The Second Continental Congress
American leaders started meeting in Philadelphia in May 1775. George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay and others.
They unified the colonies
They named George Washington commander of the Continental army.
But they also tried to make up with Britain and sent King George a petition to stop hostilities and declared their loyalty to the king. King George rejected the petition, and said the colonies were in rebellion. After that, the Americans started building a navy, printed money to pay bills, and the colonies agreed to pay for the war. They also started talking to Britain’s old enemy, France, to help them in the war.

After the battle of Bunker Hill, George Washington took over command of the Continental army. They went after the British troops in Boston, and laid siege to them, until the British were forced to leave.

Thomas Paine published Common Sense in January 1776, and the Americans bought into his idea that it just makes sense to break away from the King and England because of the way they were being treated.
Paine convinced Americans that they needed independence and a democratic republic.

Questions for Review(Exit Ticket):

1. Why do you think that the Americans picked George Washington as the commander of the Continental Army?
2. Why do you think the Americans sent King George a letter declaring their loyalty to him? Should King George have accepted the letter?
3. Name 3 things that the Second Continenal Congress accomplished?

Tuesday

Declaration of Independence

The 2nd Continental Congress gave 33 year old Thomas Jefferson the task of writing the Declaration of Independence in June 1776. Why did they pick Jefferson?
Jefferson was a very effective writer, and he had previously written strong essays about independence.
He was also widely liked, unlike some others, so it was thought his writings would be accepted.
Jefferson’s declaration was approved on July 4, 1776, and America declared its independence.

****The major points of the Declaration are****:
1. that all men are created equal,
2. that people have unalienable rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,
3. Governments get their power from the people and must have their consent to be legitimate
4. and that citizens have the right to overthrow a government that violates these rights if it becomes destructive to their well-being.

Here are the exact words of the Declaration of Independence:
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript#:~:text=We%2C%20therefore%2C%20the%20Representatives%20of,these%20United%20Colonies%20are%2C%20and

Let’s watch a video that describes the Declaration of Independence in words you can understand better:

Wednesday:
The Founding Fathers:

The Founding Fathers are a group of men who were important political figures in getting the colonies together as a group. They signed the Declaration of Independence, writing the Constitution, and leading the American Revolution. Let’s look at some of them:

George Washington-George Washington is considered a crucial figure in American history because he led the Continental Army to victory in the Revolutionary War, securing the nation’s independence, and later served as the first President of the United States, setting important precedents for the office

Thomas Jefferson-He authored he Declaration of Independence, served as 3rd President of the US, and he oversaw the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of our nation.

John Adams-Actively pushed for American independence, served as 2nd President of the US and Washingtons’ Vice President, and he proposed that the government have 3 parts-executive, judicial, and legislative branches. He was also a key diplomat in getting loans from France for the Revolutionary War.

James Madison-The “Father of the Constitution”, and he drafted the first 10 amendments to the Constitution(The Bill of Rights), and he was the 4th President of the United States.

Benjamin Franklin-The only person to sign all 4 documents -The Declaration of Independence, The Treaty of Alliance with France, The Treaty of Paris, and the Constitution. He was a key diplomat to France and got France to help the US in the Revolutionary War. He was known for his wisdom and ability to compromise.
Franklin was never President because he was too old and ill(81 when the Constitution was held), and he died before the 1st Presidential Election was held.

Alexander Hamilton-Signer of the Declaration of Independence, fought in the Revolutionary War, was the 1st Secretary of the Treasury and created the US financial system, and he advocated for a strong central government. Hamilton grew up very poor, and was an orphan at age 13.
He was never President because he had an affair with a married woman, and he was cocky and arrogant. He was shot and killed in a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804, who was Vice President at the time. He had called Burr “a dangerous man” and was not to be trusted.

Exercise:
Pick one of the Founding Fathers and research and write 5 facts about him that I have not listed here. Be creataive!

Thursday:

Let’s talk about duels!!
Here’s how duels occurred:
An offended party sent a challenge through his second. If the recipient apologized, the matter usually ended. If he elected to fight, the recipient chose the weapons(swords or pistols) and the time and place of the encounter. Up until combat began, apologies could be given and the duel stopped.
They would stand back to back, walk about 10-20 paces apart, turn and fire, either at the same time or one after another by coin toss within 3 seconds. Duels with pistols were rarely fatal(less than 10% of the time). The last duel in America was in 1859, between US Senator David Broderick and ex-Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court David Terry. Broderick died. They had argued over slavery(Broderick-anti and Terry-pro). Terry was charged but the charges were dismissed.

Exercise:
Write a paragraph about how politics would be different today if duels were still allowed, and write another paragraph about why it was right to outlaw duels as a means to settle arguements.

