 Laws to punish the Massachusetts colony and serve warning to others  England called them Coercive Acts  Closed the port of Boston until destroyed tea paid for  Banned Committees of Correspondence  Allowed troops to house wherever necessary  British Officials to stand trial in England  General Thomas Gage appointed Governor of MA

 Colonies offered support  Sent food and money to Boston  Committees of Correspondence called for a meeting of colonial delegates

 Delegates from colonies (except GA) met in Philadelphia  Voted to ban all trade with Britain until Intolerable Acts are repealed  Called on each colony to begin training troops  Determined to uphold colonial rights  Not ready to call for independence  Agreed to meet in 7 months, if necessary

 Held firm, not going to give in this time  Increased restrictions on colonial trade  Sent more troops

 John Hancock headed Committee of Safety (power to call out militia)  Colonial Leaders thought fight would be short

 Spies were on both sides  Gage learned that MA was storing arms and ammunition in Concord, 20 miles NW of Boston  Gage learned that Sam Adams and John Hancock were in Lexington  April 18, 1775 ordered the arrest of Adams and Hancock in Lexington and to destroy supplies in Concord

 Paul Revere, William Dawes and Dr. Samuel Prescott were charged with spreading the news about British troop movements  System of signals to alert colonists:  One lamp burned in the Old North Church steeple= by land  Two lamps burned in the Old North Church steeple= by sea  Revere would cross the water from Boston to Charlestown and ride to Lexington, Dawes and Prescott the land route

 Dawn April 19, 1774: 700 British troops reach Lexington  Captain John Parker and 70 Militiamen stand waiting  Who fired first? 8 militia men were dead  British continue march to Concord and destroy military supplies

 4,000 Minutemen and Militia arrive  Fight British at a bridge, north of town, forcing British to retreat! Militia lined the road and peppered the retreating British However 1,000 more redcoats arrive and saved British from total destruction in their scramble back to Boston 20,000 militia then surround Boston

Agree to form a Continental Army Appoints George Washington as commandeering General Authorizes the printing of paper money to pay troops

 June 1775, Militia seize Bunker Hill and Breed’s Hill, behind Charlestown  Colonials built fortifications on the hill  British General Howe marches troops up to seize the Hill.  Colonial Colonel Thomas Prescott orders “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes”  Militia unleashed bullets on the British

 British fell back, then charged again.  The colonial militia were forced off the hill  1,000 British dead, 400 militia dead

 Still hoping for a peaceful solution  July 1775, sent a petition to King George III asking for a restoration of harmony  King George rejects the petition  Blocks American ships from leaving ports  Sends thousands of Hessians (Germans) to fight

 Troops had little training  Poorly equipped  Barely had enough gunpowder for one battle  Summer 1775, Washington arrives at camp  Gathered supplies  Trained army

 Boston is surrounded by militia  59 Cannons arrive from Ft Ticonderoga  Washington threatens to bomb the city  British General Howe withdraws in March 1776  Loyalists homes and properties seized

 Written by Thomas Paine  Helped to convince Americans that a break with England was a necessity  Made a strong case for independence  Called King George III “The Royal Brute”  Argued that all monarchies were corrupt  Disagreed with economic arguments for remaining with England

 Majority of Continental Congress did not support independence.  May 1776, adopted a resolution authorizing each of the colonies to establish own government  June 1776, Richard Henry Lee of VA called the colonies “free and independent states” and that they dissolve from England

 After a debate, Thomas Jefferson was chosen to write the Declaration  Chosen because he was from VA and a good writer  Ben Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston helped also  July 2, 1776 Congress debated again  July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence passed  Colonies now considered themselves independent.  John Hancock first to sign (he was president of Congress)

 People have unalienable rights (rights that the government cannot take away)  If a government disregards these rights, it loses its right to govern  The people then have the right to abolish that government by force if necessary and form a new government  “the people” were only free white men, not women or slaves

 Declared the colonies free and independent states  John Hancock urged the delegates to stand together in a mutual defense  King George considered this treason  Each knew if they lost the war, each would be hanged.