Battle of Lexington /Concord, April 1775

General Thomas Gage marched 700 British troops from Boston to nearby Concord
To

find and arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock To find a colonial munitions stockpile

Colonials were ready for the British troops

Warned

by Paul Revere, Samuel Prescott, and others of the coming British troops

Lexington and Concord

British army met up with colonial patriots at Lexington where an inadvertent shot started the whole Revolution The Shot Heard Round the World American patriots were easily overwhelmed and the British marched onto Concord Thousands of American minutemen harassed the British army all along the way British troops reached Concord to find no evidence of Revolutionary leaders or a munitions store

Second Continental Congress

Philadelphia- May 1775 13 colonies sent delegates Continental Army created George Washington- commander in chief Navy created Privateers became official American navy ships Olive Branch Petition Pleaded with George III to stop the abuses of Parliament and that they wanted peace and harmony with the Mother Country

Hostile response from the king

Declaration of War- July 6, 1775

Battle of Bunker Hill- June 1775 16,000 American militia set up camp on the heights above Boston American militia leader William Prescott established a fortification on Breeds Hill (Bunker Hill) Three straight British frontal assaults finally knocked the Americans from the position

Building War Efforts- 1775

King George III hires 30,000 German mercenaries (Hessians) to put down the rebellion in America American army invades Canada under the leadership of Benedict Arnold and Richard Montgomery- December 31, 1775 Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys attacked and conquered Fort Ticonderoga along the Hudson River and confiscated many cannons which would later be used by Washington during his attack on Boston

Thomas PaineCommon Sense

January 1776- pamphlet in which Paine outlined British rights and the kings abuses of those rights Declared that America should throw off the chains of bondage and become independent from Britain Sold over 100,000 copies right away and is considered to be a major spark for the Declaration of Independence

The Battle for BostonMarch 1776 General Washington and his troops siege Boston from the heights above the city British General Gage escaped to Halifax, Nova Scotia with his troops and 1,100 Tories (Loyalists)

Aided

by Admiral Howe of the British navy

European Aid
European countries were petitioned by American ambassadors to help the Americans in their quest for independence Germany, Poland, and France sent military commanders to help train American troops France sent supplies and money

Declaration of Independence

May 1776- Continental Congress advised the colonies to create their own governments A federal Congress was created July 2, 1776- Congress declared American independence (verbally announced)
No

written reasons at this time (no legal declaration)

Declaration of Independence

Three weeks prior to the announcement

A

committee was selected to write an official Declaration of Independence Headed by Thomas Jefferson
Advised

by John Adams and Benjamin

Franklin
Based

on the writings of previous Englishmen who wrote about the English Bill of Rights after the Glorious Revolution almost 100 years prior

Declaration of Independence
The rest of the document listed the kings abuses of the rights of Englishmen in America Also showed how the American colonists tried to come to peaceful negotiations many times prior to this declaration

Declaration of Independence

Approved by the Congress on July 4, 1776 First signed by John Hancock (President of the Congress) and eventually signed by 56 delegates The last one to sign did so in November 1776

Declaration of Independence Copies were sent to all of the colonies Would later serve as a model to other nations seeking their independence