We will work in pairs Thursday and Friday, and make trading cards about battles of the American Revolution. Your trading card will be a piece of copy paper, folded in half, and folded in half again, and cut in two. Then glue the bottom of the trading card so that it is one piece.

Use your computer to help you with your research. The front of the card should include a map of the battle that is carefully illustrated. The card should contain the information listed below.

Front-
Name of battle
Map of Battle
Your team’s names

Back-
Name of Battle
Date
Location of Battle
Who won the Battle
Details of the Battle

Scoring Rubric-make sure you read the rubric to see how the trading card will be scored:

Name of Battle on front and back ______ 10
Map of Battle that is neat and colorful ______ 10
Date of Battle ______ 5
Location of Battle ______ 10
Tells who won ______ 5
Includes at least 5 facts describing the battle ______ 30
Correct spelling and grammar ______ 10
Information is accurate ______ 10
Card is neat and organized ______ 10
Total 100
Rough draft paper

American Revolution
Battle Trading Card

Battle:______________________________

Date:_________________________________

Location of Battle:____________________

Who Won? _______________________

War details:
___________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Final Copy- Print on card stock and glue two sheets together.

This week’s quote of the week:
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
Thomas Paine

Terms for this week:
Patriots-American colonists who supported independence from Great Britain
Loyalists-American colonists who did not support independence from Great Britain
Political revolution-changing from one governmental structure to another
Militia-a military force of volunteers
Mercenary-soldiers who are paid to fight for a country they are not from
Minutemen-eager young militiamen who were willing to fight at a moment’s notice

This week, we will be learning about Paul Revere and the start of the American Revolution.

We will watch this video about the life of Paul Revere and talk about his accomplishments.

Questions that we will explore after the video:
1. Paul Revere was a member of the ____________________________________.
2. Paul Revere helped organize the ______________________________________
3. Paul Revere’s job was as a ________________________________. He sold his wares throughout Boston.

On Tuesday, we will watch this Liberty Kids video about the start of the American Revolution

Battles of Lexington and Concord

W

We discussed the French and Indian War last week, but many students may not remember much after the long break. So, here is a good video that recaps the highlights of the French and Indian War.

to recap the French and Indian War:
THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 1754-1763

The French and Indian War 1754-1763-The French and British colonists were upset over each claiming the Upper Ohio River Valley as theirs. France and Britain already didn’t get along and were fighting a war all across Europe, and the war ended up spilling into America. The British colonists were starting to venture out further west, into The Ohio River Valley area, and the French had already claimed it.

The French had only 60, 000 colonists in the area, while the British had over 2 million. The French used their allies the native Americans, to help them fight the colonists. The colonists got Britain to send troops to help them in the war. Although the French won early victories, the the colonists and the British won the war, and won all French lands East of the Mississippi River.
The Native Americans who sided with the French suffered, because they lost their French trading partners, and settlers poured into their lands.

QUESTIONS:
Who was the French and Indian War between? The colonists and Britain against France and the Native Americans.
Who won the French and Indian War? The British and the colonists.
What was the result of the war? The French lost territory, and the settlers colonized more of America.
Britain angered the colonists when they asked the colonists to pay for the British fighting the costly war, which doubled British debt. Britain started imposing taxes on colonists to pay for the war and for British troops that were stationed in America to keep the peace.

Here are the terms we will be using for this week:

French and Indian War 1754-1763-war between the French and the American colonists over control of the Ohio River Valley. The British helped the colonists, and the Native Americans helped the French. The British won the war, and the colonists won territory from the French.
Taxes-mandatory payment collected by a government from people or businesses to cover the cost of services or activities.
The Stamp Act of 1765-a tax on most paper goods passed by the British Parliamet in 1765 to raise money to pay for the British army stationed in the American colonies. Caused violent protests in America over taxation without representation.
The Townshend Acts of 1767-More taxes Britain imposed on the colonies to help pay for governing them. Taxes were on glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea.
The Boston Massacre of 1770-A crowd of colonists threw things at British soldiers, and one soldier fired his musket. Other soldiers did too, and killed 5 colonists, including an 11 year old boy, Christopher Seider.
The Boston Tea Party-After Britain imposed a tax on tea, a group called the Sons of Liberty dressed up as Indians and threw 92,000 pounds of tea off a ship in protest.
The Sons of Liberty-a secret, political organization organized by Samuel Adams and John Hancock that fought against British taxation and for the rights of colonists.
The Coercive Acts of 1774(also called the Intolerable Acts)-Britain closed Boston Harbor until the money was repaid for the tea destroyed, replaced the local government with a military governor, and made it illegal to have town meetings unless approved by the governor.
1st Continental Congress-a group of colony leaders from 12 of 13 colonies(not Delaware) met after the Coercive Acts. They decided to boycott all English goods, and they became the colonies’ government. They demanded 1)the same rights as Englishmen, 2)suspended trade with Britain, and 3) drafted a document of grievances against Britain.

