Causes of the American Revolution
After the French and Indian War, Britain wanted the colonists to help pay for the war, but the colonists wanted to just pay their taxes and be left alone. They wanted to be independent from Britain. They became angry because of the laws King George III had been passing in the thirteen colonies. These laws were thought of as unfair to the colonists. It also angered them when Britain passed the Proclamation of 1763, which cut off all ties with the Native Americans, who were friends with the colonists. This is where it all started.
- The Sugar Act was passed on April 5, 1764 and this caused the colonists to boycott all British items. They also continued to smuggle items. This action led to the Writ of Assistance.
- The Writ of Assistance was a search warrant that allowed officers to enter places to search for illegal imported goods. Britain did this so that the colonists would stop smuggling, but all it did was make the colonists mad.
- Next came the Stamp Act, which was passed on March 22, 1765. It made it so a stamp was required on all documents and items. The effects were that the colonies united to oppose the act and they came up with the slogan, "No taxation without representation."
- The Quartering Act of 1765 w=said that you had to house or provide shelter and food for British soldiers if they needed it. The colonists got angry about this and united even more.
- The Declaratory Act was passed on March 18, 1766. It stated that Parliament's authority was the same in America as it was in Britain. In other words, this gave Britain the right to pass any law the wanted in the Thirteen Colonies. At this time the Stamp Act was repealed. The colonists responded by ignoring the act. They were happy that the Stamp Act was repealed.
- The Townshend Acts of 1776 was passed to help make colonial officials independent of the colonists. It was a tax on glass, paper, and tea. The colonists responded to this by boycotting all British items, increasing their smuggling, and becoming angry. Their anger led to the Boston Massacre.
- The Boston Massacre was on March 5, 1770. During this short event, the colonists were throwing rocks and snowballs at British soldiers. Because of this the soldiers began to shoot at the colonists, killing some of them. News of this event spread when Paul Revere painted a picture of this that favored the colonists' point of view. The results of the massacre was that five colonists died. Crispus Attucks was the first black man killed and the others were white.
- Anger from the Boston Massacre led to the burning of the British ship called Gaspee. The original purpose of the Gaspee was to stop smuggling in Rhode Island. The Sons and Daughters of Liberty, with the help of others from Rhode Island, had the Gaspee chase a smuggling ship. The water was shallow where the smuggling ship could go but the Gaspee could not, so the Gaspee hit the bottom of the ocean and the colonist kidnapped the crew and burned the Gaspee. This event was called the Gaspee Affair.
- The Tea Act was passed on May 10, 1773. It was a tax on tea. The colonists reacted by drinking coffee and starting the Boston Tea Party.
- The Boston Tea Party was an event where a group of colonists dressed up as Indians and went aboard three ships in the Boston Harbor. All the tea they had was dumped out from the ships into the harbor. All the tea they threw out was worth about a million dollars. Britain reacted to that by shutting down the Boston Harbor on December 17, 1773, causing people to lose their jobs. This led to the Intolerable Acts.
- The Intolerable Acts were passed in 1774 and it was a series of rules to punish Boston for the Boston Tea Party. Britain tried to starve the colonists but other colonies brought food the Boston. King George III told them to "submit or triumph". This is where the colonists came up with the slogan, "support or perish with Massachusetts". This led to the Battle of Lexington and Concord.
- The Quebec Act was passed next. It said that Britain gave religious and political freedom to Quebec. This was what the colonists had wanted all along. This led to the First Continental Congress.
- The First Continental Congress was where the colonists sent representatives to meet in Philadelphia to discuss leaving or staying with Britain. This led to the beginning of the Declaration of Independence.
American Revolution
The American Revolution started with the Battle of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. In this event, Britain sent troops to intimidate the colonists on April 19, 1775. They arrested Samuel Adams and John Hancock. The soldiers began taking away the colonists' guns and food. William Dawes, Paul Revere, and Samuel Prescott were sent to spread the news that the British were coming. Paul Revere made it to Lexington and helped John Adams escape. William Dawes fell off his horse and couldn't continue so Samuel Prescott was the only one who mad ethe entire journey to warn everyone.
The Battle of Lexington is known as "the shot heard 'round the world" because it was the shot that began the revolution. On the colonists' side there were only 70 soldiers who volunteered and they all planned on retreating. The first shot was anonymous and up to today, no one knew which side fired it. The British fired all at once and killed 8 colonists and wounded 10.
The Battle of Concord began when the British came into the town with no resistance and took the colonists' guns and food. They burned everything they could find in the colonists' home. Most of the colonists had time to hide their weapons and food and some were waiting outside of the town, hiding behind fences and trees. The British were marching in a line and the colonists began shooting at the British. In the end the colonists won the battle but Britain said that it was unfair because they didn't officially declare war. They claimed that the colonists cheated. The colonists became confident and began to organize a militia with about 13,600 men. George Washington was chosen to be a general in the militia and that made him a traitor because he was once a captain in the British army.
