U.S. History
Chapter 7: The American RevolutionSection 1: The Revolution Begins
The First Continental Congress
•Sept 1774: First Continental Congress assembles in Philadelphia
•How to respond to crisis in Boston
The First Continental Congress
•First Continental Congress’ Response:
–Continue boycott
–Prepare militia incase violence breaks out
–Meet again May 1775
The “Shot Heard round the World”
•Minutemen—members of the Boston militia
The “Shot Heard round the World”
• April 1775: Gage decides to seize minutemen weapons at Concord
• Sons of Liberty learn of plan General Thomas
Gage
The “Shot Heard round the World”
Old North Church Steeple
The “Shot Heard round the World”
Paul Revere and William Dawes rode through the countryside warning of
the British march on Concord
Paul Revere William Dawes
The “Shot Heard round the World”
•Morning, April 19: 70 minutemen gathered at Lexington meet much larger British force
•“Do not fire unless fired upon…”
The “Shot Heard round the World”
•British march on Concord
•Weapons already removed
•Set fire to buildings, attacked by minutemen
The “Shot Heard round the World”
•Begin retreat back to Boston
•Redcoats—nickname for British soldiers, whose uniforms made them ideal targets
The “Shot Heard round the World”
•British: 250+ casualties
•Americans: Less than 100 casualties
The “Shot Heard round the World”
•Colonists outraged and shocked“The Bloody Butchery of the
British Troops”
The Second Continental Congress
•May 1775: delegates assemble at Philadelphia
•Olive Branch Petition
•Organize and funded an army to defend the colonies
The Second Continental Congress
Appointed George Washington commander of the Continental
Army
“But lest some unlucky event should happen unfavourable to my reputation, I beg it may be remembered by every Gentleman in the room, that I this day declare with the utmost sincerity, I do
not think myself equal to the Command I am honored with.”
--George Washington
Early Battles
•May 10, 1775: Colonists strike Ft. Ticonderoga
Early Battles
Ethan Allen Benedict Arnold
Early Battles
Minutemen held Boston under siege
Early Battles
•British troops plant to takeover Charlestown
•Patriot soldiers warned
•Build defenses on Bunker Hill & Breed’s Hill
Early Battles
Israel Putnam
“Do not fire until you see the
whites of their eyes.”
Early Battles
•The attack:
–1st wave: British repelled
–2nd wave: British repelled
–3rd wave: Patriots overrun
Early Battles
•Outcome:
–British: 1,000 casualties
–Americans: 400 casualties
Early Battles
"A few more such victories would have surely put an end to British
dominion in America.“
--General Henry Clinton
Early Battles
• Washington arrives to take command
• November 1775: Henry Knox sent to retrieve cannons from Ft. Ticonderoga
Henry Knox
Early Battles
March 1776: Cannons placed on Dorchester Heights
Early Battles
•March 7, 1776: Howe orders a retreat to Halifax
First Continental Congress
Second Continental Congress
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