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November 19, 2020 History Notes Why is there a United States of America?How did the colonies separate themselves from England to create a brand new country?What was so bad about English control that caused Americans to want to go to war?The answers are largely found below. Be familiar with the following events that led to revolution.THE ROAD TO REVOLUTION: 1763 – 1776High Taxes: The Stamp Act“No Taxation Without Representation” said the colonistsSons of Liberty hang an effigy of the tax collector on the “Liberty Tree”Tariffs/Mercantilism:(Tariffs: taxes placed on goods bought from a foreign country)England treats the colonies like servantsEngland expects colonists to supply natural resources for England’s industryEngland expects colonists to purchase manufactured goods just from EnglandEngland places tariffs on products from all other countries This is to make these foreign products much more expensive for colonials to buyColonists resort to smuggling to avoid paying these tariffs Proclamation of 1763: Made it illegal for colonial pioneers to settle on land west of the mountainsImpressment: England forced young colonial men to serve in their militaryQuartering: England had the power to force colonists to house and provide food for their soldiers Townsend Acts: 4 distinct laws1. England placed tariffs on ALL imports (products coming in from other places)2. England put Englishmen in charge of customs houses (where tariffs were collected)3. England could search ships at sea whenever they wanted 4. England suspended the colonial legislatures in VA, MA, and NY BOSTON MASSACRE:A group of angry Americans conducted a ‘protest’ against the import tariffs 5 Americans killed outside the Boston Customs HouseCrispus Attucks, a free black man, was the first person killed in the revolution Tea Act:England allowed their East India tea company to sell untaxed tea This was a great disadvantage to colonial merchantsBOSTON TEA PARTY:The purpose of the Tea Party was to protest the Tea Act$18,000 tea dumped in Boston harbor by Samuel Adams and 60 Sons of LibertyDaughters of Liberty organize boycotts of tea and other English goods Page 2COMMUNICATION, PROPAGANDA, AND BUILDING SUPPORT FOR WAR The Massacre and Tea Party in Boston resulted in Bostonians being most unhappy with King George and the English government. Citizens from other colonies, however, were not so negative in their opinions of England. Many Bostonians wanted to change opinions, so It became the goal of Samuel Adams and others to cause colonists to waver in their support for England.Samuel Adams was the leader in providing news and information designed to strengthen support for colonial independence. Adams was skilled in reporting incidents in a way that made England appear to be the bad guys. Spinning the news to influence the readers’ opinion is called PROPAGANDA—Sam Adams was very skilled in using propaganda . For example: Adams made sure that news of the Boston Massacre was spread to all of the colonies, but when he told the story, he conveniently forgot to tell the part about Americans disrespecting English soldiers and throwing objects at them BEFORE any shots were ever fired. In that way he made the Americans who were killed seem like martyrs while making English soldiers appear to be cruel and totally at fault. A Committee of Correspondence, comprised of 21 men, was organized by Adams in 1772 for the specific purpose of keeping citizens in and around Boston informed. Soon Committees of Correspondence would be organized in all of the colonies. The work of Samuel Adams and the Committees of Correspondence was crucial in rallying colonial support for declaring our independence from England. Without their efforts our revolutionary war might never have been fought. INTOLERABLE ACTS: were passed by Parliament as a direct result of the Tea Party1, Port of Boston closed2. Martial Law (law enforcement/government by the military) in Boston was declaredPeople of Boston suffered greatly because of a shortage of foodSC sent wagon loads of supplies to the people of BostonConnecticut sent rice, beef, pork, and flour VA House of Burgesses called for a day of prayer and fasting for BostonThis shows both the UNITY AND GENEROUSITY of the colonists (American people)Quebec Act:England ceded (legally gave) the Ohio River Valley to Quebec.Colonists saw this action as a ‘slap in the face’ and were highly disturbedPioneers was especially upset because this act would make it harder to settle on western land Colonists also feared the loss of freedom of worship; Quebec was almost exclusively Catholic1st Continental Congress: Philadelphia, October, 1774 Page 3Convened (met) so