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The Ideas behind the Revolutionary
Shift in public opinion occurred in large part because of the Enlightened ideas that had spread throughout the colonies in the 1760s and 1770s. Some of those famous ideas were the contract that the people make with the government (aka, the constitution), Liberty, independence, and many more. Many important people at the time supported this, like priest, Philosophers, and Colonial leaders. Thomas Paine attacked King George and the monarchy by writing a 50-page pamphlet titled Common sense. -
The warning
The night of April 18, 1775, Paul revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode out to spread word that 700 British troops were headed for Concord. -
The start of the end
General Thomas Cage ordered his troops to march from Boston to nearby Concord, Massachusetts, and to seize illegal weapons. -
First battle of the Revolutionary war
70 minutemen faced the 700 British troops. Eight minutemen were killed and 10 were injured; only one British soldier was injured. The battle lasted 15 minutes. Later on, while the british were on their way to Concord, the minutemen ambushed them with about 3,000 to 4,000 men; The British troops were defeated, and the remaining soldiers went back to Boston -
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The revolutionary war
Start and finish of the Revolutionary war -
New leader
Colonial leaders called the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to debate their next move. After many disputes, the Congress agreed to recognize the colonial militia as the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander -
The battle of Bunker Hill
British general Thomas Gage sent 2,400 British soldiers up to Breed's Hill to strike militiamen. The colonist lost 450 men, while the British lost 1,000 of theirs. This was the deadliest battle of the war -
Declaring independence
The Continental Congress decided to urge each colony to form its own government. While talks on this fateful motion were under way, the Congress appointed a committee to prepare a formal Declaration of Independence. Virginia lawyer Thomas Jefferson was chosen to prepare the final draft. -
Cutting the strings
The delegates voted unanimously that the American colonies were free and on July 4, 1776, they adopted the declaration of Independence. -
The War begins
The British sailed into New York harbor in the summer of 1776 with a force of about 32,000 soldiers -
victories and defeats
Washington led 2,400 men in small rowboats across the iced-choked Delaware River in order to defeat the hessians in Trenton, New Jersey; However, the British soon regrouped and in September of 1777, they captured the american Capital at Philadelphia. -
Saratoga
After a risky move made by General John Burgoyne to reunite with the other British forces at Philadelphia, the American colonists ambushed Burgoyne's troops and defeated them. -
The help
After hearing the news of the British troops defeat by the Americans in Saratoga, The French decided to sign an alliance with the Americans. -
New soldiers
Many foreign warlords (like Friedrich Von Steuben) helped train the American troops -
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Aftermath
The war becomes a symbol of Liberty, and new ideas like Egalitarianism (a belief in the equality of all people) started to rise up in the new nation. -
The British move South
At the end of 1778, the British stared looking for a new settlement, specifically in the south. in may 1780, the British captured Charles town, South Carolina. -
Life during the revolution
Due to the economic problems that the Congress was having, in 1781, the Congress pointed a rich Philadelphia merchant named Robert Morris as superintendent of finance. -
The British surrender at Yorktown
about 17,000 French and American troops surrounded the British in Yorktown. -
Peace
In September 1783, the delegates signed the Treaty of Paris, which confirmed U.S. independence and set the boundaries of the new nation.