THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

The American Revolution began in 1775 as open conflict between the united thirteen colonies and Great Britain. By the Treaty of Paris that ended the war in 1783, the colonies had won their independence. While no one event can be pointed to as the actual cause of the revolution, the war began as a disagreement over the way in which Great Britain treated the colonies versus the way the colonies felt they should be treated. Americans felt they deserved all the rights of Englishmen. The British, on the other hand, felt that the colonies were created to be used in the way that best suited the crown and parliament. This conflict is embodied in one of the rallying cries of the American Revolution: No Taxation without Representation. The American Revolution (1775-83) is also known as the American Revolutionary War and the U.S. War of Independence. The conflict arose from growing tensions between residents of Great Britain's 13 North American colonies and the colonial government, which represented the British crown. Skirmishes between British troops and colonial militiamen in Lexington and Concord in April 1775 kicked off the armed conflict, and by the following summer, the rebels were waging a full-scale war for their independence. France entered the American Revolution on the side of the colonists in 1778, turning what had essentially been a civil war into an international conflict. After French assistance helped the Continental Army force the British surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1779, the Americans had effectively won their independence, though fighting would not formally end until 1783. Lead Up to the Revolutionary War For more than a decade before the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775, tensions had been building between colonists and the British authorities. Attempts by the British government to raise revenue by taxing the colonies (notably the Stamp Act of 1765, the Townshend Tariffs of 1767 and the Tea Act of 1773) met with heated protest among many colonists, who resented their lack of representation in Parliament and demanded the same rights as other British subjects. Colonial resistance led to violence in 1770, when British soldiers opened fire on a mob of colonists, killing five men in what was known as the Boston Massacre. After December 1773, when a band of Bostonians dressed as Mohawk Indians boarded British ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor, an outraged Parliament passed a series of measures (known as the Intolerable, or Coercive Acts) designed to reassert imperial authority in Massachusetts. In response, a group of colonial delegates (including George Washington of Virginia, John and Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, Patrick Henry of Virginia and John Jay of New York) met in Philadelphia in September 1774 to give voice to their grievances against the British crown. This First Continental Congress did not go so far as to demand independence from Britain, but it denounced taxation without representation, as well as the maintenance of the British army in the colonies without their consent, and issued a declaration of the rights due every citizen, including life, liberty, property, assembly and trial by jury. The Continental Congress voted to meet again in May 1775 to consider further action, but by that time violence had already broken out. On April 19, local militiamen clashed with British soldiers in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, marking the first shots fired in the Revolutionary War. Declaring Independence (1775-76) When the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia, delegates--including new additions Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson--voted to form a Continental Army, with Washington as its commander in chief. On June 17, in the Revolution's first major battle, colonial forces inflicted heavy casualties on the British regiment of General William Howe at Breed's Hill in Boston. The engagement (known as the Battle of Bunker Hill) ended in British victory, but lent encouragement to the revolutionary cause. Throughout that fall and winter, Washington's forces struggled to keep the British contained in Boston, but artillery captured at Fort Ticonderoga in New York helped shift the balance of that

struggle in late winter. The British evacuated the city in March 1776, with Howe and his men retreating to Canada to prepare a major invasion of New York. By June 1776, with the Revolutionary War in full swing, a growing majority of the colonists had come to favor independence from Britain. On July 4, the Continental Congress voted to adopt the Declaration of Independence, drafted by a five-man committee including Franklin and John Adams but written mainly by Jefferson. That same month, determined to crush the rebellion, the British government sent a large fleet, along with more than 34,000 troops to New York. In August, Howe's Redcoats routed the Continental Army on Long Island; Washington was forced to evacuate his troops from New York City by September. Pushed across the Delaware River, Washington fought back with a surprise attack in Trenton, New Jersey, on Christmas night and won another victory at Princeton to revive the rebels' flagging hopes before making winter quarters at Morristown. The

