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The Revolution Begins The Gaspee Affair • After Britain repealed the Townshend Acts, trade with the American colonies began • • • • again and so did smuggling. The British sent customs ships to patrol North American waters to stop smugglers. One of these customs ships was the Gaspee. In June 1772, the Gaspee ran aground. Some 150 colonists took and burned the ship. The British sent a commission to investigate. The commission had the power to take suspects to Britain for a trial. Colonists believed that this violated their right to a trial by a jury of their peers. • In M arch 1773, the Virginia House of Burgesses received a letter from Rhode Island’s assembly asking for help. • One of the members of the House of Burgesses, Thomas Jefferson, suggested that each colony create a committee of correspondence to communicate with the other colonies about British activities. • These committees of correspondence helped unify the colonies and shape public opinion. They also helped colonial leaders coordinate their plans. Boston Tea Party • May 1773, Britain’s Parliament passed the Tea Act to help the British East India Co pay their debts. • Colonists were smuggling cheaper Dutch tea. • The act reduced the tax on tea shipped from the British East India Co, merchants feared this would put them out of business. • October 1773 East India Co shipped 1253 chests of tea to major port cities including Boston. • The committees of correspondence decided the tea must not be unloaded. • December 1773, 150 colonists disguised as Indians boarded the ships and dumped 342 cases of tea in the Boston Harbor. • Witnesses later said Sam Adams and John Hancock were among the men who boarded the ship. Coercive Acts + Quebec Act = Intolerable Acts • Parliament passed 4 new laws (Coercive Acts) to punish Massachusetts for dumping the tea in the harbor and to stop colonial challenges to British authority. • Boston Port Act – Closed the port until the town paid for the tea. • Massachusetts Government Act – Required all government official be appointed by the governor, no longer to be elected. Only governor could giver permission for town meetings; Thomas Gage. • Administration of Justice Act – Governor could transfer British soldiers and officials to England for trial to protect them from American juries. • New Quartering Act – Required local officials to provide housing for British soldiers. • Quebec Act – stated a governor and chosen council chosen by the king would run Quebec. • It also extended its boundaries to include much of what is today Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin. • If colonists moved west they would live in territories with no elected assembly. First Continental Congress • The Virginia House of Burgess was ordered dissolved by the governor. • Meeting in a nearby tavern, the burgesses strongly encouraged colonies to stop trading with Britain. They also urged them to send delegates to a colonial congress to discuss more action. • Sept 5, 1774, 55 delegates met at Carpenters Hall in Philadelphia for the First Continental Congress. Twelve of the colonies were represented; Georgia did not attend. • Some believed compromise was still possible, while others believed it was time to fight. • Congress voted to issue the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, expressing loyalty to the kings but disapproval for the Coercive Acts. • Delegates agreed to boycott British goods and to hold a second Continental Congress in May 1775. The Revolution Begins • October 1774, members of the Massachusetts suspended assembly defied the British and organized the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. • They formed the Committee of Safety and chose John Hancock to lead it. • John Hancock was given the power to call up the militia. • Full scale rebellion was now underway; with militias practicing and running drills. • Concord created a special unit known as minutemen; trained and ready to stand at a minutes warning in case of alarm. • Colonies created provincial congresses, and militia raided military depots for ammunitions. Loyalist and Patriots Loyalist • • • • Did not agree with Parliament Loyal to the king Believe British law should be supported Americans who supported Britain during conflicts were known as Tories or Loyalists. • Most Loyalists lived in the Carolinas, Georgia, and New York. • Many were government officials, Anglican ministers, landowners, and some farmers and merchants. Patriots • Did not agree with Parliament • Believed the British were tyrants • Americans who did not support the king were known as Patriots or Whigs. • Sometimes they tarred and feathered Loyalists. • Patriots were strong in New England and Virginia. • Many were artisans, farmers, merchants, planters, lawyers, and urban workers. Lexington & Concord • April 1775, the British government ordered General Gage arrest the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. • The British then fired at the minute men, killing 8 and wounding 10. • He did not know where the congress was being held so he decided to take the militia’s supply depot in Concord instead. • The British headed to Concord, there they discovered the militia had removed most of their supplies. • 700 British troops set out on April 18, 1775 for Concord, through the town of Lexington. • When the British tried to cross