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The American Revolution was a conflict between 13 British colonies in North America and their parent country, Great Britain. It was made up of two related events: the American War of Independence and the design of the American government. In 1775, the commander of British forces, General Thomas Gage, sent out troops to Concord and Lexington. The mission was to capture leaders of the rebel cause, John Hancock and Sam Adams.
The rebel Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Dr. Samuel Prescott set out to tell Hancock and Adams who were at Lexington. Both Dawes and Revere were captured on the way to concord. Prescott escaped by leaving the road and making his way to Concord by way of the countryside. British units reached Lexington at dawn.
Major Pitcairn ordered the townsmen to scatter, as they did, a shot rang out. Who fired the shot is uncertain. The British countered with a stream of shots. The British pushed onto fateful Concord. As the British pushed on toward Concord, Prescott's warning preceded their coming. The British troops were forced to retreat to Boston.
The minutemen hid behind trees and stone walls and attacked British troops with rifle fire. This proved a costly incident for the British. Bunker Hill was the first real battle of the American Revolution, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. At issue in the battle was possession of Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill. American troops, led by Colonel William Prescott, occupied and prepared Breed's Hill during the night as part of a tactical plan to make the British leave Boston. The next day the British commander in chief Thomas Gage began arrangements for an attack on the Americans.
The British troops launched their initial assault on Breed's Hill. Sustaining severe losses, the British retreated to the base of the hill. Gage ordered a second charge, which was similarly revolted. During the third British assault the American troops were forced to withdraw due to lack of ammunition. The British then attacked and captured both hills.
Charleston was set on fire by British shells and burned. The Bunker Hill Monument stands on Breed's Hill in remembrance of the battle. The Battle of Saratoga is considered to be the major turning point of the American Revolution. This battle proved to the world that the American army was an effective fighting force capable of defeating the British forces in a major confrontation. As a result of this successful battle, the European powers took interest in the cause of the Americans and began to support them. In the British Campaign of 1777, Major General Burgoyne planned a concentric advance of three columns to meet in Albany, New York.
The goal of this plan was to isolate and destroy the Continental forces of New England. At the Battle of Bemis Heights, the second battle of Saratoga, Burgoyne desperately attacked rebel defenses with his tired, discouraged army. At Bemis Heights, Gate's defensive strategies had assured a strategic victory for the Patriots. However, Arnold saw an opportunity to grab the offensive while Burgoyne was susceptible and led a counterattack. This move wounded the British forces so badly that Burgoyne surrendered days later at Saratoga. The battle of Yorktown began in September of 1781.
The British General sent requests for reinforcements and even thought about ferrying his men across the river to safety. The French and Americans began a long bombardment. With no reinforcements, and the constant attack by French and Americans, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton, led Cornwallis to see there was little hope left for his army. He surrendered to Washington on October 19, 1781.
The Tea Act in 1773 again angered the radicals, regardless of the fact that it would lower tea prices. In 1774 the Georgia House of Commons passed a number of declarations about the relation of England and the colonies in general. In spite of the prior political problems, when the First Continental Congress is assembled no one from Georgia. The Midway district appointed Lyman Hall as its representative, but he did not attend, feeling that he couldnt stand for the entire state. Patriots in Charleston, South Carolina, blocked communication with England. They replaced Governor Wright's letters with forgeries.
When Lyman went to the Second Continental Congress, he brought money and supplies with him to assist the rebellion. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved and accepted by the Continental Congress. A month earlier Congress had appointed a Committee of Five to draft a statement to the world presenting the colonies' case for independence. The committee contained of John Adams, Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston and Thomas Jefferson. The committee assigned Jefferson to write the document. Articles of Confederation were the first constitution of the United States.
The Articles were in force from 1781 until the present Constitution of the United States went into effect. The Articles were written in 1777. The head of the committee, John Dickson originally proposed a strong central government, with control over the west, equal representation for the states, and the authority to levy taxes. The articles formed a weak confederation of independent states that gave restricted powers to a central government. There was no independent executive and no veto of legislation. The greatest weakness of the government under the Articles was its inability to control trade and levy taxes.
Congress could not make the states to stick to the terms of the Treaty of Paris. In 1787, Congress called for a Constitutional Convention to be held in May to revise the articles. Between May and September, the convention wrote the present the Constitution of the United States, which gave more power to the federal government. In 1778 the agreement of France to supply needed military help to the 13 American colonies, is considered the turning point of the War of Independence. Two treaties were signed. The first officially accepted the new country and encouraged trade.
The second gave a military alliance against Great Britain and required acknowledgment of independence for the United States. After years of tense relations, France and the United States agreed to the Treaty of Morfontaine to null both 1778 treaties. The French and Indian War began in 1754. The foundation of the war was a battle for control of the Appalachian region.
The Treaty Of Paris ended the French and Indian War in 1763. England, France, and Spain signed it. By the Treaty, France lost Canada and all rights to territory east of the Mississippi, while Spain, in order to regain Cuba, gave up Florida. New Orleans went with Louisiana to Spain. England held all of North America east of the Mississippi. The Treaty of Paris was a victory for England in the pursuit of global territory.
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