Lesson 4:
1. The second continental congress:
* May 10, 1775
* 1774, continental congress agrees to meet again if British did not address their concerns
* Battles of Lexington and Concord
1. Distinguished Leaders
1. John and Samuel Adams (cousins)
2. Patrick Henry - awesome speech person, riled up colonists
3. Richard Henry Lee - similar to Patrick Henry
4. George Washington
* 1-4 servers their second term in congress (previously in first continental congress)
5. Benjamin Franklin
* Most respected in all of 13 colonies
* Leader in Pennsylvania legislature
* In 1765, he represented the 13 colonies in London. Was chosen to represent the colonies
* Ben Franklin helped repeal the stamp act (helped get rid of it)
6. John Pancock was from Massachusetts
* Was a wealthy merchant / rich / owned a store
* Funded Sons of Liberty
* Funded many patriot groups
* Chosen to be the president of the second continental congress out of 55 delegates
7. Colonists were not ready to break away from Britain
B. Key Actions
1. Authorized the printing of money
2. They had to set up a post office
3. They had to set up communities to handle relationships with native Americans and other foreign places
4. They created a continental army (different from a militia)
* Could carry out and form strategy when attacking the British
5. They chose George Washington to command the continental army
* They chose him because he was an experienced soldier
* He was a respected southerner
* He left Philadelphia to take charge of Boston forces
6. The delegates gave the British one last chance to avoid war
C. War Heats Up
1. Congress learns that troops in Canada plan to invade colonies
2. America decided strong strike first
3. Colonists go to Fort Ticonderoga to capture Fort Montreal
4. Captured Montreal but attack on Quebec failed, lead by Benedict Arnold
5. George Washington
* Reached Boston from Philadelphia on July 17, 1775
* British controlled Boston
* George Washington is the electoral leader of the continental army
* The militia continue to gather to Boston but they don’t listen, not disciplined
* Turns civilians into soldiers
Weapons:
* In need of weapons
* Arranged dozens of canons from Boston
* George Washington believes his army is ready to fight (March 17, 1776)
* In the dark, George Washington moved his soldiers and cannons into the Boston harbor
6. British are surprised
7. William Howe, British general, orders redcoats to leave Boston harbor on a ship
8. British left Boston on boats
D. Moving Toward Independence
1. Many colonists held hope that they would hang onto Britain (Loyalists)
2. Support for independence was growing ( Patriots)
3. Thomas Paine - writer
* Inspired patriots
* Came from England 1774
* Caught the revolution spirit as a British person and became a patriot
* January 1776 he published a pamphlet called “Common Sense”
* Tells colonists to make a complete break from British rule
* Listed reasons why America was better off independent
* Influenced opinions across colonies
II. Declaring Independence
* Debate at second continental congress
* Debate independence
* Stay under British rule
* Richard Henry Lee in June 1776…
* Offered bifold resolutions
* “All colonies ought to be free/independent”
* “All ties with Britain should be broken off/nonexistent
Debate Resolution
* Some believed colonies shouldn’t form a nation
* Some believed they should be independent because of the war
* Some feared Britain's power
1. Writing the Declaration
1. Committee chosen to write the declaration of independence…
* John Adams
* Benjamin Franklin
* Thomas Jefferson
* Robert Livingston
* Rodger Sherman
2. Adam’s asked Thomas Jefferson to write the first draft
3. Jefferson hesitates, Adams gives him reasons to write it
* Jefferson was a Virginian
* Virginians ought to be the head of independence
* Adams says he is obnoxious and loud which is less convincing
* Jefferson is the complete opposite from Adams
* Jefferson was a lot better writer that Adams
4. Jefferson's ideas came from John Locke, British Philosopher
5. 1690’s John Locke
* People are born with certain natural rights to life
* People form governments to protect those right
* Governments that interfered with those frights can be overthrown
* Jefferson and other patriots agree with John Locke
* July 2nd, 1776 the second continental congress voted on independence
* All colonies except New York voted for independence
6. Delegates discuss Jefferson's draft/the reason of independence
* Some changes are made
* July 4th, 1776 the declaration of independence was approved
* John Hancock was the first to sign
7. Declaration of Independence was printed
* Printed papers were sent to all 13 states
* George Washington had the paper read to his troops in New York on July 9th, 1776
* Worcester, Massachusetts had a public reading of the declaration
B. Declaration of Independence (Parts)
1. Preamble (Introduction)
2. Declaration of natural rights (life, liberty, property)
3. List of what we did not like
4. Resolution of Independence