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Chapter 5 The Spirit of Independence (1763-1776) Section 4 Moving Toward Independence

Why did the American colonies choose to declare independence?

Colonial Leaders Emerge

• May 10, 1775 at the Second Continental Congress

• Many were NOT ready to break with Britain • Many of the same delegates from the First Continental Congress • Also Ben Franklin- he had represented the colonies in London and helped repeal the act • John Hancock was also there- Hancock had funded the Sons of Liberty • Hancock was chosen president of the First Continental Congress • 32 year old Thomas Jefferson was also there

Second Continental Congress • Began to govern the colonies • Authorized printing money • Set up a post office with Franklin in charge • Committees were set up to communicate with Indians and other countries • Most important, Congress created the Continental Army • Would be more organized than the militias • George Washington was unanimously chosen as the army’s commander

Continental Congress and Peace

• The delegates offered Britain one last chance to avoid war • Congress sent a petition (formal request) to King George III • Called the Olive Branch Petition • Said the colonists wanted peace • Asked the King to protect their rights • George III refused the petition • Instead he prepared for war • Hired more than 30,000 German troops (Hessians) to fight beside the British

The Colonies Take Offense

• The Colonist found out the British were going to invade New York • The Americans decided to strike first and attack Montreal (They captured it) • The Americans failed to take Quebec • Washington reached Boston in 1775 and realized the army lacked discipline, organization, and leadership • Washington began to shape the citizens into an army

Continental Army

• March 1776, Washington decided they were ready • The army was set in a semicircle around Boston • Washington gave the order to bombard the British with cannons • The redcoats under General Howe withdrew from the city • March 17th, Washington led the jubilant troops into Boston • The British sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia

Early 1776 • Support for absolute independence was growing • Thomas Paine published a pamphlet called Common Sense • Paine called the King “the Royal Brute” • Paine said “’Tis time to part” • The call for independence became a roar

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Second Continental Congress • Second Continental Congress was filled with debate • Should the colonies declare themselves an independent nation or stay under British rule? • Richard Henry Lee said “all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved”

Debate over Independence • Congress debated Lee’s resolution • Some thought the colonies were not ready to form a separate nation • Others argued that war had already begun • Still others feared Britain’s power to crush the rebellion • Congress decided to draft a Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence • Jefferson wrote • Used John Locke’s idea that people were born with certain natural rights including • Life, liberty, and property • People formed governments to protect these rights • Also that a government that interferes with these rights might be overthrown

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D.O.I. Final Touches

• July 2nd, 1776 Congress voted on Lee’s resolution for independence • 12 colonies voted for it (New York later announced support) • Jefferson’s draft of the Declaration of Independence was approved with some changes on July 4th, 1776 • John Hancock was the first to sign • Signed it so large that King George could read it without his glasses • 56 delegates signed the paper announcing the Birth of the United States • Copies of the Declaration of Independence were distributed to the newly declared states

Parts of the D.O.I • Four major sections • 1. Preamble (Introduction) • 2. Lists the rights colonists believed they should have and the right of people to abolish a government that does not protect these rights • 3. List of grievances against the King and Parliament • 4. Announcement of Independence

Why did the American colonies choose to declare independence? -King George ignored the colonists’ Olive Branch petition, in which they tried to avoid war. -The Colonists learned the British were planning to invade New York. -Thomas Paine published an influential pamphlet, Common Sense, which called for complete independence.

Chapter 5 Section 4 Quiz

The king of Great Britain accepted the Olive Branch Petition offered by Congress.

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The king hired German troops to fight in America.

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The Declaration of Independence explains why the colonies chose to form a new nation. 1. True 50% 50% 2. False

The first commander of the Continental Army was 1. George Washington. 2. Benjamin Franklin. 3. John Adams. 4. Thomas Jefferson. G

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What did the Olive Branch Petition ask the king to do? 1. protect the colonists' rights 2. leave America 3. start another war 4. stop taxation

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