What does it take to win a war? Imagine you are in charge of the new American army – what are you going to do to make sure a victory is achieved?
How did the British and Americans compare? 1 - Which side had the advantage? (CLAIM) 2 – Choose 3 pieces of evidence from the handout to argue your point (EVIDENCE YOU WILL CITE) 3 – Write your argument (COMBINE 1 and 2 to create your analysis) 4 – Counter – rebuttal for other team’s argument
Advantages Americans – Advantages They were able to fight on their own ground which helped them to know the areas They had a widespread acquaintance with firearms They had better or superior rifles with more range and accuracy than the British They had experience from the French and Indian War which helped to know what they were coming into and what mistakes they made last time British - Advantages They were well trained, equipped, and had exact orders in which they followed very closely They had the best navy which protected the coastlines and supply lines They had Loyalists and Indians to help them fight They had enough money to hire foreign troops from Germany also known as Hessians
Disadvantages Americans - Disadvantages Their army lacked training and discipline (they were taken from their homes handed a gun and were told to kill without much training in the field. Many men deserted the army because they were allowed to leave whenever and when times got hard, men died, or they just didn't want to fight anymore they would flee to their homes. Shortages of ammo, food, clothing, and medicine also made men flee and people die of starvation or weather. Not all colonists supported the Patriot cause They lacked a real navy which hurt them because they had no way to defend the coastlines British - Disadvantages Fighting a long distance from home which made soldiers less effective due to lack of sleep, home sickness, exhaustion, etc. They never adapted their fighting style which hurt them. They believed they could just run Americans over without any problem, this underestimation caused them to be unprepared and lose many men in some cases. They used smoothbore muskets which took longer to load than the American guns so by the time they could get their gun loaded they would be shot.
Debate Format One side begins with their claim and one piece of evidence The other side has a chance to give a counter-claim The other side then gives their claim and one piece of evidence Counter-claim Start again!
Second Continental Congress Philadelphia, summer 1775 – March 1781 all 13 colonies represented Take control of war effort, last ditch attempt at peace (Olive Branch Petition), moved towards war Acted as the national government of what became the United States of America
Green Mountain Boys
Order of Events 4. (A) American victory at Fort Ticonderoga – the Americans gain a supply of cannons and gunpowder. The victory also gave Americans control of an important route to Canada
Ticonderoga
Order of events 2. (B) Appointment of George Washington as Commander of the Continental Army – The army was disorganized and needed good leadership. Washington has led troops before (F & I war)
Continental Army Work in progress, combo of regular troops and state militia 20,000 men at height (today the US military has over 1.5 million people in active service!)
Order of Events 3. (C) The Battle of Bunker Hill – First major battle of the Revolution. The battle showed that Americans were brave fighters. The battle showed that the British would not be easy to defeat.
Breeds/Bunker Hill
Breed’s Hill/Bunker Hill June 16, 1775 –C–Colonel William Prescott and colonial militias –1–1,000 Patriots fortified Breed’s Hill, digging trenches and using cotton and hay bales for protection. –T–They planned to take Bunker Hill, but British attacked before these plans were completed
The Battle British troops charged up the hill multiple times American commander orders “Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes” Why? Running low on gun powder/ammunition the patriots retreat towards Bunker Hill British took over both, Americans retreat Casualties 11346 British (over 40%) !! 4441 American
Battle animation! BunkerHillAnimation.htmlhttp:// BunkerHillAnimation.html ?Ntt=+bunker+hillhttp://app.discoveryeducation.com/search ?Ntt=+bunker+hill
After Bunker Hill Proved Americans were brave fighters Showed British would not be easy to defeat Washington arrives in Boston and quickly realizes he has a big job ahead of him Cannons finally arrive (from Ticonderoga) and are put in a position that overlooks the harbor – British (and many loyalists) flee Boston to Canada
Order of Events 1. (D) Blockade of all colonial ports – King George ordered blockade to stop people and supplies from coming into or out of the colonies