The American Revolution

The first shots starting the revolution were fired at Lexington, Massachusetts. On April 18, 1775, British General Thomas Gage sent 700 soldiers to destroy guns and ammunition the colonists had stored in the town of Concord, just outside of Boston. They also planned to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock, two of the key leaders of the patriot movement.

The British Army's infantry, nicknamed "redcoats" and sometimes "devils" by the colonists, had occupied Boston and had been augmented by naval forces and marines to enforce the Intolerable Acts, which had been passed by the British Parliament to punish the Province of Massachusetts Bay for the Boston Tea Party and other acts of protest. Thomas Gage had no control over Massachusetts outside of Boston, where implementation of the Acts had increased tensions between the Patriot Whig majority and the Tory minority. Gage's plan was to avoid conflict by removing military supplies from the Whig militias using small, secret and rapid strikes. This struggle for supplies led to one British success and then to several Patriot successes in a series of nearly bloodless conflicts known as the Powder Alarms.

On April 14, 1775, Gage received instructions from Secretary of State William Legge, to disarm the rebels, who were known to have hidden weapons in Concord, among other locations, and to imprison the rebellion's leaders, especially Samuel Adams and John Hancock. William gave Gage considerable discretion in his commands.

The Lexington militia in particular began to muster early that evening, hours before receiving any word from Boston. A well known story alleges that after nightfall one farmer, Josiah Nelson, mistook the British patrol for the colonists and asked them, "Have you heard anything about when the regulars are coming out?", upon which he was slashed on his scalp with a sword.

The rebellion's ringleaders with exception of Paul Revere and Joseph Warren had all left Boston April. They had received word of William's secret instructions to General Gage from sources in London before they reached Gage himself. Adams and Hancock had fled Boston to the home of one of Hancock's relatives in Lexington where they thought they would be safe from the immediate threat of arrest.

Between 9 and 10 pm on the night of April 18, 1775, Joseph Warren told William Dawes and Paul Revere that the King's troops were about to embark in boats from Boston bound for Cambridge and the road to Lexington and Concord. Warren's intelligence suggested that the most likely objectives of the regulars' movements later that night would be the capture of Adams and Hancock. They did not worry about the possibility of regulars marching to Concord, since the supplies at Concord were safe, but they did think their leaders in Lexington were unaware of the potential danger that night. Revere and Dawes were sent out to warn them and to alert colonial militias in nearby towns.


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Patrick Henry: "I am not Virginian, but an American!"

This are some facts about some of the independence leaders that are silly but they are true! enjoy :)


Jonh Hancock
He was born rich, and was an orphan. He was adopted by his uncle, and inherited his uncle's business of importing tea, wine and other things from England. Soon he figured out how to bribe the tax collector so he dind't have to pay taxes, he was called "King of the Smugglers", he was proud as a peacock and dressed like one too, his favorite color was purple, and ended up spending most of his fortune supporting the American Revolution.


Patrick Henry

When he was a child he was very lazy, he didn't like to study, neither work on his father's farm. His interests were to wander through the woods, gun in hand, hunting for game, or to sit on the bank of some stream fishing by the hour. When not enjoying himself outdoors he might be heard playing his violin.
His parents did not know what to do with him, so they decided to put him, when fifteen years old, as clerk into a little country store. Here he remained for a year, and then opened a store of his own. But he was still too lazy to attend to business, and soon his store failed.
When he was only eighteen years old, he married. The parents of the young couple gave them a small farm and a few slaves. But it was the same story. The young farmer would not take the trouble to look after his affairs, and let things drift. So before long the farm had to be sold to pay debts. Once more Patrick turned to storekeeping, but after a few years he failed again.
When he was twenty-three years old, he was unemployee, and had a wife and family to support. So at this time he decided to become a lawyer. He borrowed some law-books, and after studying for six months, he applied for permission to practice law. Although he passed but a poor examination, he at last was started on the right road.
He succeeded well in his law practice, and in a few years had so much business that people in his part of Virginia began to take notice of him. In 1765, soon after the Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament, he was elected a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses.


Samuel Adams
He did more than any one else to arouse the love of liberty in his colony, was born in Boston in 1722. His childhood was quite different from Patrick Henry's. He liked to go to school and to learn from books, and he cared little for outdoor life or sport of any kind.
As he grew up, his father wished him to become a clergyman, but Samuel preferred to study law. His mother opposing this, he entered upon business life. This perhaps was a mistake, for he did not take to business, and, like Patrick Henry, he soon failed, even losing most of the property his father had left him.


