First Continental Congress

1
First Continental Congress

• Sep. 1774, 55 men met in Philadelphia to discuss
  the plan of action the colonies would take
  against Great Britain
• 1. Defining American colony grievances
• 2. Develop a plan of resistance
• 3. Articulate constitutional relationship with
  Great Britain
• 1. American rep. in Parliament
• 2. Obey the King and Parliament, but not the
  taxes opposed

2
Committee of observation

• This committee was created to make sure that
  colonist were adhering to the British boycott.
• These men were elected to the committee
• Colonies agreed to live a simple life, no extras
• In most colonies they ignored the government of
  Great Britain and created their own

3
Second Continental Congress

• 6 months before the war local governments were
  run by the colonist, however they still
  considered themselves loyal to the crown of
  England
• They even chose delegates to meet for a Second
  Continental Congress
• Organized the Militia
• Gather arms and ammunitions

4
Indian Problems

• Floods of people moved West ignoring the
  Proclamation of 1763
• Some used Indians for trade partner, while other
  pushed them off their lands
• Second Continental Congress sent Indians letters
  urging them to stay out of the Rev. War
• Many Indians took advantage and raided the male
  less lands

5
Patriots vs. Loyalists

• Patriots about 2/5 of the colonist wanted
  political reform not independence
• They feared what might happened because of the
  Intolerable Acts
• Loyalists 1/5 of the colonies remained loyal to
  the crown. (most new immigrants)
• Neutrals 2/5 remained neutral to either side

6
Neutrals

• Patriots considered Neutrals just as bad as
  Loyalists
• Second Continental Congress made some people take
  oaths of allegiance before they allowed them to
  vote
• Patriots would seize their lands, tax them extra
  or send them back to England

7
Slavery issue

• Outnumbered 25 to 1 in the South
• Southern colonies were afraid of Slavery revolts
• However fear of such revolt never hurt the cause
  for independence

8
Lexington and Concord

• Colonist had a stockpile and training near
  Lexington ( both with help from France)
• General Thomas Gabe (GB) heard of this stockpile
  and sent troops to cease the stockpile
• 2 Patriot riders were sent to warn the militia
• William Dawes and Paul Revere
• The British are Coming

9
The Shot heard around the world

• April 19 1775, 70 militia met the redcoats on
  their way to the stockpile
• Even though they retreated, shots were fired,
  redcoats returned killing 8 and wounding 8
• Shots heard around the World
• First time in history that a colony of a country
  went to war with their mother country
• In Concord, Militia shot at redcoats behind trees
  and from houses, Redcoats retreated. Would had
  been bigger victory if Militia would had been
  more organized

10
First Year of the War

• June 17 1775 Bunker Hill/ Breed Hill
• Colonist learned of British strategy to take
  Boston
• General Prescott (col) fortified the Bunker Hill
  with 1,200 soldiers
• British attacked the hill 3 times before Prescott
  and his men retreated
• Even though Colonial troops retreated British
  suffered more casualties
• Considered to be a victory for the colonies

11
British Assumptions

• 1. War would end quick and easy
• British has the largest ground and navy ever sent
  for a war
• Also hired German mercenaries called Hessians
• 2. Treated this war like most European Wars by
  capturing larger cities
• Kept trying to capture ports, only 5 of
  population lived in the ports
• 3. They thought that military victories would
  gain the loyalty of the colonists

12
Thomas Paines Common Sense

• Said that English Government was exploiting
  colonies for years
• Called for Independence from Great Britain
• Advocated a Republic form of Government, where
  people ruled the government by votes

13
Second Continental Congress

• Wrote the Olive Branch Petition- letter to King
  George III asking for things to go back the way
  they were before 7 year war
• King George denied the Olive Branch and sent more
  troops
• Organized the colonies for war
• Printed money to purchase goods and to pay
  soldiers
• Formed a committee to communicate with other
  countries for help with supplies and men

14
Second Continental Congress

• Created Continental Army and named Generals
• Named George Washington commander of the military
• Experienced in the 7 year war
• Named John Hancock President of the colonies
• Named a 5 person committee to start to write the
  Declaration of Independence

