The American Revolution

Question 1

What was the First and Second Continental Congress (1774 and 1775)?

Answer 1

First Continental Congress (1774):
- Created in response to the Intolerable Acts
56 delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies
- Agenda:
How to respond to the Intolerable Acts and the Quebec Act
- One vote per colony represented

Second Continental Congress (1775):
- King rejected the Olive Branch Petitiion sent by the colonist which led the colonists to believe thy had no option but war
Last chance to avoid war with Britian
Declared loyalty to the King
Wanted fairer trade/taxation
- Managed the colonial war
Raised arms, strategized, appointed diplomats and made treaties
- Created the American Flag
- Adopted the United States Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776)
- Acted as a national gov of what became the U.S
Appointed George Washington as the Commander-in-Cheif of the army

Question 2

What was the 1. Northern and 3. Southern Campaign?

Answer 2

The Northern Campaign:
- Bunker Hill
First American “victory”
- Battle for Quebec
Wanted to defeat Britain and have the French join them
First loss for teh Continental Army
Benedict Arnold (was a high ranking American solider that switched sides)

The Southern Campaign:
- Britain thought there were more loyalists in the South
They were wrong (most loyalist there moved to Canada)
- Battle of Yorktown (1781)
Decisive victory
British surrendered and negotiated an end to the war

Question 3

2. New York and Philadelphia

Answer 3

• New York was an important city for business
  Loyalist stronghold
  Americans lost
  Washington burned the city to the ground
• Philadelphia was where the second Continental congress was located
  Americans lost here as well
• The Battle of Saratoga
  Where British got supplies
  The colonists won
  Britain surrendered 6000 troops
  Received support from Louis XVI of France days later
  Turning point of the Revolutionary war

Question 4

Why did the British Lose?

Answer 4

1. Long supply lines to Britain = long time to re-arm troops (Britain is very far, it took 6-8 weeks per shipment to arrive)
2. Nationalism united the American troops
   They had everything to lose (their home)
   British troops were fighting for a rich 3000 miles away (they didn’t have much nationalism/morale)
   British underestimated the will of colonists
   America willing to “to die for the cause” of freedom (British not so much, bc it wasn’t their home country, just an extension)
3. The colonists had help from many countries, especially France
   Inspired the French Revolution

Question 5

What was the Treaty of Paris?

Answer 5

• Signed by the Congress of the Confederation (American) and King George III (Britain)
• Formally ended the war between Great Britain and the U.S.A
• Treaty had 10 provisions
  The most important was the recognition of a free, sovereign, and independent U.S
  Also established a boundary between the U.S.A and British North America (pre-Canada)