The American Revolution Part B

1.What happened on July 4, 1776? The 2 nd Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence 2. What did the Declaration of Independence do? Proclaimed that thirteen British colonies were now free and independent states from Great Britain

3. What is important to realize about the nature of each Colony/state being free and independent? Each former colony was not only free from Great Britain, but was also free from all of the other former colonies as well

4. Which 13 Colonies declared independence in the Declaration? New Hampshire Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut New York New Jersey Delaware Maryland Pennsylvania Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia

5. In terms of our area, which British colony did NOT declare independence? British West Florida Mobile remained a loyal British colonial city 6. In what way did the Declaration of Independence affirm John Locke’s view of natural rights? By declaring that all men are created equal with the rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”

7. Who was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence? Thomas Jefferson of Virginia 8. What did the Declaration of Independence NOT do? It did not create an American nation It did not give a blueprint for American government It did not free the slaves It did not establish democracy

9. From the British perspective, what had these 13 Colonies done? Entered into a state of rebellion 10. In short, from 1776 to 1783,Great Britain did not accept what? Great Britain did not accept the independence of these 13 Colonies

11. What is a major reason why these American rebels ultimately won? The 13 Colonies were spread out over thousands of square miles and were difficult to bring into submission 12. What advantage did George Washington’s Continental Army have against the British? It only had to survive and NOT LOSE George Washington’s army did not have to defeat the British militarily And Washington’s army did survive

13. What important ally did the American rebels (patriots) receive in 1778? France entered the war on the side of the American rebels…and declared war on Great Britain 14. What other role did geography have that worked to the American advantage? Great Britain is a long way from North America, and in an age of sailing ships, it had a hard time managing the war

15. What country conquered Mobile in 1780? Spain Under Galvez, a Spanish force took Mobile by military force In 1781, a British force tried to re-take Mobile but a Spanish force on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay stopped them at a place that came to be known as Spanish Fort

16. What happened in October 1781? Combined French and American armies trapped, by land, a British army under Lord Cornwallis By sea, a French fleet under Admiral DeGrasse closed the trap by prohibiting the British Navy from rescuing Cornwallis’s army 17. What did Cornwallis do? He surrendered to George Washington, the commander-in-chief of the American Continental Army

18. Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown, Virginia largely ended what? Major fighting in the American Revolutionary War 19. What ended the American Revolutionary War? The Treaty of Paris of 1783

20. In addition to ending the war, what did the Treaty of Paris of 1783 do? Great Britain acknowledged and recognized the independence of each of the 13 former colonies…and the recognition and acknowledgement was for each of the 13 states individually

21. Thus…with the Treaty of Paris of 1783, American independence was what? REAL…in that both all parties to the war were now in agreement about American independence 22. But what was very unclear? The nature of the American union of states, a union of states delicately held together by the Articles of Confederation