American Revolution

was a political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen

colonies in North America joined together to break from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America. They first rejected the authority of the Parliament of Great Britain to govern them from overseas without representation, and then expelled all royal officials. By 1775 each colony had established a Provincial Congress or an equivalent governmental institution to govern itself, but still recognized the British Crown and their inclusion in the empire. The British responded by sending combat troops to re-establish royalist control. Through the Second Continental Congress, the Americans then managed the armed conflict in response to the British known as the American Revolutionary War (also: American War of Independence, 177583). The British sent invasion armies and used their powerful navy to blockade the coast. George Washington became the American commander, working with Congress and the states to raise armies and neutralize the influence of Loyalists. Claiming the rule of George III of Great Britain was tyrannical and therefore illegitimate, Congress declared independence as a new nation in July 1776, when Thomas Jefferson wrote and the Congress unanimously approved the United States Declaration of Independence. The British lost Boston in 1776, but then captured and held New York City. The British would capture the revolutionary capital at Philadelphia in 1777, but Congress escaped, and the British withdrew a few months later. After a British army was captured by the American army at Saratoga, the French balanced naval power by entering the war in 1778 as allies of the United States. The British offered the Americans colonial self-government including freedom from taxation for revenue, but after years of war the Congress was committed to sovereignty and independence. A combined AmericanFrench force captured a second British army at Yorktown in 1781, effectively ending the war in the United States. A peace treaty in 1783 confirmed the new nation's complete separation from the British Empire, and resulted in the United States taking possession of nearly all the territory east of the Mississippi River. The American Revolution was the result of a series of social, political, and intellectual transformations in American society, government and ways of thinking. Americans rejected the aristocracies that dominated Europe at the time, championing instead the development of republicanism based on the Enlightenment understanding of liberalism, abandoning the concept of royal rule by divine right. Among the significant results of the revolution was the creation of a democratically-elected representative government responsible to the will of the people. However, sharp political debates erupted over the appropriate level of democracy desirable in the new government, with a number of Founders fearing mob rule. Fundamental issues of national governance were settled with the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788, which replaced the weaker Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. In contrast to the loose confederation, the Constitution established a relatively stronger federal national government that included an executive, national courts, and powers of taxation. The United States Bill of Rights of 1791 comprised the first ten amendments to the Constitution,

guaranteeing many "natural rights" that were influential in justifying the revolution, and attempted to balance a strong national government with strong state governments and broad personal liberties. The American shift to liberal republicanism, and the gradually increasing democracy, caused an upheaval of traditional social hierarchy and gave birth to the ethic that has formed a core of political values in the United States. Summary The American revolutionary era began in 1763, after a series of victories by British forces at the conclusion of the French and Indian War ended the French military threat to British North American colonies. Adopting the policy that the colonies should contribute more to maintain the territories as part of the Empire, Britain imposed a series of direct taxes (later known as the "Stamp Act"). Americans protested vehemently at the idea that the Parliament in London could pass laws upon them, such as levying taxes, without any of their own elected representatives in the government. When tea was taxed, Bostonians dumped it, leading to harsh reprisals known as the Intolerable Acts intended to demonstrate Parliament's supremacy. Benjamin Franklin, appearing before the British Parliament testified "The Colonies raised, clothed, and paid, during the last war, near twenty-five thousand men, and spent many millions. Because the colonies lacked elected representation in the governing British Parliament, many colonists considered the new laws to be illegitimate and a violation of their rights as Englishmen. The opinion of the British Government, which was not unanimous, was that the colonies enjoyed "virtual representation". In 1772, groups of colonists began to create Committees of Correspondence, which would lead to their own Provincial Congresses in most of the colonies. In the course of two years, the Provincial Congresses or their equivalents rejected the Parliament and effectively replaced the British ruling apparatus in the former colonies, culminating in 1774 with the coordinating First Continental Congress.[4] In response to protests in Boston over Parliament's attempts to assert authority, the British sent combat troops, shut down local government, and imposed direct rule by the army. Consequently, the Colonies mobilized their militias, and fighting broke out in 1775. The Patriots quickly expelled royal officials from the colonies and took control. First ostensibly loyal to King George III and desiring to govern themselves while remaining in the empire, the repeated pleas by the First Continental Congress for royal intervention on their behalf with Parliament resulted in the declaration by the King that the states were "in rebellion", and the members of Congress were traitors. In July 1776, the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted a Declaration of Independence, which now rejected the British monarchy in addition to its Parliament, and established the sovereignty of the new nation external to the British Empire. The Declaration established the United States, which was originally governed as a loose confederation with a weak central government. The PEACE

