Day 1 Bellwork

• Define the following words– Reconciliation– Militia– Minutemen– Redcoat– Independence– Continental Army

Week 3

The Road to Revolution Continued

Fighting at Lexington and Concord• Redcoats looking for illegal weapons• Met 70 minutemen outside Concord in

Lexington, Massachusetts• British commander ordered minutemen to lay

down weapons. Minutemen began walking away with weapons

• British troop opened fire – Rebels killed• Redcoats continued to Concord• British met 3-4,000 minutemen. British killed &

retreated.• Significant because now, colonists are enemies

of the crown/Britain and had the remaining redcoats surrounded in Boston.

CFU

• What were the causes and outcomes of the battles at Lexington and Concord?

The Second Continental Congress

• May, 1775 meeting called in Philadelphia

• Figure out the next move.

• Colonists were split between independence and reconciliation

• Both sides agreed to acknowledge the colonial militia as the Continental Army

• Appointed George Washington as the commander

CFU

• What are two significant actions that took place at this second meeting?– Both sides agreed to acknowledge the

colonial militia as the Continental Army– Appointed George Washington as the

commander

• John Adams film- 10-15min

Day 2

• Bellwork– If you were in John Adam’s position, what do

you think you would do? Explain.

The Battle of Bunker Hill

• British general, Thomas Gage, ordered an attack on militiamen on Breed’s Hill, near Bunker Hill

• Results: Colonists lost 450 men, British lost 1,000

• Significance: deadliest battle of the war

• Colonies readying for war but still hoping for peace

• Congress sent King George the “olive branch,” July 8– Asking for peace– King rejected the offer– Issued proclamation stating the colonies were

in rebellion– Asked Parliament to order a naval blockade to

prevent ships from reaching America

CFU

• What were the consequences of the Battle of Bunker Hill?– Results: Colonists lost 450 men, British lost

1,000– Significance: deadliest battle of the war– King issued proclamation stating the colonies

were in rebellion– Asked Parliament to order a naval blockade to

prevent ships from reaching America

Activity

• Show a few political cartoons as examples.

• Create a political cartoon based on an event that happened under “The Road to Revolution” subsection, pg 50-51– Exaggerate– Use symbols– Cartoons make a point– Humor may be used

Day 3

• Bellwork– Why was the Battle of Bunker Hill a significant

battle during the revolution?• King declared colonies in rebellion• Blockade of ships to America

The Ideas Behind the Revolution

• Reasons colonists shifted opinion regarding independence– Enlightenment thinkers

• John Locke– Natural rights– Social contract

» People consent to be ruled as long as their natural rights are protected

» People have the right to resist if the government does not protect

• Religious traditions support cause of liberty– John Mayhew

• Preacher• Scriptures say that wise, brave, and virtuous men

were always friends of liberty

• Limited government and civil rights– Basic to English law since 1215 A.D.

• Magna Carta• Great Charter• English Bill of Rights

• Limited government continued…• Colonists felt Parliament violated their

rights– Due process– Speedy trial– Trial by a jury of peers– Taxation without representation– Presumption of innocence– No standing army during peacetime– No quartering troops in homes– Freedom of travel in peacetime– Regular legislative sessions

CFU

• Why might the ideas of the Enlightenment appeal to the colonists?– American colonists seeking independence

found support for their views in Locke’s assertion that people have a right to resist and overthrow an unfair government

Thomas Paine’s Common Sense

• Attacked King George and monarchy• Independence would allow American to trade

more freely• Independence would create a better society

– Free of tyranny– Equal social opportunities– Equal economic opportunities

• 500k copies sold in 1776• George Washington read it and promoted it

CFU

• How did Paine’s Common Sense seek to persuade colonists to support the cause of independence?– His pamphlet helped to overcome many

colonists’ doubts about separating from England

Declaring Independence

• Summer of 1776– Continental Congress urging colonies to form

own governments– Congress appointed a committee to prepare a

formal Declaration of Independence• Thomas Jefferson (Virginian lawyer) chosen to

prepare the final draft– Natural rights are Unalienable– Consent of governed– Right to abolish government

• Reasons for declaring independence– Violations committed by the king and

Parliament against the colonists’ unalienable rights

• Declaration states– All men are created equal

• Common belief that free citizens were political equals

• Not meant to embrace women, Native Americans, or African American slaves

– Words become important to freedom later on

• Originally Thomas Jefferson attacked slavery in the Declaration of Independence– This draft was rejected by Georgia and South

Carolina– Jefferson took slavery part out in order to get

their votes– July 2, 1776, delegates voted unanimously

that American colonies were free– Adopted Declaration of Independence

• Declared their freedom

CFU

• For what reasons did the colonists declare their independence from Great Britain?– Britain failed to protect the natural rights of the

colonists

Student Activity

• Cause and effect essay– Road to Revolution– Describe the cause and effect of 3 main

events that lead to the American colonies declaring independence from Britain

– 5 paragraph essay• 1 intro• 3 body paragraphs• 1 conclusion