1. A Call to Arms Chapter 5 lesson 3
Essential Question: What motivates people to act?
Learning Goal: Students will be able to identify the Founders and their contributions, evaluate the battles of Lexington and Concord, and compare points of view held by Patriots and loyalists.

2. -Patrick henry, at the Continental Congress 1774
“The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders are no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American.”
-Patrick henry, at the Continental Congress 1774

3. Continental Congress First meets in 1774 in Philadelphia
55 delegates for a political body that would represent the colonists against the British
Called this the Continental Congress

4. A Meeting in Philadelphia
12/13 colonies send leaders
Georgia the only one that did not
Massachusetts sent Samuel Adams and John Adams
New York sent John Jay
Virginia sent George Washington, Richard Henry Lee, and Patrick Henry

5. The Delegates Vote Discussed complaints against British then voted
What they wanted:
The repeal of 13 acts of Parliament that they believed violated their rights
They also voted to boycott British trade
No trading with Great Britain or selling/buying goods with Great Britain
Declared the Intolerable Acts illegal in the colonies
Organized militias in the colonies

6. The Colonial militias
Colonists had a long tradition of protecting their own communities
Training and practicing drills with other citizens now part of militias
Used muskets and cannons
Had to provide their own weapons and ammunition
Later, towns would help support their own militiamen.

7. Fighting begins
Colonists thought if there was fighting, it would be in New England
Some militias were known as minutemen- they were ready to fight at a moment’s notice

8. Great Britain sends Troops
King George tells Parliament the Colonies are “in a state of rebellion” and “blows must decide” who would control America
1775: thousands of troops are in and around Boston, more on the way.
General Thomas Gage was ordered to take weapons away from colonists
They went to Concord- 20 miles northwest of Boston- to seize all weapons and ammunition
British had 700 troops

9. The Warning Plan The Plan:
Lanterns in the tower of a Boston church would be lit as a warning signal.
1 lantern= British were heading north by land
2 lanterns= British were heading north by sea
April 18, 1775
One lantern was lit
Paul Revere rode to warn the colonists in Lexington where he was joined by William Dawes
“The British are coming?!!!”

10. The British on the Move April 18, 1775
Dr. Joseph Warren roams Boston looking for unusual activity and sees British marching out of the city
Warns Paul Revere and William Dawes who ride to Lexington, east of Concord
Revere yells , “The Regulars are coming!” through the countryside
Revere & Dawes are captured by British
Samuel Prescott carries message on to Concord

11. Lexington & Concord
British met 70 minutemen at Lexington where someone opened fire when they were about to surrender
8 minutemen died
No one is sure who fired the first shot
“Shot heard around the world”
British went on to Concord
Colonists were waiting there and the British faced heavy losses of troops
British returned to Boston, while on their way they were shot by colonists waiting behind trees
In Boston, 174 British were wounded, 73 dead
These battles are where the fight for independence had begun

14. More Military Action Benedict Arnold- militia leader in Connecticut
Teams up with Ethan Allen from Vermont
Both took Fort Ticonderoga from the British on May 10, 1775
Arnold became a traitor later in the war by giving colonist plans to the British.
Later he would lead British troops in raids against colonists in Virginia and Connecticut

15. Battle of Bunker Hill
After Lexington & Concord, the Boston Militia had around 20,000 men
June 16, 1775
William Prescott set up posts of militia on Bunker Hill and Breed’s Hill across the harbor from Boston
June 17, 1775
British charge Breed’s Hill
Prescott tells colonists, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes”
The British are forced to retreat but come back twice
Eventually the Americans run out of ammo so they are forced to retreat
British lost more troops than Colonists but won the battle

17. Choosing Sides
The battles of Lexington and Concord would show the British that defeating the colonists would not be easy or quick.
Colonists would have to choose sides:
Loyalists: those who sided with the British
Patriots: those who supported the Colonists fight for independence
This made the American Revolution a civil war as well.

18. Thomas Paine
Author of Common Sense The series of writings told the colonists: Unite against British It is common sense to be a Patriot Colonists need to be independent of Great Britain
“…’that he may judge us, and go out before us and fight our battles.’ But in
Countries where he is neither a judge nor a general, as in England, a man
would be puzzled to know what is his business.”

19. Exit Card
After the Battles of Lexington & Concord, how were the Colonists feeling? How were the British feeling?

20. Twitter Wall
Create a tweet as either a British soldier or a colonist in the colonies in the 1760s and 1770s. Colonists may be a Loyalist OR a Patriot.