Things got tense between the British and
the colonists who were against them. Both
sides started to get ready for war. The
colonists began watching to see if the
British were going to come after them. The
colonist who was on watch duty would light
one lantern if the British were coming on
land and two lanterns if they were coming
by boat.
When Paul Revere saw two lanterns light
up, he got on his horse warning everyone
that “The British are coming! The British are
coming!”
After Boston Harbor was closed by the
British, the colonists got mad! They had a
meeting called the First Continental
Congress. This was a gathering of colonial
leaders who were worried about the
relationship between Great Britain and the
colonies.
One leader came from every colony. At this
meeting, they decided to keep boycotting
British goods, but prepare for war.
Most colonists began to agree that they
would probably have to go to war. These
colonists were called the Patriots. They
were colonists who chose to fight for
independence from Great Britain.
To prepare for war, the colonists started to
form an army. They got a group of men who
could be ready to fight at a minutes notice.
They were called Minutemen because they
were always ready to fight!
This is the first official battle of the
Revolutionary War. It was in Lexington, VA.
There were only 70 minute men versus the
entire British Army of hundreds. The battle
lasted only minutes. 18 minute men were
dead or hurt, and the British marched on.
The British headed to Concord, VA to steal
the colonist’s weapons, but the colonists
had already hid them away. The British
marched on. This event was called the
Battle of Lexington and Concord.
The British were good shooters and
fighters. But they made themselves very
noticeable by wearing bright red jackets
and marching around to drums.
Because of this, they were called the
Redcoats.
The colonists decided to meet again. They
had the Second Continental Congress. They
were made up of leaders from every colony.
Some people wanted war, some still
wanted peace. They decided to start writing
individual state constitutions.
At this time there was a large group of
minutemen in Massachusetts. This began
the Continental Army. Soon, the army
would include soldiers from all of the
colonies, and they would fight Great Britain.
The colonists decided to hide at the top of a
hill, and wait for the British. The British
would have to climb up the hill and fight
them at the same time.
The colonists ran out of weapons, and had
to retreat, but they proved they could fight.
The British won the battle, but lost twice as
many soldiers then the colonists did. This is
called the Battle of Bunker Hill.
After the continental army was formed, it
needed a leader. The colonists chose a man
from Virginia. His name was George
Washington.
George Washington moved his army to
Dorchester Heights, a city overlooking
Boston. Boston was in important city in the
war.
The colonist pointed all their cannons and
weapons at the British one night, and
waited for them to wake up. The British
had to give up this battle right away. It was
a big win for the colonists because now
they owned Boston.
After declaring independence, the
Declaration of Independence formally
announced the colonies’ break from Great
Britain.
The document had 3 main ideas.
1. All people have the right to “life,
liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness.”
2. King George violated the colonists’
rights by taxing them.
3. The colonies had the right to break
from Great Britain.
After signing the Declaration of
Independence, some people began
revolting, or getting angry. Some colonists
decided to support Great Britain and be on
their side. Those colonists were called
loyalists, because they were loyal to
England.
Of all the colonists in the 13 colonies, about
20 – 30 percent were loyalists. A lot of
loyalists fled to Canada to escape the
patriots who were upset with them for
being on Great Britain’s side.
The Declaration of Independence was the
document that declared the colonies’
independence from Great Britain.
The author, or the person who wrote the
Declaration, was Thomas Jefferson. He also
signed the Declaration on July 4, 1776 when
the United States of America was officially
born.
Common Sense was a pamphlet that
explained why the colonies should split
from Great Britain. The author of the
pamphlet was Thomas Paine. He thought
that citizens, or people, should make laws,
not Kings and Queens.
Thomas Paine’s pamphlet was read by
thousands and became very popular. It
helped some colonists decide that they
thought they should split from Great
Britain.
Name: __________________________
Directions: Go to each station and answer the questions.
FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
1. What happened to make the colonists decide to meet?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
2. What did they decide at this meeting?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
PATRIOTS
1. Who were the patriots?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
PAUL REVERE:
1. What did one lantern being lit mean?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
2. What did Paul Revere announce?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
MINUTEMEN
1. Why did the colonists begin to form an army?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
2. Why did they call them “minutemen?”
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Battle of Lexington & Concord
1. How many minutemen fought in this battle? How many died?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
2. Did the British find the colonist’s weapons? Why?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
REDCOATS
1. What was wrong with wearing bright red coats?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
1. Who came to this meeting?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
2. What did they decide to do at this meeting?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
CONTINENTAL ARMY
1. Who was a part of the army?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
2. Who was the army going to fight?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
GEORGE WASHINGTON
1. Where was George Washington from?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
2. What did he become the leader of?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL
1. Why did the colonists pick to hide at the top of a hill?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
2. What did the colonists prove?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
DORECHESTER HEIGHTS
1. What did Dorchester Heights overlook?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
2. What did the British army have to do when they woke up?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
LOYALIST
1. What were loyalists?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2. Where did the loyalists flee to?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
THOMAS JEFFERSON
1. What document did Thomas Jefferson write?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2. When was the United States officially born?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
DECLERATION OF INDEPENDENCE
1. What did the Declaration of Independence officially announce?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2. What was ONE of the three main ideas of the Declaration of Independence?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
THOMAS PAINE
1. What was the name of the pamphlet that Thomas Paine wrote?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2. Who did Thomas Paine think should make the laws?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________