Moving Toward Independence 5.4 Moving Toward Independence

Colonial Leaders Emerge May 10, 1775 the Second Continental Congress meets. People: John and Samuel Adams Patrick Henry Thomas Jefferson Richard Henry Lee George Washington Ben Franklin

Colonial Leaders Emerge The Second Continental Congress authorizes printing money, Setting up a post office, Continental Army with George Washington as commander, set up committees to communicate with Nat. Am., French, and the Spanish, and gave Brit. One last chance for peace.- Olive Branch Petition

Colonial Leaders Emerge The Colonies Take the Offensive The British are planning an invasion from Canada BUT we strike first! We capture Montreal but fail to capture Quebec, however we stayed outside of Quebec. Washington goes to Boston in July of 1775. He leaves but comes back in 1776. He gets cannons from Ft. Ticonderoga and positions himself over Boston, forcing British out.

Colonial Leaders Emerge Moving toward Independence Most people are not thinking about independence. However Thomas Paine writes pamphlets called Common Sense which urged for complete independence from Brit. “This is not a squabble over taxes but a struggle for freedom.”- Thomas Paine

The Colonies Declare Independence The majority of the Second Cont. Congress was spent discussing if the colonies should be independent. North Carolina was the first to support independence. While they talk about independence they: -Write a draft of the Declaration of Independence -July 2, 1776 they vote to be independent. - July 4, 1776, they sign it and send it to all the colonies.

The Colonies Declare Independence The Declaration of Independence There are 4 major sections Preamble- states that if people wish to form a new country have to state reasons to do so Declaration of Natural Rights- “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.” Accepted rights in England

The Colonies Declare Independence The Declaration of Independence There are 4 major sections Government exists to protect the rights of the citizens They listed grievances against Britain If the government doesn’t protect the rights of their citizens “it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it and to institute new Government.” It ends with America announcing their new status of independent country