1. Section 5.4: The First Continental Congress: 1774

2. The British actions against Boston increased the colonists’ need to be more unified against the king Samuel Adams decided that a meeting, or congress, of representatives from all the colonies should be held

3. First Continental Congress Adams invited all colonies to a convention in Philadelphia –A convention is a formal meeting called for a special purpose This Continental Congress would help to bring about a better understanding of possible actions against the king The meeting was called a Continental Congress

4. All of the colonies except Georgia elected delegates to the Congress Fifty-six outstanding men attended, including George Washington, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and John Jay –These patriots were well educated and were leaders in their colonies A patriot is someone who loves his or her own country The Continental Congress was held in Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia in September of 1774

5. The delegates debated important issues for seven weeks –The delegates agreed that a Declaration of Rights should be adopted and sent to the king –The Declaration made it clear that taxation by the British would be unacceptable to the colonies –The Congress agreed to boycott British goods This boycott was to be strictly enforced by select committees Another Continental Congress would be held on May 10, 1775, if the king rejected the Declaration of Rights

7. Lexington and Concord John Hancock was sure that the colonists would have to fight for freedom A group of men had to be trained to be soldiers since the colonists had no organized army –They were called minutemen because they agreed to gather at a minute’s notice and become soldiers

8. General Gage, the military governor of Massachusetts, became aware of the colonists’ plans –He ordered a regiment under Major Pitcairn to seize all military supplies, stored at Concord –They had also been instructed to travel to Lexington and capture the rebel leaders The patriots learned about the British plans Paul Revere and William Dawes warned the colonists of their attack by riding through Massachusetts on horseback –Revere was captured by the British and Dawes was forced to flee toward Lexington –However, Samuel Prescott, a third rider, continued the journey to Concord. He warned colonists that the British were approaching

9. The colonists rushed to meet the British at Lexington Major Pitcairn reached Lexington on April 18, 1775 He was surprised to find about 70 armed minutemen waiting for him Both sides fired shots and a number of people were injured or killed –These shots were later to be described as “the shots heard ‘round the world.” –The war with Great Britain was about to begin

10. 5.4 PowerPoint Questions 1.) What was the purpose of the First Continental Congress? 2.) How could the delegates at the Congress best be described? 3.) What action did the Continental Congress take? 4.) Who were minutemen? 5.) What did Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott do? C.T.) Do you think the colonists or the British were better prepared for war? Why?

11. Chapter 5 Review: Identifying Facts Boston MassacreBoston Tea PartyCurrency ActStamp Act Declaration of RightsDeclaratory ActLexington and Concord Intolerable ActProclamation of 1763Quebec ActSugar Act Townshend Acts 1.) The ___ ordered all settlers to leave the Ohio Valley and return to the established colonies. 2.) The ___ raised the tax on sugar and cloth goods. 3.) The ___ enabled the British government to tax legal and business papers used in America. 4.) The ___ stated that British had control over the colonies in all cases. 5.) The ___ placed new taxes on many items important to the colonists, including glass, paper, and tea. 6.) The ___ extended the Canadian province of Quebec into the Ohio Valley. 7.) British soldiers fired into a crowd of people in an event called the ___. 8.) A group of colonists dressed as Mohawk Indians dumped British tea into a harbor in an event called the ___. 9.) The ___ made it illegal for the colonies to print their own money. 10.) The ___ allowed Great Britain to close the port of Boston to all trade, ban town meetings, house British troops in people’s homes, and require that British soldiers accused of any unlawful act be tried in Great Britain. 11.) The First Continental Congress wrote the ___. 12.) British soldiers and American minutemen fought at ___.

12. Chapter 5 Review: Understanding Main Ideas 1.) What did Chief Pontiac do? 2.) What was the purpose of the Proclamation of 1763? 3.) What caused the Boston Tea Party? 4.) What action did the First Continental Congress take? 5.) Who were minutemen? 6.) What happened at Lexington and Concord?