The document summarizes key events from 1775-1783 during the American Revolutionary War. It describes the initial fighting in 1775 that began with the Battles of Lexington and Concord and George Washington taking command of the Continental Army. The Second Continental Congress was formed and created the Continental Army. In 1776, Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" persuaded many to pursue independence, and the Declaration of Independence was approved on July 4th. The British suffered early setbacks but took New York that year. In late 1776, Washington surprised the Hessians in Trenton. France allied with the Americans in 1778 after the American victory at Saratoga in 1777. The British captured Charleston in 1780 but finally

1. 1775

2. Shot heard round the world!
April. Shots fired at Lexington and Concord.
"Minute Men" force British troops back to
Boston. George Washington takes command
of the Continental Army.

3. •Gage sends troops to seize rebel supplies
•Paul Revere warns colonists
•Lexington militia protests
•8 Americans killed at Lexington; 10 wounded
•"Minutemen" attack British
•300 casualties total
•Britain had a war!

4. Second Continental Congress (May 1775)
• Creation of
Continental Army
• George Washington
—commander
• Purchased military
supplies; issued
currency
• Richard Henry Lee’s
resolution

5. 1776

6. Thomas Paine—"Common Sense" (January 1776)
•Colonists no longer had to be loyal to king
•Persuades common people to pursue independence

7. Richard Henry Lee’s Resolution
June 7, 1776
1. Resolved, That these United Colonies are,
and of right ought to be, free and
independent States, that they are absolved
from all allegiance to the British Crown,
and that all political connection between
them and the State of Great Britain is, and
ought to be, totally dissolved.
2. That it is expedient forthwith to take the
most effectual measures for forming
foreign Alliances.
3. That a plan of confederation be prepared
and transmitted to the respective Colonies
for their consideration and approbation.
Committee of Five appointed led by Thomas Jefferson. Presented on June 28, 1776

8. Thomas Jefferson—Declaration of
Independence
• Approved July 4, 1776
• Lists grievances against
British government
Homework: Read the Declaration and be able
to identify and summarize the four main parts.
The Declaration of Independence was largely the work of Thomas Jefferson. It was approved,
with minor modifications, by the Continental Congress, on July 4, 1776.

9. British Problems
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Underestimated colonial militia
Overestimated loyalist strength
Difficult to control large territory
No great leader
European balance-of-power considerations
Americans had home field advantage
Americans were willing to die for cause

10. American Problems
•
•
•
•
•
•
One third of the number of British forces
One tenth of the money
British were the best fighters in the world
Experienced standing army of 50,000 men
Hired 30,000 German mercenaries (Hessians)
Had 50,000 American Loyalists

11. July -British Arrive in New York harbor bent
on crushing the rebellion.
New York (1776)
Washington retreats to
Pennsylvania
• General Washington had 19,000 troops in New York, but many were
inexperienced and ill-equipped. Admiral Richard Howe arrived on July
12 with 150 more ships and reinforcements. On August 12, Maj.
General Henry Clinton returned from the failed Charleston
Expedition. Howe began operations on August 22, 1776. On
September 15, 1776, General Howe landed at Kip's Bay and entered
the city of New York virtually unopposed and paused his campaign. In
November, he would pursue Washington out of New York and across
New Jersey.

12. December
• December 26. Washington crosses the
Delaware River and captures a Hessian force
Trenton (1776) and
at Trenton, New Jersey.
Princeton (1777)
British withdraw from
New Jersey
American morale
boost
The battle ended quickly — 22 Hessians killed, 83 seriously
wounded, and 900 captured, to two American combat deaths.
The American troops found 40 hogshead of rum in the town,
which temporarily blunted their effectiveness. Washington
followed up soon enough with another victory at Princeton. In
the space of a few weeks, the Americans killed or captured as
many as 3,000 of the enemy and irreversibly changed the
dynamic of the war.

13. Trenton and Princeton

14. Help From France
• December. In desperate
need of financing and
arms, Congress sends
Benjamin Franklin to
France to urge the French
to ally with America.
In 1776 Congress sent Franklin on his most important diplomatic mission. He was asked
to persuade France to help America in its fight for independence. Before he left he lent
Congress about 4,000 pounds of his own money to help carry on the war. He reached
Paris just before Christmas.

15. 1777

16. July
• A British force led by
John Burgoyne takes
Fort Ticonderoga in
a devastating loss to
the Americans. The
Marquis de
Lafayette arrives in
America

17. Philadelphia
• Washington defeated at Brandywine
(September 11) and Germantown (October 4).
Philadelphia is lost to the British.

18. October - Saratoga
• October 17. Americans capture Burgoyne and
his army at Saratoga
Saratoga (1777) First
major American victory
Leads to Franco-American
Treaties (1778)

19. 1778

20. February
• France signs a treaty of alliance with the
United States and the American Revolution
becomes a world war.

21. 1780

22. South Carolina
•
British attack Charleston, South Carolina. City
falls in May.
1780-'81 Americans
"lose" series of
engagements in the
south, but exact a
heavy toll on the
British army.

23. 1781

24. Yorktown

25. Surrender at Yorktown
• October 19. A
miraculous
convergence of
American and
French forces
traps Lord
Cornwallis at
Yorktown,
Virginia. He
surrenders his
British army.

26. 1783

27. Peace
• September - A peace treaty is signed
between Great Britain and the United States.The Treaty of Paris