colonies could discuss what actions they might take to protestThis is what the 1st Continental Congress did: 1. Reminded King and Parliament that colonists had same rights as people of England2. Expressed determination to pass their own laws (rather than Parliament doing so)3. Declared that Parliament w/o colonial representation could NOT pass colonial laws 2nd Continental Congress: convened a few months later when they saw no change in England’s behaviorIt was decided that 1. The colonies would recruit its own army2. George Washington was named commander of the new colonial armyGW was given task of recruiting young men to join this armyPatrick Henry:Meanwhile, Patrick made a famous speech before the VA House of BurgessesHe told them that the form of government in England would not work in the coloniesHe warned them that war was comingHe ended his speech with these words in which he supported the idea of war …”GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH!”LEXINGTON AND CONCORD1ST battle of Revolutionary War 4000 British soldiers stationed in BostonMINUTEMEN, members of the volunteer Mass militia, were already organized for a fightBritish Commander General Gage knew of a colonial ammunition dump in Concord, Mass. 20 miles from BostonGage wanted to take this ammo and also arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock Thanks to intelligence gathered by spies, colonists learned the day before of Gage’s plan PAUL REVERE and other patriots gave advance warning to the minutemen in the areaApril 19, 1775-Gage and 700 British soldiers march from Boston On their way to Concord they march through the town of LexingtonA contingent of Minutemen block their route through Lexington‘SHOT HEARD AROUND THE WORLD’ IS fired8 Americans are killed, 10 wounded, so the Minutemen retreat British march on to Concord where they destroy ammo that the colonists had not already removedOn their return trip to Boston, colonists used ‘GUERILLA WARFARE’ against the British army--273 British soldiers are lost on the return trip to BostonFort Ticonderoga:Benedict Arnold, Ethan Allen, and the Green Mountains boys captured this fortIt was located on the Hudson River in New York stateEnglish soldiers, supplies, ammunition, and much needed cannons were capturedBunker Hill:Boston, June 16, 1775 Page 4Approx. 1000 Minutemen ‘DUG IN’ on Breed’s hill (battle was incorrectly named) 10,000 British soldiers move out to dislodge the AmericansCitizens of Boston watched from their roofs or trees as the battle beganBrits charge up the hill twice but are turned back by American cannon and musket fire On 3rd charge, Americans run short of ammo and have to retreat But this would be the greatest loss of English soldiers during the entire warOlive Branch Petition:An olive branch is a symbol of peacea petition is a formal, written requestAfter all that had happened, colonists expressed to King George their desire for peaceThe petition basically promised that colonists were loyal to King GeorgeBut the petition also stated again the colonists’ determination to govern themselvesEnglish Response to the Olive Branch Petition:George reputedly did not bother to even read the petitionInstead of taking the petition seriously, they made matters worse by doing the following:1. Hessian mercenaries were sent to the colonies to support English soldiers Mercenaries were hired soldier from another countryHessians were soldiers from GERMANY hired to fight for England2. Parliament passed the PROHIBATORY ACT which closed ALL PORTS TO TRADE Thomas Paine: Still there was a significant division among the colonials about remaining loyal to England Thomas Paine, published his pamphlet ‘Common Sense’ –100,000+ copies were sold to colonists Paine argued that colonists had to look beyond the laws, port closings, and bad leaders Paine said that it was the English system that was broken and could not be fixed “It was common sense to completely break away from a system so corrupt that it could produce King George” See page 86 in your book.Thomas Paine was often referred to as the great ‘propagandist’ of the war because he convinced a lot of people that breaking away from England was the only way they had of achieving self-government.**By early 1776 the colonists had had ‘enough’. The Continental Congress selected Thomas Jefferson to write a ‘declaration of independence’ which would formally announce our intention of becoming a brand new and independent country.**Men like THOMAS PAINE and SAMUEL ADAMS fought with their pens and their voices rather than with guns. But they were just as important in winning our independence as those who carried guns. ................
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