Chapter 7

Second Continental Congress

Second Continental Congress

Representative body of delegates from all thirteen colonies. Drafted the Declaration of Independence and managed the colonial war effort.

Significance of Second Continental Congress

All thirteen colonies were represented. There wasn’t yet a well defined feeling for independence but they wanted to keep fighting. They drafted new appeals to Britain and the king, which were later refused. They also made plans to raise money for an army and navy. Overall, both sides were on the brink of complete warfare.

Ethan Allen

He led a small AMerican force accompanied by Benedict Arnold in May of 1775. The troop was able to capture the garrisons at Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Because of this, they got a lot of gunpowder and artillery which secured them the siege of Boston.

Benedict Arnold

He led a small AMerican force accompanied by Ethan Allen in May of 1775. The troop was able to capture the garrisons at Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Because of this, they got a lot of gunpowder and artillery which secured them the siege of Boston. Later, he was joined by Richard Montgomery in Quebec. Before this, he had been reduced to eating dogs and shoe leather. They were attacked by the British on the last day of the year, where they won, but he was injured in one leg.

Bunker Hill

Fought on the outskirts of Boston, on Breed’s Hill, the battle ended in the colonial militia’s retreat, thought a heavy cost to the British.

Significance of Bunker Hill

It was an American loss and first major battle, June of 1775. The colonists were doing good, and the British were blundering. However, their low supply of gunpowder forced them to retreat and abandon the hill. Despite the loss, this was a major boost for the colonists because Britain suffered many casualties, giving them more confidence. This especially helped in the siege of Boston.

Olive Branch Petition

Conciliatory measure adopted by the Continental Congress, professing American loyalty and seeking an end to the hostilities. King George rejected the petition and proclaimed the colonies in rebellion

Significance of OIive Branch Petition

It made the fight a whole lot more real. It was clearly denied when Bunker Hill happened, but George III officially proclaimed the colonies in rebellion in August 1775. This was an act of treason, a crime with the punishment of hanging. In September, George III hired thousands of Hessians to catch these rebellious subjects. The war become more dangerous for those leading, and they had to keep fighting, despite the fact they could die.

Hessians

German troops hired from their princes by George III to aide in putting down the colonial insurrection. This hardened the resolve of American colonists, who resented the use of paid foreign fighters.

Significance of Hessians

They had a reputation of being very brutal, and these hires made the colonists angry. Hessians had intentions of money and American land. Eventually, many of them deserted and became citizens in America.

Richard Montgomery

Irish, ex British Army. He was a general for a column of American army that captured Montreal. He then went to Quebec where he joined Benedict Arnold. On the last day of 1775, they were attacked by British armies, where America won. But, Montgomery was killed.

Common Sense

Thomas Paine’s pamphlet urging the colonies to declare independence and establish a republican government. The widely read pamphlet helped convince colonists to support the Revolution

Significance of Common Sense

Thomas Paine

Former corset maker, radical, wrote Common Sense. He sought to convince Americans that they should be independent instead of reconciled.

Declaration of Independence

Formal pronouncement of independence drafted by Thomas Jefferson and approved by Congress. It allowed Americans to appeal for foreign aid and served as an inspiration for later revolutionary movements world-wide.

Significance of Declaration of Independence

Declaration of the Rights of Man

Declaration of rights adopted during the French Revolution. Modeled after the American Declaration of Independence

Significance of Declaration of the Rights of Man

Loyalists

American colonists who opposed the Revolution and maintained their loyalty to the king; and pushed the United States closer to war.

Significance of Loyalists

Patriots

Colonists who supported the American Revolution; they were also known as “Whigs”

Significance of Patriots

Abagail Adams

Claimed women’s equality but only in private to her husband, John Adams

Richard Henry Lee

Lord Charles Cornwallis

Battle of Long Island

Battle for the control of New York. British troops overwhelmed the colonial militias and retained control of the city for most of the war.

Significance of Battle of Long Island

Battle of Trenton

George Washington surprised and captured a garrison of sleeping German Hessians. raising the morale of his crestfallen army and setting the stage for his victory at Princeton a week later.

Significance of Battle of Trenton

William Howe

Commander of the British Army for Battle of Bunker Hill and Battle of Long Island.

John Burgoyne

British general went to Lake Champlain from Canada.