1. The start of the revolutionary war
The War Begins
The start of the revolutionary war

2. LEAD-UP TO THE BATTLES OF LEXINGTON AND CONCORD
Great Britain enacted a series of measures aimed at raising profits from its 13 American colonies.
Many of those measures, including the Sugar Act, Stamp Act and Townshend Acts, generated fierce resentment among the colonists, who protested against “taxation without representation.”
Boston was one of the main points of resistance.
Boston Tea Party

3. Patriots vs. Loyalists What was a patriot? What was a loyalist?
Patriots were people who wanted the American colonies to gain their independence from Britain. They wanted their own country.
What was a loyalist?
Not everyone who lived in the American colonies wanted to break away from the British. There were many people who wanted to stay part of Britain and remain British citizens.

4. Patriots vs. Loyalists Why did people become patriots?
Why did some people remain loyal?
People in the Americas felt they weren't being treated fairly by the British. They were being taxed without any say or representation in the British government.
Soon cries for "liberty" were being heard throughout the colonies. The patriots wanted freedom from British rule.
Other names for patriots included Sons of Liberty, Rebels, Whigs, and Colonials.
Many people felt that their lives would be better off if the colonies remained under British rule. Some of these people were simply afraid to go up against the might of the British army.
Others had business interests in England and knew that English trade was important to the economy.
Other names for loyalists included Tories, Royalists, and the King's Friends.

5. Minutemen – citizen soldiers who could be ready to fight at a minute’s notice
Short Video:

6. Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride – “The British are coming!”
Paul Revere was sent and instructed to ride to Lexington, Massachusetts, to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British troops were marching to arrest them.
The local "Sons of Liberty" committee had pre- arranged signals. (Two lanterns had been hung briefly in the bell-tower of a church, indicating that troops were coming by sea.) “One if by land, two if by sea.”
On the way to Lexington, Revere "alarmed" the country-side, stopping at each house, and arrived in Lexington about midnight. “The British are coming! The British are coming!”
Short, Silly Video: ?v=dFRWBJCZVLs

7. “The Shot Heard Around the World”
Following Revere’s warning to the Patriots, Captain John Parker began assembling minutemen to meet the British.
After rousing approximately 137 men, they waited for the British to arrive.
However, because it had taken the British two hours to receive supplies earlier in the evening, the minutemen were way ahead of schedule.
Parker requested that the minutemen retire to nearby taverns until further notice while sending a few scouts from Lexington to approximate the arrival of the British.
When Major Pitcairn of Britain’s forces and Parker’s minutemen met, there were 77 minutemen prepared to fight nearly 250 British soldiers. A shot was fired; although it’s not clear which side fired first.

8. Battles of Lexington and Concord
Short Video:
cs/american- revolution/battles-of- lexington-and-concord

9. Bunker Hill - "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!"
Short Video: revolution/battle-of-bunker-hill
On June 17, 1775, early in the Revolutionary War ( ), the British defeated the Americans at the Battle of Bunker Hill in Massachusetts.
Despite their loss, the inexperienced colonial forces inflicted significant casualties against the enemy, and the battle provided them with an important confidence boost.

10. The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
Short Video: ?v=WZG_wKIyWnU
The largest battle of the French and Indian War was fought here on July 8, 1758, when the French defeated a British army five times larger.
Later captured by the British, in 1759, it was renamed Fort Ticonderoga. America's first victory of the American Revolution came on May 10, 1775, when Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold captured the fort.

11. How did the relationship between Britain and the colonies fall apart?
Section 1: How did the British gain French territory in North America?
Section 2: How did the French and Indian War draw the colonists closer together but increase friction with Britain?
Section 4: How did the American Revolution begin?
Section 3: How did the British tax policies move the colonies closer to rebellion?
How did the relationship between Britain and the colonies fall apart?