TREATY with Britain, known as the Treaty of Paris, gave the U.S. all land east of the Mississippi River and

south of the Great Lakes, though not including Florida (On September 3, 1783, Britain entered into a separate agreement with Spain under which Britain ceded Florida back to Spain.) The British abandoned the Indian allies living in this region; they were not a party to this treaty and did not recognize it until they were defeated militarily by the United States. Issues regarding boundaries and debts were not resolved until the Jay Treaty of 1795.[124] Since the blockade was lifted and the old imperial restrictions were gone, American merchants were free to trade with any nation anywhere in the world, and their businesses flourished. Impact on Britain Losing the war and the 13 colonies was a shock to Britain. The war revealed the limitations of Britain's fiscal-military state when it discovered it suddenly faced powerful enemies, with no allies, and dependent on extended and vulnerable

transatlantic lines of communication. The defeat heightened dissension and escalated political antagonism to the King's ministers. Inside parliament, the primary concern changed from fears of an over-mighty monarch to the issues of representation, parliamentary reform, and government retrenchment. Reformers sought to destroy what they saw as widespread institutional corruption. The result was a powerful crisis, 17761783. The peace in 1783 left France financially prostrate, while the British economy boomed thanks to the return of American business. The crisis ended after 1784 thanks to the King's shrewdness in outwitting Charles James Fox (the leader of the Fox-North Coalition), and renewed confidence in the system engendered by the leadership of the new Prime Minister, William Pitt. Historians conclude that loss of the American colonies enabled Britain to deal with the French Revolution with more unity and better organization than would otherwise have been the case. The Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party was a raid by American colonists on British ships in Boston Harbor. It took place on December 16, 1773. A group of citizens disguised as Indians, armed with tomahawks threw the contents of 342 chests of tea into the bay. This incident was one of many which stirred up bad feelings between the colonists and the British Government and soon led to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. The raid of American colonists that attacked the ships all began when the people of Massachusetts were angry over a tax which had been placed by the British Parliament on tea coming into the colonies. Though some time ships came into the harbor loaded with highly taxed tea. Because ships carrying cargoes of tea arrived in Boston Harbor continuously, the colonists called town meetings and came up with resolutions to stop the importation. The resolutions urged Governor Thomas Hutchinson to send back the ships and his refusal led to the Boston Tea Party. In May, 1773, Parliament gave money to the British East India Company so they could lower their tea prices. The Americans got mad because the British East India Company would trade only with pro-British merchants. In September, 1773, the British East India Company put 500,000 pounds of tea on the market. They did this because they had so much extra tea on hand, and many of the members of Parliament were investors in the tea market. If there was too much tea for sale, tea would be cheaper and the members of Parliament would lose money. The Boston Tea Party took place on December 16, 1773, when colonists threw tea into the Boston Harbor. They did this because they didn't like the British tea taxes. Three ships had come from England and wanted to dock in Boston Harbor. Because the ships wouldn't go back to England, Samuel Adams, John Hancock and eighty other men disguised themselves as Natives Americans and threw all the tea into Boston Harbor. The Boston Tea Party was the idea of Samuel Adams. His cousin John Adams did not like mob action, but he wrote this about dumping the tea: "There is a dignity, a majesty, a sublimity, in this last effort of the patriots that I greatly admire." The British people in Parliament did not admire this action. They got mad and passed the Intolerable Acts as punishment for the Boston Tea Party. The worst part of these acts was that they closed the Boston Harbor and said that the city had to pay for the tea that had been dumped into the harbor. The Tea Party was the culmination of a resistance movement throughout British America against the Tea Act, which had been passed by the British Parliament in 1773. Colonists objected to the Tea Act because they believed that it violated their rights as Englishmen to "No taxation without representation," that is, be taxed only by their own elected representatives and not by a British parliament in which they were not represented. Protesters had successfully