An amazing note about our dear friend George:
The next battle is the Battle of Bunker Hill. It was fought on Breed's Hill and the colonist spies found out that the British were going to have an attack on Boston, Massachusetts. The colonists dug into the ground on Breed's Hill as "deep as man and 40 yards square". They used the lumber, stones, and dirt to hide behind when the British attacked. The attack came on June 17, 1775. The British were not in good shape when they came because they had on their full gear on a hot and humid summer day. They were marching in lines while they were firing. The colonists didn't have a lot of ammunition so their leaders, William Prescott and Israel Putnam told them not to shoot until they could see the white of their eyes (until they're close). Their strategy was to shoot the officers first so that the soldiers wouldn't know what to do. The colonists all fired at once and the first and second row of British soldiers were killed. This forced the British to retreat. On the second try, the British were still in full gear but they had to retreat once again. On the third try, the British decided to forget their gear and attack with bayonets, causing the colonists to retreat (also because they were running out of ammunition). The British won but the colonists killed 1,034 British soldiers (almost half) and the British killed about 500 colonists.
On August 27, 1776, the Battle of Long Island also known as the New York Retreat took place. The British leader, General William Howe trapped the Americans in Brooklyn. They landed on Long Island in front of American lines but the Americans fled to Brooklyn Heights. Overall, 400 British men died, got captures, or got wounded. 300 colonists were killed an 1,200 were captured. British ships couldn't get across the East River because of the weather so George Washington arranged an escape. On August 9, fishermen from Massachusetts took 9,500 Americans to Manhattan. The British landed on September 15, 1776 but the colonists kept on retreating.
After Washington took over Boston, the French decided that they wanted to help the colonists, so they sent them guns and ammunition. On October of 1775, the colonists started a navy. At the beginning they only attacked unarmed British ships that carried supplies but later on they became more of a real navy. When some of the colonists wanted to stay with Britain, Thomas Payne wrote something called Common Sense. This explained that every person should make their own decisions and be responsible for their own actions. It said that we should be a new country made up of free individuals and that this was a fight for all mankind. It was an opportunity to be different. We would have no dictators and we would be independent from everyone else. After that, 66% of the colonists wanted to make their own country. On July 4, 1776, our Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. This document was written by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. We became the first country that could vote for their own leaders and be made up of completely free individuals.
Washington's soldiers were beginning to leave so he organized an attack on Trenton, New Jersey. The British had hired hit-men to defeat the colonists once and for all. Washington had help from Betsy Ross who got the hessians drunk on Christmas Eve. Earlier, a farmer was seen as a traitor for selling things to the British but he was really drawing out their set up so that Washington knew where to attack Before the attack, Washington read Thomas Paine's pamphlet called American Crisis.
A short little part of American Crisis:
"These are the times that try men's souls."
"The harder the conflict, the greater the triumph."
"The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but be that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks from man and woman."
When he attacked, there was terrible snowy weather and it was Christmas Day. The hessians were asleep and were very surprised when Washington attacked. The Colonists won the battle and 20 hessians were killed, 100 were wounded, and 1,000 were captured. Only 4 Americans were wounded and of those four, two froze to death.
Britain set a goal of October of 1777 to win the revolution but they lost and were forced to surrender at the Battle of Saratoga, New York In this battle, 500 sharpshooters killed thousands of British soldiers. The British brought their wives, servants, and girlfriends. Benedict Arnold was a hero in this battle and by this time, France thought that the Americans might actually win. Benjamin Franklin went over to France to convince them to help in the revolution and they did.
One winter, Washington decided to settle there and it was a very harsh winter. By December 1777, 2,900 soldiers had no shoes. By February the following year, there were 4,000 soldiers without shoes. It was a bad winter where 500 horses died and 2,000 soldiers died of small-pox. Washington did not leave his soldiers and Martha Washington moved nearby to help. Instead, Washington brought in a German drill instructor to make his army stronger. The instructor's name was Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben.
Washington gave Benedict Arnold command over West Point because of his injuries. Arnold was going to surrender West Point to the British. He traded military secrets and planned to hand over George Washington. Americans caught a British spy with the plans that Benedict Arnold had for the surrender and they told Washington right on time before he got to West Point. Benedict Arnold became a traitor and ran away to join the British army. He burned towns and killed Americans. When he was on his death bed, he asked to be buried in his American uniform and hoped God would forgive him.
Lambo Lambert was a black man who fought in the Battle of Fort Griswold. He held the American flag above his head after it got shot down by the British. When Colonel William Ledyard surrendered his bayonet to a British officer, the officer killed him with it. Lambert ran towards the officer and killed him to avenge his commander. He was stabbed thirty-three times by the British and died.
