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Chapter 7
The American Revolution
(1774-1783)
Chapter 7
The American Revolution
(1774-1783)
Section 1
The Revolution Begins
The First Continental Congress
• First Continental Congress
met September 1774 in
Philadelphia
• 56 delegates including
John and Samuel Adams
• Georgia was the only
colony that did not send
representatives
• John Dickinson believed
peace should be made
with Britain; Patrick Henry
said there was no way to
avoid a fight
The First Continental Congress
• Compromise = colonists
continue to boycott British
goods but colonial militias
warned to be prepared to
fight
• Assembled a list of 10
resolutions to present to
King George III –
Declaration of Rights listed
freedoms they believed
they should have; agreed
to meet again in May 1775
if the king did not agree
The “Shot Heard round the World”
• Local militia members
called themselves
“minutemen” – ready
to fight on a minute’s
notice
• April 1775 – British
General Thomas Gage
decided to take away
minutemen’s weapons
and ammunition
(stored in Concord)
The “Shot Heard round the World”
• Sons of Liberty learned of
plan – Paul Revere and
William Dawes warned
minutemen that the
British were coming (April
18th)
• April 19th – around 70
minutemen gathered in
Lexington near Concord;
met much larger group of
British troops
The “Shot Heard Round the World” continued
• No one knows who fired the first shot (“shot
heard round the world”) but it caused fighting to
begin
– Battle ended in minutes; 8 colonists dead, 10
wounded
– British marched to Concord where they found few
weapons (colonists had already moved them); set fire
to a few buildings
The “Shot Heard Round the World”
continued
• Colonists called the
British “redcoats”
because of the color of
their coats; made easy
targets
• News of the fighting
angered and shocked
many colonists
The Second Continental Congress
• May 1775 –
representatives from
12 of the colonies
(excluding Georgia)
met in Philadelphia;
convened after the first
shots were fired at
Lexington and Concord
• Had to decide how to
react to fighting;
decided not to break
away from Britain
The Second Continental Congress
• Made plans to create a
Continental Army to
defend the colonies –
chose George Washington
to command this army –
did not know if he could
build a strong enough
army
• Olive Branch Petition –
July 5, 1775 – offer of
peace; rejected by King
George III; Washington
already gathering troops
– Fighting in the colonies
spread
Early Battles
• Fort Ticonderoga in
Northern New York –
guarded access to Lake
Champlain (a key waterway)
– Effort led by Colonel Benedict
Arnold and Ethan Allen
– May 10 1775 – surprise attack
during early morning storm
– Took fort, large supply of
weapons
• Minutemen held Boston
under siege – by using
Boston’s hills for attacks and
defense
Early Battles
• Battle of Bunker Hill –
colonists built up defenses
on Bunker Hill and Breed’s
Hill to protect Boston
from the British
– Most of the fighting took
place on Breed’s Hill
– Showed colonists could
hold their own against the
British
• Washington drove the
British out of Boston
(birthplace of the
rebellion)
Chapter 7
The American Revolution
(1774-1783)
Section 2
Declaring Independence
Paine’s Common Sense
• Thomas Paine argued
for breaking away from
Great Britain in his
pamphlet Common
Sense
Paine’s Common Sense
• Became popular because of message and style –
common person speaking to common people
(allowed him to reach wider audience)
• Stated system of monarchy was not fair – people,
not kings and queens, should make the laws
• Stated colonies should demand their
independence
• Idea of independence gained more and more
supporters
Declaring Independence
• June 1776, Second
Continental Congress
created a committee to
write a document declaring
the colonies’ independence
• Committee members = John
Adams, Benjamin Franklin,
Thomas Jefferson, Robert R.
