American Revolution 4 th grade Feb 2011 Minutemen

American Revolution 4 th grade Feb. 2011

Minutemen: -armed men who pledged to be ready to fight on a minute's notice just before and during the Revolutionary War

Sir Henry Clinton, Commander in Chief of the British forces

Summary: Except in spirit, the Americans were badly prepared to battle the British. With few provisions and little training, the ragtag American troops fought for their cause; but they were continually overpowered.

Summary continued: The turning point in the war came in 1777 when American soldiers, helped secretly by France, defeated the British Army at Saratoga, NY. After that victory, France and America signed treaties of alliance; and France provided the Americans with troops and warships.

In 1781 in Yorktown, Summary continued: VA, American and French troops were able to surround the British and force their surrender. The war continued for two more years and was officially ended with the Treaty of Paris. England recognized American independence.

Revolutionary War Chronology

April 5, 1764 Britain's Sugar Act raises levies on colonial commerce.

March 22, 1765 Britain passes Stamp Act and Quartering Act.

The Stamp Act taxed almost everything made of paper: letters, newspapers, bills and all legal documents, decks of cards, and calendars.

The Sons of Liberty took their name from a debate on the Stamp Act in Parliament in 1765. A member of Parliament described the Americans as "the Sons of Liberty" who would resist the new tax. In the autumn, those who resisted the Stamp Act became synonymous with the Sons of Liberty.

March 18, 1766 Stamp Act is repealed. June 29, 1767 Townshend Acts impose new taxes on colonies.

February 11, 1768 Sam Adams calls for colonial unity. Britain sends troops to enforce order in Boston.

March 5, 1770 The Boston Massacre. Five colonists killed.

December 16, 1773 The Boston Tea Party

September 5, 1774 The First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia. March 23, 1775 Patrick Henry at the Virginia Assembly gives stirring speech:

April 18, 1775 British soldiers are sent to Concord to destroy the weapon depot. That night, Paul Revere leaves Boston for Lexington and warns Sam Adams and John Hancock.

Listen my children and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five; Hardly a man is now alive Who remembers that famous day and year. from The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

April 19, 1775 The first battle of the American Revolution, Lexington and Concord. It was the enemy that fired the first shot.

Minutemen at Battle of Lexington

May 10, 1775 The Second Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia. John Hancock is elected as its president. Ethan Allen captures Fort Ticonderoga.

Ethan Allen captures Fort Ticonderoga.

June 17, 1775 - Battle of Bunker Hill

January 9, 1776 Thomas Paine's pamphlet "Common Sense" is published. It criticizes King George III and praises the desire for American independence. “We have it in our power to begin the world anew. . . America shall make a stand, not for herself alone, but for the world…. ” Thomas Paine

Published in 1776, Common Sense challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. The plain language that Paine used spoke to the common people of America and was the first work to openly ask for independence from Great Britain. Common Sense - the writing that sparked an American Revolution

March 17, 1776 George Washington defends Boston; British troops evacuate the city.

June 7, 1776 Richard Henry Lee, Virginia, puts forth motion for independence in Congress: "Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from 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. "

June 11, 1776 The Continental Congress appoints a committee to draft the Declaration. July 2, 1776 Congress adopts Lee's resolution for independence.

July 4, 1776 Congress approves the Declaration of Independence as drafted by Jefferson and amended by the Congress.

June 15, 1775 The Continental Congress appoints George Washington to be commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.

August 22 -27, 1776 Battle of Long Island; British forces defeat the Continental Army September 15, 1776 British forces occupy New York City

September 22, 1776 Nathan Hale is executed without trial by the British. He was hanged as an American spy when he was only 21 years old. His conduct and his courage have made him one of America's mostremembered heroes.

December 26, 1776 Battle of Trenton, New Jersey January 3, 1777 Battle of Princeton, NJ

There were three American military groups who tried to cross the Delaware River that night, but two did not make it because the ice was too much for them. The one group that forged ahead to make it across was the one commanded by Washington.

September 19, 1777 The Continental Congress flees Philadelphia. British troops occupy the city one week later.

October 17, 1777 Battle of Saratoga

Battle of Saratoga, Gen. Washington, British Gen. Burgoyne

November 15, 1777 The Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation.

December 21, 1777 George Washington's troops at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

February 6, 1778 Treaty of Alliance France is signed by Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee

The revolutionary colonies formed an alliance with France against Great Britain. According to this first military treaty of the new nation, the United States would provide a defensive alliance to aid France should England attack, and neither France nor the United States would make peace with England until the independence of the United States was recognized.

June 28, 1778 Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey

December 29, 1778 British forces occupy Savannah, Georgia. May 12, 1780 British forces defeat American troops at Charleston, SC

-Was fought on September 16, 1779 -British captured Savannah in 1778 -One of the bloodiest battles -It was made into a British stronghold -Landscape made fighting difficult -Made Congress realize that the South could be lost -If the Continental Army won, it would've ended the Revolution -D'estaing could've taken Savannah single-handedly -Lasted until October 16 th

Battle of the Savannah

Siege of Charleston

October 19, 1781 British General Charles Cornwallis surrenders at the Battle of Yorktown.

September 3, 1783 Treaty of Paris is signed by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay, and officially ends the war.

Treaty of Paris declared peace between Great Britain and the new country of the United States. Great Britain recognized the independence of the American colonies. “Done at Paris, this third day of September in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eightythree. " D. HARTLEY (SEAL) JOHN ADAMS (SEAL) B. FRANKLIN (SEAL) JOHN JAY (SEAL)

November 25, 1783 British forces evacuate New York and Brooklyn, the last British troops to leave the colonies.

May 25, 1787 The Constitutional Convention meets in Philadelphia September 15, 1787 Constitution is adopted.

December 15, 1791 Bill of Rights is ratified

…and more info…

Casimir Pulaski aided Washington during the Revolution and is referred to “a hero on horseback. ”

Fort Pulaski, Savannah

James Armistead, also known as James Armistead Lafayette, was one of the Founders of America. He served honorably on the staff of General Lafayette during the Revolutionary War as a spy who supplied the American Army with information on British movements. General Lafayette held him in extremely high regard, as did Washington, and his spying and work as a double-agent contributed directly to the final American victory.

Brigadier General Francis Marion, “The Swamp Fox” 17321795 South Carolina

Crispus Attucks American Revolution Hero c. 1723 -1770 Crispus Attucks was the first to fall in the celebrated "Boston Massacre" of 1770. Four other Americans died that night. Samuel Adams used the incident to incite the colonists to further rebellion. Although only five people were killed, Adams termed it a "massacre" of innocent citizens by the tyrannical mother country.