welcome to part two and a half yep two and a half we're still in those causes of the Revolutionary work there's so many it's going to take a while so buckle up that seat belt we're going for a ride on the roadway of [Music] learning in our last video we left off talking about the Boston Tea Party what it was and why it happened obviously the king would not let this go without consequences for the colonists in response to the Boston Tea Party parliament passed several laws to punish Boston the Patriots called The Intolerable Acts there were four main punishments created by these laws first Boston Harbor would be closed until the citizens of Boston paid for the tea dumped overboard this would cut off all trade by sea and takeway paychecks from many people in Boston second they took control of the colony away from Massachusetts by limiting Town meetings to once a year and replacing all government officials by people who were appointed by the King the third thing they did was protect these government officials by only allowing them to be tried for crimes in Britain this really meant they could do whatever they wanted to because if they were accused of a crime they would most likely not face any consequences since their trial would happen in Britain and there would be no evidence finally the fourth Act was the quartering act which required the housing of British soldiers although many people talk about soldiers being housed in homes there was a stipulation in the law that stated they must be housed in unused buildings this was also the least protested Act of the four in the end the laws would not stop the rebels it would instead create sympathy for them and encourage more people to join the cause of Revolution as more and more people join the cause of Independence it was only a matter of time before the war would break out the first battles of the war were minor and unplanned clashes between the colonial militia and British regulars the first encounter would take place at Lexington Green just outside of Boston the British had heard that rebels in conquered had a large supply of weapons that needed to be taken in the early morning of April 19th 1775 British soldiers were marching to conquered when they noticed a militia assembled in Lexington the British officer Thomas Gage decided he should disperse this militia before moving on to conquered his soldiers lined up in formation across the graen from the militia and he gave them the order go home clear the field the rebels refused and they were at a standoff both sides knew that if they fired they would be starting a war suddenly a gun fired although we don't know who fired it it would be known as the shot herd round the world as it would be the first shot fired in a war that would create the United States outnumbered the militia dropped back and the British regulars affixed bayonets and charged killing eight colonists alt together after the colonist had left the field the British soldiers continued on to conquered once there they searched and found very few weapons Colonial Intel tipped them off weeks earlier to British plans and they had already moved the weapons what little they did find they decided to burn as words spread about what had happened in Lexington more and more Colonists came out to protect their towns as they looked on conquered and saw smoke they assumed that the British had burned the town down as the British left having finished their job they encountered Colonial militia at the North Bridge after a brief firefight the British retreated and reformed their lines under attack they knew they had to return to Boston to reach safety as they marched back they faced constant attack from the colonist who would fire from the woods surrounding the road and then retreat by the time the British reached Boston they had almost 300 men killed wounded or missing the colonial militia would continue to grow and Surround Boston for 2 months before the next major fight at Bunker Hill the Battle of Bunker Hill actually occurred on breedz Hill which was a highly strategic location because it overlooked Boston Harbor a few well-placed canid would make it impossible for the British to keep control of Boston the colonist had control of breedz Hill and had dug in creating Earthworks which are trenches for soldiers to hide behind while firing at the enemy the British however were determined to take control of the hill and decided a full frontal attack would be the tactic used this tactic would lead to a great loss of life for the British but also sent a message to the colonist that the mother country was strong and would sacrifice much to remain in control of the colonies I think we have a clip of this amazing battle that's it we took the hill yes but over a thousand of our men have been wounded or killed well there you ago the British took the hill but it would come with a high price with over 1,000 British soldiers killed or wounded with more and more violence between the colonist and Britain the American makeshift Congress decided to reach out the king with something called the Olive Branch Petition which pledged loyal to the king in exchange for dropping the taxes and trade restrictions put on the colonies King George didn't even read the letter stating that the colonists were in outright rebellion and would be dealt with by the Army this rejection LED both sides to admit that war was at hand and would not be avoided the only thing left for the colon to do was to announce this decision to the world this be done through a document known as the Declaration of Independence once enough votes were given by the Continental Congress Thomas Jefferson was given the task to write it he relied on help and advice from Benjamin Franklin to come up with the document we know today in this document America announced to the world what rights they believe mankind should have all the wrongs done to them by the king and finally declare war stating it was the only way to write these wrongs this document endures today because of its ideals and bold stating of our independence so what well if you can answer the following questions and you'll learn learn learn what you need to know what was the king's response to the Boston Tea Party what happened at Lexington Concord and braids Hill finally who wrote the Declaration of Independence and what was it announcing to the world tune in next time when we talk about the differences between the Loyalists and the Patriots