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First Continental Congress
Met from September 5th to october 26 1774 in Philidelphia. All of the colonies sent delegates,except Georgia. They all united to show Britain they had combined authority, but the colonies were not there for all the same reasons. Some wanted to seek resolution with England while others were defensive of the colonies rights. http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/congress.htm -
Lexington and Concord
Made up of 2 battles. British troops were sent to Concord to capture John Hancock and Samuel Adams, but both men had been warned about the British attack. The night of April 18th, Paul Revere rode through Concord warning everybody about the British attack. This let the Americans prepare, they were waiting for the rebels at lexington. Started the Revolutionary war. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was presided over by John Hancock, who replaced the Peyton Randolph, and included some of the same delegates as the first, but with such notable additions as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. Many of the delegates expected at the outset, that the rupture between colony and mother country would be healed.
Major contributions included: Military Matters, Statements of Position, Financing the War, Independence, Opening of Diplomatic Channels and Legislation. -
Army of the Continental Congress
On May 10th the Second continental Congress met and discussed making a continental army to protect the colonies and coordinate military efforts. On June 14th it was approved. The new army was made of 27,000 militiamen.
George Washington was Commander-in-cheif. www.army.mil/article/40562/continental-congress-authorizes-army -
Battle of Bunker Hill
Part of the Siege of Boston and was the second battle of the Revolutionary War. The British were victorious but they suffered a devastating loss of more than 1,000 casualties. http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Battle_of_Bunker_Hill#Aftermath -
Olive Branch petition.
John Dickinson drafted the Olive Branch Petition. It was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 5 and submitted to King George on July 8, 1775. It was an attempt to assert the rights of the colonists while maintaining their loyalty to the British crown. King George refused to read the petition and proclaimed that the colonists had proceeded to open and avowed rebellion. http://www.learner.org/workshops/primarysources/revolution/docs/olive.html -
Common Sense published
Pamphlet written by Thomas Paine. The pamphlet challenged the authority of the Royal Monarchy and the British Government. It was also the first work to declare independence from Great Britain. http://www.ushistory.org/paine/commonsense/ -
Declaration of Independence.
This announced and explained that the thirteen American colonies no longer considered themselves part of the British empire (who they were currently at war with). Thomas Jefferson composed the original draft, which congress would edit to produce the final version. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence -
Trenton
The americans needed a win to boost the morals of the soldiers. Washington along with 2,500 soldiers crossed the Delaware River in a snow storm. They caught the British soldiers sleeping, killing over one hundred men and taking another thousand prisoners.
Not a single American was killed. This was a major boost for the American war effort. http://www.kidport.com/RefLib/UsaHistory/AmericanRevolution/TrentonBattle.htm -
Saratoga
Battles of Saratoga fought on September 19th and October 7th.
General John Burgoyne thought he could defeat the Americans by leading an army from Canada into the Hudson River valley. He pushed his men too hard and was short on supplies but he decided to press on. But, suffering more than 600 casualties, he was forced to withdraw.
This was a major victory for the American forces and a key turning point in the war. http://www.shmoop.com/american-revolution/saratoga-battle.html -
Valley Forge
Valley Forge in Pennsylvania was the site of the military camp of the American Continental Army over the winter of 1777–1778 during the American Revolutionary War. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_forge -
France
Assisted in the victory of the Americans seeking independence from Britain. The American Revolution was well received in France, both by the general population and the educated classes. The Revolution was perceived as the incarnation of the Enlightenment Spirit against the "English tyranny."
the American Revolution was one of the many contributing factors to the French Revolution. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France_in_the_American_Revolutionary_War -
Charleston
Britain took the Americans by surprise and defeated them, taking over Charleston. This was a severe blow to the colonies. It was the greatest loss of manpower and equipment of the war for the Americans and gave the British nearly complete control of the Southern colonies. http://theamericanrevolution.org/battledetail.aspx?battle=23 -
Yorktown
This was the last major battle of the revolutionary war. General Lord Cornwallis surrendered which prompted the British government eventually to negotiate an end to the conflict. http://theamericanrevolution.org/battledetail.aspx?battle=29 -
Treaty of Paris
This treaty officially ended the revolutionary war and granted political freedom to the new country of the United States from Britain. http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312848/treatyofparis1783.htm
