victory for the colonies
British Assumptions
• 1. War would end quick and easy
– British has the largest ground and navy ever sent for
a war
– Also hired German mercenaries called Hessians
– 2. Treated this war like most European Wars by
capturing larger cities
• Kept trying to capture ports, only 5% of population lived in the
ports
– 3. They thought that military victories would gain the
loyalty of the colonists
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
• Said that English Government was
exploiting colonies for years
• Called for Independence from Great
Britain
• Advocated a Republic form of
Government, where people ruled the
government by votes
Second Continental Congress
• Wrote the Olive Branch Petition- letter to King
George III asking for things to go back the way
they were before 7 year war
– King George denied the Olive Branch and sent more
troops
• Organized the colonies for war
• Printed money to purchase goods and to pay
soldiers
• Formed a committee to communicate with other
countries for help with supplies and men
Second Continental Congress
• Created Continental Army and named
Generals
• Named George Washington commander
of the military
• Experienced in the 7 year war
• Named John Hancock President of the
colonies
• Named a 5 person committee to start to
write the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of Independence
• Committee: 3/5 main – Thomas Jefferson,
John Adams and Ben Franklin
• Document focused on making King
George III a villain that tried to get rid of
representative government in the colonies
• Jefferson finished a draft on June 28, 1776
• Finally signed on July 4th 1776
• High Treason
Struggles in the North
• Sir William Howe (GB)- attacked NY and
drove Washington and his men into
Pennsylvania
• On Dec. 26th at night after the British and
Hessians were sleeping off their
celebration of Christmas, Washington
crossed the Delaware River capturing 100
men and killing 30
• Colonist only lost 3 lives
British Mistake in 1777
• Sir Burgoyne was coming down from Canada to
help Sir Howe reinforce NY
• However Howe got impatient and worked
independently to attack Philadelphia
• Howe made a mistake by not marching the men,
he actually had them said to Philadelphia
• The journey took 6 weeks and allowed
Washington to set up a defense.
• Howe won however it left Burgoyne alone in NY,
Burgoyne was surrounded and surrender nearly
6,000 troops
Split of the Iroquois Nation
• Half the Indians went with the British to
stop the land hungry colonist
• The other half had already converted to
Christianity and helped the colonist
against Great Britain.
• General John Sullivan (col) sent troops
and Indians to burn the villages and the
crops of the Iroquois loyal to Great Britain
• They fled to Canada
1778 peace offer
• Lord North, Prime Minister of England,
offered the colonist a peace treaty to have
things go back to the way things were in
1763
• The same thing the Olive Branch Petition
did 3 years earlier
• The colonist now had a taste of
Independence in their mouth and denied
the offer
Ben Franklin in France
• Treaty of Amity and Commerce
– Recognized American Independence
– Established trade with France
• Treaty of Alliance
– If France declared war on Britain then neither
country would create a treaty with Britain
without consulting the other nation
Advantages of France in War
• 1. France could now openly support the
Colonist by sending troops and a navy
• 2. Great Britain had to fight naval war in
the Caribbean against France, which
means they couldn’t be 100% focused on
the American Colonies
Life in Army
• Very few Militia fought in war after 1st year
• Needed to go home to farms and family
• Longer you stayed in Army, the more land
you were promised
• African American fought for land or for
freedom
• Women joined because they could not had
survived without their men. (cooks,
nurses)
Life in the Army
• Colonial officers fought next to their men
and gave up many luxuries
• However British officers rarely fought and
dressed in lavish attire
• Benedict Arnold – was a colonial officer
who switched sides during the war
• “loved by none, hated by all”
Victory in South
- 1778 Great Britain changed their
strategies to fight in the South
- Lord Clinton (GB) moved all his troops
from Philadelphia to Georgia, taking
Atlanta and Augusta easy
- Lord Clinton then moved all 5,500 soldiers
to Charlestown
- Many Carolina colonist switched their
loyalties from colonial to British
Victory in the South
• French Navy led by Admiral De Grasse started to pick off
Caribbean islands that supplied the British army
• Colonial soldiers started to pillage and burn the recent
loyalist homes
• Washington named General Greene the new
commander of the South
• Greene urged the soldiers not pillage and burn the
homes and forgave the loyalist if they rejoined the fight
against Britain
• Greene also kept the Indians out of the fight in the south
Yorktown
• De Grasse headed the French Navy to Virginia
• Cornwallis headed North to Virginia to meet up
with Benedict Arnold
• Waiting for troops and supplies that never
arrived because of the French navy
• Washington moved his troops (7,200) to
Yorktown
• De Grasse trapped Cornwallis from the seas
• Cornwallis surrendered on Oct. 19 1781
Treaty of Paris of 1783
• Dealt with Great Britain directly
• Colonies gained their Independence
• New boundaries were land to the North of
Modern day Canada
• South – lands down to Florida
• Florida was given back to Spain
• West- land up to the Mississippi
• Great Britain had to withdrawal all North
American interest