The Revolutionary War

Allegiance- loyalty Enlist- to join Grievance- a complaint Independence- the freedom to govern on one’s own Negotiate- to talk with another to work out an agreement Preamble- an introduction; the first part Principle- a rule that is used in deciding how to behave Regiment- a large, organized group of soldiers Resolution- a formal statement of the feelings of a group of people about an important topic Turning point- a single event that causes important and dramatic change

Although the colonists were already at war with Britain, some colonists believed that they could still settle their problems with the King and Parliament They wanted the British to change their views and allow them to be a part of the lawmaking process By 1776, that public opinion changed Thomas Paine published a pamphlet (short book) entitled Common Sense Questioned the right of any king to rule over anyone Stated that all people should govern themselves Challenged colonists to break away from Britain Wanted the colonies to be independent from Britain and the king

Many colonists thought the only way to have liberty was to have the freedom to govern themselves They felt that they didn’t owe allegiance to the king They considered writing a resolution stating that they wanted to be free and independent States Because not everyone in Congress was ready to send such a dangerous letter to England, they decided to wait a month and then decide

While the Congress was waiting for everyone to get on board with sending the resolution, they chose a committee to write the group’s views on independence Committee consisted of: Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania John Adams of Massachusetts Robert R. Livingston of New York Roger Sherman of Connecticut Thomas Jefferson of Virginia

Thomas Jefferson wrote the majority of the Declaration of Independence Organized it into several parts: Preamble (introduction) stating why the Declaration was needed Second part stating colonists’ main ideas about government Third part stating the colonists’ grievances (complaints) against British King George III and Parliament and all the ways the colonists had tried to settle their differences peacefully Last part stating that the colonies are free and independent states On July 4, 1776, Congress voted its final approval of the Declaration of Independence On July 8, 1776, it was read aloud to the people in Philadelphia On August 2, 1776, the formal copy was ready and signed by the members of the Second Continental Congress John Hancock signed first and largest

Once the Declaration of Independence was signed and sent to King George III, the colonists needed to set up their own government John Hancock organized a committee to unite all 13 colonies that was led by John Dickinson Decided the former colonies should unite into a confederation (The Confederation of the United States of America) Wrote a report and presented it to the Congress This was the first constitution and was called the Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation established a Congress with a single representative from each state and this Congress ruled for 8 years

The Declaration of Independence stated that “all men are created equal.” This encouraged African Americans to fight in the Revolution too, hoping that they would be freed from slavery (if all men are created equal, that would certainly mean that they shouldn’t be owned by another person, right?) More than 5,000 African American men formed regiments and fought in the Continental Army Many were promised their freedom if they fought in the war If they were promised their freedom by Loyalists, they had to fight for the British; if they were promised their freedom by Patriots, they had to fight for the Patriots

Many women took part in the Patriots’ war efforts Some worked the farms and businesses while their husbands were away fighting Some followed the troops from battle to battle and cooked food, washed clothes and nursed the wounded soldiers Some worked as spies for the Continental Army Some raised money to help fund the Continental Army Some wrote plays and books about the Patriots’ cause Deborah Sampson dressed as a man and fought in the army! Some women helped the British efforts Some housed and fed the British soldiers Some gave them food and supplies

Please use your Social Studies book to complete the battle pyramids in your packet. Pay close attention to detail and have fun!