The American
Revolution Begins!
The First Continental Congress
•September 1774
–Met in Philadelphia
–56 Delegates
•Including John Adams
and Samuel Adams
•Georgia – Only colony
not to send a
representative
–Debated the best way
to respond to the crisis
taking place in Boston
Outcomes of the First
Continental Congress
–
Delegates recommended that colonists continue to boycott British go
ods.
–Assembled a list of 10 resolutions to present to the king.
• Declaration of Rights and Freedoms that the delegates believed
colonists should possess
–“Life, Liberty, and Property.”
–Agreed to meet again in May 1775 if the King did not agree.
Leading to Rebellion
•
Tensions between the American colonists
and the British soldiers got worse.
•
British General Thomas Gage learned tha
t two Patriot leaders, John Hancock
and Samuel Adams
were hiding out in the town of Lexington.
•
He also learned that the Americans had b
een stockpiling weapons and military eq
uipment in the town of Concord.
•
He ordered approximately 800 British sol
diers to arrest Hancock and Adams and s
eize the weapons.
“One if by Land, Two if by Sea!”
•
Paul Revere found out about General Gage’s
plans and decided he needed to do someth
ing to help the Patriots. He would warn Han
cock and Adams and the people of Concord.
•
He arranged for friends to give a secret sign
al to let him know how the British troops w
ould leave Boston.
•
They were to put one lantern in the steeple
of Old North Church if the British would be
coming by land and two lanterns if they wou
ld be
moving by sea.
•
Finally Paul saw the signal…
–two lanterns!
The Midnight Ride
•
On the other side of the river, Paul
Revere
and another patriot, William Dawes, ro
de in different directions to try and war
n John Hancock and Samuel Adams that
the British
were on their way to arrest them.
•
They also wanted to tell the colonists in
the towns of Lexington and Concord th
at the British soldiers were on their wa
y
– “The British are coming!”
•
The two men raced on their horses thro
ugh the countryside, warning minutem
en that the Regulars were coming!
Lexington
• April 19, 1775
• Fewer than 70
• Minutemen gathered
at the Village Green
• “Don’t fire unless fired
upon.
But if they mean to ha
ve a war, let it begin he
re!”
Captain John Parker
–
Suddenly a shot rang out.
“The Shot Heard ‘Round The World!”
• No one knows who fired
the “shot heard round
the world”—
but once the soldiers
heard it, the fight began.
• The Battle ended in
8 Minutes
–Colonists had suffered
• 8 Dead
• 10 Wounded
On to Concord
• British moved to
Concord to find
weapons
– Colonists had already
removed them.
• The British decided to
set fire to the town
buildings.
• As the British retreated,
Colonists used Guerilla
Warfare, hiding behind trees
and buildings.
– Bright Red Coats were an easy
target
• British Reach Boston
– 250 British casualties
– Fewer than 100 Colonial
casualties
Paper Slides Instructions
• Create a comic book in the form of “paper slides” to
demonstrate knowledge of:
– The First Continental Congress
– Paul Revere’s ride
– Battles Lexington and Concord
• Slides must include the following:
– General background information
– A comic strip theme (hero, villain, “story”)
– Creative illustrations
– Modern dialogue
– Minimum of 7 slides
• After you have finished creating your slides, record a
video (using your phone) of your comic book (flipping
through the slides, reading the text) and email it to
cford@wcpss.net