The American
Revolution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DnZ_ZY3lgA
Revolution – complete overthrow
of an established government
Independence not as popular as you think!!
Opposing Sides
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLRAuZnaXF4&feature=fvsr
Patriots : opposed British rule
Goal: remove taxes, rule
themselves
+ many owned their own rifles and
were good shots
+ good commander (GW)
+ fight hard to defend their
homeland
- Poorly trained
- Few cannons, little gunpowder,
no navy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coK_9ZVeufI

Loyalists (Tories) :
remained loyal to Britain
• 30% of population
• Mostly from NY and Southern
Colonies
• Major cities had many Tories
- faced tough times
*tar and feathered
* most fled to England
or Canada
How the colonist split!
Just by looking
at this chart,
who do you think
would win?
What does it
mean to be
“Neutral”?
Neutral
25%
Loyalist
30%
Patriot
45%
The Greatest Army in the World
British
Goal: maintain control over
the colonies
+ trained army
+ best navy in the world
+ many colonists still
supported Britain
- Home country is miles
away- news and supplies
move slowly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0ZhsDKoix8
Where did most of the colonist live at the start of the Revolution?
Native and African Americans

Native Americans split
• Iroquois fight with British

Slaves were promised freedom for fighting
on the British Side
• This offer leads many African Americans to
fight with British
• Northern Patriots were also concerned about
giving guns to African Americans- they might
rise against them
• Southern Patriots feared losing their slaves
• About 5,000 slaves enlist in Continental Army

Why do you think slaves would side with the Patriots?
Native American Tribes during American Revolution Worksheet
Ticonderoga, Vermont
May 10, 1775
Ethan Allen leads
Green Mountain Boys
Surprise attack by 400
Colonists takes fort!

• Goal: take weapons and
cannons from the
British fort
• Outcome: goal
achieved- won a
supply of cannons and
gunpowder for colonial
armies!
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ethan+allen+and+the+green+mountain+boys&view=detail&mid=EFB
8B5B1539C2A607CB8EFB8B5B1539C2A607CB8&first=0&FORM=LKVR1&adlt=strict
Fort Ticonderoga Today
Second Continental Congress
June 1775


Set up Continental Army
George Washington as
commander-in-chief
• Last Chance…

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Olive Branch Petition:
asked King to repeal (take
away) the Intolerable Acts.
If repealed, colonists would
pledge loyalty to the king
Outcome: King rejected it
2nd Continental Congress Worksheet
Washington’s Troubles

Soldiers enlist for only a one
year term
• Soldiers go home when their
time is up


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Restricted to recruiting only
Patriots-no Indians (at first)
Washington never had more
than 17,000 men under his
command
Congress has little money
with which to support army
Soldiers in need of food,
clothing, shoes, guns,
ammunition
Portrait of George Washington (1799)/
George Washington
Commander in Chief.pdf
Battle of Bunker Hill, MA
June 16, 1775

Colonel William Prescott led 1200
Minutemen to Bunker Hill (wanted
to fire British ships)
• Went to Breed’s Hill instead
(better position)
• Patriots had limited ‘bullets’



Probably had 5 shots each
British General William Howe saw the
Americans
• 2400 redcoats went across
harbor to attack
Took 3 attempts, but British finally
took Bunker and Breed’s hill (1000
redcoats dead or wounded)
Americans lost 400, lost battle, but
showed they could fight bravely
Liberty`s Kids: #09
"Bunker Hill" (1/2)
- YouTube
Don’t shoot until you see
the whites of their eyes!”
--William
Prescott,
1775
Bunker Hill and Boston
Bunker hill
was on a
peninsula
Bunker Hill Memorial –
Charleston, Massachusetts
Reading Comprehension Worksheet
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=william+prescott+bunker+hill&view=detail&mid=2CCCE22
DBFA5EBE121782CCCE22DBFA5EBE12178&first=0&FORM=LKVR7&adlt=strict
Project- Battles Worksheet
Declaring Independence

Common Sense
• Written by Thomas
Paine, January 1776

Pamphlet urging colonists
to declare their
independence from Britain
• Over 100,000 copies sold
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezU8UhZ2RSo
Common Sense Worksheet
http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=4EE37EE8-7CB6-49BF-88A7-4BE3790610F9&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US
Declaration of Independence
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness --
Declaration of Independence
• Written by Thomas Jefferson
• Ratified (Passed) on July 4,
1776
• Started with preamble
(introduction)

3 parts
• Natural rights (rights that
belong to all people from
birth)
• Wrongs done by the king
• Independence declared
Rough Draft Of Declaration of
Independence
Original Declaration
at National Archives,
Washington DC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrvpZxMfKaU
Declaration Of
Independence
Worksheet
Political Cartoon WS
Fighting Spreads


British ships move into
New York (General Howe,
34,000 redcoats, 10,000
sailors)
GW is expecting the
British, but he is
unprepared
• Only 20,000 poorly trained
troops, no navy
• Outcome: 1,400
Americans killed,
captured, or wounded,
the rest would retreat

Nathan Hale
(American spy)
captured by British
The Riflemen Report WS
Battle of Long Island

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
August 27, 1776
General Howe (British) vs
General Washington
Battles were in
Brooklyn/Manhattan (Yes,
Brooklyn is part of Long
Island!)
GW must retreat, New York
and its harbor is captured
by the British
Bad defeat for Americans
British in Red, Continental in Blue
Continental Army badly
outnumbered.
The Battle for Long Island - YouTube
Battle of LI.pdf
More Support