Jordan Freeman was a black man who was a slave to Colonel William Ledyard, who set him free. In return, Freeman fought alongside the commander in the American Revolution. He speared a British officer, Major Montgomery to avenge the death of his former slave master. This happened as the British began to climb the walls of Fort Griswold.
Washington created another surprise attack on the British. He made it look like he was about to attack New York, but he instead attacked Yorktown, Virginia. He started to spread rumors about an attack on New York and he even sent a small group to New York to fool the British. General Cornwallis of Britain had taken over Yorktown and he was definitely not prepared for the attack. He thought that the British navy would get him if an attack did come. Washington and the French generals, Lafayette and Rochambeau trapped Cornwallis against he ocean in September of 1781, where the French navy blocked the British navy. The Americans and the French dug redoubts around the British and they shot cannons to make the British mad. At night they snuck across the lines and filled British cannons with mud. The British were running out of food and Cornwallis was forced to surrender on October 19, 1781.
For the final surrender, the British had to surrender their flags and weapon and were told to get off American land. Americans and the French lined up in parallel lines that were nearly a mile long and they watched the British march through. Cornwallis couldn't make it because he was sick so he sent his second in command, General O'hara to surrender. He tried surrendering to Rochambeau but he pointed to Washington and Washington pointed to his second in command, General Benjamin Lincoln. The British were embarrassed and surprised that they lost since they were the most powerful military in the world. In the end, King George III lost all thirteen colonies.
The Battle of Lexington is known as "the shot heard 'round the world" because it was the shot that began the revolution. On the colonists' side there were only 70 soldiers who volunteered and they all planned on retreating. The first shot was anonymous and up to today, no one knew which side fired it. The British fired all at once and killed 8 colonists and wounded 10.
The Battle of Concord began when the British came into the town with no resistance and took the colonists' guns and food. They burned everything they could find in the colonists' home. Most of the colonists had time to hide their weapons and food and some were waiting outside of the town, hiding behind fences and trees. The British were marching in a line and the colonists began shooting at the British. In the end the colonists won the battle but Britain said that it was unfair because they didn't officially declare war. They claimed that the colonists cheated. The colonists became confident and began to organize a militia with about 13,600 men. George Washington was chosen to be a general in the militia and that made him a traitor because he was once a captain in the British army.
An amazing note about our dear friend George:
- He was an excellent leader
- He had good judgement
- He was honest
- He was trustworthy
- He came up with the Rules of Civility, which he followed since he was 14.
- He was never paid for being the general
- He turned down the offer of becoming king
The next battle is the Battle of Bunker Hill. It was fought on Breed's Hill and the colonist spies found out that the British were going to have an attack on Boston, Massachusetts. The colonists dug into the ground on Breed's Hill as "deep as man and 40 yards square". They used the lumber, stones, and dirt to hide behind when the British attacked. The attack came on June 17, 1775. The British were not in good shape when they came because they had on their full gear on a hot and humid summer day. They were marching in lines while they were firing. The colonists didn't have a lot of ammunition so their leaders, William Prescott and Israel Putnam told them not to shoot until they could see the white of their eyes (until they're close). Their strategy was to shoot the officers first so that the soldiers wouldn't know what to do. The colonists all fired at once and the first and second row of British soldiers were killed. This forced the British to retreat. On the second try, the British were still in full gear but they had to retreat once again. On the third try, the British decided to forget their gear and attack with bayonets, causing the colonists to retreat (also because they were running out of ammunition). The British won but the colonists killed 1,034 British soldiers (almost half) and the British killed about 500 colonists.
On August 27, 1776, the Battle of Long Island also known as the New York Retreat took place. The British leader, General William Howe trapped the Americans in Brooklyn. They landed on Long Island in front of American lines but the Americans fled to Brooklyn Heights. Overall, 400 British men died, got captures, or got wounded. 300 colonists were killed an 1,200 were captured. British ships couldn't get across the East River because of the weather so George Washington arranged an escape. On August 9, fishermen from Massachusetts took 9,500 Americans to Manhattan. The British landed on September 15, 1776 but the colonists kept on retreating.
After Washington took over Boston, the French decided that they wanted to help the colonists, so they sent them guns and ammunition. On October of 1775, the colonists started a navy. At the beginning they only attacked unarmed British ships that carried supplies but later on they became more of a real navy. When some of the colonists wanted to stay with Britain, Thomas Payne wrote something called Common Sense. This explained that every person should make their own decisions and be responsible for their own actions. It said that we should be a new country made up of free individuals and that this was a fight for all mankind. It was an opportunity to be different. We would have no dictators and we would be independent from everyone else. After that, 66% of the colonists wanted to make their own country. On July 4, 1776, our Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. This document was written by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. We became the first country that could vote for their own leaders and be made up of completely free individuals.
