Transcript Revolutionary War notes

American
Revolution
Boston Massacre
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Crowds constantly
heckled and harassed
the troops.
March 5, 1770, a crowd
of colonists began
taunting and throwing
snowballs at a British
soldier guarding a
customs house.
Afterwards, 3 people lay
dead, 2 died later, and 6
were wounded.
More frustrations…
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Boston Tea Party (1773) – in response to the Tea
Act
Coercive Act (1774) – closed Boston harbor,
imposed British control over town gov’t, & imposed
a new Quartering Act
Quebec Act (1774) – gov’t would be appointed by
king, gave more territory – seemed to imply that the
British were trying to seize control of the colonial
governments.
Coercive Act & Quebec Act together make up the
Intolerable Acts.
Committees of Correspondence - colonial
leaders from all but one colony (Pennsylvania),
communicated ways to protest British policies.
Loyalists versus Patriots
Americans who backed Britain were
known as Loyalists, or Tories.
 People who believed Britain had
become tyrants were known as
Patriots, or Whigs.
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First Continental Congress
1774, delegates from 12 colonies met
together – Georgia did not participate
 agreed to halt trade with Britain.
 Expanded the militia of citizen
soldiers (minutemen) throughout the
colonies, in anticipation of armed
conflict with Britain.
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Thomas Paine – Common Sense
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Author - Thomas Paine
Common Sense
Published in 1776
challenged the
authority of the British
government & the royal
monarchy.
The plain language that
Paine used spoke to the
common people of
America and was the
first work to openly ask
for independence from
Great Britain.
Escalating Conflict
1775, Britain thought the colonies,
especially Massachusetts, needed to
be controlled – thus, Parliament sent
troops over to America.
 General Thomas Gage
 April 18th, 700 troops set out for
Concord & passed the town of
Lexington
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Paul Revere
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Patriot leader, who
along with William
Dawes, heard about
the plan of the
British & decided to
spread the alarm.
“The British are
coming!”
Battles of Lexington & Concord
Shots fired at Lexington left 8
minutemen dead.
 British moved on to Concord, where
they destroyed a small amount of
gunpowder.
 Minutemen, lining the forest road,
killed 73 British soldiers & wounded
200, concluding the two battles.
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Second Continental Congress
After skirmishes at Lexington &
Concord, colonial leaders like Ben
Franklin, John Hancock, and Sam
Adams met here.
 Appointed George Washington as the
head of Continental Army
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Declaration of Independence
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July 4, 1776 – severing all
ties with Great Britain.
Declared themselves the
United States of America
Discussed everything King
George III had done wrong
& that if the gov’t became
harmful to the people, they
had the right to change it.
Written by Thomas
Jefferson
John Locke
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Declaration influenced by Enlightenment
thinkers
Held life, liberty, and property as natural
rights
“We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with
certain inalienable Rights, that among
these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of
Happiness.”
Charles Montesquieu
French philosopher
 Wrote The Spirit of the Laws, “that
power in government should be
divided among an executive and a
legislative body.”
 Helped influence Declaration &
Articles of Confederation.
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Crossing the Delaware River
Washington & his men were suffering
from losses to British, loss of
thousands of troops
 Christmas night (1776) – Washington
led 2,400 men in small boats across
an icy Delaware River, then marched
to Trenton (NJ) and gave a surprise
attack on a group of Hessians
 This victory gave new hope to the
Americans
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Battle of Saratoga
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(1777) included the
surrender of almost 5,000
British soldiers, proved
America’s ability to fight, &
bolstered American resolve
while attracting European
support.
TURNING POINT OF THE
REVOLUTIONARY WAR!
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Improved American morale
and also convinced France
to commit troops to the
American cause.
French Support
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Baron von Steuben helped
turned undisciplined troops
into professional soldiers.
Ben Franklin helped ensure
a French alliance that
provided military & financial
aid.
Marquis de Lafayette,
French soldier who
volunteered to serve in the
Continental Army at his own
expense.
Conditions at Valley Forge
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Valley Forge (outside Philadelphia), served
as the site of the Continental Army’s camp
during the winter of 1777-78.
 British
occupied Philadelphia & took quarters
inside while the underclothed & underfed
Patriots were in makeshift huts in the freezing,
snowy woods.
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low point for General Washington & his
troops
Battle of Yorktown/Treaty of
Paris
(1781) Continental Army defeated
General Cornwallis , trapping 8,000
British soldiers – effectively ended the
war.
 Peace came with the signing of the
Treaty of Paris in 1783.
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Pre-Revolutionary War, 1763
Post-Revolutionary War, 1783
Practice Questions
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Of what importance were men such as
Marquis de Lafayette and Baron von
Steuben to the American cause?
 A)
they served as spies
 B) they provided expertise
 C) they assisted the British
 D) they served in Congress
Practice Questions
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How did the Treaty of Paris 1783 change
the political map of North America?
 A)
Great Britain gained land.
 B) The United States claimed land that had been
under British control.
 C) France ceded Florida to Spain.
 D) The United States gained Florida from Spain.