Road to Independence

1
Road to Independence

• Moving Toward Independence
• p. 147 - 151

2
Colonial Leaders Emerge

• On May 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress
  met for the first time.
• This meeting included many great political
  leaders in America John Jay, John and Sam Adams,
  Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, George
  Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, and
  Thomas Jefferson
• Benjamin Franklin represented the colonies in
  London during the Stamp Act Crisis, and helped
  secure the repeal of the act.

3
Colonial Leaders Emerge

• The Second Continental Congress began to govern
  the colonies.
• It created a Continental Army to fight against
  Britain in a more organized way than the colonial
  militias could.
• George Washington was unanimously voted as the
  commander.

4
Colonial Leaders Emerge

• The Congress sent a petition, or formal request,
  to King George III giving him one last chance to
  avoid all-out war.
• This petition is called the Olive Branch
  Petition.
• It assured the king of the colonists desire for
  peace.
• It asked the king to protect the colonists
  rights.
• King George III refused to receive the Olive
  Branch Petition and instead prepared for war.
• George III hired 30,000 German troops to send to
  America to fight beside British troops.

5
Moving Toward Independence

• Some Americans still hoped to avoid a complete
  break With Britain, but support for absolute
  independence was growing.
• In January 1776, Thomas Paine published a
  pamphlet called Common Sense that captured the
  attention of the American colonists.
• Paine called for complete independence from
  Britain.
• He argued that it was common sense to stop
  following the royal brute, King George III.
• Paine explained the cause was not just a squabble
  over taxes, but a struggle for freedom.
• Common Sense inspired thousands of Americans.

6
The Colonies Declared Independence

• At the Second Continental Congress, Thomas
  Jefferson was selected to write the Declaration
  of Independence.
• After some changes, the Congress approved
  Jeffersons draft of the declaration of
  independence on July 4, 1776.
• John Hancock, the president of the Congress, was
  first to sign and declared he wrote his name
  large enough for King George to read it without
  his glasses.
• Copies of the declaration were sent to the newly
  declared states.

7
The Declaration of Independence

• The Declaration has 4 sections
• Preamble, or introduction, states that people who
  wish to form a new country should explain their
  reasons for doing so.
• Next two sections list the rights the colonists
  believed they should have and their complaints
  against Britain.
• The last, proclaims the existence of the new
  nation.
• The Declaration states that government exists to
  protect rights and lists many grievances
  Americans had against the king and Parliament.

8
The Declaration of Independence

• The Declaration ends by announcing Americans new
  status a new nation.
• The struggle for American independence the
  American Revolution had begun.