Washington's soldiers were beginning to leave so he organized an attack on Trenton, New Jersey. The British had hired hit-men to defeat the colonists once and for all. Washington had help from Betsy Ross who got the hessians drunk on Christmas Eve. Earlier, a farmer was seen as a traitor for selling things to the British but he was really drawing out their set up so that Washington knew where to attack Before the attack, Washington read Thomas Paine's pamphlet called American Crisis.
A short little part of American Crisis:
"These are the times that try men's souls."
"The harder the conflict, the greater the triumph."
"The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but be that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks from man and woman."
When he attacked, there was terrible snowy weather and it was Christmas Day. The hessians were asleep and were very surprised when Washington attacked. The Colonists won the battle and 20 hessians were killed, 100 were wounded, and 1,000 were captured. Only 4 Americans were wounded and of those four, two froze to death.
Britain set a goal of October of 1777 to win the revolution but they lost and were forced to surrender at the Battle of Saratoga, New York In this battle, 500 sharpshooters killed thousands of British soldiers. The British brought their wives, servants, and girlfriends. Benedict Arnold was a hero in this battle and by this time, France thought that the Americans might actually win. Benjamin Franklin went over to France to convince them to help in the revolution and they did.
One winter, Washington decided to settle there and it was a very harsh winter. By December 1777, 2,900 soldiers had no shoes. By February the following year, there were 4,000 soldiers without shoes. It was a bad winter where 500 horses died and 2,000 soldiers died of small-pox. Washington did not leave his soldiers and Martha Washington moved nearby to help. Instead, Washington brought in a German drill instructor to make his army stronger. The instructor's name was Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben.
Washington gave Benedict Arnold command over West Point because of his injuries. Arnold was going to surrender West Point to the British. He traded military secrets and planned to hand over George Washington. Americans caught a British spy with the plans that Benedict Arnold had for the surrender and they told Washington right on time before he got to West Point. Benedict Arnold became a traitor and ran away to join the British army. He burned towns and killed Americans. When he was on his death bed, he asked to be buried in his American uniform and hoped God would forgive him.
Lambo Lambert was a black man who fought in the Battle of Fort Griswold. He held the American flag above his head after it got shot down by the British. When Colonel William Ledyard surrendered his bayonet to a British officer, the officer killed him with it. Lambert ran towards the officer and killed him to avenge his commander. He was stabbed thirty-three times by the British and died.
Jordan Freeman was a black man who was a slave to Colonel William Ledyard, who set him free. In return, Freeman fought alongside the commander in the American Revolution. He speared a British officer, Major Montgomery to avenge the death of his former slave master. This happened as the British began to climb the walls of Fort Griswold.
Washington created another surprise attack on the British. He made it look like he was about to attack New York, but he instead attacked Yorktown, Virginia. He started to spread rumors about an attack on New York and he even sent a small group to New York to fool the British. General Cornwallis of Britain had taken over Yorktown and he was definitely not prepared for the attack. He thought that the British navy would get him if an attack did come. Washington and the French generals, Lafayette and Rochambeau trapped Cornwallis against he ocean in September of 1781, where the French navy blocked the British navy. The Americans and the French dug redoubts around the British and they shot cannons to make the British mad. At night they snuck across the lines and filled British cannons with mud. The British were running out of food and Cornwallis was forced to surrender on October 19, 1781.
For the final surrender, the British had to surrender their flags and weapon and were told to get off American land. Americans and the French lined up in parallel lines that were nearly a mile long and they watched the British march through. Cornwallis couldn't make it because he was sick so he sent his second in command, General O'hara to surrender. He tried surrendering to Rochambeau but he pointed to Washington and Washington pointed to his second in command, General Benjamin Lincoln. The British were embarrassed and surprised that they lost since they were the most powerful military in the world. In the end, King George III lost all thirteen colonies.
Unit Question
What would you do to fight for your independence?
To be free and independent mean being able to make your own decisions and accept the consequences of them. I would never want people controlling me so I would do basically anything to fight for my independence. Fighting to be independent means taking risks that you may not know the outcome to. I can choose to be an open-minded person who is willing to listen to and consider other people's opinion. I can also be more responsible by noticing problems in my community and dealing with them appropriately. Knowing this, I can make me, my family, community, and society better by being open to new ideas on how to improve things in society.
To be free and independent mean being able to make your own decisions and accept the consequences of them. I would never want people controlling me so I would do basically anything to fight for my independence. Fighting to be independent means taking risks that you may not know the outcome to. I can choose to be an open-minded person who is willing to listen to and consider other people's opinion. I can also be more responsible by noticing problems in my community and dealing with them appropriately. Knowing this, I can make me, my family, community, and society better by being open to new ideas on how to improve things in society.