The American Revolution Begins!

The First Continental Congress •September 1774 –Met in Philadelphia –56 Delegates •Including John Adams  and Samuel Adams •Georgia – Only colony  not to send a  representative –Debated the best way  to respond to the crisis  taking place in Boston

Outcomes of the First Continental Congress –Delegates recommended  that colonists continue to  boycott British goods. –Assembled a list of 10  resolutions to present to  the king. • Declaration of Rights and  Freedoms that the  delegates believed  colonists should possess –“Life, Liberty, and  Property.” –Agreed to meet again in  May 1775 if the King did  not agree.

Leading to Rebellion Tensions between the American  colonists and the British soldiers  got worse.   British General Thomas Gage  learned  that two Patriot leaders,  John Hancock and Samuel  Adams were hiding out in the  town of Lexington.  He also learned that the  Americans had  been stockpiling  weapons and military  equipment in the town of  Concord.   He ordered approximately 800  British  soldiers to arrest Hancock  and Adams  and seize the  weapons.

“One if by Land, Two if by Sea!” Paul Revere found out about  General  Gage’s plans and  decided he needed to do  something to help the  Patriots. He would warn  Hancock and Adams and  the  people of Concord.  He arranged for friends to  give a  secret signal to let him  know how the  British troops  would leave Boston. They were to put one lantern  in the  steeple of Old North  Church if the  British would be  coming by land and  two  lanterns if they would be  moving by sea.  Finally Paul saw the signal… –two lanterns!

The Midnight Ride On the other side of the river, Paul Revere and another patriot,  William Dawes,  rode in different  directions to try and warn John  Hancock and Samuel Adams that  the British were on their way to  arrest them. They also wanted to tell the  colonists in the towns of  Lexington and Concord that the  British soldiers were on their  way “The British are coming!” The two men raced on their  horses  through the countryside,  warning  minutemen that the  Regulars were  coming!

Lexington April 19, 1775 Fewer than 70 Minutemen gathered at the Village Green “Don’t fire unless fired upon. But if they mean to  have a war, let it begin here!” Captain John Parker  Suddenly a shot rang  out.

“The Shot Heard ‘Round The World!” No one knows who fired  the “shot heard round  the world”—but once the soldiers heard it, the fight began. The Battle ended in  8 Minutes –Colonists had suffered • 8 Dead • 10 Wounded

On to Concord British moved to Concord to find weapons Colonists had already  removed them. The British decided to  set fire to the town  buildings. As the British retreated, Colonists used Guerilla  Warfare, hiding behind trees  and buildings. Bright Red Coats were an easy target British Reach Boston 250 British casualties Fewer than 100 Colonial  casualties

Paper Slides Instructions Create a comic book in the form of “paper slides” to demonstrate knowledge of: The First Continental Congress Paul Revere’s ride Battles Lexington and Concord Slides must include the following: General background information A comic strip theme (hero, villain, “story”) Creative illustrations Modern dialogue Minimum of 5 slides After you have finished creating your slides, record a video (using your phone) of your comic book (flipping through the slides, reading the text) and email it to cford3@wcpss.net