The Crisis
• Written by Thomas
Paine


Pamphlet written to
urge colonists to
support Continental
Army
Read aloud to troops
to raise their spirits
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYQrUx0TCos
Battle of Trenton, New Jersey
Dec. 25, 1776


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
GW crosses the
Delaware River.
Dec. 25, 1776
Surprises Hessians
(German troops that
England hired)
Battle Dec. 26American Victory
British General Charles
Cornwallis set to retake
Trenton, but was fooled
Americans attacked
Princetown
H:\1 JFK\7th Grade Social Studies\Unit 7
Revolutionary War\Washington
Christmas Attack.pdf
Washington Crossing the Delaware River
Painted by Emanuel Leutze, 1851
Crossing the Delaware Comp
Battle of Saratoga, NY
1777

British were discouraged so they
created new plan
• Plan was to Attack Americans
from 3 directions- some problems
 From NYC- British wanted to
capture Philadelphia first,
then defeat Americans in
Brandywine and
Germantown, so they stayed
in Philadelphia for winter
 From Canada- St. Leger’s
army drove back when met
American army
 Burgoyne was left – at first
successful, retook Ft.
Ticonderoga, but then he
became trapped and
surrendered
Saratoga the Turning
Point WS
TURNING POINT OF THE WAR!
The Battle of Saratoga was
an American victory and
was the turning point in
the war because:

boosted spirits of the
troops

France becomes 1st
official ally

Later, Spain and the
Netherlands become allies
General Burgoyne surrenders
Help from Europe

Marquis de Lafayette: helped train troops

Frederich von Steuben: taught troops to
march and drill

Thaddeus Kosciusko: helped build forts

Casimir Pulaski: trained cavalry (troops on
horseback)

Bernardo de Galvez: supplies medicine,
cloth, muskets, gunpowder. Helps capture
British forts in the South
Famous People Powerpoint
Winter at Valley Forge, PA
1777-1778





Winter headquarters
Low on food, blankets,
warm clothing, shoes
Many troops became ill
and 1/4 died. (25 out of
every 100 men)
Soldiers trained (Next
Slide-- Baron Von
Steuben) and become
disciplined and organized
Women collect and send
supplies
Valley Forge Reading
Frederick von Steuben




Officer in Prussian Army
Considered best
commander in Europe
Trained GW’s troops at
Valley Forge –taught
them how to be soldiers
– to march, drill and
shoot!
Wrote training manual for
army (still used today!)
Von Steuben Training Guide
Valley Forge ProjectSMARTBOARD
Fighting in the South-- 1780

Francis Marion: “The Swamp Fox”
• Led “guerilla” war in the Carolinas (hit
and run)
Frustrated the British
 Ambushed supply lines
 Kept Cornwalis busy so
he couldn’t come north
 Movie “The Patriot”

Francis Marion Short Biography - YouTube
The Patriot Highlight of “The Swamp Fox”
http://youtu.be/FH6dUmF4AA0?
The War at Sea!




John Paul Johns
Famous Quote: “I
have not yet begun
to fight!”
Ship was named
the Bohomme
Richard
Considered the
founder of the
United States Navy
http://youtu.be/SHE_XHigysI
Battle of Yorktown, VA
October 19, 1781





Cornwallis wanted to conquer
VA
Needed to supplies and
thought the British ships could
reach him
Washington marched his
troops to the area the British
was in
French fleet blocks the
Chesapeake Bay (British can’t
get their supplies)
Cornwallis surrenders
BONUS:
Mrs. Muller’s
Birthday is Oct. 19th
Surrender at Yorktown Clip
http://youtu.be/7Ei9MxgmJUs
Cornwallis’ Surrender at Yorktown
Treaty of Paris, 1783




Benjamin Franklin,
John Adams and
John Jay sent to
negotiate
United States
Independence
granted
USA: land to
Mississippi River,
North to Canada,
and South to
Florida
Ratified (approved)
April 15, 1783
Results of the Revolution Reading
What factors helped the Patriots
win?

Geography

• British had difficulty to send soldiers and
supplies so far away
• Americans knew their land, best routes and
the best places to fight (GUERILLA WARFARE)
Allies
• Spain
• French



Patriotic Spirit
Washington’s leadership
Patriots united for a common cause
Was Independence a Good or Bad Thing? Depends on who you ask!
Advantages
Possibility of foreign aid from
France
Legitimacy in the world
community
Captured soldiers treated as
POWs not spies or rebels
Independence might unite
different areas of the
colonies
Stating for the world the
ideological basis of this new
country
Freedom from subservience
to the King
Disadvantages
Might lose friends in England who supported cause of colonists in
regard to representation in Parliament but not independence
Might cause division within the colonies
If Revolution failed, the and leaders might be tried and executed
as traitors.
Colonies were poorly
prepared for war
Fighting the largest military
power in the world
No weapons nor
manufacturing to make them
Dependent on England for
elements needed to fight a
war.
Chances of winning the war
were slim.
Colonists would be cutting
themselves off from the
biggest, freest empire in the
world.
Sentimental attachment to
homeland.
Flying High for Freedom WS
The Great Seal: Our National Emblem
FRONT
BACK
This is the national seal of the United States of America.
On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress put together a
committee to make an official seal of the United States.
Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
were on the committee.
NEXT UNIT: A NEW GOVERNMENT IS BORN!
http://youtu.be/6uLUYCWeoWk
A changed world! A New Nation!
Famous Revolutionary War Hero Biography Report