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Lesson 7 Second Year

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24 views2 pages

Lesson 7 Second Year

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Na Na
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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AMERICAN CIVILIZATION LEVEL: 2 nd YEAR

LESSON SEVEN: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

LEXINGTON, CONCORD, AND THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS

“Shot Heard „round the World”

In early 1775 Patrick Henry (Virginia delegate) predicted that news of hostilities in Boston would
come at any moment. Addressing the hesitation of some of his fellow Virginia legislators, Henry uttered
these famous words: “Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace, but there is no peace. The war is actually
begun! …I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”
One month later, on the night of April 18, a force of 700 British soldiers headed for Concord, a town
about 20 miles west of Boston. British general Thomas Gage had heard that the colonial militia had a major
weapons storehouse there. In reaction, he sent his soldiers to destroy it.
Across the countryside, drums and church bells called to duty the minutemen ( members of the
civilian volunteer militia of the civilian volunteer militia). At dawn the British troops arrived at the town of
Lexington, near Concord, where 70 armed minutemen awaited the British advance. “Don‟t fire unless fired
upon,” the captain shouted to his minutemen. “But if they mean to have a war, let it begin here!”
Suddenly, a shot rang out. To this day, no one knows who fired this “shot heard ‟round the world.” The
battle ended in minutes with only a few shots fired. When the musket smoke cleared, 8 minutemen lay dead,
and 10 were wounded. The British, with only one man wounded, marched on to Concord. They destroyed
the weapons they found.

SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS

In May 1775, delegates from 12 colonies met in Philadelphia for the in Philadelphia for the Second
Continental Congress. This second gathering of delegates from the colonies was still far from unified. Some
called for a war, others for peace. Once again, they compromised. The Congress did not break away from
Britain, but it declared the Massachusetts militia to be the Continental Army Continental Army. This
military force would carry out the fight against Britain. Congress named a Virginian, George Washington, to
command the army.
As Washington prepared for war, the Congress pursued peace. On July 5 the delegates signed the Olive
Branch Petition, asking the king to restore harmony between Britain and the colonies. King George refused
to read it and looked for new ways to punish the colonies.

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE


The Second Continental Congress chose George Washington, a southerner, to command the
militiamen surrounding Boston in the north. They also appropriated money for a small navy and for
transforming the undisciplined militias into the professional Continental Army. Encouraged by a strong
colonial campaign in which the British scored only narrow victories, many colonists began to advocate total
independence as opposed to having full rights within the British Empire. The next year, the congressmen
voted on July 2, 1776, to declare their independence. Thomas Jefferson, a young lawyer from Virginia,
drafted the Declaration of Independence. The United States was born.

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THOMAS PAINE’S COMMON SENSE

“[T]here is something very absurd in supposing a continent to be perpetually [forever] governed by


an island.” This argument against British rule over America appeared in Common Sense, a 47-page
pamphlet published in January 1776 that urged separation from Great Britain Great Britain. Common Sense
was published anonymously,that is, without the author’s name. The author, Thomas Paine, argued that
citizens, not kings and queens, should make laws. At a time when monarchs ruled much of the world, this
was a bold idea. News of the work spread throughout the colonies, eventually selling some 500,000 copies.
Paine reached a wide audience by writing as a common person speaking to common people. Common Sense
changed the way many colonists viewed their king. It made a strong case for economic freedom and for the
right to military self-defense. It cried out against tyranny—that is, the abuse of government power. Thomas
Paine’s words rang out in his time, and they have echoed throughout American history.
FRANCO-AMERICAN ALLIANCE

The American War for Independence, representatives from the United States and France sign the
Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance in Paris On February 6, 1778, and it was ratified
in May 1778. The Treaty of Amity and Commerce recognized the United States as an independent nation
and encouraged trade between France and the America, while the Treaty of Alliance provided for a military
alliance against Great Britain, stipulating that the absolute independence of the United States be recognized
as a condition for peace and that France would be permitted to conquer the British West Indies. The
monarchy of France formalized its commitment to assist the American colonies in their struggle against
France’s old rival, Great Britain. The eagerness of the French to help the United States was motivated both
by an appreciation of the American revolutionaries’ democratic ideals and by bitterness at having lost most
of their American empire to the British at the conclusion of the French and Indian Wars in 1763.

BATTLE OF YORKTOWN

After many victories and defeats from both sides, the British and the colonists, in many battles including the
battle of Saratoga 1977 (New York), the battle Quebec 1775, The Battles of Lexington and Concord 1775
(Massachusetts), the battle of Savannah 1787 (Georgia). At last, The Battle of Battle of Yorktown, was the
last was the last major battle of the American Revolution. major battle of the American Revolution. the
battlefield in which the British and American Forces fought during the Battle of Yorktown was located in
Yorktown, Virginia. The Battle of Yorktown ended in victory for the American colonists. On October 19,
1781, the British laid down their arms and surrendered. The British army was decimated and the American
Revolutionary war was virtually over.

THE TREATY OF PARIS 1783

After Yorktown, only a few small battles took place. Lacking the money to pay for a new army,
Great Britain entered into peace talks with America. Benjamin Franklin had an influential role in the
negotiations. Delegates took more than two years to come to a peace agreement. In the Treaty of Paris of of
1783, Great Britain recognized the independence of the United States the independence of the United States.
The treaty also set America’s borders. A separate treaty between Britain and Spain returned Florida to the
Spanish. British leaders also accepted American rights to settle and trade west of the original thirteen
colonies. At the war’s end, Patriot soldiers returned to their homes and families. The courage of soldiers and
civilians had made America’s victory possible. As they returned home, George Washington thanked his
troops for their devotion. “I . . . wish that your latter days be as prosperous as your former ones have
been glorious.”.

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