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Battle of Lexington and Concord
General Thomas Gage ordered British troops to go to Lexington to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock, also to Concord where the colonists had stored arms and ammunition. But William Dawes and Paul Revere had warned the minutemen about this, but the British destroyed supplies in Concord.Even so the Colonists fired at the British, and the British marched back to Boston but suffered many casualties.This marked the start of the Revolutionary War. -
Second Continental Congress
The second continental congress met in 1775 in Philadelphia. There, delegates from the 13 colonies met. They basically decided what to do next. They were the ones who wrote the Olive Branch Petition. Which stated that they wanted peace and no fighting as long as Britain is fair. Though this instead enraged the King. Which was important because it led to the King sending troops to the colonies and the forming of the Continental Army -
Battle of Bunker Hill
After the battle of Lexington And concord that British went back to Boston where around 10,000 minutemen were surrounding the city. When the colonists had taken Breed's Hill, the redcoats tried to get them out. The first 2 attacks were unsuccessful by the third attempt they succeeded after the Colonist had ran out of ammunition. This was important because even though the british won the Patriots inflicted several casualties on them so that was major help to them -
The Publishing of Common Sense
It’s a pamphlet by Thomas Paine that was written to convince people to fight for their independence. It was the best seller back then because big ideas and plans were written in simple words which made it easy to understand. Some main ideas portrayed in the common sense were make big changes in society,The king should not be seen as a type of father figure, and challenge the idea of monarchy itself. He gave the people power to express what they truly feel and fight for what they want. -
Signing of the Declaration -
The Declaration of Independence is a document, approved and signed on July 4, 1776 in the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia. The document had been mainly written by Thomas Jefferson but influenced by Hobbes and Locke. The document had declared that the colonists were not a part of Great Britain anymore. The colonists thought that the king and Parliament was unjust and they were not treating them right.To convey this they separated it into 4 sections explaining their reasoning. -
Battle of Trenton and Princeton
Washington decided to surprise attack Trenton.He led his troops across the Delaware River.The Americans surprised the Hessian troops guarding Trenton and took most of them prisoner. Cornwallis set out to retake Trenton and to capture Washington. He saw Washington's campfires. Washington left the fires burning on purpose and went behind British lines to attack the British that headed toward Princeton and won.This was important because they conquered the strong hessian mercenaries. -
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Battles of Oriskany and Saratoga
In 1777 the British had planned to divide New England from the other colonies by getting New York state. .General Burgoyne was supposed to go from Canada to Albany, Colonel Barry St.Leger was supposed to go lead an army from Canada to Oswego and then east to Albany.General Howe was to go from NYC to Albany. The plan failed. St.Ledger is defeated at the Battle of Oriskany and Howe instead moved to Philly, winning some battles against Washington and Burgoyne lost in Saratoga. -
Battle of Cowpens
January 1781, General Morgan won a significant victory at Cowpens, South Carolina. Morgan divided his soldiers into a front line and a rear line. He ordered the line to retreat after firing 2 volleys. The British thought the Americans were leaving so they charged forward, straight into the fire of Morgan's second rank. In this way, the Americans won the Battle of Cowpens. Although the Americans retreated, the British had great losses. -
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The Battle of Yorktown
General Cornwallis retreated to Yorktown peninsula. He did not follow orders and the American army had cornered him and he could not escape. French navy had blocked him off by sea. On October 19, 1781 Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington as French and American forces trapped the British at Yorktown.This was a very important event because the British surrendering at Yorktown ended the war. -
Treaty of Paris 1783
On April 15, 1783, Congress approved the Treaty of Paris.The British saw the United States as a independent nation.The land extended from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. The northern border of the United States stopped at the Great Lakes. The southern border stopped at Florida which was returned to Spain.The Americans had agreed to ask the state legislatures to pay Loyalists for property they had sadly lost in the war.
