Chapter 3 Notes
I. The Revolution Begins
•
The __________________________ between the ________________________ and
_____________________________________ led to armed conflict.
A. The _________________________ Continental Congress demanded certain rights from
Great Britain.
– First Continental Congress: a meeting in _________________________ of delegates
from all colonies except _________________________________.
– Delegates ___________________________ trade with ______________________ and
alerted the colonial ______________________________ to prepare for ___________.
– Drafted _____________________________________________________ that included
the right to “_________________________________________________________”
– British leaders ________________________________ their troops to ________________
the colonial militias’ ___________________________________.
B. Armed conflict between __________________________ soldiers and ___________________
broke out with the “_________________________________________________________.”
– _____________ British troops sent to seize __________________ at ________________
– ____________________ and two others rode to warn colonists
– __________________________—civilian volunteer militia—fought British in battle
at ______________________, near ____________________, on _________________, 1775
•
The battle ended in _____________________, and the _________________
continued on and destroyed the __________________________ they found.
– British __________________________ were attacked by ___________________________
as they retreated to __________________________
•
Minutemen __________________ at the troops from behind _____________,
__________________, and ____________________, killing over ______ soldiers.
C. The ______________ Continental Congress created the ______________________________
to fight the British.
D. Battle of _________________________
– _____________________ attacked British at Fort _______________________ on
_____________________, 1775, to seize large supply of weapons
Chapter 3 Notes
– Colonial forces fortified _______________________________ to prevent British from
escaping _______________________________.
– Army of _______________ Redcoats fought ______________ Americans at the
Battle of Bunker Hill
•
The British had to fight while crossing ________________________________
in boats and then up the hill. The exposed hill made them easy
__________________.
– Americans forced to _____________________, but only after causing more than
1,000 British __________________________
II. Declaring Independence
•
The colonies formally declared their _____________________________from Great Britain.
A. Thomas Paine’s ________________________ led many colonists to support
__________________.
– __________________________: 47-page ________________ written by Thomas Paine,
published in ________________________1776
– Urged _________________________ from Great Britain
– Argued that citizens, not ________________________, should make ______________
– Argued for _____________________ freedom and the right ___________________
self-defense
– Cried out against ____________________, the abuse of ____________________power
– Reached a wide audience, selling some ____________________ copies
B. Declaration of Independence
– Many colonial _________________________ agreed with Thomas Paine’s ideas.
– Second Continental Congress created a _________________ in June 1776 to write
a document _____________________ independence
– _______________________________________ was main author
– Declaration of Independence _______________________________ announced break
with ________________________________
– Approved on _____________________________, 1776
C. Colonists had differing ________________________ to the Declaration of Independence.
D. Other Reactions to Declaration
Chapter 3 Notes
– Declaration ___________________________ many colonists
– Did not ____________________________ the rights of women
– Did not recognize the rights of enslaved __________________________Americans
III. Patriots Gain New Hope

Patriot forces faced many ________________________ in the war against Britain.
A. Many Americans contributed to the war effort.
– More than ___________________ soldiers served in _____________________________
– ________________ Americans were at first banned from serving, but after the
British promised them _____________________, free African Americans were
allowed to serve for the ___________________________.
– _____________________________Americans who had been pushed off their land
aided the British. The Patriots worked hard to keep other _____________________
neutral.
– Many women ran ______________ and ______________________. Some served as
messengers, nurses, or _________________, and a few dressed as men to fight in
the war.
B. Early Defeats

Despite early defeats by Britain, the Patriots claimed some victories.
1. _____________________________ army in New Jersey faced German___________________
fighting for Britain.
– ________________________ are foreign soldiers who fight not out of
_________________________, but for ______________.
2. Washington decided to take the offensive.
– Crossed the ____________________________ on Christmas night
– Attacked the __________________________ while they were still sleeping
– Won _______________________________________ on December 26, 1776
3. Defeated British troops at ______________________________ on January 2, 1777
C. Saratoga was a __________________________point in the war.
–
British upset by __________________ quick defeats
–
British General ____________________________________________ planned to seize
_______________________________________ to cut off New England
Chapter 3 Notes
– British army crushed by Patriot forces under General __________________________
on October ________, 1777
– ________________________________________ was greatest victory yet by Americans
– Victory gave ______________________________ foreign allies
D. Help for Americans
E. The winter at _______________________________ tested the strength of Patriot forces.
– Continental Army was ________________ on supplies
– Washington and _____________________________ men wintered at Valley Forge,
_________________________________, during 1777–78.
– Suffered through the brutal winter and shortages of ________________,
_____________________, and __________________________
– Continental Army survived, but 2,000 died of ______________________ and
______________________________________
F. The war continued at sea and in the ________________________.
IV. Independence!
•
The war spread to the South, where the British were finally defeated.
A. Patriot forces faced many problems in the war in the __________________________.
– War was not going well for _______________________ in North, so they set their
sights on South
– Hoped to find support from a large _______________________________population
in Georgia, the _____________________________, and Virginia
– Planned to _____________________ slaves and give them arms
B. Brutal Fighting
– Patriots fought the ____________________________ in direct combat in South
– _______________________________ fell to British in 1778; Charleston,
_________________ Carolina, in __________________
– Americans attacked British in ________________________ 1780, but failed to drive
them out of ______________________________ and suffered many ________________
Chapter 3 Notes
– _____________________________ was more successful using ____________________
warfare against British
o Surprise attacks to disrupt communication and supply lines
C. The American Patriots finally defeated the British at the Battle of _________________
–
General ___________________________________________ moved British forces to
Yorktown, Virginia, in ____________________.
–
____________________________________ Continental Army and ________________
troops under Comte _____________________________________ surrounded the British.
–
__________________________ surrendered on October ____________, 1781, after weeks
of fighting. Patriots took ___________________ prisoners–the largest British army in
America.
–
The Battle of Yorktown was the last major battle of the
_______________________________________.
D. The British and the Americans officially ____________________ the war with the
_______________________________________ of 1783.
1. ____________________________________ of 1783
o It took ____________________ years to come to a peace agreement.
o Britain recognized ______________________________ independence.
o It set America’s borders.
o British accepted America’s right to settle _______________ of the original
__________ colonies.