After the bloodshed at Lexington and Concord in April of 1775, about 20,000 Minutemen swarmed around Boston, where they outnumbered the British. The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, with no real intention of independence, but merely a desire to continue fighting in the hope that the king and Parliament would consent to a redress of grievances. It sent another list of grievances to Parliament. It also adopted measures to raise money for an army and a navy. It also selected George Washington to command the army. Washington had never risen above the rank of colonel, and his largest command had only been of 1,200 men, but he was a tall figure who looked like a leader, and thus, was a morale boost to troops. He radiated patience, courage, self-discipline, and a sense of justice, and though he insisted on working without pay, he did keep a careful expense account amounting to more than $100,000. II. Bunker Hill and Hessian Hirelings In the first year, the war was one of consistency, as the colonists maintained their loyalty while still shooting at the king’s men. In May 1775, a tiny American force called the Green Mountain Boys, led by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold, surprised and captured the British garrisons at Forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point The importance of this raid lay in the fact that they captured much-needed cannons and gunpowder.
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are two significant documents that transformed the history of the United States. The people of the “New World” went from being ruled by British law and living in the thirteen colonies, to becoming an independent nation with a democratic government. The Declaration was written to ensure that all official ties with its mother country, Great Britain, were suspended indefinitely. It then went on to describe the concepts and ideologies behind a just and fair government. The Constitution, however, outlined how the newly democratic government would operate. In 1776, after the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, a verdict was made that the only constructive way to ensure independence as a nation would be to declare independence from King George III, Parliament, and Great Britain. The colonists sought to fashion a clear, detailed document, known as the Declaration of Independence, which stated why the people chose to move in this direction as well as providing several arguments to support their case. This world-renown document is a symbol of the unity between the 13 colonies during their fight for independence during the American Revolutionary War.
Taking place in 1775, at the start of the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Bunker Hill was a needed victory early in the war to get the soldiers to believe in themselves. Many soldiers in the beginning of the war did not believe that the lowly colonists could defeat and
There were many events that took place in the 1760’s and 1770’s that led to the Revolutionary war. During these years the British did many things that upset the colonists. These upset colonists would eventually get sick of all the British ways and fight for their freedom. Many events crucial
The American Revolutionary War in 1755 spouted from a conflict between the British government and British people living in the then 13 American colonies. The crown and his legislature passed tax measures, which the people of the thirteen American colonies fiercely opposed. American leaders took action against taxes because the government that created the laws offered no representation for those being taxed which is where taxation without any representation stems from. The crown only allowed upper-class men vote in England and most elections within American colonies, although the American voting class weren’t able to express on the ballots their views of the parliament.
Most of the colonists rebelled against Parliament’s decisions of passing new laws, they were angered by the creation of the Tea Act, and rebelled by dumping 18,000 pounds of tea into the Boston Harbor, which was known as the Boston Tea Party. The colonists were determined to get their independance from Great Britain, so after the battles of Lexington and Concord, the Second Continental Congress met to decide what was to be done next. For example, “Americans had a grand cause: fighting for their rights, their independence and their liberty” (American and British Strengths and Weaknesses). This shows that the colonists were not just fighting to win, they were fighting for their freedom, their rights, and their independance from Great Britain. Most of the American military were civilians that were fighting because they wanted freedom and they were determined to do
The Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord are the initial battles of the revolutionary war. In the Revolutionary war Britain descovers that the terrnosity of the Americans will not so easily be silenced. Hundreds of British troops, exstimated to be around 700, marched from Boston to Lexington on the evening of April 18, 1775, with secret orders to capture any weapons availble to the American militia. Thanks to the efforts of Paul Revere and William Dawes, who rode from Boston to Lexington in the middle of the night. Colonial leaders John Handcock and Samuel Adams were warned of the intentions of the oncoming redcoats. The British red coats clashed witlh American militia at Lexington on April 19, 1775.