prevented the unloading of taxed tea in three other colonies, but in Boston, embattled Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson refused to allow the tea to be returned to Britain. The Boston Tea Party was a key event in the growth of the American Revolution. Parliament responded in 1774 with the Coercive Acts, or Intolerable Acts, which, among other provisions, ended local self-government in Massachusetts and closed Boston's commerce. Colonists up and down the Thirteen Colonies in turn responded to the Coercive Acts with additional acts of protest, and by convening the First Continental Congress, which petitioned the British monarch for repeal of the acts and coordinated colonial resistance to them. The crisis escalated, and the American Revolutionary War began near Boston in 1775. Boston Massacre The Boston massacre was no massacre at all, but a Boston mob and a squad of British soldiers. The riot took place on March 5, 1770. It was called a "massacre" because several colonists were killed and several others were wounded. Here is the story as Paul Revere tells it. "Twenty-one days before, on the night of March 5,1770, five men had been shot to death in Boston by British soldiers participating in the event known as the Boston Massacre. A mob of men and boys taunted a sentry guard standing outside of the city's costume house. When other British soldiers came to the sentry's support, a free for all ensued and shots were fired into the crowd. Four died on the spot and a fifth died 4 days later. Capt. Preston and six of his men were arrested for murder, but later were acquitted through the efforts of attorneys Robert Auchmuty, John Adams, and Josiah Quincy who took their defense to ensure a fair trial. Later two other soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter." This was one of the reasons we had the American Revolution. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE In 1776, the second Continental Congress chose Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence. When Jefferson was done with a rough copy, he gave it to his subcommittee, which included Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, for their approval. It only took seventeen days before the copy was presented to Congress with the entire subcommittee's approval. One by one, the representatives signed the document, and on July 4th, made it official. Even though independence was declared on July 4th, it took several days for the news to reach all the colonists. Although the revolution would last until 1783, the United States was free from British rule. The Declaration of Independence is a document made up of three parts; Introduction and opening statements, wrongs done by the king, and colonists declare independence. The introduction and opening statements features this famous saying: "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." This sentence was the topic for debate during the early and mid-1800s surrounding the slavery issue. The second part lists actions by the king that the colonists considered wrong. It is a long list that takes up most of the space in the Declaration of Independence. Part three is a small paragraph where the colonists actually declare independence. MAJOR EVENTS THAT LED TO THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION The road to revolution built slowly over time. Many events fed the growing desire of the thirteen colonies for independence. Following are the major events that led to the Revolution. 1754-1763 - French and Indian War This war between Britain and France ended with the victorious British deeply in debt and demanding more revenue from the colonies. With the defeat of the French, the colonies became less dependent on Britain for protection. 1763 - Proclamation of 1763

