who what when where why how 40/45% 15/20% the american revolution the war for independence the war...
TRANSCRIPT
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
WHOWHATWHENWHEREWHY HOW
40/45%
15/20%
WHAT
The American Revolution
The War for IndependenceThe War of Separation
The War of American SuccessionThe Civil War in America
The Great American RebellionThe Colonial Uprising
WHEN?
1775 - 1783
WHY?
"taxation without representation is tyranny“
"virtual representation“
"no taxation without representation"
WHY?Stamp Act
Declaratory ActTownshend Acts
Battle of Golden HillBoston “Massacre”
Gaspee Affair Tea Act
Boston Tea Party Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts)
First Continental CongressPatrick Henry’s “liberty or death” speech to
VirginiansNew England Restraining Act
HOW?
Our story begins with
LEXINGTONAND
CONCORD
LEXINGTON AND CONCORD General Thomas Gage had a plan…
Use British soldiers stationed in Boston
Go to Lexington to capture John Hancock and Samuel Adams
Go to Concord to seize gunpowder
Reminiscent of
Powder Alarms
But the Americans had a plan of their own…
LEXINGTON AND CONCORD
Spies and Friends of the Americans leaked word of Gage’s plans (maybe Gage’s wife).
Two lanterns hanging from Boston's North Church informed the countryside that the British were going to attack by sea.
A series of horseback riders — men such as Paul Revere, William Dawes and Dr. Samuel Prescott— galloped off to warn the countryside that the REGULARS (British troops) were coming!
LEXINGTON AND CONCORD ROUTE
CAPTAIN JOHN PARKER AT LEXINGTON
“Stand your ground; don't fire unless fired
upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it
begin here.”
LEXINGTON AND CONCORD
Colonial Militias (often referred to as minutemen) assembled throughout Massachusetts after learning British plans
The militias confronted the British troops on the Lexington Green
Both sides did not know what to expect. Suddenly, a bullet buzzed through the morning air.
It was "the shot heard round the world.“ Ralph Waldo Emerson; "Concord Hymn" (1837)
THE RECONSTRUCTED NORTH BRIDGE IN MINUTE MAN NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK, CONCORD
GEORGE WASHINGTON RECEIVED THE NEWS AT MOUNT VERNON AND WROTE
"the once-happy and peaceful plains of America are either to
be drenched in blood or inhabited by slaves. Sad
alternative! But can a virtuous man hesitate in his choice?"
ETHAN ALLEN AND THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS
Out of modern day Vermont, led a group called the Green Mountain Boys to capture Ft. Ticonderoga. (NY) Cannons
Ethan Allen & Benedict Arnold took over the fort on May 10, 1775.
?
BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL One day battle Americans sent troops to
“Breed’s Hill” in order to occupy the hills surrounding the city of Boston.
To conserve ammunition, American leader Colonel William Prescott told his men, "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!"
BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL
The Americans fired until they were out of ammunition, then quickly retreated.
British ended up taking the Hill but suffered heavy losses.
GENERAL HENRY CLINTON
"A few more such victories would have shortly put an end to British dominion in
America.”In other words a PYRRHIC VICTORY
(pronounced peerik)
"We have learned one melancholy truth, which is, that
the Americans, if they were equally well commanded, are full as good soldiers as ours."
A British officer in Boston
SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS The Second Continental
Congress met in Philadelphia after Lexington and Concord (May 1775).
The delegates discussed… Creating a Continental Army
Choosing George Washington to be commander-in-chief
Sending the Olive Branch Petition
Approving the Declaration of Independence
Drafting the Articles of Confederation
COMMON SENSE
“As my wish was to serve an oppressed people, and assist in a just and good cause, I conceived that the honor of it would be promoted by my
declining to make even the usual profits of an author.”
"the Doctrine, not the man"
COMMON SENSEPaine's basic arguments against British rule: It did not make sense for an island to rule a continent. America was not a "British nation"; but was composed of influences and
peoples from all of Europe. If Britain were the "mother country" of America, no mother should harm
her children so brutally. Being a part of Britain would drag America into unnecessary European
wars, and America from the international trade at which America excelled.
The distance between the two nations made governing the colonies from England too difficult. If challenging a wrongdoing, it would take a year before the colonies received a response.
The New World was discovered and populated because God wanted to give them a safe haven from the persecution of British rule.
Britain ruled the colonies for its own benefit, and did not consider the best interests of the colonists.
INFLUENCE• Targeted a popular audience and was written in a straightforward and simple way.