“Throw down your arms! Ye villains, ye rebels” (1775, 04/19: Battles of Lexington and Concord. (2007, June 26). The militiamen, who were greatly outnumbered, were ordered to leave when a shot rang out. No one really knows who fired first, but the British, hearing the shot, fired upon
The British were informed that the colonists had weapons near Concord and went to find them, but the colonists were also informed that the British were going Concord. On the way to Concord, the British encountered a group of Minutemen in Lexington who were ready to battle, but the British easily won and many Minutemen were dead or wounded. Despite the loss, the colonists were willing to fight for freedom. Even though they knew they did not have a chance, they were willing to risk their lives. When the British reached Concord, they did not find guns, but they found Minutemen and soon the British were fleeing. The Minutemen would hide and every time they found a fleeing redcoat they would should at them and this was tactic that the British had not seen and it caused them to lose many men. America had a major debt problem after the Revolutionary War, but they were willing to deal with that because getting their freedom was so important to them. The mentality that the colonists had during the war allowed them to succeed and create their
The Declaration of Independence was formed resulting from the treatment of 13 colonies from the British government without representation after subsequent denials to be represented and treated equal. This historic document was revolutionary because it’s what began the transition of our government into a democracy unlike that of parliament in the 1700’s. The British government and their ruling made decisions that didn’t involve what was right for the people; only what was in the best economic interest of parliament. This caused significant hardships on the American colonies which eventually led to them coming together as a people and forming this declaration.
The American Revolutionary war began in-part because of economic struggles England faced after securing safety for it’s colonies during the Seven Years War. England needed to increase their taxation on the colonists after the war to pay off its war debts. Prior to these taxes, the colonies were wholly content while under the wing of the British Empire. Not only because the protection the British provided, but also because of their deep reverence for the Motherland. Colonists were angered by with Parliament due to their lack of acknowledgement towards colonists rights and opinions. Colonists stood together in a defiant motion towards liberation from England’s tyrannous acts of lawless duplicity. Before British government was able to fully
The 13 American colonies revolted against their British rulers in 1775. The war began on April 19, when British soldiers fired on the Minutemen of Lexington, Mass. The fighting ended with the surrender of the British at Yorktown on Oct. 19, 1781. In 1783 Great Britain signed a formal treaty recognizing the independence of the colonies. Through the hardships of life in a wild, new land, the American settlers gained strength and a firm belief in the rights and liberties of the individual man. They revolted because England interfered with their trade and industry, demanded unjust taxes, and sent British troops to compel obedience. At first they fought only for their rights. After a year of war they fought for a Between these two societies there could not be much in common. With such opposing viewpoints and extreme change in social and economic structure, America began to yearn for independence and self-rule, and break away from the rule of Imperial Britain. The many taxes imposed on the colonies by English leaders also created great conflict between the two sides. American colonist felt that they were not represented in Parliament and therefore could not tax its people. But Parliament felt that they looked out for the best interest of the entire empire, therefore had the right to enact legislation. This caused political unrest and uprisings within the colonies. Protest took the form of newspapers, sermons, and pamphlets. Riots and events such as the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party began to show the colonist distrust of British rulers. With tensions rising between the factions, the Americans were opting for a drastic change in the system. When America finally decides to declare its independence and go to war, it is a sign of radical action. Britains' army was four times as big
When the british arrived the patriots had met them at the north bridge where they had a stand off and exchanged fire until the british were forced to retreat. This battle is important for more than just the fact that it was the first battle of the American Revolution. Without this battle the continental army would not have been formed. After the battle of Lexington and Concord occurred, the militia that helped to fight the British was then joined by militias from other surrounding towns in Massachusetts. Without the battle of Lexington and Concord we would not have a large enough militia to fight the British and we would not have gotten the push we needed to fight back. Author and historian specializing in the battle of Lexington and Concord Allen French discusses this point in the book he wrote The Day of Concord and Lexington: The Nineteenth of April 1775, “ For nothing can dim the Significance of the day. Its story rang through the colonies, and called men to arms. For
Tensions had been buliding up for many years with the colonists and the Britsh. The Britsh had enough and on the night of April 18. 1775 the Britsh went to Concord and Paul Revere alerted the cononists and then the Britsh were under fire. The cononsits were mad because Great
About a decade before the American Revolution happened in 1775, there were lots of tension building up between the colonists and the British. The colonists did not like being under British rule and control because they liked freedom and wanted independence. However, the British government attempted to raise tax revenues