CHAPTER 9 The American Revolution

VOCABULARY  American Revolution: the war that Americans fought to become independent.  Patriots: wanted independence from Britain.  Loyalists: believed Britain should rule the colonies.  Surrender: to give up.  Bias: the presentation of one side of an issue.  Tax: money citizens pay their government for services.  Independence: freedom from being ruled by someone else.  Rights: freedoms protected by law.  Revolution: an overthrow; or a forced change of government.

IMPORTANT PEOPLE  Paul Revere- rode through the night to warn colonial fighters.  Minutemen- colonial fighters.  Phillis Wheatley- wrote poems, letters, and plays during the revolution.  George Washington- the general of the colonial army.  Joseph Brant- Mohawk leader who supported the British.  Marquis de Lafayette- French soldier who led Americans in many battles.  Baron von Steuben- trained American soldiers to fight better.  Charles Cornwallis-British general who won battles in the south.  Francis Marion- a patriot who used the method of attacking and retreating through swamps to weaken British troops.  Bernado de Galvez- captured British forts near the Gulf of Mexico.  John Sevier- led a group of Tennesseans to defeat British troops at King’s Mountain in South Carolina..  Nathaniel Greene- led the Continental Army in the South.

CONFLICTS BEGIN  As a result of the French-Indian War the British began taxing the colonists to pay for the expense of that war.  Colonists opposed these taxes in several ways: 1. Refusal to buy goods with taxes on them. 2. Sons of Liberty- held protests in public, attacked tax collectors, and broke into their houses to show their dislike of taxes. 3. Daughters of Liberty- wove their own cloth instead of buying it from the British. 4. Boston Tea Party- colonists dumped thousands of pounds of tea overboard.

BOSTON TEA PARTY

THE REVOLUTION BEGINS  After the Boston Tea Party, the British enforced the Intolerable Acts. This punishment to Boston caused the colonists to unite.  In September 1774 representatives from all the colonies except Georgia met in Philadelphia. This was called the First Continental Congress.  The First Continental Congress sent a letter to the British to protest the taxes and to cease trade with Britain.  In April 1775, British troops marched from Lexington to Concord to look for weapons.  Paul Revere, Samuel Prescott, and William Dawes rode through the night warning the minutemen that the British were coming.

  Paul Revere’s Ride

THE SHOT HEARD AROUND THE WORLD  Minutemen gathered at Lexington to stop the British. The colonists did not want war but did not want the British to take the stored weapons at Concord. They were prepared to stand their ground. They were instructed to not fire unless fired upon. No one knows who really fired the first shot, but it is known as “the shot heard around the world” because it began the American Revolution. 

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE  In April of 1776 a meeting was called for the Second Continental Congress.  Thomas Jefferson was chosen to write the Declaration of Independence that would be sent to England. The Declaration of Independence said that the colonies were starting a new country because Britain had not protected the colonists’ rights.  The Declaration of Independence was approved on July 4, 1776.

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE   Jot down as many images as you see in the video that are related to the causes of America wanting to rebel. Write down the names of any individuals they may recognize. (Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams, John Adams, Paul Revere, Ben Franklin, John Hancock)

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE   Who was the main character/singer in the video?  What are some things stated that it was "too late to apologize" for?  What person or group of people were the men at the table referring to?  There was a number written on the drum at the end of the video? What was the significance of that number?  Interpret the first line of the song. What is meant by "Half way across the world and we're standing on new ground"? How does this quote relate to the rebellion in the colonies?

BATTLES  