UNIT 3
Battle of Lexington & Concord
Second Continental Congress
Battle of Bunker Hill
Bunker Hill
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1000+ colonials marched east from Cambridge with orders to
fortify Bunker Hill
Missed the location in the dark and actually protected Breed’s Hill
British led by seasoned commanders, Americans led by random
collection of militia
British set fire to Charlestown-seen by Abigail Adams and son John
Quincy
Seen also by Gen. John Burgoyne who wrote about battle
“whites of their eyes”-false
Americans ran out of ammo and threw rocks
Bloodiest battle of war
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-4uisgcM6g
George Washington
The Real G Dub?
Lord Dunmore’s War
Fort Pitt replaced Fort Duquesne after Seven Years’ War
 1772 Revenue cut, Gen Gage ordered fort torn down
 Abandonment left settlers vulnerable to Indians
 PA and VA both claimed area but PA had better docs to
prove it-Quakers didn’t organize militia against Indians
 VA royal Gov. Earl of Dunmore organized militia
 Defied royal orders and House of Burgesses led attack
against Shawnee Indians and claimed KY
 Declaration of “back country” colonists for independence
QUESTION: What lead to Dunmore’s war and why did
Western settlers support it?
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Congress V. King George III
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Second Continental Congress majority wanted
reconciliation
Patriots: S. Adams, P. Henry gained support for
Declaration of the Causes and Necessities of Taking
Up Arms
Won support for invasion of Canada; Patriots won
Montreal but lost Quebec
Prohibitory Act
Southern Colonies Join the Fight
VA Patriots forced Dunmore out
 British used 2 military forces:1 white “Queen’s Own
Loyal Vas”, 1 black “Ethiopian Regiment”
 Freedom Proclamation
 Josiah Martin in NC defeated by Patriots
 KY & Daniel Boone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Csj2k00ERJQ
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Thomas Paine
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Americans divided on opinion of
King George III
Common Sense tipped the
balance
January 1776 pamphlet
published
Personal attack on king “…hard
hearted sullen Pharaoh of
England”
Argued for independence using
metaphors “Is it the interest of a
man to be a boy all his life?”
6 months, 25 editions, hundreds
of thousands of people read it
Declaration of Independence
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June 1776 Richard Henry
Lee presents VA resolution
to Congress
Main author Thomas
Jefferson
Popular sovereignty
Political views of new
nation: individual liberty,
pop sov, and republican
gov’t
Read in cities across the
country
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“He has plundered our
seas, ravaged our
coasts, burned our
towns, and destroyed
the lives of our people.”
“Tyrant…unfit to be the
ruler of a free people”
“All men are created
equal”
“Unalienable
rights…life, liberty, and
pursuit of happiness”
1776-1778
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British troops manhandle Continental Army
British had much more money; most powerful navy,
48,000 soldiers plus Hessian soldiers, thousands of
American loyalists and Indian allies
Americans: commanded by G. W. 18,000
inexperienced soldiers, lacked central gov’t, no reliable
source of revenue
Battle of Long Island: Gen. Howe
Saratoga: Turning point of the war
British Naval Blockade
Valley Forge
Victory
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French Alliance with Continental Congress
Guerilla warfare in the Carolinas
Treaty began in Paris April 1782 but took two
years-French and Spanish stalling for sugar islands
 September 1783
Treaty of Paris: GB
gave up control of
America
 Treaty of Versailles
signed at same time
Creating Republican Institutions
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“Which of us shall be the ruler?”
May 1776 Second Continental Congress urged
republican gov’ts
PA constitution of 1776-unilateral gov’t est., no
governor to veto-upset lead Patriots (conservative)
J. Adams wrote “Thoughts on Government” British
Whig theory of mixed gov’t-shared power;
demanded Bicameral gov’t
Disperse authority, preserve liberty
Articles of Confederation
Good
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Nov 1777 approved
by Cont. Cong.
Could declare war,
make treaties
help disputes between
states
borrow & print money,
seize funds from states
Bad
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One vote regardless of
size
Power on paper not in
real life
9/13 states to ratify
laws
Lacked power to tax
states and people
Territory Ordinances
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Ordinance of 1784
Land Ordinance of
1785
Northwest Ordinance
of 1787
Women Seek a Public Voice
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Could not own property, enter into contracts, or initiate
lawsuits
Abigail Adams demanded equal rights for married
women; criticized husband and other Patriots
NJ until 1807 allowed unmarried and
widowed property holders to vote
Judith Sargent Murray 1779 “On
the Equality of Sexes”
Not until 1790s when AG of MA
declared equal right to schooling
1850 literacy rates equal across
sexes
Shays’s Rebellion
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War debts crushing new country
People tried to redeem bonds for full value-taxes
would need to increase and currency circulation
decrease
Installment plans created “layaway”
In MA legis. increased taxes 5X as much and only hard
currency (gold/silver) accepted
Conventions of farmers and elites grew to full on revolt
led by Capt. Daniel Shays
Riot Act & Gov. J. Bowdoin
Constitution of 1787…
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Articles of Confederation Nov 1777, formal ratification
in 1781
1780 US nearly bankrupt b/c lack of taxes
Nationalist faction-those who served in military or as
diplomats, wanted strong central gov’t
G. Washington, R. Morris, B. Franklin, J. Jay, J. Adams
 Southern leaders b/c loss of state taxes and war bonds
worthless
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Philadelphia Convention
55 delegates to Philly May 1787
 J. Adams, Jefferson, S. Adams & P. Henry absent
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…VA and NJ Plans
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Instead of revising Articles of Confederation
G. Washington was presiding officer
Madison-VA plan
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differences
 2 flaws
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W. Patterson-NJ plan
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differences
 1 flaw
AND SO THE GREAT
COMPROMISE WAS BORN
Limits of Constitution
Federalists
 Ben
Franklin & George
Washington-celebrity
endorsers
 Less committed to
nationalist gov’t
 Hamilton, Madison,
Jay: “Publius”
 Afraid of disorder,
anarchy, chaos
Antifederalists
Critics of the new
constitution
 James Winthrop, Patrick
Henry, George Mason
 Defenders of true
revolution-democracy
 Biggest complaint was
lack of Bill of Rights
 Afraid of concentrated
power
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=notJuFGXQ9w
Bill of Rights
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Federalist promise to add declaration of rights
Madison (Congress) submitted 19, 10 were
approved
With your neighbor, take 5-7 minutes to create a
list that you think would be relevant for today’s Bill
of Rights
Our First Leaders
Hamilton’s Plan
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New gov’t should take on public debt
Created a national bank
Two new kinds of taxes: alcohol (whiskey), imports
Majority of Congress readily accepted his plan-but
not to accept debt at face value
Madison-dividing bonds between purchasers and
borrowers
Native Americans
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Natives fought to keep their lands
Article VI-respect treaties
No gov’t representation
Federalist V. Democratic Republican
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAN1UsE_uM8