We will be starting our Come to My Colony Group Project today.

After setting our groups and your colony, you will start researching your colony to find facts and interesting things about your colony that will make others want to come to yours!
Day 1-researching your colony only-use the topics below to guide your research
Day 2-researching your colony only-use the topice below to guide your research
Day 3-decide the layout of the tri-fold, and start drawing pictures and writing
Day 4-finalize the drawings and writing, and turn project in.

research your colony, and find facts about these topics:
location
natural resources
economic opportunities
type of government
religion in the colony
goods produced
when founded and by who
weather
what grows well on the land.
major cities or towns
geography
social life
relationships with native Americans
Anything else you think is interesting

Here’s how to make a tri-fold brochure:

The Original 13 Colonies
1. Virginia-1st permanent English settlement in America; the richest colony
Year founded: 1607 Jamestown
Why people came there: to find gold and silver and a waterway to the Pacific
1st people to come: 144 English men and boys
Goods produced: tobacco, glass, beer, wine, pottery

2. New York-the breadbasket colony because of wheat
Year founded: 1613 by Dutch, but taken over by English in 1644.
Why people came there: economic opportunities
1st people to come: Dutch, English, different countries and religions
Goods produced: wheat, corn, tobacco, timber, iron ore

3. Massachusetts Bay Colony-the self-governing colony
Year founded: 1630 on the Mayflower and other ships
Why people came there: Religious freedom
1st people to come: 1,000 Puritans from England led by John Winthrop
Goods produced: Timber, fish, furs, corn, ships
Government-theocratic government limited to church members

4. Maryland-safe haven for religious persons
Year founded: 1633 by Baron Baltimore(royal colony)
Why people came there: safe haven for Catholics, Quakers and Puritans
1st people to come: Catholics from England
Goods produced: tobacco

5. Rhode Island-absolute separation of church and state
Year founded: 1636, with land bought from Narranganset Indians
Why people came there: Banished from Massachusetts colony led by John Williams
1st people to come: a refuge for English people seeking religious freedom all different faiths.
Goods Produced: timber, apples, rum, horses, salted meats and cheese

6. Connecticut-first written constitution in the new world
Year founded: 1636, by John Hooker, preacher, land bought from Indians.
Why people came there: religious freedom
1st people to come: English Puritans from Plymouth and Mass. Colony
Goods produced: livestock, corn, lumber, clocks, coffee mills, buttons,

7. New Hampshire-The “Live Free or Die” colony
Year founded: 1629 by English sailor and merchant John Mason
Why people came there: economic opportunities
1st people to come: English to make things to sell back to England
Goods produced: fishing, beaver pelts, timber

8. Delaware-another breadbasket colony because of wheat
Year founded: 1638 by Peter Minuit,
Why people came there: religious freedom-Quakers and Presbyterians, good farmland
1st people to come: Dutch, Swedes, English(Dutch first came to harvest whales)
Goods produced: wheat, corn, tobacco, flour, paper, gunpowder

9. North Carolina-plantation state
Year founded: Roanoke-1587, then 1655 by Nathaniel Betts, a farmer
Why people came there: farm tobacco, religious freedom
1st people to come: English, Germans, Ireland, Scotland
Goods produced: tobacco, rice,

10. South Carolina-separated from N. Carolina in 1729; rich from plantations
Year founded: 1663, by King Charles II to Lord’s Proprietors
Why people came there: planters seeking wealth(relied heavily on slave labor)
1st people to come: English and French
Goods produced: cotton, rice, tobacco, indigo

11. New Jersey-breadbasket colony because of wheat
Year founded: 1664 by Lord Berkeley(royal colony)
Why people came there: religious freedom and fertile land
1st people to come: English-religious freedom, and cheap land.
Goods produced: corn, livestock, timber, textiles, shipbuilding

12. Pennsylvania-’Penn’s woods”, another breadbasket colony
Year founded: 1681 by William Penn
Why people came there: religious freedom( safe haven for Quakers)
1st people to come: English and German Quaker religious sect and Amish
Goods produced: wheat, corn, rye, hemp, iron, glassware,

13. Georgia-the last colony, named after King George
Year founded: 1732 by James Ogelthorpe as a buffer between England and Florida
Why people came there: chance to start over from debt in England
1st people to come: debtors from England
Goods produced: rice, indigo, tobacco, lumber