American Revolution

CHAPTER 6 The Declaration of

IndependenceObjective:1. Evaluate how the fighting at Lexington

and Concord affected the colonies with Great Britain.

2. Analyze the accomplishes of the Second Continental Congress.

3. Explain the ways that geography influenced the early battles of the war.

Patrick Henry

II. The “Shot Heard round the World”

A. High Tensions1. Boston militias called themselves minutemen

because they could fight on a minute’s notice.2. British general Thomas Gage decided to take the militia’s

weapons, which were stored in the town of Concord.3. On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere and another man raced on

horses to warn minutemen of the British troop movements

B. Bloodshed1. Minutemen gathered at Lexington, near Concord.2. Shots were exchange, and the British continued march to

Concord.3. Colonists had hidden the weapons, so few were found.4. As the British returned to Boston, colonists killed many

Redcoats, the colonists’ name for the soldiers.

Important Questions

What events led to the beginning of the fighting between colonists and British soldiers?

-Gage wanted to seize militia weapons at Concord: Paul Revere warned minutemen who assembled in Lexington: Shot were exchanged.

Second Continental Congress

Olive Branch Petition

Continental Army

George Washington

III. The Second Continental CongressA. The Meeting

1. Delegates to the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in May 1775.

2. Decided not to break away from Britain.3. Created a Continental Army to defend the

colonies.4. Selected George Washington as

commander.

B. A Peace Offering1. Sent Olive Branch Petition, a peace offer to King

George III2. King George III rejected the proposal.

Important Questions

Why did the delegates send the Olive Branch Petition to King George III?

-to make it clear that even though they were forming an army, they still desired peace.

Battle of Bunker Hill

IV. Early BattlesA. Minutemen held Boston under siege- a

situation in which soldiers surround a city or fort.

B. Colonial forces gathered on Breeds Hill and Bunker Hill to fend off the British.

C. Defeated by the British at Battle of Bunker Hill

Important Questions

What effect do you think the victory at the Battle of Bunker Hill had on colonials attitudes?

-it made colonists confident that they could win in their struggle against the British.

CHAPTER 6

Common Sense

Objective:1. Evaluate the influence of Thomas Paine’s

Common Sense.

I. Paine's Common SenseA. Biography

1. a self-educated British Quaker 2. Wrote Common Sense3. Paine wrote as a common person speaking to common

peopleB. His Ideas

1. He said that the people, not kings and queens, should make the laws

2. demand their independence 3. Influenced colonists’

Important Questions

1) Why did Common Sense become popular with the colonists?

-Written in a style that common people could understand.

2) What arguments did Paine make in his pamphlet?

-The people, not Kings and Queens, should make laws; and the colonies should demand their independence from Great Britain.

CHAPTER 6

Declaring Independence

Objective:1. Identify the main ideas in the Declaration

of Independence.2. Explain how Americans reacted to the

Declaration Independence.

II. Declaring IndependenceA. The Committee

1. Second Continental Congress created a committee to write a document declaring the colonies’ independence

2. The committee: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman.

B. Three Main Idea’s of the Declaration of Independence.

1.all men possess unalienable rights. 

2. King George III had violated the colonists’ rights.

3. The right to break away from Britain

C. July 4, 1776 approved Declaration of Independence, creating USA

Important Questions

1) Why do you think Loyalists fled the colonies?

-Their views were very unpopular with the colonists who supported independence.

III. Choosing Sides

A. Colonists who chose to fight for independence became known as Patriots

B. Loyalists1. Those who remained loyal to Great Britain were

called Loyalists or Tories.2. More than 100,000 Loyalists fled the colonies

during the Revolution

IV. Other Reactions to the Independence

A. Women1. Many women were Patriots.2. The Declaration failed to mention women at all. 3. Abigail Adams, the wife of John Adams, asked her

husband to protect the rights of women.B. African Americans

1. The Declaration did not recognize the rights of enslaved African Americans.

2. The Revolution raised questions about whether slavery should exist in a land that valued liberty.

3. The conflict over slavery continued long after the Revolutionary War had ended.

4. The issue of slavery remained unsolved

Important Questions

4. Why did the American Revolution raise questions about slavery in the United States?

- Colonists accusing Britain of violating their rights had to face the reality that African Americans in the United States were denied their unalienable rights.

Fifty-six delegates to the Second Continental Congress (mostly well educated, white men) signed the Declaration of Independence. Among the groups not represented in the Congress were African Americans, women, working classes, Loyalists, and American Indians.

In fact, voting rights at the time were generally extended only to white male property owners, who made up one of every four colonists.

An assortment of colonial flags are displayed on the wall. Each flag bears the red cross of St. George, a symbol of the colonies’ allegiance to Great Britain.

• In the center of the flags is a drum, used in this era to keep a beat for marching soldiers. The drum symbolizes the state of war between Great Britain and the colonies.

Declaration of Independence

1. What does the Preamble say? It say that the Declaration of Independence will tell the world

why the colonies believe that should be independent

2. What are some key ideas expressed in the second paragraph of the Declaration?

3. Look at the long list that begins with the words “He has refused his Assent.” What is this a list of, and why do you think it was included?