1. Chapter 5: Section 3

2.  September 1774  55 delegates from all the colonies except Georgia  Political body to represent American interests and challenge British control  Delegates included: Samuel Adams, John Adams, John Jay, Richard Henry Lee, and George Washington

4.  Called for the repeal of 13 acts of Parliament ◦ Believed these laws violated the “laws of nature, the principles of the English constitution, and the several charters” of the colonies  Boycott British trade ◦ No British goods could be used in the colonies ◦ No colonial goods could be sold to Britain

5.  Called on the people of the county to arm themselves against the British  Militias are formed ◦ Militia: Group of citizen soldiers

6.  New England was thought to be the site where war would begin  Militia companies in Massachusetts held training sessions, made bullets, and stockpiled weapons  Minutemen ◦ Militias which would be ready to fight in a minute’s notice

7.  April 1775 ◦ Several thousand British soldiers were in Boston ◦ Instructions to take away weapons and arrest leaders of the Massachusetts militia  700 British troops march to Concord (20 miles from Boston) to destroy weapons cache

8.  April 18, 1775  Paul Revere and William Dawes ride to Lexington to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock

10.  Lexington ◦ British redcoats discover 70 minutemen waiting on the town common ◦ 8 minutemen die ◦ British continue their march toward Concord  Concord ◦ British destroy some supplies ◦ Most had been removed before the British arrived ◦ Minutemen force the British to turn back to Boston

12.  British redcoats march from Concord to Boston ◦ Farmers, blacksmiths, and clerks hid among trees and stone fences ◦ As the British marched, the militia fired ◦ 174 wounded, 73 British soldiers dead  “shot heard ‘round the world”

13.  Captain of Connecticut militia  Given authority to raise an army and seize Fort Ticonderoga  Later during the war, Arnold sold military information to the British ◦ His treason was discovered and he fled to British- controlled New York City

15.  June 16, 1775  British victory ◦ Americans ran out of gunpowder and were forced to withdraw ◦ British had more than 1,000 men dead or wounded

16.  Loyalists: Those who chose to stay with Britain ◦ As many as 1/3 Americans ◦ Some lived in relative isolation and werent part of the waves of discontent ◦ Some expected the British would win and wanted to gain favor ◦ Loyalist support was largest in the Carolinas and Georgia  Patriots: Colonists who supported the war for independence ◦ 1/3 Americans ◦ British rule was unbearable ◦ Unfair taxes and regulations ◦ Patriot support strongest in New England