This prohibited settlement beyond the Appalachian Mountains. While Britain did not intend to harm the colonists, many colonists took offense at this order. 1764 - Sugar Act This act raised revenue by increasing duties on sugar imported from the West Indies. 1764 - Currency Act Parliament argued that colonial currency had caused a devaluation harmful to British trade. They banned American assemblies from issuing paper bills or bills of credit. 1764 - Committees of Correspondence Organized by Samuel Adams, these helped spread propaganda and information through letters. 1765 - Quartering Act Britain ordered that colonists were to house and feed British soldiers if necessary. 1765 - Stamp Act This required tax stamps on many items and documents including playing cards, newspapers, and marriage licenses. Prime Minister George Grenville stated that this direct tax was intended for the colonies to pay for defense. Previous taxes imposed by Britain had been indirect, or hidden. 1765 - Stamp Act Congress In 1765, 27 delegates from nine colonies met in New York City and drew up a statement of rights and grievances thereby bringing colonies together in opposition to Britain. 1765 - Sons and Daughters of Liberty Colonists tried to fight back by imposing non-importation agreements. The Sons of Liberty often took the law into their own hands enforcing these 'agreements' by methods such as tar and feathering. 1767 - Townshend Acts These taxes were imposed to help make the colonial officials independent of the colonists and included duties on glass, paper, and tea. Smugglers increased their activities to avoid the tax leading to more troops in Boston. 1770 - Boston Massacre The colonists and British soldiers openly clashed in Boston. This event was used as an example of British cruelty despite questions about how it actually occurred. 1773 - Tea Act To assist the failing British East India Company, the Company was given a monopoly to trade tea in America. 1773 - Boston Tea Party A group of colonists disguised as Indians dumped tea overboard from three ships in Boston Harbor. 1774 - Intolerable Acts These were passed in response to the Boston Tea Party and placed restrictions on the colonists including outlawing town meetings and the closing of Boston Harbor. 1774 - First Continental Congress In response to the Intolerable Acts, 12 of the 13 colonies met in Philadelphia from September-October, 1774. One of the main results of this was the creation of The Association calling for a boycott of British goods. 1775 - Lexington and Concord In April, British troops were ordered to Lexington and Concord to seize stores of colonial gunpowder and to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock. At Lexington, open conflict occurred and eight Americans were killed. At Concord, the British troops were forced to retreat with the loss of 70 men. This was the first instance of open warfare. 1775 - Second Continental Congress All 13 colonies were represented at this meeting in Philadelphia beginning May. The colonists still hoped that their grievances would be met by King George III. George Washington was named head of the Continental Army. 1775 - Bunker Hill This major victory for the Colonists resulted in George III proclaiming the colonies in rebellion.

In the end, the American Revolution grew out of increasing restrictions placed upon the colonies by the British. One interesting side note: It is estimated that only one-third of the colonists were in favor of rebellion. One-third continued to side with the British. The last third were neutral concerning the rebellion and break from Great Britain. Red Coats and Blue Coats The red coats are the British army and the blue coats were the colonists, then later the white coats came to help the blue coats as alliances Red coat or Redcoat is a historical term used to refer to soldiers of the British Army because of the red uniforms formerly worn by the majority of regiments. From the late 17th century to the early 20th century, the uniform of most British soldiers, (apart from artillery, rifles and light cavalry), included a madder red coat or coatee. From 1870 onwards, the more vivid shade of scarlet was adopted for all ranks, having previously been worn only by officers, sergeants and all ranks of some cavalry regiments. In the United States, "Redcoat" is associated with British soldiers who fought against the colonists during the American Revolutionary War. During this period, roughly 1770-1784, standard dress for a British infantry soldier would have included white breeches, black leather shoes, black spatterdashes, oftentimes gaitored trousers replaced the breeches and gaitors a white wool waistcoat, black cocked hat, and a wool coat that reached the upper thigh, dyed with madder to an alizarin crimson (cochineal was more expensive and not as readily available yet as it had to be purchased from Spain, an enemy of Britain in this war.)

