APUSH American Pageant Chapter 8 AMSCO Unit #3A

Second Continental Congress (05/1775)

conservative representatives from all 13 colonies; continued fighting with appeals and raised money for an army/navy

George Washington

his appointment to commander-in-chief recognized his outstanding leadership with a strong sense of character (patience, courage, justice, and self-discipline); since he was a Virginian and an aristocrat, people trusted him more

Ticonderoga

May 1775; Americans led by Allen Arnold surprised the British and took the gunpowder and artillery later used for Boston

Bunker Hill

Breed's Hill was a bloody battle the British won, but they lost a lot of men; 2 more battles like it and there would be no more British army

"Olive Branch Petition" (July 1775)

Congress professed American loyalty to the crown and wanted to stop further hostilities; King George said the colonies were in rebellion, making it treason; he also hired German "Hessians," angering colonists

Invasion of Canada

the colonies wished to deprive the British of a valuable base to strike the colonies; this contradicted their claims of defensive fighting; it narrowly missed success

Montomery/Arnold

their forces lost the Invasion of Canada after Montgomery was killed and Arnold's leg was severely injured

British evacuate Boston (03/1776)

the British evacuated, taking the leading friends of the king with them; still celebrated annually in Boston

Thomas Paine "Common Sense" (1776)

he claimed that nowhere did a smaller land control a larger one, meaning the British shouldn't control America; he called the king "the Royal Brute of Great Britain"; it was well-received but some believed that social classes should remain

Lee's Resolution (July 2, 1776)

a formal 'declaration' of independence to cut off British ties

Declaration of Independence (07/04/1776)

it justified American independence with a list of George’s misdeeds; inspired countless revolutionary movements

Patriots v. "Tories"

many colonists remained neutral, but those against the king were called Patriots (a ragtag group with political zeal) and those with the king were called Loyalists/Tories (if the king won, loyalists would rise in ranks; strongest where the Anglican church was strongest)

Patrick Henry

in his speech to the Virginia Convention he cried "give me liberty or give me death"

Battle of Long Island

after this American loss, Washington's troops secretly recrossed the Delaware River; the British (under General Howe) retreated (they remembered Bunker Hill)

Valley Forge (1777-1778)

a long, cold, foodless winter for Washington's troops

Saratoga (October 1777)

Burgoyne was forced to surrender to the Americans because he couldn't advance or retreat; this victory made French aid possible

French support (1778)

Ben Franklin won their support by explaining how Americans and the British could band together to fight France instead of America as a French ally

Comte de Rochambeau (1780)

commander of the French army in America (6,000 troops)

Arnold's treason (1780)

he sold out West Point for 6,300 euros and a position in the British army; detected by sheer luck

British Southern Strategy

they moved the focus of the war South as that's where Loyalists were most prominent

General Charles Cornwallis

defeated by the Quakers due to exhausted troops from standing then retreating

General George Rogers Clark

a frontiersman who chose to seize the Illinois British forts (Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes) by surprise

Admiral John Paul Jones

a young Scotsman and hard-fighting naval officer

Yorktown (1781)

British General Cornwallis surrendered as he was cornered; other fights continued for a year

Admiral de Grasse

the French admiral who joined American forces from the sea in the Battle of Yorktown

Benjamin Franklin/John Adams/John Jay

congress instructed them to make no separate peace with Britain and to consult the French

"A Separate Peace"

Americans made their terms without other nations because John Jay suspected French foul play

Treaty of Paris (1783)

it ended the Revolutionary War with the parameters of an independents US, generous boundaries, no Loyalist persecutions, and debts owed had no lawful obstacles