American Revolution Flashcards
Causes
(Secondary/Underlying)
All the taxes imposed on the colonists, starting in 1763 and ending with the Coercive Acts of 1774.
Some colonists felt that they could govern themselves and have been independent from the Mother Country, Great Britain for many years. These people became Patriots (Whigs in England); others did not want to break from Great Britain and became Loyalists (Tories in England), who wanted to remain loyal to the King.
Causes
(Primary/Sparkplug)
April 19, 1775 – Battle of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts – “Shot Heard ‘Round the World.”
First Continental Congress
1774
First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to discuss the Intolerable/Coercive Acts. All colonies except Georgia attended (56 delegates). They did not seek a separation; they compromised as follows:
Maintain peace with Great Britain
Continue the boycott
Colonial militias are to be prepared for war
Drafted Ten (10) Resolutions called the Declaration of Rights and sent to King George III
Patriots like Patrick Henry from Virginia called for independence – “Give me liberty or give me death…” See p. 114
Meet again in 1775 if King George III refused their Declaration of Rights; however, the situation in the colonies erupted in April 1775.
1775 - Shot Heard ‘Round the World
MA Gov. Thomas Gage knew the colonists were organizing themselves and storing weapons and gunpowder in Concord, 20 miles from Boston.
Gage also heard that colonial leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock were meeting in nearby Lexington.
Spies for the Patriot cause discovered that Gage was going to arrest Adams and Hancock and to seize/take the weapons at Concord.
Paul Revere, a member of the Sons of Liberty, arranged with Robert Newman of the Old North Church to use the lanterns as a signal light in the tower of the church (one if the British were coming by land and two if by sea).
April 18, 1775 - Paul Revere’s famous ride through the night with William Dawes and Samuel Prescott from Boston to Concord to alert the towns that the British regulars were coming.
Church bells called out the local militia, or minutemen - “The Regulars are coming out,” not “The British are coming.”
Paul Revere was captured; William Dawes lost his horse; Samuel Prescott was the only rider to finish the midnight ride.
April 19, 1775 – Battle of Lexington and Concord (MA)
As the British regulars (Major Pitcairn) marched through the Lexington Green on their way to Concord, 70 minutemen (Captain Parker) lined up in a show of force. Pitcairn said, “Lay down your arms.” Patriot Captain Parker yelled, “Don’t fire unless fired upon.”
Suddenly a shot rang out, and no one to this day knows who fired the first shot.
When the smoke cleared, 8 minutemen lay dead.
The British then continued their march to Concord, where they found the storehouse empty of weapons. They burned buildings there. At the North Bridge, 400 militiamen formed taking a defensive position and fired on the British regulars. This was the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World.”
As the British tried to return to Boston in an orderly march, thousands of minutemen attacked the British column from all sides shooting from behind trees, rocks, and buildings.
The Patriots inflicted heavy casualties on the Redcoats -
British lost 70 soldiers (70) to Patriots 49 men.
May 10, 1775 – Ft. Ticonderoga in New York
Ft. Ticonderoga was captured by Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys of Vermont.
General Henry Knox led the expedition to take the heavy 50 artillery from Ft. Ticonderoga to Dorchester Heights south of Boston.
May 1775 – Second Continental Congress
King George III had refused to address their Declaration of Rights from 1774
12 colonies met again in Philadelphia to discuss Lexington and Concord
Some called for peace (doves), others for war (hawks)
Compromise – create a Continental Army with soldiers from all the colonies with George Washington from Virginia as Commander hoping to unite the colonies with a commander from the South
As General Washington prepared to go to Boston and to prepare for war, Congress pursued peace with the Olive Branch Petition to King George III, as a final attempt at peace; he refused to read it.
June 1775 – Battle of Bunker Hill
Boston, a key city, was in the hands of the British.
Army of about 2,400 Redcoats fought 1,600 American Colonials (outnumbered)
Colonial forces fortified Bunker Hill, north of Boston, but most of the fighting occurs on Breeds’ Hill (see map on next slide).
A hill is always a good place to defend because the opposing army is on the OFFENSIVE and climbing up the hill. Men can shoot down on opponents.
Colonel William Prescott told his men: “Do not fire until you see the whites of their eyes,” so they could shoot at shorter ranges and be more accurate since weapons were often inaccurate and to conserve their limited supply of ammunition.
The British Redcoats charged up the hill three times (remember, they have many more soldiers to keep going).
Americans were forced to retreat not because they were afraid but because they ran out of ammunition/gunpowder, which was always in short supply for the Americans.
However, the Americans caused more than 1,000 British casualties, a high cost for a win. Dr. Joseph Warren - Hero at Bunker Hill.
Bunker Hill was significant because it showed the British that this would not be an easy war to win. Remember, the British thought the Americans were no match for the highly disciplined British regulars and would be easy to beat.
General Washington was not at this battle since he had just been appointed Commander and travel took a long time then.
March 1776 – Dorchester Heights
General Washington arrived in Boston shortly after the Bunker Hill Battle and took command of the Continental Army, which was in terrible shape.
Cannons (50 artillery) were brought from Ft. Ticonderoga by Henry Knox, Artillery Commander.
Washington moved his army to Dorchester Heights and positioned the cannons on Nook’s Hill.
“The rebels have done more in one night than my whole army has done in months.” British General Howe
British are driven from Boston, and General Howe retreated to Canada, leaving Boston in Patriot hands. However, they return with a new strategy and thousands more forces.
