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| 505888463 | Second Continental Congress | Met in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775. Represented all 13 colonies. No well-defined sentiment for independence (just a desire to fight in the hope that the king and Parliament would consent to a redress of grievances). They also adopted measures to raise money and create an army and a navy. | |
| 505888464 | Single most important action of Second Continental Congress | Electing George Washington to head improvised army besieging Boston. This choice was suggested because he was from Virginia and all the colonies were beginning to distrust the New England army around Boston. He also was a man of wealth and clearly not a fortune seeker. | |
| 505888465 | war of inconsistency | Americans were affirming loyalty to the King while raising army's and shooting British soldiers | |
| 505888466 | Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold | Captured Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point, securing a store of gunpowder and artillery for the siege of Boston | |
| 505888467 | Bunker Hill | June 1775 the colonists seized a hill. The British blundered and instead of cutting them off, launched a frontal attack. When the colonists supply of gunpowder gave out, they had to abandon the hill. | |
| 505888468 | Olive Branch Petition | Professing American loyalty to the crown and begging the king to prevent further hostilities. After Bunker Hill, King George III closed off all hope of reconciliation and proclaimed the colonies in rebellion | |
| 505888469 | Hessians | German mercenaries who helped out British war effort. Many ended up staying in America after being tempted by promises of land | |
| 505888470 | Portland, Maine | British burned this city - October, 1775 | |
| 505888471 | Invasion of Canada | American rebel leaders believed that the French were restive under the British yoke: tried to invade this place and therefore contradicted the claim that American colonists were just fighting defensively | |
| 505888472 | General Richard Montgomery | Captured Montreal, and joined at Quebec by Benedict Arnold. This former British army general was killed, Arnold wounded. French-Canadian leaders who had been generously treated by the British in the Quebec Act of 1774 showed no real desire to welcome the plundering anti-Catholic invaders. | |
| 505888473 | Norfolk, VA | British set fire to this town in January 1776 | |
| 505888474 | Evacuation of Boston | British forced to leave Boston in March 1776 | |
| 505888475 | Moore's Creek Bridge, NC, and Charleston Harbor | Rebellious colonists won two victories in 1776 in these places | |
| 505888476 | Loyalty to the empire deeply ingrained; Americans considered themselves part of transatlantic community that British was a big leader of; colonial unity was poor; open rebellion was dangerous | Americans continue to deny any intention of independence | |
| 505888477 | Common Sense | Thomas Paine called for independence and creation of a republic, and believed all government officials should derive their authority from popular consent. | |
| 505888478 | Republican form of government | Many colonists had been practicing this form of government already in town meetings and annual elections, and committees of correspondence had demonstrated feasibility of a republic. Some Patriots didn't like it, and wanted an end to hereditary aristocracy but not to social hierarchy. | |
| 505888479 | Richard Henry Lee | He motioned that Colonies should be free, and after considerable debate, the motion was adopted on July 2, 1776. Passing of his resolution was the formal "declaration" of independence | |
| 505888480 | Thomas Jefferson | Drafted Declaration of Independence, where | |
| 505888481 | Declaration of Independence | Declaration including natural rights and all the Kings grievances (imposing taxes without consent, dispensing with trial by jury, establishing military dictatorship, etc.); "should heard round the world" has been a source of inspiration to countless revolutionary movements since | |
| 505888482 | Loyalists/Tories fought the Patriots; Rebels fought Redcoats | War within a war | |
| 505888483 | The American Revolution | A minority movement. Many colonists were apathetic or neutral (Byrds of Virginia). | |
| 505888484 | militia units | Served as remarkably effective agents of Revolutionary ideas. Once the Redcoats left, they would take up the task of "political education" | |
| 505888485 | Loyalists | People of education and wealth. Believed any violent change would be for the worse. More numerous around older generations, and support also came from the Anglican Church and the king's officers. Served as spies, incited the Indians, and kept Patriot soldiers at home to protect their families | |
| 505888486 | New England | self-government was especially strong and mercantilism was especially weak here; Rebels were the most numerous here | |
| 505888487 | Before/After the Declaration | Before, persecution of Loyalists was mild. After, Loyalists were imprisoned, and some hanged. The estates of those driven away were sold to finance the war | |
| 505888488 | New York | After Boston was evacuated in March 1776, the British wanted to make this city the base of operation | |
| 505888489 | Battle of Long Island | Americans were outgeneraled and outmaneuvered, but luckily, Washington was able to escape to Manhattan Island, where he retreated north to the Hudson and eventually the Delaware River. | |
| 505888490 | General William Howe | Commanded Bunker Hill, and also contributed to Burgoyne's Blunder: at a time when it seemed that he should be starting up the Hudson to NY, he went to Philadelphia to force a engagement with Washington's army, thinking he would have ample time to help Burgoyne should he be needed. He defeated Washington at Brandywine Creek and Germantown, and then decided to rest and left Burgoyne to flounder through upper New York. | |
| 505888491 | Trenton, December 26th, 1776 | Washington surprised and captured 1000 Hessians | |
| 505888492 | General Burgoyne | Tried to capture the Hudson River valley via Lake Champlain route (helped by General Howe and Colonel Barry St. Leger's force) | |
| 505888493 | Benedict Arnold | During Burgoyne's attempt at the Hudson River valley, he bought time for America, forcing the British back to Canada due to the oncoming Winter. If he had not contributed his daring skill, the British invaders would have recaptured Fort Ticonderoga | |
| 505888494 | Saratoga | North of Albany, Burgoyne was swarmed by American militiamen. The British army was trapped. Burgone was forced to surrender his entire command at this battle on October 17, 1777. This battle ranks high among the decisive battles of both American and world history. The victory revived the colonial cause and made possible French foreign aid which helped to ensure American independence. | |
