AMERICAN HISTORY
May 1775—Second Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia New members: Ben Franklin, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson Many delegates still felt loyalty to King George All delegates rejected Britain’s attempt to tax Only a few wanted independence
CREATING A CONTINENTAL ARMY New Englanders and British troops were fighting around Boston Congress made the New England forces the core of a new Continental Army June 1775—George Washington chosen to lead the Continental Army
WAR OR PEACE?? July 1775—Congress issues two very different documents 1) A Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (July 6, 1775) --explained why Americans were at war --Accused Parliament of having “an inordinate passion for power” --Charged General Gage with “cruel aggression”
2) Olive Branch Petition (July 1775) --authors called themselves the king’s “faithful subjects in the colonies” --begged the King to reach a “happy and permanent reconciliation” King declared the colonies in rebellion
May 10, 1775—Green Mountain Boys (VT) captured the British fort at Ticonderoga in New York Other members also captured the fort at Crown Point THE SEIGE OF BOSTON British troops had withdrawn back to Boston
Several thousand British occupied the town The Americans quickly put together a bigger army—some 15,000 soldiers from all over New England The standoff at Boston led to the first major battle of the Revolutionary War—The Battle of Bunker Hill Boston is surrounded by several hills
General Gage wanted the hills but American General Prescott moved to fortify the hills June 17, 1775—2,500 British troops led by General Howe tried twice to dislodge the Americans from Breed’s Hill The colonists were short on ammunition so they were told “don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes”
Third attempt—colonists run out of ammunition Americans retreat from Breed’s Hill to Bunker Hill Casualties: 1,000 British & 400 Americans WASHINGTON TAKES COMMAND Army seriously short of heavy weapons and gunpowder
Henry Knox sent to Fort Ticonderoga to bring back captured British weapons and supplies March 1776—Washington recaptures Boston British soldiers and loyalist forced to sail to Halifax, Nova Scotia OTHER BATTLES —Benedict Arnold leads unsuccessful attempt on Quebec
FEB 1776—Scottish Loyalists attacked colonists in NC but the colonists were waiting Colonial victory ended British control in NC June 1776—British launched an attack on a fort near Charleston, SC but were unsuccessful
Events of 1775 pushed more colonists to independence Spring 1776—colonists still doubtful but leaders were becoming more certain Continental Congress opened up ports to seaports to foreign trade with all countries except Britain
REVOLUTIONARY IDEOLOGY Colonists still thought of themselves as British Many of Parliament’s laws differentiated between the rights of British citizens and those in America Led to not paying British taxes because they had no representation
A MATTER OF COMMON SENSE British author Thomas Paine published a pamphlet called COMMON SENSE He condemned the monarchy and George III and called for an American declaration of independence Paine’s 50-page pamphlet sold over 100,000 copies within a few months
VIRGINIA CALLS FOR INDEPENDENCE May 1776—VA Convention of Delegates issued VIRGINIA DECLARATION OF RIGHTS First call for American independence June 7, 1776—Richard Henry Lee (VA) presented 3 resolutions to Congress --1) colonies should be independent
--2) Americans needed to form foreign alliances for support --3) colonies should form a plan for unification WRITING THE DECLARATION No serious objections to Lee’s resolutions Committee named to write a draft of a declaration of independence
John Adams, Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin Jefferson chosen to write the draft Adams and Franklin made changes to Jefferson’s draft Continental Congress made more changes July 2, 1776—Congress votes in favor of the document declaring independence
July 4, 1776—The Declaration of Independence was signed and copied The Declaration was read in public Crowds in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and other cities cheered and rang church bells The British now viewed the colonists as rebels
Not all colonists wanted independence Western colonists feared that a war would expose them to Indian attacks Some colonists remain loyal to Britain Loyalists were used to fight the patriots THE LOYALISTS About 25% of colonists remained loyal
Most New Englanders and Virginians were on the patriot side Loyalists were strong in GA and SC Government officials tended to be loyalists Landowners, merchants, doctors, and lawyers could be found on both sides Debtors, small farmers, and shopkeepers were patriots
Local patriots harassed loyalists, attacking farms or property, and some were driven out of town Loyalists fought along side the British during the war Some people went to Canada, Britain, or British- held islands in the Caribbean Some lived quietly and avoided politics After the war about 100,000 loyalists left the USA, mainly for Canada
AA CHEER FOR THE PATRIOTS AAbigail Adams, wife of John Adams, wrote several letters to John before, during, and after the war, detailing her feelings and those of others TThese letters showed an active interest in politics and support for the growing independence movement TTHE END