Livingston, and Roger
Sherman
– Thomas Jefferson is the
main author of the
Declaration of
Independence
Declaring Independence
• Declaration of
Independence expressed 3
main ideas
– Unalienable rights – “life,
liberty and pursuit of
happiness;” inspired by
John Locke
– King George III had violated
colonists’ rights
– Colonies had the right to
break away from Britain
Declaring Independence
• July 4, 1776 –
continental congress
approved the
Declaration of
Independence; broke
all ties to British
Crown; United States of
America = born; fullscale revolution
Choosing Sides
• Patriots – colonists who
chose to fight for
independence
• Loyalists (Tories) –
colonists who
remained loyal to Great
Britain
– Believed British rule was
best way to maintain
peace and prosperity
Choosing Sides
• Loyalists became
targets of abuse by
Patriots – remaining in
the colonies became
more difficult once the
Declaration of
Independence was
signed
– Fled country – most
went to Canada
Other Reactions to the Declaration
• Some pointed out the Declaration ignored many colonists
– Did not address the rights of women
• Issue worried Abigail Adams (wife of John Adams)
– Did not recognize rights of enslaved African Americans
• Slavery was legal in all colonies
• First draft of declaration attacked slave trade, but removed at
insistence of southern colonies
• Raised questions about whether slavery should exist in place that
values liberty
• Massachusetts abolished slavery in 1783; by 1784 the rest of
New England had taken steps to end slavery
Chapter 7
The American Revolution
(1774-1783)
Section 3
Dark Hours for the Revolution
Comparing Strengths and Weaknesses
• British seemed much
stronger at the beginning
– More money & resources
– Powerful military; navy-the
largest in the world; soldiers
were mostly well-trained
professionals
• Colonies
– No navy at all
– Army made up of poorly
trained local militias – few had
ever fought together
Comparing Strengths and
Weaknesses
• Colonies
– Advantages
• Many Americans
supported the revolution –
British army had to deal
with hostile citizens
• British had to ship supplies
across the Atlantic
• Patriots were fighting for a
cause that they believed in
(some British soldiers were
mercenaries, or hired
foreign soldiers)
A Call to Arms
• Washington’s first task
was to organize and
raise more troops for
the Continental Army
• More than 230,000
serve during the course
of the war; 145,000
joined local militias
• Few volunteers had
combat experience
A Call to Arms
• Washington faced with question
of recruiting African Americans
– Many already serving in local
militias
– Many southerners did not want to
include black soldiers –
Washington soon banned them
from serving in the army
• Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation –
Virginia’s governor promised
freedom to any slave who fought
for the British
– In response, the Continental Army
began allowing free African
Americans to enlist
Other Sources of Help
• American Indians fought on both sides; Patriots
tried to persuade them to remain neutral in the
war
• Mohawk leader Thayendanegea – one of Great
Britain’s key allies; a/k/a Joseph Brant
• Women also helped the Patriot cause
– Ran farms and businesses while men were away
– Raised money for supplies or joined sewing groups
– Served as messengers, spies, or nurses
– Mary Ludwig Hayes (Molly Pitcher) – woman best
known for wartime service; brought water to thirsty
troops
British Victories
• American military leaders wanted to invade British Canada
and make it a “14th colony”
• Patriots defeated in Canada and New York
• General Richard Montgomery led Patriots to take the town of
St. John’s, Canada; captured Montreal
• General Benedict Arnold and Montgomery brought troops
together and planned attack of Quebec
– Attacked during snowstorm on New Year’s Eve
– Americans defeated; Montgomery killed
• General William Howe led the British to drive the Patriots off
of Long Island 6 months after Patriot defeat at Quebec
– Forced Continental Army, led by Washington, to keep retreating –
pushing them out of New York
Chapter 7
The American Revolution
(1774-1783)
Section 4
The Patriots Gain New Hope
Victory in New Jersey
• General Howe sent troops
to New Jersey in November
1776
– Thought war would be over
soon
– Confident over victories in
Canada and NYC, Howe gave
troops a rest, settled in New
York City for the winter,
leaving New Jersey in hands
of Hessians (German
mercenaries hired to fight for
the British)
Victory in New Jersey
• Howe’s delay allowed Washington
to gather reinforcements
– Washington and men crossed
the Delaware River on
Christmas night 1776
• Battle of Trenton – American
victory – surprise attack
– Lasted less than an hour
– Patriot forces captured more
than 900 Hessians with just 5
American casualties
• Battle of Princeton – American
victory – surprise attack
Turning Point at Saratoga
• Defeat at Trenton and Princeton embarrassed
the British
• Planned to cut New England off from rest of
colonies
• Plan called for British troops to take back Fort
Ticonderoga – led by General John Burgoyne
– Would march south after capturing fort
– 2nd force would march east from Lake Ontario and
General Howe’s troops in NYC would move north
– All three would join together in Albany, NY
Turning Point at Saratoga
Turning Point at Saratoga (continued)
• Burgoyne captured Ticonderoga
by early July but route to NY
covered with fallen trees (cut by
colonists) – slowed him down
• General Howe decided to attack
