Chapter 5Decision for Independence

Committee of Correspondence• wrote letters and pamphlets reporting to other

colonies on events in Massachusetts• became a major tool of protest in every colony

• committees continued to analyze the perilous situation in the colonies– were not sure what

course of action to take• called for a Continental

Congress, a gathering of 55 elected delegates from twelve colonies– Georgia sent no

delegates, but agreed to support any decisions that were made

First Continental Congress

• convened a meeting on September 5, 1774 in Philadelphia

• passed a resolution to help Massachusetts, the Suffolk Resolves– encouraged forcible

resistance to the Coercive Acts• agreed to halt all

commerce with Britain until Parliament repealed the Acts

• agreed to boycott all British goods

Shots Heard Round the World

• George III – “blows must decide whether they are to be subject to this country or independent”

• the blows the king warned about would come at Lexington and Concord – two small farm villages in

Massachusetts

• more and more British troops continued to arrive in Boston, around 4,000 in the city– under British General

Thomas Gage

• scouts reported that minutemen had a large store of arms in Concord – about 18 miles from Boston

• Gage dispatched troops to seize the rebel supplies– around 700 troops left

Boston

• Paul Revere– active

patriot warned the colonists that “The British are coming!”

• the British reach Lexington a small town near Concord

• 70 minutemen are waiting with their leader, Captain John Parker

• they decided to stand on the village green

• no one planned to fight• a shot was fired (probably

a colonist), the redcoats discharged a volley and eight colonists were killed

Minutemen• special companies of

Massachusetts militia prepared to respond to instant military emergencies

• men kept muskets at hand; ready to fight at a minute’s notice

• also collected weapons and gunpowder

• British continued on to Concord• no arms were found in the village and the long

march back to Boston turned into a rout• 300 minutemen then forced the British to retreat– colonial sharpshooters, and women shooting from

windows• 73 redcoats killed, 200 more wounded or missing

Battle of Lexington and Concord

- fighting ended all hope of peaceful settlement with Britain

Battles of Bunker Hill and Breed’s Hill

• Colonel William Prescott had 1,200 minutemen on Bunker Hill to fire on British ships in Boston Harbor

• he noticed that Breed’s Hill had a better position and had the minutemen move there

• British General William Howe had 2,400 redcoats attack

• the British were forced to retreat twice until finally they took the hill

• 1,000 redcoats were killed and 400 Americans

• first major battle of the Revolution

• proved the Americans could fight bravely and proved the British would not be easy to defeat

Beginning “The World over Again”

• Second Continental Congress meets in May 1775 at Philadelphia

• knew the country desperately needed strong central leadership and took control of the war

• began issuing paper money to purchase supplies

• even though they were assuming the powers of a sovereign government, they refused to declare independence

• the delegates formed a Continental Army

• appointed George Washington as commander– seemed to have

greater military experience

– looked like he should be commander in chief

Olive Branch Petition• sent a petition to King

George III – declaring their loyalty to the king and asking him to repeal the Intolerable Acts

• King George III was furious about the petition– vowed to bring rebels to

justice• he ordered 20,000 more

troops to the colonies to crush the revolt

• Parliament passes the Prohibitory Act – declared war on American

commerce– colonists could not trade with

the rest of the world– the British navy blockaded their

ports and seized American ships on the high seas

• British begin to hire German mercenaries

• try to stir up rebellion in the colonies, by urging slaves to take up arms against their masters

Thomas Paine

• wrote the most important pamphlet in American history called – Common Sense

• he did not believe Parliament had the right to make laws for the 13 colonies

• set out to change colonists’ attitudes toward Britain and the king– claimed the colonists did not owe Britain anything– that Britain only helped the colonies for its own profit– it would hurt the colonists to remain under British rule

• Common Sense sold many colonists on the idea of independence

• persuaded the common folk to sever their ties with Great Britain, that “Europe, not England is the parent country of America.”

The Continental Congress• meets in June 1776 and finally

votes for independence– 12 states for, none against, New

York abstaining• appointed a committee to

draw up a formal declaration of independence

• committee included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman

• purpose of the document would be to tell the world why the colonies were breaking away from Britain

• Thomas Jefferson is the primary author• July 2, 1776 the Continental Congress voted that

the 13 colonies were “free and independent States”

• delegates adopted document on July 4, 1776– the Declaration of Independence is printed and

distributed

• John Hancock was the president of the Continental Congress and signed Declaration first, he did so boldly

Declaration of IndependencePreamble – Introduction

3 Main Parts1. Natural Rights2. Lists of Wrongs by King George III3. Announces Colonial Independence and

the creation of the United States of America

1. Natural Rights• rights that belong to all people from birth• include certain unalienable rights– life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness

• claimed that people have the right to protect these rights and to get rid of any government that threatens these rights

2. Lists of Wrongs• King disbanded colonial legislature• King sent troops to colonies in peacetime• King limited trade• King imposed taxes without consent of

people• colonies had petitioned the King and the

injustices had remained

3. Announcing Independence• political ties with England are cut• they were now a free and independent

nation• as a free nation they have the power to

declare war, make alliances, conduct business and do all other acts that independent countries have the right to do

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