the bridge to reach the other end of the town they encountered 400 colonial militia men. • Patriot leaders heard about the plan and sent Paul Revere and William Dawes to sound the alarm. The two men raced to Lexington to warn the people that the British were coming. Dr. Samuel Prescott joined them along the way. • A fight broke out which forced the British to retreat, they were being fired upon by the militia from behind trees, stone walls, barns, and houses. • The British stopped Revere and Dawes but Prescott made it through in time to warn Concord. • By the time they reached Boston 73 British soldiers were killed, 174 wounded, and 26 missing. • April 19, British troops arrive in Lexington and see 70 minutemen lined up; they were ordered by the British to leave. • • Colonial forces lost 49 men, 41 wounded, and 5 missing. • The minutemen began to back away when a shot was fired; no one knows from which side the shot came from; “shot heard round the world.” • By May 1775 the militia surrounded Boston, trapping the British. New of the fighting spread across the colonies, militia from all over raced to the area to help. Second Continental Congress • Three weeks after the battles at Lexington and Concord the 2nd Continental Congress met in Philadelphia. • First issue was defense; the Congress voted to “adopt” the militia army surrounding Boston, naming it the Continental Army. • June 15, 1775 the congress selected George Washington to command the new army. • British landed reinforcements in Boston before Washington could reach his new army. Battle of Bunker Hill • The British planned to seize control of the city by first taking the hills north of the city. • Warned in advance the militia acted first. On June 16, 1775, they began building a fort on top of Breed’s Hill near Bunker Hill. • The following day, General Gage sent 2,200 troops to take the hill. • According to legend, an American commander named William Prescott told his troops not to fire until they saw the whites of their enemies’ eyes. When the British came within 40 yards’ distance, the Americans fired. They stopped two British attacks. Then, they were forced to retreat after running out of ammunition. • The Battle of Bunker Hill, as it was called, helped build American confidence. It showed that the colonial militia could stand up to one of the world’s most feared armies. • The British suffered more than 1,000 casualties in the fighting. • Shortly afterward, General Gage resigned. General William Howe replaced him. • The situation became a stalemate as the colonial militia surrounded the British troops. The Decision to Declare Independence • By the summer of 1775 most colonists were still not ready to completely break from Britain, but wanted the right to govern themselves. • Many patriot leaders called for independence because there was no compromise. • • It stated the colonies were still loyal to the crown and asked to end the fighting until a peaceful resolve could be found. • • Established a post office, marine corps, continental navy, and sent representatives to negotiate with Native Americans. Lord Dunmore of Virginia announced that enslaved Africans who fought for the loyalist would be freed at the end of the war. • • They captured Montreal but the French did not rebel. By this time the Continental Army was acting as an independent government. • King George refused to look at the petition King George issues the Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition; stated the colonist were openly rebelling and asked loyal British residents to bring the traitors to justice. Continental Congress approved an attack on the British at Quebec hoping this would give the French an incentive to rebel and join them in the fight against the British. • The Continental Congress sent a document to King George known as the Olive Branch Petition. • • • This announcement led many southern planters to join the colonies to fight for independence. They feared they would loose their labor force. December 1775 Patriot troops attacked Dunmore’s forces near Norfolk Virginia. Month later the British pull their troops from Virginia. Prohibitory Act • Ended trade with the colonies • Ordered a naval blockades in port cities • All colonial ships were treated as the enemy and were subject to seizure. • This was an effort to economically cripple to colonies. • The colonies responded by issuing letters of marque authorizing colonial ship owners to seize British ships; privateering. Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” • January 1776 public opinion began to change with the publishing of the persuasive pamphlet “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine. • • • • • • Until its publishing most only viewed Parliament as the enemy, not King George. Paine attached the king and wrote Parliament did nothing without the kings support. He argued monarchs were formed by seizing power from the people. King George was a tyrant and it was time to declare independence. Within 3 months 100,000 copies had circulated and minds were being changed. Provincial congresses and legislatures told their representatives at the Continental Congress to vote for independence. • In early July, a committee submitted a document that Thomas Jefferson drafted on independence. On July 4, 1776 the Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence. • The American Revolution had begun.