Philadelphia before marching to
Albany
• Battle of Brandywine Creek –
Washington vs. Howe; British
victory, but his delay left General
Burgoyne’s army badly
outnumbered
• Burgoyne did not know that
Howe and force from western
Canada were both late
– Made it to Albany, but was
severely outnumbered
• Battle of Saratoga –
American victory (greatest
yet); patriot troops led by
Horatio Gates; Burgoyne’s
entire army captured; British
shifted their focus to the
Southern colonies
– Win greatly boosted morale and
led to increased foreign support
for the Patriots
Foreign Allies
• France and Spain had been secretly helping the Patriots
• 1776 – Patriots sent several delegates to France, including
Benjamin Franklin, to increase French support
• Victory at Saratoga convinced France that America could
win the war
• May 1778 – Continental Congress approved alliance with
France
• Spain joined the war against Britain in 1779
– Provided much of their help on the western frontier
– Bernardo de Galvez (governor of Spanish Louisiana) was key ally
to the Patriots
Marquis de Lafayette
• Marquis de Lafayette –
fought and gave money to
the patriot cause
(beginning in 1777);
Washington was impressed
by his passion for the
Patriot cause
• Officers from Poland aided
the Patriot cause by
donating their army
engineering and cavalry
skills to the army
Winter at Valley Forge
• Washington settled his
troops at Valley Forge,
Pennsylvania in December
1777
– Suffered shortages of food
and clothing
– During that winter, 1/5 of
soldiers died of disease and
malnutrition
• By the end of winter,
troops were frustrated
• Baron Friedrich von
Steuben came to the aid
of Washington
– Led with combination of
respect and fear
– Taught American troops
basic military skills
– Drills worked – turned
Continental Army into welltrained group of soldiers
The War at Sea
• Continental Congress created the Continental Navy and marines
in 1775
• By February 1776, navy only had 8 fighting ships
• Small fleet was no match for larger British fleet
• Patriots tried to attack individual British ships; attacked British
supply ports and merchant ships
• John Paul Jones – one of the most successful American captains
– One of his most famous victories was against the British warship
Serapis
– “I have not yet begun to fight!”
– British surrendered
• Continental Navy used fewer than 100 ships during the war
Chapter 7
The American Revolution
(1774-1783)
Section 5
Independence!
The War in the West
• George Rogers Clark
explored and mapped the
frontier; made plan to
capture some small forts
and Indian villages
– Goal = build army while
weakening the British
– Gathered soldiers from small
towns
The War in the West
• First target = British trading village of Kaskaskia –
would give the Patriots control of the Mississippi
and Ohio Rivers
– Surprised leaders of Kaskaskia – they surrendered without a fight (July
4, 1778)
• Battle of Vincennes – recaptured this town from the
British in late February 1779
• Never able to capture Fort Detroit (Britain’s major
base on the frontier)
• Efforts greatly weakened British army in the West
The War In The South
• General Henry Clinton led British campaign in the South
• Strategy of freeing slaves who joined them worked well in the
South
• Quamino Dolly – Georgian slave who showed the British a
secret trail to the port city of Savannah – used to capture the
city
• 2nd major city to fall to the British = Charleston, SC
• British destroyed Patriot property as they marched through
the south
• One of the most serious Patriot defeats was at Camden, SC
– led by Horatio Gates
– Lost their southern army
Swamp Fox
• Southern Patriots did
not stop fighting;
switched to guerrilla
warfare – became
known for swift hitand-run attacks
• Francis Marion –
“Swamp Fox” –
organized a group of
guerrilla soldiers that
destroyed British
communication and
supply lines
Victory at Yorktown
• Early 1781, war going poorly for the Patriots
–
–
–
–
Low on money to pay soldiers and buy supplies
Entry of foreign allies had not ended the war quickly
British controlled much of the South
Benedict Arnold turned traitor
• General George Cornwallis moved British troops to Yorktown, VA (peninsula
bounded by Chesapeake Bay and the James and York Rivers)
– Prepared to attack a small patriot force led by Marquis de Lafayette
• George Washington was in New York planning strategy with French General
Comte de Rochambeau
– Had recently arrived in NY with a large French Army
Yorktown
• Washington saw chance to
trap Cornwallis
– As French fleet was taking
control of Chesapeake Bay,
Washington and Rochambeau
moved their troops south and
surrounded Cornwallis’s forces
• Patriots held Yorktown under
siege for weeks
– Steadily wore down British
defenses
– Cornwallis surrendered –
marched out of Yorktown on
October 20, 1781
– Lord North (British Prime
Minister) was shocked – “It is
all over!”
The Treaty of Paris
• Patriots captured the largest British army in North
America at Yorktown
• June 1781 – committee from the Continental
Congress began peace negotiations with the British
– American delegates were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin,
John Jay, and Henry Laurens
Treaty of Paris 1783
• Treaty of Paris of 1783 –
Great Britain recognized
the independent United
States
– Set the nation’s new
borders – Great Lakes
bounded the North;
Mississippi River = western
border; 31º North latitude =
southern border
– British accepted American
rights to settle and trade
west of the original 13
colonies