A%20Call%20To%20Arms

1
A Call To Arms

• Chapter 5 Section 3

2
The Continental Congress

• Met in September 1774
• 55 Delegates from every colony except Georgia met
  in Philadelphia to talk about American interests
• John Adams
• Sam Adams
• John Jay
• Richard Henry Lee
• Patrick Henry
• George Washington
• The distinctions between Virginians,
  Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders,
  are no more. I am not a Virginian, but an
  American. -Patrick Henry

3
What happened at the Congress

• The delegates drafted a statement of grievances
  calling for the repeal of 13 acts of Parliament.
• Boycotted British goods
• Forbade the sale of Colonial goods to Britain.
• Congress decided to support the Suffolk Resolves
  which stated that people of the colonies should
  start arming themselves, and start forming
  militias.

4
The First Battles

• The colonists expected that if fighting broke out
  that it would happen in New England.
• Militia from New England started to train and
  boasted that they could be ready in a minutes
  notice, and called themselves minutemen.

5
The British send more troops

• King George sent more troops to the colonies and
  by April 1775 several thousand troops were in and
  around Boston.
• The leader of the British troops, Thomas Gage
  learned that the local militia was storing arms
  and ammunition in the town of Concord

6
Alerting the Colonists

• On the night of April 18, 1775 is a famous night
  in American history where William Dawes and Paul
  Revere rode to Lexington to warn people that the
  British were on their way.

7
Lexington and Concord

• In Lexington minutemen met the British troops on
  the town common.
• A shot was fired and the revolutionary war
  officially began
• As the British troops moved towards weapon stores
  in concord they met heavy resistance on the way.
  
• By the time they made it back to Boston 73 were
  killed and 174 were wounded.

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9
Bunker Hill

• On June 16, 1775, 1,200 militiamen under the
  command of Colonel William Prescott, set up
  fortifications at Bunker Hill across the harbor
  from Boston.
• The British decided to drive the Americans from
  their post on the hill.
• Colonel Prescott gave the order, Dont fire
  until you see the whites of their eyes.
• The Americans eventually had to retreat when they
  ran out of gunpowder but not until they had
  wounded or killed 1,000 British troops.

10
Choosing Sides

• Loyalists- colonists that believed that the
  offenses that Britain had done were not reason
  enough to start a revolution.
• Patriots- colonists that supported the
  revolution. They believed that British rule had
  become unbearable.