Alexander Hamilton was born January 11, 1755 on the Caribbean island of Nevis. Hamilton was involved in
business from early age. At age 12, Hamilton served as an apprentice at the Counting House of Nicholas Cruger and David Beekman. At age 15, Hamilton was put in charge of the business. Despite a lack of formal schooling during his adolescent years, Hamilton was an intelligent boy and knew both English and French. He was an excellent writer and was published for his descriptive account of a hurricane that ravaged the Caribbean islands. Friends of his family were impressed by his writing, and paid for his formal schooling. Hamilton soon entered Kings College in New York City and earned a bachelors degree in 1774 in one year! Hamilton gained political prominence later that year when he traveled to Boston to show his support for the colonies. While in Boston, he delivered a powerful speech denouncing British policies and wrote two pamphlets attacking a clergymans opposition to the Continental Congress. During the American Revolution, Hamilton was commissioned as the captain of a company of artillery that defended Patriot interests at Long Island and White Plains. Hamiltons military tactics won his widespread praise and earned him a reputation for decisiveness and bravery. He was soon introduced to General George Washington who appointed him to this personal staff with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He became Washingtons personal secretary and gathered pivotal intelligence at the Battle of Monmouth in 1778. At Monmouth, Hamiltons leadership and spirit helped rally retreating troops who promptly routed the British. The ambitious Hamilton later served at the Battle of Yorktown where he led a Patriot assault against the British. Alexander Hamilton married Elizabeth Schuyler in 1780 and eventually had eight children. In 1783, Hamilton was admitted to the New York State Bar after studying for three years. He soon opened his own law practice on Wall Street in New York City. He also served in Congress from 1782 to 1783, was elected to the Continental Congress, and founded the Bank of New York in February of 1784.

Although Hamilton supported a Parliamentary-type government, he is most famous for his works regarding the U.S. Constitution and The Federalist Papers. He was a staunch supporter of the Constitution and helped in its creation and execution. He was also the primary author of the Federalist Papers, a classic commentary on principals of government and American constitutional law. When George Washington was elected president, Alexander Hamilton was appointed the United States first Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton is credited with the establishment of Americas financial system, and took great care in establishing Americas credit at home and abroad. His opinions concerning the structure and function of the national bank were ground-breaking and are still the inspiration behind the English and German economic systems. Hamilton also established an American philosophy on foreign policy, and influenced George Washington to assert a position of neutrality regarding the French Revolution. Hamilton resigned from the treasury in 1795, but remained one of Washingtons most trusted advisors. After returning to his New York law practice and serving in the military for two more years, Hamiltons Federalist party became divided. Hamilton disagreed with many of the policies implemented by President John Adams, and sought to control members of Adams cabinet and his policy. He wrote a seething letter denouncing Adams that was intended for private circulation. Vice president Aaron Burr, however, published the letter which was distributed to the public. Burrs actions stirred great anger in Hamilton, who promptly short-circuited Burrs political aspirations for president and governor. In the presidential election of 1800, in which Burr was campaigning, Hamilton persuaded the House of Representatives that Burr was untrustworthy, and urged them to vote for Thomas Jefferson. He did the same when Burr lost the election for governor of New York. Aaron Burr had finally had enough with Hamilton after this failure in New York. Burr challenged him to a duel on July 11, 1804. Burr won the duel and Hamilton died the next day from his wounds. Alexander Hamilton will always be remembered as one of Americas greatest economic minds. He is immortalized on the United States ten dollar bill. George Washington was born February 22, 1732, in Virginia. George's father, Augustine Washington, was a wealthy man who owned many farms and slaves. He made money from growing tobacco and rice. Washington liked to hunt. He was a good horseback rider who liked horses. He was good at math, so he became a surveyor. This is a person who marks off people's property and makes maps. Washington was a good surveyor who helped map out the wilderness when he was only sixteen years old. People found out how beautiful the wilderness was. French people were making money from selling furs on this beautiful English land. The English didn't like this because it was their land. By 1754, the French and the English were at war.

