CH. 4-2 DECLARING INDEPENDENCE

1. CH. 4-2 DECLARING INDEPENDENCE AMERICAN HISTORY

2. THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS TAKES ACTION • May 1775—Second Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia • New members: Ben Franklin, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson • Many delegates still felt loyalty to King George • All delegates rejected Britain’s attempt to tax • Only a few wanted independence

3. CREATING A CONTINENTAL ARMY • New Englanders and British troops were fighting around Boston • Congress made the New England forces the core of a new Continental Army • June 1775—George Washington chosen to lead the Continental Army

4. WAR OR PEACE?? • July 1775—Congress issues two very different documents • 1) A Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (July 6, 1775) • --explained why Americans were at war • --Accused Parliament of having “an inordinate passion for power” • --Charged General Gage with “cruel aggression”

5. 2) Olive Branch Petition (July 1775) • --authors called themselves the king’s “faithful subjects in the colonies” • --begged the King to reach a “happy and permanent reconciliation” • King declared the colonies in rebellion

6. MORE VIOLENCE IN BOSTON • May 10, 1775—Green Mountain Boys (VT) captured the British fort at Ticonderoga in New York • Other members also captured the fort at Crown Point • THE SEIGE OF BOSTON • British troops had withdrawn back to Boston

7. Several thousand British occupied the town • The Americans quickly put together a bigger army—some 15,000 soldiers from all over New England • The standoff at Boston led to the first major battle of the Revolutionary War—The Battle of Bunker Hill • Boston is surrounded by several hills

8. General Gage wanted the hills but American General Prescott moved to fortify the hills • June 17, 1775—2,500 British troops led by General Howe tried twice to dislodge the Americans from Breed’s Hill • The colonists were short on ammunition so they were told “don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes”

9. Third attempt—colonists run out of ammunition • Americans retreat from Breed’s Hill to Bunker Hill • Casualties: 1,000 British & 400 Americans • WASHINGTON TAKES COMMAND • Army seriously short of heavy weapons and gunpowder

10. Henry Knox sent to Fort Ticonderoga to bring back captured British weapons and supplies • March 1776—Washington recaptures Boston • British soldiers and loyalist forced to sail to Halifax, Nova Scotia • OTHER BATTLES • 1775-76—Benedict Arnold leads unsuccessful attempt on Quebec

11. FEB 1776—Scottish Loyalists attacked colonists in NC but the colonists were waiting • Colonial victory ended British control in NC • June 1776—British launched an attack on a fort near Charleston, SC but were unsuccessful

12. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE • Events of 1775 pushed more colonists to independence • Spring 1776—colonists still doubtful but leaders were becoming more certain • Continental Congress opened up ports to seaports to foreign trade with all countries except Britain

13. REVOLUTIONARY IDEOLOGY • Colonists still thought of themselves as British • Many of Parliament’s laws differentiated between the rights of British citizens and those in America • Led to not paying British taxes because they had no representation

14. A MATTER OF COMMON SENSE • British author Thomas Paine published a pamphlet called COMMON SENSE • He condemned the monarchy and George III and called for an American declaration of independence • Paine’s 50-page pamphlet sold over 100,000 copies within a few months

15. VIRGINIA CALLS FOR INDEPENDENCE • May 1776—VA Convention of Delegates issued VIRGINIA DECLARATION OF RIGHTS • First call for American independence • June 7, 1776—Richard Henry Lee (VA) presented 3 resolutions to Congress • --1) colonies should be independent

16. --2) Americans needed to form foreign alliances for support • --3) colonies should form a plan for unification • WRITING THE DECLARATION • No serious objections to Lee’s resolutions • Committee named to write a draft of a declaration of independence

17. John Adams, Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin • Jefferson chosen to write the draft • Adams and Franklin made changes to Jefferson’s draft • Continental Congress made more changes • July 2, 1776—Congress votes in favor of the document declaring independence

18. July 4, 1776—The Declaration of Independence was signed and copied • The Declaration was read in public • Crowds in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and other cities cheered and rang church bells • The British now viewed the colonists as rebels

19. REACTION TO INDEPENDENCE • Not all colonists wanted independence • Western colonists feared that a war would expose them to Indian attacks • Some colonists remain loyal to Britain • Loyalists were used to fight the patriots • THE LOYALISTS • About 25% of colonists remained loyal

20. Most New Englanders and Virginians were on the patriot side • Loyalists were strong in GA and SC • Government officials tended to be loyalists • Landowners, merchants, doctors, and lawyers could be found on both sides • Debtors, small farmers, and shopkeepers were patriots

21. Local patriots harassed loyalists, attacking farms or property, and some were driven out of town • Loyalists fought along side the British during the war • Some people went to Canada, Britain, or British-held islands in the Caribbean • Some lived quietly and avoided politics • After the war about 100,000 loyalists left the USA, mainly for Canada

22. A CHEER FOR THE PATRIOTS • Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, wrote several letters to John before, during, and after the war, detailing her feelings and those of others • These letters showed an active interest in politics and support for the growing independence movement • THE END