Unit 3-Creation of a New Nation

Lesson 13:

Revolution Begins

Review• Tension between the colonists and the

British government increased. As protests grew stronger, the British responded by passing new laws and repealing others. These laws and protests led to major happenings that brought all the colonies together in support of one another, but mostly in support of the city of Boston.

First Continental Congress

• Many colonists did not want to break away from England, asking for both liberty and loyalty to the king.

• Colonial leaders realized more would have to be done than just the boycotts.

• The colonies would need to act together in opposition of England.

First Continental Congress

• 55 delegates from all the colonies, except Georgia, met in Philadelphia in September 1774.

• Their plan was to establish a political body to represent America and challenge the British government.

• Major political leaders from all the colonies attended the Congress.

Important Delegates• Massachusetts sent Sam Adams and John

Adams.• John Jay, a lawyer from New York who

would later play a key role in the government was in attendance.

• Virginians, Richard Henry Lee and Patrick Henry, who were two of the most outspoken defenders of colonial rights, were also present, as well as George Washington.

First Continental Congress

• Wrote a statement of grievances, asking for 13 acts of Parliament that had passed since 1763 be repealed, declaring that these laws violated their rights as colonists.

First Continental Congress

• They also decided to boycott all British goods and trade.

• British goods would not be allowed to enter or be used in the colonies.

• Colonial goods would not be allowed to be shipped to England.

Suffolk Resolves• A major decision of the Congress was to

support the Suffolk Resolves.• The Suffolk Resolves called for the

people of Suffolk County, Massachusetts, where Boston was located, to arm themselves against the British.

• The people of Suffolk county formed a militia, causing many to wonder if war was coming.

Colonists Prepare• Militias in Massachusetts started to hold

frequent training, make bullets, and gather rifles and muskets.

• Many of the men of the militias in Massachusetts referred to themselves as minutemen.

• It was evident that colonists were preparing to fight the British if necessary.

More British Troops

• King George III prompted Parliament to send more troops because the New England colonies were “in a state of rebellion” and that “blows must decide” who would control America.

• Several thousand soldiers were under the command of Sir Thomas Gage in Boston by April 1775.

British Orders• Thomas Gage had been given orders to take

away weapons from the militia in Massachusetts and arrest the leaders.

• He learned that the minutemen were storing weapons and ammunition in Concord, about 20 miles outside of Boston.

• 700 troops were ordered to march to Concord to “seize and destroy” all weapons and ammunition.

The British Are Coming!• Dr. Joseph Warren saw British troops

setting into formation in Boston and beginning to march out of the city.

• Warren then informed Paul Revere and William Dawes about the unusual activity of the British troops.

• Believing one goal of the troops was to capture Sam Adams and John Hancock, Revere and Dawes rode towards Lexington, east of Concord.

The British Are Coming!

• Revere and Dawes rode separately to Lexington, meeting up and warning Adams and Hancock.

• After warning the two colonial leaders, Dawes and Revere were joined by a doctor, Samuel Prescott, who happened to be in Lexington visiting a “lady friend,” and rode towards Concord.

The British Are Coming!• On their way to warn the militia in

Concord, Dawes, Revere, and Prescott were captured by British guards.

• Dawes and Prescott escaped, with Prescott being the only one to arrive in Concord.

• Dawes and Revere returned to Lexington to assist Hancock and Adams leave.

Lexington and Concord• At dawn the next day, the redcoats

reached Lexington and were met by 70 minutemen.

• A shot was fired, called the “shot heard ‘round the world!”, and both sides started firing towards one another.

• Eight minutemen lay dead at the end of the fighting.

Lexington and ConcordThe British troops continued to Concord, and discovered the weapons and ammunition had already been removed.

Along the roads from Concord to Boston colonists hid behind rocks, trees, and fences, firing at the British as they marched by in formation.

When the British soldiers returned to Boston, at least 174 were wounded and 73 were dead.

Lexington and Concord

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Concord_Expedition_and_Patriot_Messengers.jpg

Fort Ticonderoga

• Benedict Arnold and the Connecticut militia joined forces with Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys of Vermont to attack the British fort on Lake Champlain.

• The British were taken by surprise and surrendered the fort on May 10, 1775.

• Cannons from Fort Ticonderoga would be sent to Boston, and were used to help push the British out of Boston in 1776.

Call For More Men

• Following the battles at Lexington and Concord, a call for more volunteers to join the militia was sent by the committees of correspondence.

• Within weeks, about 20,000 colonists formed a colonial militia around Boston.

• American and British armies waited to see who would make the next move.

Battle of Bunker Hill

• About 1,200 militiamen set up fortifications across the harbor from Boston, at a place called Bunker Hill and nearby Breed’s Hill, on June 16, 1775.

• On June 17, British troops crossed the harbor and gathered at the bottom of Breed’s Hill.

• The redcoats charged up the hill with bayonets drawn.

Battle of Bunker Hill

• The colonists, led by Colonel William Prescott, were ordered “don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes” because they were low on ammunition.

• When the Americans opened fire, the British began to retreat.

Battle of Bunker Hill

• The British charged two more times with the same result, but eventually the Americans were forced to withdraw because they ran out of gunpowder.

• Although the British won the battle, they had suffered great losses, including more than 1,000 dead or wounded.

• Defeating the Americans on the battlefield would not be quick or easy.

Patriot or Loyalist?

• As battles were fought, colonists had to choose between the two sides.

• Patriots believed in fighting England until America won their independence.

• They believed that all the taxes and regulations had violated their rights, and they had a strong reason for rebellion as a result.

LoyalistThere were many reasons one would be a loyalist, or remain loyal to England.

•Some remained loyal because they were officeholders who would lose their positions if they weren’t loyal.

•Others just lived in areas that weren’t affected greatly by the government.

•There were some who expected England to win the war and wanted to be rewarded by the British.

Conclusion

• As the British government continued to violate the rights of the colonists, the colonies felt that something had to be done. While the First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, fighting began between the British troops and the militias of New England, forcing Americans to choose sides in the fight for independence.

Assignments• Answer the four review questions for

this lesson.• Read Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry

Wadsworth Longfellow. In your journal write why you believe Longfellow may have ignored facts in this famous poem.

You will have a Unit 3 test after you complete Lesson 18