1. America Declares Independence
Unit 2, Lesson 2

2. Essential Idea
Tension between Britain and the colonies led to America declaring independence.

3. Tension Grows “Round Three” Colonial Action:
Gaspee Affair- colonists attacked and burned a British ship that captured smugglers
Committees of correspondence- colonies set up groups to communicate about British activities
The committees unified the colonies, shaped public opinion, and coordinated resisting the British

4. The Tea Act British Action:
Tea Act- this lowered the tax on British tea, making it cheaper than the non-British tea colonists smuggled

5. Boston Tea Party Colonial Response:
Colonists were mad and felt forced to buy British tea
Boston Tea Party- In 1773, colonists, disguised as Indians, dumped 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor
Samuel Adams publically defended the action and may have participated
The “Tea Party”

6. Coercive/ Intolerable Acts
British Action:
King George III was furious and Parliament decided to punish the colonies
Coercive Acts- England shut down Boston Harbor, stopped allowing elections, and expanded the Quartering Act
More British troops were sent to the colonies to keep order, raising tension

7. Also called the “Intolerable Acts”
Colonial Response:
Colonists were furious, calling the new laws the “Intolerable Acts”
Committees of correspondence called for colonies to send delegates to a colonial congress to discuss what to do next
Coercive/Intolerable Acts (start at 0:35)

8. First Continental Congress
Colonial Action:
First Continental Congress- met in Philadelphia to discuss a response to the Intolerable Acts
The delegates did NOT want independence yet, just restoration of their rights
Declaration of Rights and Grievances- condemned Coercive (Intolerable) Acts, announced boycotts, but expressed loyalty to the king
Colonial militias began to form, some known as the “minutemen”

9. The King is Angry British Response:
King George III was furious and declared the colonies in rebellion
Additional British troops were sent to Massachusetts to suppress defiance
The First Continental Congress

10. Lexington and Concord British Action:
British General Thomas Gage sent troops to Concord to capture militia supplies and “rebel ring leaders” Samuel Adams and John Hancock
Colonial Response:
Paul Revere and others made famous “midnight rides” ahead of the troops, warning the “British are coming”
Minutemen intercepted British troops at Lexington and eight minutemen died

11. “Shot Heard ‘round the World”
This “shot heard ‘round the world” is considered by many the start of the American Revolution
At Concord, 400 minutemen attacked and chased the British back to Boston, killing 99 troops
Local militias surrounded the British in Boston
The Shot Heard Round the World

13. Second Continental Congress
Colonial Action:
Second Continental Congress- met again in Philadelphia, “adopted” the militias as the Continental Army, and named George Washington as commander
Second Continental Congress Meets
The Congress still did not want independence and tried to reconcile with England despite the fighting
Olive Branch Petition- the Congress maintained loyalty to the king and asked to end hostilities with this last ditch effort

14. Battle of Bunker Hill Battle of Bunker Hill:
British troops tried to capture a hill outside Boston where the Continental Army was
The Army did severe damage to Britain, the strongest military in the world, but retreated after running out of supplies

15. Peace?
Consequences:
This both boosted American confidence and infuriated King George III
The king rejected the Olive Branch Petition and declared the colonies in open rebellion
Battle of Bunker Hill

16. Thomas Paine and Common Sense
Even in 1776, most colonists hesitated on independence
Thomas Paine- wrote “Common Sense,” pushing for independence
“Common Sense” was influenced by the Enlightenment ideas on natural rights and compact theory

17. Common Sense
Paine said Britain violated colonists’ natural rights and thus was an illegitimate government
Republic- Paine’s idea of government, where power comes from the people through elections, not a king
The idea of independence became more popular
Common Sense

18. Declaration of Independence
In Congress, future president John Adams vocally pushed for independence
July 4, Congress declared its decision (made July 2nd) to become independent from Britain

19. Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson:
Wrote Declaration of Independence, claiming that “all men are created equal” and had natural rights
Jefferson, like Paine, said England had broken its “compact” with the colonies
The colonies became the United States of America and the American Revolution officially began
Declaration of Independence

20. All Men Created Equal?
Many groups after the revolution were not treated equally
Blacks:
Blacks remained slaves in southern states until the Civil War
After the Civil War, blacks were denied rights by the government until the 1960s
Women:
Women were denied many rights and did not get the right to vote (suffrage) until 1920

21. A Tough Task for Patriots
Loyalists:
Remained loyal to Britain
How many?
Almost a third of colonists
Location: Mostly New York and lower South
Patriots:
Favored independence from Britain
Only about 40% of colonists
Location: Mostly in New England and Virginia
Civil War:
Part of the American Revolution was civil war between Loyalists and Patriots
Patriots were NOT in the majority and victory was NOT likely