• Gave common people a place in government and political debates. • It influenced the vast majority of colonists about the idea of independence from British
rule (including the roughly 40% of neutral people on the fence).
DORCHESTER HEIGHTS
BOSTON EVACUATION
Dorchester Heights Siege (March 4/5, 1776)
Henry Knox---Fort Ticonderoga Cannon March
General Howe remarked, "The rebels did more in one night than my whole army would have done in one month.”
Evacuation began March 17th, 1776
RICHARD HENRY LEE OF VIRGINIA PRESENTED A THREE-PART RESOLUTION TO CONGRESS ON JUNE 7…IT READ IN PART:
“Resolved, that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all
allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain
is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”
COMMITTEE OF FIVE (CREATORS)
The committee consisted of two New England men, John Adams of
Massachusetts and Roger Sherman of Connecticut; two men from the
Middle Colonies, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Robert R.
Livingston of New York; and one southerner, Thomas Jefferson of
Virginia.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE Main author was Thomas Jefferson
and was authorized by Second Continental Congress
July 4, 1776 3 Main Parts
Statement of Intent: The Basic Principles List of Grievances: Why the colonists wanted
independence Removes ties with Britain
NATIONAL ARCHIVES: 5 PARTSThe Declaration of Independence is made up of five distinct parts: the introduction; the preamble; the body, which can be divided into two sections; and a conclusion. The introduction states that this document will "declare" the "causes" that have made it necessary for the American colonies to leave the British Empire. Having stated in the introduction that independence is unavoidable, even necessary, the preamble sets out principles that were already recognized to be "self-evident" by most 18th- century Englishmen, closing with the statement that "a long train of abuses and usurpations . . . evinces a design to reduce [a people] under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." The first section of the body of the Declaration gives evidence of the "long train of abuses and usurpations" heaped upon the colonists by King George III. The second section of the body states that the colonists had appealed in vain to their "British brethren" for a redress of their grievances. Having stated the conditions that made independence necessary and having shown that those conditions existed in British North America, the Declaration concludes that "these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved."
JOHN ADAMS HAD WRITTEN TO HIS WIFE ABIGAIL (ON JULY 3, 1776):
“The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by
succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be
commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It
ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells,
bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time
forward forever more.”
NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY
RETREAT1776
Battle of Long Island---American Loss Brooklyn Heights---American Retreat New York City---American Retreat Harlem Heights---American Victory (Retreat) Nathan Hale executed as a spy ("I only regret that I have but one life to
give for my country.“)
White Plains---American Loss Fort Washington---American Loss Fort Lee---American Retreat Lord Cornwallis chases Washington through New
Jersey. Americans retreat across the Delaware River.
TRENTON AND PRINCETON
“These are the times that try men’s souls”
Thomas PaineAmerican Crisis
The American Crisis was a series of 16 pamphlets published from 1776 to 1783
by Thomas Paine. The first volume begins with the famous words above.
THE AMERICAN CRISIS OPENING LINES
These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine
patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.
BATTLE OF TRENTON – TALE OF THE TAPE Battle: Trenton War: American Revolution Date: 25th and 26th December 1776 Place: Trenton, New Jersey on the
Delaware River Combatants: 2400 Americans against
1400 Hessians and British troops Generals: General George Washington
against Colonel Johann Rall.
BATTLE OF TRENTON – THE MAIN UNIT
The US 8th Continental Regiment - fought in the siege of Boston, Lake Champlain,
Trenton, Princeton, Saratoga, Monmouth and Yorktown
BATTLE OF TRENTON
General George Washington crossing the Delaware at the
Battle of Trenton on Christmas night 1776 by Emmanuel Leutze in 1851
BATTLE OF TRENTON – THE SURRENDER OF RALL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTaMvO2j7Y0
WINTER AT MORRISTOWN
George Washington wrote the Marquis de Lafayette on March 18th,
1780 from the Ford Mansion, "... The oldest people now living in this Country do not remember so hard a winter as the one we are now emerging from. In a word the severity of the frost exceeded anything of the kind that had ever been experienced in this climate before. "
WINTER AT MORRISTOWN
Doctor James Thacher, whose journal is one of the best sources of first person descriptions of
events during the war, wrote:"The weather for several days has been remarkably cold and stormy. On the 3rd
instance, we experienced one of the most tremendous snowstorms ever remembered; no man could endure its violence many minutes without danger to his life. ... When the storm subsided, the snow was from four to six feet
deep, obscuring the very traces of the roads by covering fences that lined them. "
WINTER AT MORRISTOWN
General Johann de Kalb wrote: "...so cold that the ink freezes on my pen, while I am sitting close to the fire. The roads are piled with snow
until, at some places they are elevated twelve feet above their
ordinary level."