15
Declaration of Independence

• Committee 3/5 main Thomas Jefferson, John
  Adams and Ben Franklin
• Document focused on making King George III a
  villain that tried to get rid of representative
  government in the colonies
• Jefferson finished a draft on June 28, 1776
• Finally signed on July 4th 1776
• High Treason

16
Struggles in the North

• Sir William Howe (GB)- attacked NY and drove
  Washington and his men into Pennsylvania
• On Dec. 26th at night after the British and
  Hessians were sleeping off their celebration of
  Christmas, Washington crossed the Delaware River
  capturing 100 men and killing 30
• Colonist only lost 3 lives

17
British Mistake in 1777

• Sir Burgoyne was coming down from Canada to help
  Sir Howe reinforce NY
• However Howe got impatient and worked
  independently to attack Philadelphia
• Howe made a mistake by not marching the men, he
  actually had them said to Philadelphia
• The journey took 6 weeks and allowed Washington
  to set up a defense.
• Howe won however it left Burgoyne alone in NY,
  Burgoyne was surrounded and surrender nearly
  6,000 troops

18
Split of the Iroquois Nation

• Half the Indians went with the British to stop
  the land hungry colonist
• The other half had already converted to
  Christianity and helped the colonist against
  Great Britain.
• General John Sullivan (col) sent troops and
  Indians to burn the villages and the crops of the
  Iroquois loyal to Great Britain
• They fled to Canada

19
1778 peace offer

• Lord North, Prime Minister of England, offered
  the colonist a peace treaty to have things go
  back to the way things were in 1763
• The same thing the Olive Branch Petition did 3
  years earlier
• The colonist now had a taste of Independence in
  their mouth and denied the offer

20
Ben Franklin in France

• Treaty of Amity and Commerce
• Recognized American Independence
• Established trade with France
• Treaty of Alliance
• If France declared war on Britain then neither
  country would create a treaty with Britain
  without consulting the other nation

21
Advantages of France in War

• 1. France could now openly support the Colonist
  by sending troops and a navy
• 2. Great Britain had to fight naval war in the
  Caribbean against France, which means they
  couldnt be 100 focused on the American Colonies

22
Life in Army

• Very few Militia fought in war after 1st year
• Needed to go home to farms and family
• Longer you stayed in Army, the more land you were
  promised
• African American fought for land or for freedom
• Women joined because they could not had survived
  without their men. (cooks, nurses)

23
Life in the Army

• Colonial officers fought next to their men and
  gave up many luxuries
• However British officers rarely fought and
  dressed in lavish attire
• Benedict Arnold was a colonial officer who
  switched sides during the war
• loved by none, hated by all

24
Victory in South

• 1778 Great Britain changed their strategies to
  fight in the South
• Lord Clinton (GB) moved all his troops from
  Philadelphia to Georgia, taking Atlanta and
  Augusta easy
• Lord Clinton then moved all 5,500 soldiers to
  Charlestown
• Many Carolina colonist switched their loyalties
  from colonial to British

25
Victory in the South

• French Navy led by Admiral De Grasse started to
  pick off Caribbean islands that supplied the
  British army
• Colonial soldiers started to pillage and burn the
  recent loyalist homes
• Washington named General Greene the new commander
  of the South
• Greene urged the soldiers not pillage and burn
  the homes and forgave the loyalist if they
  rejoined the fight against Britain
• Greene also kept the Indians out of the fight in
  the south

26
Yorktown

• De Grasse headed the French Navy to Virginia
• Cornwallis headed North to Virginia to meet up
  with Benedict Arnold
• Waiting for troops and supplies that never
  arrived because of the French navy
• Washington moved his troops (7,200) to Yorktown
• De Grasse trapped Cornwallis from the seas
• Cornwallis surrendered on Oct. 19 1781

27
Treaty of Paris of 1783

• Dealt with Great Britain directly
• Colonies gained their Independence
• New boundaries were land to the North of Modern
  day Canada
• South lands down to Florida
• Florida was given back to Spain
• West- land up to the Mississippi
• Great Britain had to withdrawal all North
  American interest