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December 3, 2020 History Notes1PRELUDE TO THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR REVIEWFrom the French and Indian War 1755=1763 until the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, CONFLICT between England and her colonies continued to build. It was NOT just England who caused conflict among colonists. Colonists created conflict with England as well. Both sides antagonized each other. Failure to resolve this conflict resulted in war. ENGLISH CAUSED CONFLICT WITH HER AMERICAN COLONIES IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS:1. Taxes (Stamp Tax and the Tea Tax)2. Tariffs on imported trade goods (Townsend Acts) 3. NO colonial representation in Parliament (NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION)4. Mercantilism (trade with other countries was severely restricted; made colonists feel like servants5. Proclamation of 1763 (western settlement made illegal)6. Impressment (forcing) of young colonial men into the English army and navy7. Private colonial citizens were required to QUARTER English soldiers8. Boston Massacre (deaths of 5 colonists at the hands of English soldiers)9. Quebec Act (endangered colonial freedom of worship and made western settlement more difficult)10. Suspension of 3 colonial legislatures (Townsend Acts)11. Closure of Boston Harbor (Intolerable Acts—resulted in near starvation for residents of Boston)12. Martial Law (the military took over government functions in Boston; part of the Intolerable Acts)13. Rejection of the Olive Branch Petition and other colonial attempts at peaceThere were other actions taken by England that caused conflict with her 13 colonies, but these 13 provide an adequate explanation as to why the colonies supported a war for independence.COLONIISTS CAUSED CONFLICT WITH ENGLAND IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS1. Smuggling of trade goods to avoid tariffs was common in the colonies2. Pioneers’ violations of the Proclamation of 1763 in significant numbers (by illegally moving west)3. Widespread disrespect of and disobedience toward English tax collectors (The Liberty Tree)4. Boston Tea Party5. Boycotts of English goods (Daughters of Liberty)6. Propaganda ‘wars’ waged by Samuel Adams,Thomas Paine and others to turn Tories into Patriots7. Thomas Paine’s booklet Common Sense8. Continental Congress voted to form an army with G. Washington as commander BEFORE war was formally declaredColonists created conflict with England in other ways, but these are sufficient to prove that there was guilt on both sides.War-like acts occured even before war was declared: Page 21. LEXINGTON and CONCORD English soldiers march to Concord to destroy a colonial ammunition store and capture Sam Adams Paul Revere and 2 others warn Massachusetts militia in advance of British plans Minutemen block the bridge in Lexington the English must use in traveling to Concord Shots are fired (Shot Heard Round the World) Men from both sides are killed2. FORT TICONDEROGA Ethan Allen and his ‘Green Mountain Boys’ use trickery to take the fort from the English Colonists capture much needed cannons, ammunition, and other supplies This aggressive action was taken by the militia BEFORE war was actually declared 3. BUNKER HILL Minutemen occupy Breeds Hill and have cannons and ammunition taken from Fort Ticonderoga English outnumber colonists about by more than 5 to 1 The English charge Bunker Hill twice and are turned back by colonial cannons and muskets The 3rd charge English soldiers take Breed’s Hill; the militia retreats when ammo runs out Even in winning, the English suffer their heaviest causalities of the entire war (Interestingly the citizens of Boston watch the battle like spectators at a ballgame) Failure to resolve conflict between England and her colonies led to all-out war when delegates to the Continental Congress adapted and signed the Declaration of Independence.To think aboutCOULD PEACE HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED BETWEEN ENGLAND AND HER COLONIES? COULD PEACE HAVE BEEN NEGOTIATED? What could have been said or done that might have peacefully resolved the conflict?Possibly. But remember the nature of most Americans in this period of history. Colonists were extraordinarily focused on freedom of all kinds (religious, economic, political) and extremely self-reliant. The only form of government most colonists were willing to accept was SELF-GOVERNMENT. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCEOn June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee from the Virginia Delegation to the Continental Congress presented a motion or resolution to the Continental Congress that asked the Continental Congress to separate the 13 colonies from England and to declare total independence. This motion was presented ONLY after numerous attempts by the Congress to peacefully resolve the problems that existed between England and her 13 colonies…The motion was accepted and a committee was formed to deal with Lee’s resolutionTHOMAS JEFFERESON was appointed chair of the committee Page 3While other delegates to the Constitutional Convention returned home for a few days, Jefferson remained in Philadelphia to work on the document that would become the D. of I.Only JULY 4, 1776, members of the Continental Congress signed the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.July 4, 1776 is now celebrated every year as our country’s date of birth.Below is the edited copy of the Declaration of Independence that you received in your assignment for today, December 3, 2020. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE“When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another…a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --that when any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government.” He has dissolved representative Houses (legislatures)…He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected…He has made judges dependent on his will alone…He has erected a multitude of New Offices and has sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people…He has kept among us in times of peace standing armies without the consent of the assemblies…He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to the Civil Power…For quartering large bodies of armed troops among usFor cutting off our trade with all parts of the worldFor imposing taxes on us without our consent 2For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by JuryFor transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offensesHe is at this time transporting armies of mercenaries to complete the work of death and tyranny… He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the seas to bear arms against their country… He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages…for the destruction of all ages and sexes…In every stage of these Oppressions We have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms. Our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury… Page 4We therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in general congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these United colonies are, and of right ought to be, Free and Independent States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our fortunes, and our Sacred Honor.” However, England had NO intention of granting our freedom! Americans would have to do more than sign a document to become independent, they would have to fight and WIN the Revolutionary War! The next set of notes will summarize the main events of the Revolutionary War that led to the creation of a brand new nation that would become the United States of America!The battles of Lexington, Concord, Fort Ticonderoga, and Bunker Hill have already been covered because they were all fought before the Declaration of Independence was signed. ................
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