A. 2nd Continental Congress May 1775 – Delegates from 12 colonies met in Philadelphia They created the Continental Army Named George Washington commander of army Signed the Olive Branch Petition

B. A Call for Independence January 1776 – Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense 47 page pamphlet Urged for separation from Britain June 1776 – The Second Continental Congress creates a committee to write a document declaring the colonies’ independence.

C. Declaration of Independence Committee Members: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, Roger Sherman. July 4th 1776 - Declared colonies’ break from Britain.

C. Declaration of Independence Part I: basic rights of all men…”life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Part II: argued the king had violated the colonists’ rights. Part III: argued the colonists had the right to break from Britain…remember Locke?

D. Colonists Choose Sides Patriots – colonists who chose to fight for independence (@ 40-45%). Loyalists – colonists who remained loyal to Britain, also called Tories (@ 15-30%). Neutral – undecided (rest)

E. Battle of Yorktown Summer 1781 Cornwallis settled in Yorktown on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. American and French forces surrounded Cornwallis’ army. After 12 days of bombardment, Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781.

F. Treaty of Paris In 1783, the United States and Britain signed a peace treaty in Paris. Britain recognized the United States as a nation Britain surrended land from Atlantic to the Mississippi River

G. The War’s Aftermath French Revolution Haitian Revolution The American Revolution led to several other nations starting revolutions of their own. French Revolution Haitian Revolution Latin American wars for independence