By: Kellyn & Andrea

The Bostonians actions agreed the Parliament and the crown. Coercive Acts by form. No ships could get in Boston until the colonists paid for the tea thrown to the ocean. The Governor dissolved the elected assemblies and house meetings. The king sent warships and troops to the colonies. The Intolerable Act, colonists were out ranged with the British.

Intolerable Acts
Colonists were asked to give shelter to the soldiers. If they committed a crime, they were sent back to British. The Quebec Act lowered the Southern borders and then wanted land that was already taken. Rejected the idea that British could shut down trade. Rural Massachusetts people rejected the violence, armed themselves and forced the British to shut down the courts. Also assaulted anybody that accepted the act.

The Colonies Take Action
Fortunately for Massachusetts, the other colonies rejected the acts. In the fall of 1774, delegates from all colonies, except Georgia, met in Philadelphia and made the "First Continental Congress". Virginia delegate included Patrick Henry. He declared "The distinction between Virginians, Philadelphians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders are no more. I am not Virginian, but American".
By spring of 1775 - a newly arrived immigrant said that all colonies were liberty mad. In 1774, John Adams had decided that he already lived in the new country. He also believed Americans could unite and defeat Britain.
John Adams was ahead of most colonists. British would use red coast. If the Parliament stop taxing, the colonists would stay calm. It took two years for the people realize that they needed to go in independization.


Patrick Henry

Officers abused of power. There were fewer colonies. This protest were bigger in Boston. The elected assembly were closed down. The consume officers seized liberty by boat.
In June 1768, the ship was smuggling. The boat belong to John Hancock. He was a wealthy merchant and a prominent politician. The capturing of the boat created revolves to begin a gang. To suppress the riot, England send 4,000 troops, 16,000 colonists in Boston. For over a year, the presence of troops for the colonists infuriated anger.
One night in March 1770, a group of colonists threw snowballs and stones to the soldiers in guard of the costumes house, this soldiers opened fire and killed five people. Between this five people, was Crispus Attucks, he was half African and half Indian.
They called the killing "The Boston Massacre". Adams did the Committees of correspondence throughout Massachusetts. In 1773, several of the colonies created committees. This build colonial unity because colonies could unite against British, boycott them. They took down all the taxes except for the tea. They decided to buy Dutch Tea instead of British Tea.


Boston Tea Party
British East India Company were struggling. The Parliament allowed to help and save their company. They decided that they would sell the tea cheaper, but still didn't buy the tea. The colonists knew that the British wanted to trick them by putting taxes.
In December 16, 1773 - Boston Patriots disguised as Indians with taxes. Indians got into a British boat and dumped all the tea into the ocean, this was called "The Boston Tea Party". This act would be followed by a set of rules placed on the colonists called Intolerable Acts.
Now people say, "lets party like 1773".

Some colonial leaders opposes taxes to control and coordinate their protests. Nine colonies sent delegates and held "The Stamp Act" in New York City in October 1765. This Congress encouraged a consuming boycott -to not buy anything from England-, which was a non important agreement.
Women played an important role in boycott. They needed "homespun" cloth to make clothes. This women that help down were called "The Daughters of Liberty". They wanted their respect from the clothes.
By 1776 they already repealed the Act.













New Taxes Lead to New Protests
Samuel Adams showed that the colonists were not going to pay direct acts to the British but the British government needed money. Charles Townshend was the crowns' chief financial officer. He thought that if you placed indirect taxes to the colonies, they wouldn't notice.
In 1767, the Parliament permitted the Townshed Act Glass to issue a new set of taxes on in demand products such as paint, lead, paper, tea, everyday product. But colonists didn't like it. The Governor and Judges will be on hands of the Parliaments, colonists went against it. They didn't want to loose control over the Governors.

Taxes took 3 forms:
-Intellectual protests: wrote pamphlets, drafted resolutions, gave speeches, and delivered sermons.
-Economic Boycotts
-Violent intimidation
They were combined to force the British to back down, to defy the British from taxes. There was a surge in politics.
Surge: strong wavelike, forward movement.
John Adams was the 2nd President of the United Stated of America, prominent Massachusetts lawyer.

Enlightenment Ideas
Colonial protest gave the idea of the enlightenment. Baron of Montesquieu was a French enlightenment. John Locke a British enlightenment, argued that people had rights for life, liberty and property. He said good government would protect those rights. He insisted that these rights should be counted on. Patrick Henry was a young Virginian Representative.
John Locke



In May 30th 1765 - Virginia House Burgess's accepted most of the resolves and rejected 2 because they were too radical.
In October 1765 delegates from nine colonies met in New York to petition the King for relief. Almost against their will, the colonists were beginning to see themselves as Americans rather than Virginians or New Yorkers.
A newspaper published that all resolves were accepted, thinking that they were really accepted, but 4 of the colonies didn't adopt the results.