George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia on February 22, 1732. George was the
youngest son of Augustine Washington and his second wife, Mary Bell Washington. George's early education consisted of the study of such subjects as mathematics, surveying, the classics, and rules of civility. His father died in 1743. From then on, he went to live with his half-brother Lawrence. George then lived and traveled with his brother for nine years. His brother also died of tuberculosis. After George's brother passed away he ultimately inherited the Mount Vernon estate. George Washington played a major part in the American Revolution. On July 3, 1776, Washington took command of the troops surrounding British occupied Boston. He spent the next few months training the rag-tag team made up mostly of untrained colonists. There were 14,000 men with little supplies. Even though Washington prevailed, he nearly failed due to the lack of men and supplies. Until he surprised the Hessian garrison by crossing the Delaware River on Christmas

night 1776. In 1780 the main theater of the war shifted to the south where, in cooperation with Comte de Rochambeau and the com d Esaing, Washington brilliantly planned and executed the Yorktown Campaign. During this action, Washington and his troops defeated Charles Cornwallis and the British forces; securing American victory on October 19, 1781. George Washington had grown enormously in the time during the war. After the war he gradually learned to trust his own judgement after he had taken some advice from officers such as Gates and Charles Lee. Then George developed what was maybe his greatest strength in the society suspicious of the military. His ability to deal with civil authority. On the battle field, Washington relied on a policy of trial and error, soon becoming a master of improvisation. Often Washington was accused of being overly cautious. He could be bold when success seemed possible. He learned to be skillful and to combine green troops with veterans to produce a winning, fighting force. After the war Washington returned to Mount Vernon, which had declined in his absence. Upon his return to Mount Vernon, Wasington concentrated on restoring his home. Even though he had become President of the Society of the Cincinnati, an organization of former Revolutionary war officers, he avoided involvement in Virginia politics. Washington added a greenhouse, a mill, an icehouse, and new land to the estate of Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon like Washington had already become a national institution. He was chosen to be the leader of the American army against the French because he knew the woods so well. In Europe, this was called "The Seven Years War," but the Americans called it "The French and Indian War." The English won the war. After Washington left the army, he got married to Martha Danridge Custis in 1759. Everything was good for a little while until the English wanted the Americans to pay for the war with France. The Americans refused. The Second Continental Congress formed the Continental Army and made George Washington a general. He started training his 14,000 men. On April 19, 1775, war broke out between the colonies and Great Britain. This was the Battle of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. Washington took his men across the Delaware River, but the Redcoats couldn't cross it because they didn't have boats. General Washington thought his army should fight defensively, meaning not fighting unless they had to, but he saw a perfect chance to attack the British. On Christmas Eve, they attacked the Redcoats' camp at Trenton. Washington's men really trusted him. Once in the middle of a battle, Washington rode out on his horse and waved his hat at his men. This made them fight harder. The Americans won battles because they were fighting on their own soil for their own country, and they were Patriots who would never give up. During the terrible winter at Valley Forge, Martha Washington came to help the soldiers that were sick. They went without food for weeks but the soldiers held up till the food came. France wanted to help the Americans win, so they sent ships, soldiers, weapons and money. Benjamin Franklin had convinced France to join the American side in the spring of 1778. By October, 1781, the colonists were ready to trap the Redcoats. They circled around the city of Yorktown, Virginia, where the huge British army was located, attacked them and won the Battle of Yorktown. This ended the major Revolutionary War fighting. The Peace Treaty of Paris was signed on Sept. 3, 1783. Yorktown is known today as Williamsburg, Virginia. After the war, George Washington became President of the Constitutional Convention. He let all his slaves go. Because he was a great general, he was elected as the First President of the United States. Some people wanted him to be a king, because countries of that time were ruled by kings. He said that America had been under a king's rule long enough.

George Washington died on Dec. 14, 1799. Because he was such a great leader, George Washington is remembered and honored. His face is on the U.S. dollar bill and on our quarters. Many places are named after him, like Washington, D.C., universities, streets, counties, and the state of Washington. The Washington Monument is dedicated to his memory. George Washington is called "the Father of our country." The Liberty Bell is an important symbol of our freedom. The first Liberty Bell cracked the first time it was rung. They made another bell to replace it. This one also cracked, was repaired, but it cracked for the second time at a special celebration remembering George Washington in 1846! Even during the war, Generals and other soldiers were expected to act like gentlemen. George Washington did. When General Howe's dog accidentally crossed American lines, Washington wrote a letter to General Howe and returned the dog to him. There is a myth that George Washington chopped down a cherry tree. When his father asked him if he had chopped the tree down, he said, "I cannot tell a lie." This story was created in 1809 by Parson Weems who wanted to establish George Washington as a model for other Americans. Parson Weems wanted Americans to be honest and trustworthy. The capital of the United States is named after him. He was honored on the first American postage stamp, as well as on the quarter and one dollar bill. He even has a state named after him Washington, although he never set foot there.

Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was born April 13, 1743 in Shadwell, Virginia. During his life, he had many accomplishments. Among them were a lawyer, a farmer, and a public official. He was the founder of the Democratic-Republican party. He became a member of the Continental Congress in 1775. He wrote the Declaration of Independence, and was the governor of Virginia from 1779 to 1781. As governor of the state, he guided Virginia through the troubled last years of the American Revolution. He was vice-president from 1797 to 1801 and later became 3rd President of the United States from 18011809. Jefferson's most famous accomplishment was writing the Declaration of Independence. He was 33 when he wrote it. Jefferson had to write a declaration that would show the spirit of America -- one that would state the basic rights of individuals, justify a revolution, and inspire the people to make it happen. It had to state principles such as freedom, equality, justice, and democracy; but it also had to be written in an accurate, logical manner that would appeal to common sense and be understood by all the people who read it or heard it read. As stated by John W. Selfridge in Thomas Jefferson the Philosher President, "As enthusiastic as Adams was, in 1776 neither he, Jefferson, nor any of their friends could have forseen that the Declaration of Independence would be cherished by generations of Americans to come. The Declaration of Independence became a priceless national treasure, not only for its historical value with respect to the founding of the United States of America, but for its universal themes of freedom, equality, justice, and democracy. These ideals are at the foundation of American society and government, and have inspired democratic movements around the world for more than two centuries." Of all his accompishments, the one he is most proud of is his family. His wife Martha Wayles Skelton, and his children, Martha Jane Randolph, Mary, and Lucy. They lived in a nice, cozy house overlooking Albermarle Country's lovely rolling hills. He named the place Monticello which means "little mountain" in Italian.

Patrick Henry was born in Hanover County, Virginia, May 29, 1736, to John and Sarah Henry. Although he was
mostly educated at home by his father, Patrick took an active interest in law which he pursued on his own. In 1760, Patrick was admitted to the Virginia Bar. He soon became a well-known and persuasive attorney, and a staunch advocate for American independence.

Patrick Henrys words were extremely influential. In 1763, Henry argued against the king of England in the Parsons Cause case in Hanover County. Henry defended the right of the colony to fix the price of the tobacco in which the clergy were paid. When clergymen complained to the king, the ruling was nullifed. Henry argued that any king who would veto a law implemented by a locally elected council is not a father to the people but a tyrant undeserving of the allegiance of his subjects. Henry was equally as vociferous in his opposition of the 1765 Stamp Act which he voiced at the Virginia House of Burgesses. Despite cries of treason throughout the meeting room for his impassioned scolding of the Stamp Act and its creators, the House ultimately sided with Patrick Henry and his resolutions asserting that colonists, as Englishmen have the exclusive right to tax themselves. Henry became a delegate to the House of Burgesses in 1765 and served until 1774. Henry became a powerful voice in the quest for American independence and advocated the arming of civilians. His famous words Give me liberty or give me death, spoke for a generation of Americans ready to rebel against England. Patrick Henry was more than just a radical; he was a very successful politician. He was a delegate to the Virginia Provincial Convention in 1775, and was a member of the Continental Congress from 1774-1776. Henry was twice elected as governor of Virginia and led the fight for the Virginia Religious Freedom Act of 1785. Even though he was a Federalist, Henry opposed ratification of the U.S. Constitution asserting it jeopardized states rights. He worked hard to have the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution. Henry died June 6, 1799.