 1774, outraged by the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts).  Direct attack on colonists’ traditional rights and liberties: › 1.) closed the port of Boston until destroyed tea was paid off. › 2.) altered Massachusetts charter to ban town meetings. › 3.) increased the governor's power over the colonists. › 4.) allowed British officers to house troops in private dwellings.

 September 1774, delegates from all the colonies (except Georgia) met in Philadelphia. › Voted to ban trade with Britain until Intolerable Acts were repealed. › Called upon each colony to begin training troops.  The First Continental Congress marked a key step for independence.

 British spies learned that the Massachusetts militia was storing arms and ammunition in Concord, (about 20 miles northwest of Boston).  April 18, 1775, British General Gage ordered: › 1.) for the supplies to be destroyed, and › 2.) for the arrests of Samuel Adams and John Hancock.

 Paul Revere and William Dawes, Sons of Liberty members, rode out to spread the news of the British advancement.  Revere setup a signal system: › 1.) One lantern burning in the Old North Church steeple signaled that the British were taking the land route out of Boston and › 2.) two lamps meant that the troops were leaving Boston by water.  Revere and Dawes galloped the countryside on their “midnight ride,” spreading their news.

 Dawn of April 19, 1775, more than 700 British troops reached Lexington.  Capt. John parker and about 70 militiamen were waiting.  The British ordered the Americans to put their muskets down, they refused. › Within a few minutes eight militiamen lay dead.  The British marched forward to Concord, where they destroyed military supplies. › A small skirmish broke out, causing the British to retreat.

 Nearly 4,000 Minutemen lined the road from Concord to Lexington and peppered the retreating Redcoats with musket fire. › Only the arrival of 1,000 more Redcoats saved them from a total British defeat.  Lexington and Concord were the first battles of the Revolutionary War. › Known as the “shot heard ‘round the world.”

 Americans would now have to chose their sides. › Patriots- those who sided with the rebels. › Loyalists- those who supported the British.