1. The Revolutionary war
U.S. History 10

2. First Continental Congress
Sept in Philadelphia, PA
All colonies there except GA
5 major decisions made:
1. rejected collective colonial assembly under British rule
2. statement of grievances
3. preparations for military defense
4. stopped trade with Britain
5. agreed to meet again

3. Lexington and Concord April 18, 1775
Rides of Paul Revere and William Dawes
Brits going for ammo depot in Concord
Fighting in Lexington

4. Second Continental Congress
Independence Hall, Philadelphia
What were they fighting for?
1. independence: John Adams, Sam Adams, Henry Lee (VA)
2. conciliation: John Dickenson (PA)
What caused 2nd Cont. Cong. to decide on independence?
1. human and financial costs of war
2. Brits recruiting natives, slaves & mercenaries
3. felt like Brits were rejecting reconciliation
4. Prohibitory Act: closed colonies to overseas trade

5. 2nd Cont. Congress - Documents
Olive Branch Petition: conciliatory towards Brits
“Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of taking up Arms” July 6, 1775
“Common Sense” by Thomas Paine 1776
- corruptness of monarchy
- “satellite to rule the sun”

6. Declaration of Independence
1. restated theories of John Locke: government to protect life, liberty and property (pursuit of happiness) 2. listed crimes of the king 3. equality of man?

7. Advantages/Challenges
British
Colonists
Advantages
Best navy and army
Command structure
Money
Supplies
Ability to blockade
Home turf
Commitment to cause
Foreign aid
Blunders by Brit. Military
George Washington
Challenges
Distance away from home
Soldiers unmotivated
Dealing with battles outside N.A.
Military blunders
Financing war
Guns & ammunition
Currency (lack)
Borrowing money
Decentralized military

8. Phase 1: New England 1775-1776 Battle of Bunker Hill (Breed’s Hill)
- British win, but with huge losses
Colonial siege of Quebec
- Benedict Arnold
Brits burning towns
Brits hire Hessians (German mercenaries)
Brits realize the war will be much harder than expected

9. Phase 2: Mid-Atlantic Region (1776-1778)
Battle of Long Island, NY
Gen. William Howe (Brit) 32,000 men
Gen. Washington 19,000 men
Brits settle into New York
- Washington retreats to N.J.

10. Battle of Trenton, N.J.
- Christmas night 1776
- Washington crosses Delaware
- defeats Hessians in Trenton
- drove Brits from Princeton

11. http://www. youtube. com/watch
safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

12. British strategy in 1777 is to cut U.S. in two
Howe takes Philly
Washington fails to take Germantown and winters in Valley Forge

14. Battle of Saratoga
- Gen. Burgoyne (Brit.) campaign in the North - Benedict Arnold (colonial) relieved Ft. Stanwix & cut off valley in advance of the Brits - General Gates surrounds Burgoyne at Saratoga and Burgoyne surrenders. - TURNING POINT: b/c of this victory, France allies itself with the American colonists

15. The War at Sea Colonial Navy= very limited
Letters of marque – licenses issued by American Congress to private ship owners so they could attack British merchant ships
John Paul Jones – American Naval Officer who said, “I have not yet begun to fight.”

16. Phase 3: The Southern Campaign
Savannah, GA taken by Gen. Clinton (Brit) and GA comes back under British rule (Dec. 1778)
Charleston, S.C. taken by Clinton (May 1780)
Gen. Cornwallis (Brit) left in command of Charleston.

17. Farmers and mountain men in the south began forming militias and fighting back.
By 1781, the Brits only controlled the major cities, and none of the backcountry

18. The End Battle of Yorktown
- French army and navy arrives to help colonials
- Cornwallis and Benedict Arnold (now Brit) moved into Virginia
- Washington and French allied cornered him at Yorktown, VA (Sept 1781)
- Cornwallis surrenders

19. The Treaty of Paris Signed on September 3, 1783
U.S. recognized as a new nation
Mississippi River considered western border
Britain gave Florida back to Spain
France got back colonies in Africa and Caribbean
Nov 1783 – last troops leave NYC