2. Colonists: Stopped trade with Britain Began to train for war King George III: Planned to send more soldiers to the Boston Declared that the colonists had begun a rebellion

3. When? April 19, 1775 Who was involved? British soldiers vs. Patriots Where? Lexington and Concord Why did it happen? The British soldiers heard that the patriots (colonists who opposed British rule) were storing gun powder and cannons in Concord British traveled to Concord to destroy the supplies and search for hidden weapons

4. What happened? British soldiers went to Lexington and told the minutemen (people who received special training for battle) to leave Minutemen started to leave and someone fired a shot then both sides started shooting 8 colonists died, 9 were wounded; 1 British soldier was wounded

5. What happened? British went to Concord to search for hidden weapons Minutemen forced them to turn back toward Boston On the way back, colonists shot at British from behind trees and stone walls More than 250 British soldiers were hurt and killed before they got to Boston

6. News of the battle spread quickly and when the British got back to Boston they were surrounded and trapped by militia (group of colonists who trained for battle) Battle of Bunker Hill – British won but lost ½ their soldiers in battle Why was the Battle of Lexington and Concord important? Colonists decided they needed an army instead of a militia Army – receive more training and fight until the war is over Militia - fight for a few months at a time New Army called the Continental Army – lead by George Washington

7. Colonists didn’t want war with Britain Some wanted independence and some didn’t but NONE wanted war Colonists tried to make peace with Britain two more times and were unsuccessful King sent more soldier to the colonies to fight the colonists Colonists wrote the Declaration of Independence – said the colonies were independent from Britain

8. When? 1777 Who? Army of Americans vs. British Where? Saratoga, New York What happened? Armies fought two fierce battles Americans won & forced 5,000 British soldiers to surrender

9. Why was it important? Before the battle, Benjamin Franklin had been trying to get France to help the American fight in the war This war was a turning point b/c it convinced the French that America could win Americans were losing before this battle What was the result? France sent money, soldiers, and powerful navy to help the Americans Taught the Americans to march together and use their weapons properly

10. When? 1781 Where? Yorktown Who? British vs. Continental Army and French navy What happened? British went to Yorktown b/c it was located between 2 rivers. They thought it would make it easy to get troops and supplies to the British Washington’s army (Continental Army) and French navy met them at Yorktown

11. What happened? French navy blocked Yorktown harbor so the British ships couldn’t rescue the British army. British were trapped, had no way to escape British surrendered (gave up) Why was it important? Last big battle of the war Victory meant that America had won the war and their independence

12. Treaty of Paris ended the war King George III agreed that America was an independent nation Gave Americans land (north to Canada, west to Mississippi river, south to Spanish Florida) New Challenges Slavery? Declaration of Independence said America was a country of freedom and equality How would the U.S. rule themselves?