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The Revolution Begins
Lord Dartmouth, Britian's the secretary of state for America, wrote a letter to General Thomas Gage telling him to take action. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
Quickly after Gage received Dartmouth's letter he reacted.
General Gage sent British troops to confiscate the colonial military supplies at Lexington and Concord. It went wrong when there were American militiamen awaiting the British at Lexington and Concord, which drove the British troops back to Boston with a big loss.
British: 272 casualties and 70 deaths
Americans: 93 deaths -
The Siege of Boston
About 20,000 American's contained the British troops within Boston. This lasted for almost a year. The two armies stared at each other from across the battlements. The only confrontation that occurred was on June 17th when the British drove the American troops from the trenches to the top of Breed's Hill in Charlestown (Battle of Bunker Hill).
British: more than 800 wounded, 228 killed
Americans: only lost about half of what the British lost -
Second Continental Congress
Organized the United Colonies, authorized the printing of money, established a committee to supervise relations with foreign countries, strengthen militia, ordered that new ships be built for a Continental navy, Olive Branch Petition, created the Continental army and appointed it's leadership roles, and established a feasible government. -
George Washington
Congress chose Washington as the commander-in-chief of the army, he played a minor role in the pre- revolutionary agitation, he was devoted to America, became a wealthy planter, never had an illness in the war time, was a very good leader, and he had the necessary qualities to an American victory. -
Common Sense
Common Sense was a pamphlet, written by Thomas Paine, which advocated for independence from Great Britain to the people of the Thirteen Colonies. This pamphlet helped many Americans accept the idea of being separated from Great Britain. Paine was not very sensitive when it came to writing. He wrote with passion and rage. He was straightforward with his readers and through that he gained support. On June 7, Congress confirmed the movement towards separation. -
Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson was the main author of the Declaration of Independence. He presented it in front of Congress on June 28, 1776. Congress made some changes and then adopted the Declaration on July 4, 1776. The Declaration of Independence is a document that officially separated the Colonies from Great Britain and it also established basic political ideas.
