1. Topic: Judging Colonial Opinions at the Onset of the Revolution
Do Now:
“The American ‘Revolution’ was nothing of the kind. It was a war led by a group of ambitious people fighting for economic benefits, not some lofty goal of freedom or equality.”
Briefly defend or refute this statement

2. The Initial Phase Second Continental Congress (May ’75)
Second list of grievances
Washington as General
Arnold and Allen at Ticonderoga
June ’75- Bunker Hill
July ‘75- Olive Branch Petition
Late 1775
British burn Portsmouth, Norfolk
Rebel victory in South Carolina

3. Thomas Paine: Stirring Up The Revolutionary Spirit
Common Sense pamphlet (1776)
Urged all colonials to fight
Small vs. large (natural)
George III –”Royal Brute of Britain”
Biblical imagery Republican Virtue
Mass democracy vs. meritocracy?
Support for Revolution increased

4. Thomas Jefferson: The Declaration of Independence
Colonial legislatures want a “break” w/Britain
Continental Congress approves of “independence” (Richard Henry Lee)
Jefferson appointed to write the statement:
wrongs of the King
Colonies had the right to revolt
“natural rights” of humankind

5. The “War at Home” Not all colonists united (war within a war)
Patriots, Loyalists, “Neutrals”
British difficulty in controlling Patriot areas (New England)
Tory Zones: NY, NJ, parts of Penn
Grounds of Division:
Generation, section, religion, “class”
Confiscation of “tory” property
Were loyalists “used” correctly by British (50,000)?

6. Conclusion
In what ways did Paine and Jefferson contribute to the ideals of the Revolution?
Why did some Americans not join the Revolution, even after 1776?