| 505888495 | France | Thirsting for revenge against Britain. Intrigued by American liberty and wanted Britain to lose being a front-rank power (which would come at the loss of their most valuable overseas possession). After shooting at Lexington, they secretly provided Americans with firearms and gunpowder (90% of gunpowder used in the first 2 1/2 years came from this country) | |
| 505888496 | After Saratoga | British parliament passed a measure that offered the Americans home rule within the empire (everything but independence) | |
| 505888497 | Louis XVI | France's king who was reluctant to intervene; saw the grave dangers in aiding the Americans openly and incurring war with Britain. Decided to fight while they had an American ally rather than watch Britain regain colonies who then might try to seize French West Indies | |
| 505888498 | France offered Americans treaty of alliance, including everything Britain offered PLUS independence | First entangling military alliance in the experience of the Republic and one that later caused prolonged trouble | |
| 505888499 | Spain and Holland | Enter war against Britain in 1779. Along with France and the US, made up Belligerants | |
| 505888500 | Armed Neutrality | Organized by Catherine the Great of Russia, involving Russia, Denmark-Norway, Sweden, Holy Roman Empire, Prussia, Portugal, and Two Sicilies (those who had suffered from Britain's dominance over the seas and now began demanding more respect). Passive hostility toward Britain. The war was now being fought in Europe, North America, South America, the Caribbean, and Asia | |
| 505888501 | The Americans did not achieve independence... | ...UNTIL the conflict erupted into a multipower world war that was too big for Britain to handle | |
| 505888502 | France's entrance into the conflict | Forced British to change their basic strategy in America. In a position to jeopardize Britain's blockade and lines of supply, the British evacuated Philadelphia and concentrated their strength in NYC | |
| 505888503 | Monmouth, New Jersey | June 1778 - Washington attacked redcoats. British escaped to New York, GW stayed around the NY area hemming in the British | |
| 505888504 | Comte de Rochambeau | Commanded a powerful French army to Newport, Rhode Island. Americans were somewhat suspicious of their new French allies (bloodshed had already occurred). No real military advantage came immediately from this French reinforcement, although preparations were made for a Franco-American attack on New York | |
| 505888505 | Plotted with the British to sell out the key stronghold of West Point, which commanded the Hudson River. The plot was detected and he fled back to the British | Benedict Arnold turned traitor | |
| 505888506 | Georgia was overrun in 1778-79; Charleston, SC, fell in 1780 -- this surrender involved the capture of men adn cannon: was a heavier loss to Americans than that of Burgoyne to the British | British tried to roll up the colonies in the South, where Loyalists were numerous | |
| 505888507 | General Nathanael Greene | Quaker-reared tactician in the Carolina campaign of 1781 distinguished himself by his strategy of delay: kept retreating then standing against his foe, General Charles Cornwallis, and finally succeeded in clearing most of GA and SC of British troops. "The Fighting Quaker" | |
| 505888508 | Two nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, Oneidas and the Tuscaroras | Indians siding with America | |
| 505888509 | Senecas, Mohawks, Cayugas, and Onondagas | Indians siding with British | |
| 505888510 | Mohawk chief Joseph Brant | Convert to Anglicanism who believed that a victorious Britain would restrain American expansion to the West | |
| 505888511 | Treaty of Fort Stanwix | First treaty between the US and an Indian nation. Under its terms the Indians ceded most of their land Pro-British Iroquois were forced to sign it in 1784 | |
| 505888512 | "The Bloody Year" | 1777 on the frontier - pro-American and pro-British Indians | |
| 505888513 | George Rogers Clark | British were vulnerable in Illinois country, holding only a few posts captured from the French. This man conceived the idea of seizing the forts by surprise. He floated down the Ohio River in 1778 and captured many forts. Many admirers say his success forced the British to cede the region north of the Ohio River to the US at the peace table in Paris | |
| 505888514 | John Paul Jones | Most famous navy officer | |
| 505888515 | Navy | Chief contribution was in destroying British merchant shipping and thus carrying the war into the waters around the British isles | |
| 505888516 | Privateers | privately owned armed ships specifically authorized by Congress to prey on enemy shipping Diverted manpower from the main war effort and involved Americans (Benedict Arnold) in speculation Brought in urgently-needed gold, harassing the enemy, and uplifting morale by being victorious when victories were few Brougt up insurance rates, and British shippers and manufacturers brought increasing pressure on Parliament to end the war on honorable terms | |
| 505888517 | General Cornwallis | After operations in VA, he had fallen back to Chesapeake Bay at Yorktown to await seaborne supplies and reinforcements. Assuming Britain would continue to control the sea, however these weeks were one of the briedf pweiods when British naval superiority slipped away. French Admiral de Grasse advised Americans to join them in an assault on Cornwallis at Yorktown. Completely corner, Cornwallis surrendered his entire force | |
| 505888518 | Admiral de Grasse | Helped corner Cornwallis at Yorktown | |
| 505888519 | Peace at Paris | Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay negotiated for peace in this city. Each had explicit instructions from Congress to make no separate peace and to consult with their French allies at all stages. | |
| 505888520 | John Jay | Knowing France's game of trying to keep a weak America that is easy to control, he secretly made separate overtures to London, contrary to instructions from Congress. British speedily came to terms with America, preliminary treaty signed in 1782, final peace in 1783 | |
| 505888521 | Treaty of Paris 1783 | British formally recognized the independence of the United States; granted generous boundaries Americans had to agree that Loyalists could not be further persecuted, and Congress was to recommend that confiscated Loyalist property was to be restored. They agreed to put no lawful obstacles in the way of overdue debts to British creditors (Loyalists and debts not carried out in manner that London wanted) |
