Topic 3.5: The American Revolution

First Continental Congress

• a convention in Philadelphia in September 1774, where delegates from all colonies except Georgia attended to respond to Britain’s alarming threats to their liberties

the delegates

• all were wealthy White men, however they held diverse views about the crisis from radical to conservative

radicals

• led by Patrick Henry of Virginia and Samuel Adams and John Adams of Massachusetts

• demanded the greatest concessions from Britain

moderates

• included George Washington of Virginia and John Dickinson of Pennsylvania

conservatives

• included John Jay of New York and Joseph Galloway of Pennsylvania

• those who favored a mild statement of protest

loyalists

• was not represented in the First Continental Congress

• colonists who would not challenge the king’s government in any way

actions of Congress

• delegates voted on a series of proposed measures, intended to change British policy

• Galloway proposed his plan but failed to pass and instead adopted these measures:

  • endorsed the Suffolk Resolves

  • passed the Declaration and Resolves

  • created the Continental Associations

  • declared if colonial rights were not recognized delegates would meet again

Joseph Galloway

• proposed a plan similar to the Albany Plan of 1754, that would have reordered relations with Parliament and formed a union of the colonies within the British Empire

• his plan failed to pass by only one vote

Suffolk Resolves

• a statement originally issues by Massachusetts, calling for the immediate repeal of the Intolerable Acts and for colonies to resist them by making military preparations and boycotting British goods

Declaration and Resolves

• a petition which urged the king to redress (make right) colonial grievances and restore colonial rights

• recognized Parliament’s authority to regulate commerce

• was backed by moderate delegates

Continental Association

• a network of committees to enforce the economic sanctions of the Suffolk Resolves

economic sanctions

• act of refusing to trade with another country to enforce laws

battles in Massachusetts

• the king, angrily dismissing the petition of the First Continental Congress, declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion and sent additional troops to put down further disorders

• colonial defiance & British determination to suppress it Led to violent clashes in Massachusetts

Lexington and Concord

• on April 18, 1775, General Thomas Gage sent a large force to seize colonial military supplies in Concord

• in response, Paul Revere and William Dawes warned the militia, who assembled on the village green to face the British

• Americans were forced to retreat under heavy British fire with 8 killed

Paul Revere and William Dawes

• warned the militia of the British march

militia

• also known as the Minutemen

Bunker Hill

• occurred on June 17, 1775 where a true battle was fought between opposing armies on the outskirts of Boston

• a colonial militia of Massachusetts farmers fortified Breed’s Hill next to Bunker Hill

• British forces attacked the colonists’ position and managed to take the hill, but Americans claimed a victory of sorts because they inflicted heavy losses on the attacking British army

Second Continental Congress

• delegates met for a second time in Philadelphia in May 1775, after fighting broke out in Massachusetts

• this time, Congress was divided:

  • one group of delegates, mainly from New England, thought the colonies should declare independence

  • another group, mainly from the middle colonies, hoped the conflict could be resolved by negotiating a new relationship with Great Britain

Declaration of the Causes and Necessities for Taking Up Arms

• justifying to the American people and to the world the necessity for armed resistance

“Olive Branch Petition”

• where delegates pledged their loyalty and asked the king to intercede with Parliament to secure peace and the protection of colonial rights

• was dismissed and King George passed the Prohibitory Act (1775) instead

Prohibitory Act (August 1775)

• declared the colonies in rebellion, and later Parliament forbade all trade and shipping between Britain and the colonies

Richard Henry Lee

• introduced a resolution declaring the colonies to be independent — 5 delegates including Thomas Jefferson formed a committee to support Lee’s resolution

Declaration of Independence

• a foundational document of the United States, officially declaring the separation of the 13 American colonies from Great Britain on July 4, 1776

Patriots

• those who joined the struggle against Britain (abt 40% of the 2.6 million people living in the colonies in 1775)

• largest number of Patriots were from New England states & Virginia

british strength

• the British had greater resources, with 3x the population, a wealthy economy, a well-trained army, and the most powerful navy

african americans

• initially George Washington didn’t want them serving in the Patriot army but Britain promised freedom to enslaved people so Washington & the congress made the same offer

• approx. 5,000 African Americans fought as Patriots, most were free citizens from the north

tories

• those who maintained allegiance to the king; fought next to British soldiers

• probably the majority in New York, New Jersey, and Georgia

American Indians

• initially tried to stay out of the war, but attacks by colonists led many American Indians to support the British who promised to limit colonial settlements in the west

Valley Forge

• where Washington’s demoralized troops suffered a severe winter of 1777-1778 after losing Philadelphia & New York

continentals

• paper money issued by Congress

• became basically worthless during the American Revolution due to rampant inflation

Battle of Saratoga

• resulted in a victory for the American revolutionaries at Saratoga in upstate NY in October 1777

• the surprising American victory persuaded France to join the war against Britain

George Rogers Clark

• led a group of Patriots who captured a series of British forts in the Illinois county to gain control of parts of the vast Ohio territory

Yorktown

• the last major battle of the Revolutionary War occurring in 1781

• greatly supported by French naval & military forces, Washington’s army forced the surrender of a large British army commanded by General Charles Cornwallis

Treaty of Paris

• provided for

• 1) Britain recognizing the existence of the U.S. as an independent nation

• 2) The Mississippi River would be the western boundary of that nation

• 3) Americans would have fishing rights off the coast of Canada

• 4) Americans would pay debts owed to British merchants and honor Loyalist claims for property confiscated during the war