The American Revolution and Confederation, 1774-1787

APUSH

First Continental Congress

All colonies except Georgia met in Sept 1774 in response to the Intolerable Acts

No intentions or desire for independence at this time

Just wanted to protest British taxes and go back to the way things were prior to the French and Indian War

Delegates included: Patrick Henry, John Adams, George Washington, & John Jay

Actions of the First Continental Congress

Created the Suffolk Resolves which called for immediate repeal of the Intolerable Acts, makes military preparations, and boycotts British goods

Issued Declaration of Rights and Grievances to the King and Parliament

Formed “The Association”, urged creation of committees to enforce boycotts

If Britain didn’t make changes, they promised to meet again

Britain’s Response

King George III angrily dismisses the petition of FCC

Declared Massachusetts in a state of rebellion

Sent additional troops to deal with the unruly colonists

Fighting will soon erupt

Lexington and Concord April 18, 1775

General Gage and his British soldiers go to Concord to seize colonial supplies

Paul Revere and William Dawes warn the militia that the British are on their way

In Lexington, the militia is forced to retreat and the British continue their march to Concord

In Concord, they destroy some colonial military supplies

Lexington and Concord

While returning to Boston, the British soldiers were attacked by militiamen and suffered 250 casualties

Very humiliating for the British Unclear which side actually fired the

first shots

Bunker Hill (Breeds Hill)June 17, 1775

Actual battle, not a scuffle like Lexington and Concord

Occurred on the outskirts of Boston British managed to capture the hill

from the militia but suffered heavy losses

British had about 1,000 casualties

Second Continental Congress

Met in Philadelphia in May 1775 Some delegates wanted to declare

independence, some still wanted to make peace with Britain

Congress adopted plan to establish an army, led by George Washington

Sent the “Olive Branch Petition” to King George III as a last attempt at peace

Common Sense

King George III rejected the petition and declared the colonies in a state of rebellion

Thomas Paine published his essay, Common Sense which persuaded many colonies to push for independence

He said it went against common sense for a tiny country (England) to rule a large country (America)

Declaration of Independence

Lee Resolution was adopted on July 2, 1776, formally declared independence

Committee was formed to write a statement to support the resolution

Thomas Jefferson drafted the declaration which included a list of grievances against the king and other reasons for revolution

Declaration was adopted on July 4, 1776

Patriots

Most were from New England and Virginia

Continental Army was made up of farmers that would fight for a while then leave to go home and work

Washington only had about 20,000 troops at one time

Short on supplies, poorly equipped, and rarely paid

Patriots

African Americans participated in most of the military actions of the war

5,000 would fight on the side of the Patriots

Most were freemen from the North Some fought in units of mixed race,

some fought in all African units Peter Salem was an African recognized

for his bravery

Loyalists

Tories: Americans who maintained their support of the King

Tories fought alongside the British and provided food, supplies, and information

About 520,000-780,000 Tories during the war

Most from Georgia, New York, and New Jersey

Most Tories were wealthy government officials or Anglican clergymen

Native Americans

Tried to stay out of the war at first Attacks by Americans led most Native

Americans to side with the British British promised to limit colonial

settlement in the west

Initial American Losses

1775-1777 went badly for Washington’s troops

By the end of 1777, the British controlled New York and Philadelphia

After losing Philadelphia, Washington and his troops suffer through the winter at Valley Forge (2,000 die from exposure)

Trade was difficult, supplies were scarce, and inflation was rampant

American paper money was considered worthless

Alliance with France

Turning point for Americans was the Battle of Saratoga in Oct 1777

Diplomatic result was most important The American win persuaded France to

join their side against the British Marquis de Lafayette and Benjamin

Franklin both worked as ambassadors to secure this alliance

French provide money, supplies, and troops

American Victory

British started to concentrate their efforts in the South were there were more Tories

1781 the last major battle will occur at Yorktown, VA

British General Cornwallis was trapped between Washington and the French navy and forced to surrender

Treaty of Paris 1783

After Yorktown, the war lost support in England because the toll it was taking on the economy

Treaty stated:› Britain would recognize American

independence› Mississippi River would be the west boundary› Americans would have fishing rights off

Canada› Americans would pay debts owed to British

merchants and return Loyalists property

State Governments

By the end of the war, most colonies had a written constitution

Each constitution had the following:› List of rights and freedoms (basic)› Separation of powers (executive,

legislative, judicial)› Voting (property holders)› Office-holding (property holders)

Articles of the ConfederationStructure

Created by John Dickinson and submitted to the states in 1777 for “ratification”

Finally ratified in March 1781 Created a central government with a

unicameral Congress Each state got one representative 9 out of 13 states had to agree to pass a

law To amend the articles, all 13 states had to

agree

Articles of the ConfederationPowers

Congress could wage war, make treaties, borrow money, and deal with foreign nations

Congress was NOT given the powers of regulating trade, collecting taxes, or enforcing its own laws

There was no president, executive branch, or federal courts

Articles of the ConfederationAccomplishments

The Articles, although weak, accomplished the following:› Winning the war and negotiating a

favorable treaty with Great Britain› Land Ordinance of 1785: surveyed western

lands and set aside land in each for public education

› Northwest Ordinance of 1787: set rules for creating new states in the west

Articles of the ConfederationProblems

Financial: Congress could not tax to raise money

Foreign: Other nations did not repect the US because the national government was weak and it couldn’t pay off debts

Domestic: Shay’s Rebellion highlighted problems of debt and worthless currency. Made national government weaknesses obvious

Social Change

US would not grant titles of nobility States adopted the policy of separation

of Church and State Women still treated as second class

citizens even though they had kept the farms and businesses running during war. Some even fought in battles

Many called for end to slavery but Southern states thought it was essential to their economy