WINTER AT MORRISTOWN
Private Joseph Plumb Martin's memoirs reported:
"We are absolutely, literally starved. I do solemnly declare that I did not put a single
morsel of victuals into my mouth for four days and as many nights, except for a little black
birch bark which I gnawed off a stick of wood. I saw several men roast their old shoes and eat them, and I was afterward informed by one of the officer's waiters, that some of the officers
killed a favorite little dog that belonged to one of them."
MAJOR 1777 CAMPAIGNS
Battle of Brandywine (British Win)---9/11 British Occupation of Philadelphia---9/26 Battle of Germantown (British Win)---
10/4
AND
BATTLE OF SARATOGA
June 1777 when British General John Burgoyne began moving south from the British province of Quebec to gain control of the Hudson River valley. His plan was to split the eastern New England colonies
from the southern colonies. Burgoyne had the Continental Army, under
General Philip Schuyler, in retreat. In response, General Washington assigned General
Horatio Gates to take command of the Continental Army from General Schuyler. Additional troops were also sent to support General Gates.
CRUSH LIKE A BUG
Horatio Gates
John Burgoyne
SARATOGA CONTINUED…
When Burgoyne marched into the Hudson River Valley, he met the Continental Army just north of Saratoga (Battle One).
The Continental Army was forced to retreat.
Although the British had won the initial battle, it was with significant casualties, both in infantry and artillery men.
SARATOGA
Burgoyne mounted an attack on Bemis Hill (Battle Two). The Americans successfully defended the hill and
Burgoyne lost many soldiers. The American troops counter attacked forcing the
British to retreat. Burgoyne's army was now surrounded by the Continental
Army. He had lost 1,000 men, and was running low on supplies.
British General Burgoyne was forced to surrender(which involved his men surrendering their weapons, and returning to Europe with a pledge not to return to North America). Following the defeat, France recognized the United States and entered the war on 6 February 1778, transforming it into a global conflict.
WINTER AT VALLEY FORGE 1777-1778
Washington’s headquarters
WINTER AT VALLEY FORGE
Liberty’s Kids – Valley Forge Part Ihttp://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=92KZNSt5j2U
Liberty’s Kids – Valley Forge Part IIhttp://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQVGPyr_5QI
1778 - 1779
1778 French Alliance signed British leave Philadelphia British occupy Savannah
1779 Spain Declares war on England Some British victories/some American
victories John Paul Jones becomes American naval
hero Second harsh Morristown winter for
Americans
1780 - 1781
1780 British capture Charleston, S.C. John Andre arrested/Benedict Arnold treasonous Battle of King’s Mountain---American Victory Netherlands goes to war with England
1781 Daniel Morgan victorious at the Battle of
Cowpens Articles of Confederation officially adopted Battle of Guilford Courthouse, NC---(British
pyrrhic victory)
AND
BATTLE OF YORKTOWN
The year 1781 found a large squadron of British troops led by Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia.
A French naval unit led by Admiral de Grasse headed north from the West Indies.
Washington's army was stationed near New York City at the time.
Along with a French unit from Rhode Island, Washington's troops marched over 300 miles
south toward Yorktown.
YORKTOWN CONTINUED
Americans led by Lafayette joined in the siege.
The French navy kept the British out of Chesapeake Bay until Cornwallis was forced to surrender his entire unit of nearly 8,000 troops on October 19, 1781.
The capture of the troops severely hampered the British war effort.
This is the last major land battle, meaning that David defeated Goliath.
YORKTOWN AFTERMATH
Savannah, Charleston and New York remained occupied by British forces
The final naval battle was on March 9th, 1783, eighteen months after Yorktown and over a month after King George III issued his Proclamation of Cessation of Hostilities on February 3rd, 1783.
No treaty could go into effect until Britain, France, Spain, and Netherlands also reached agreement.
TREATY OF PARIS The Battle of Yorktown turned the British public
against the war. The following March, a pro-American Parliament was
elected and peace negotiations began in earnest. Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay met
with the British in the hopes of securing a peace treaty. It was also signed by David Hartley (a member of the British Parliament representing King George III).
Treaty signed September 3rd, 1783 (In the words of one of the French negotiators, “England has been plucked all over; but to pluck the bird without making her squawk, voila, le grand art!”)
Last troops leave November 25th, 1783 Washington resigns December 23rd, 1783