American Revolution

1775-1783

• First Battle – Lexington and Concord, Mass. – April 19, 1775 • “Shot Heard Round The World”

• British army against Militia (Minutemen) Battle of Bunker Hill – June 1775 – Boston

“Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!” Shortage of gunpowder

Mecklenburg Resolves – May 31, 1775 declared that British rule in the colonies was ended

• Second Continental Congress – May-June, 1775 – PhiladelphiaA. Created a Continental ArmyB. Chose George Washington to commandC. Olive Branch Petition

The Coming Revolution

Second Continental Congress

Battle of Lexington

Bunker Hill

War in North Carolina 1775-1776

Opposing Sides• 1. Patriots – in favor of independence,

many former Regulators• 2. Loyalists/Tories – wanted to remain

part of England - political elite, recent immigrants

• 3. Population is One/Third Patriot, One/Third Loyalist, One/Third Neutral at start of war – majority has become Patriot by end of war

• Josiah Martin – last royal governor of NC• Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge – February

26, 1776 – Patriots win – keeps Loyalists from taking over

NC, keeps British from invading

• Halifax Resolves – April 12, 1776 –– document that makes NC the first colony to

officially support independenceSome Trivia:Two dates on North Carolina’s state flagMay 20, 1775=Mecklenburg ResolvesApril 12, 1776=Halifax Resolves

Declaring Independence• Common Sense – published January 9, 1776

(pg. 125 in textbook--The Power of Words and Ideas)

• Thomas Paine• B. First written work to state that the colonies

should be independent• Declaration of Independence• A. Approved by Second Continental Congress on

July 4th, 1776—signed by John Hancock President of the 2nd Continental Congress

• B. Not signed until August 2nd, 1776• C. Contained three main ideas• 1. All men possess Unalienable Rights• 2. England had violated the colonists’ rights• 3. Colonies had the right to break away from England

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

• 4.   People have “certain unalienable rights” (rights that can not be taken away)– a.   Life – b.  Liberty– c.    Pursuit of happiness

• 5.   People establish government to protect those rights.

• 6.   Government derives power from the people.• 7.   People have a right and a duty to change a

government that violates their rights.

Declaration of Independence

Picture of the Original Document

• D. Written by Thomas Jefferson – originally contained a clause outlawing slavery – southerners would not approve

• E. Declaration of Independence did not address the rights of slaves or women – New England states abolished slavery on their own by 1784

• Signers from NC – William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

• Signers of the Declaration of Independence were committing treason and it was punishable by death

Thomas Jefferson

Signing of Declaration of Independence

• A. Blacks were not allowed to fight in Continental army at first

• B. Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation – British promised freedom to any slave who fought for them – over 10,000 (p. 139 in textbook)– For the British: built forts, unloaded supplies, gathered

food– Some slaves fought in place of their owners (Ned

Griffin for William Kitchin)

• C. Most American Indians supported the British or remained neutral – Cherokee led by Attakullakulla

• D. For women’s role: see previous work (“Remember the Ladies” and pp. 50-55 in Change & Challenge book)

Minority Groups

Molly Pitcher

Attakullakulla

• A. 1775-1776 – British win most battles• B. Low point of war for Patriots – early winter of

1776• 1. Battle of Trenton – December 25, 1776• 2. Hessians – German mercenaries• C. Turning point of war in Northern colonies was

the Battle of Saratoga – October 17, 1777• 1. Defeated British plan to split the colonies in

half• 2. France and Spain join the Patriots against

England

War in the North

Washington crossing the Delaware

Battle of Trenton

Battle of Saratoga

NC State Constitution• Written in November 1776 – approved on

December 18, 1776• Conservatives – wanted only wealthy people in

government• Radicals – wanted to open government to all free

adult men (including blacks and Indians living outside of tribal lands)

• Set up two-house legislature called the General Assembly. This body would elect the governor who had very limited power.

• Each county would elect 2 representatives to the House (of Representatives) and 1 to the Senate

• All free men over 21 who paid taxes could vote• To be in the government, you had to own at least 100-300

acres of land.

1. NC life during wartime: blockade created shortages, financial difficulties, ongoing conflict between the Patriots and Loyalists (1000s of Loyalists left the state)

2. 3 types of troops: Continental Army, militias, partisans or “irregulars”

3. Valley Forge – Winter of 1777-78 – Americans did not have enough food, clothing, or shelter. They had also not been paid for months. 2000 died. Ages ran from 12 to 60

4. Alliance with France in 1778 • Marquis De Lafayette

• sent supplies, money, troops, navy

Valley Forge

Marquis De Lafayette

Steuben trains the Americans

War in the South After Saratoga (turning point of the war), British

focus on the southern colonies – most loyalists in South

• A. British are successful at first, winning most southern battles

Charleston – May 1780

Camden – August 16, 1780• B. These battles destroyed the Patriots’ southern

army • C. Patriots had to resort to Guerilla warfare – hit

and run, (terrorist-style) – Francis Marion (used as

model for “The Patriot”) - Partisans

South Continued• “The Hornets’ Nest”—area around Charlotte where the

British army under Cornwallis met constant harassment by Patriots under the leadership of William Davie and William Lee Dawson

• Battle of Kings Mountain, NC (35 miles from Charlotte)

– October 7, 1780

– Patriots under the leadership of John Sevier, Isaac Shelby, and Joseph & Charles McDowell defeated the Loyalists under command of Patrick Ferguson

– Considered a turning point in the war

– NC Loyalists v. NC Patriots (mostly)

• Kept the British from moving north until spring

South Continued• Battle of Cowpens, SC

– January 17, 1781

– Nathanael Greene became commander of Continental Army in the South

– Divided army into smaller units; used militia to fire “2 shots”; Daniel Morgan=Patriot commander

– Greene crushed British led by Banastre Tarleton

• Made the British chase the colonists into NC• .British were commanded by Charles Cornwallis –

decide to move north through North Carolina to meet main British army in the North.

• Battle of Guilford Courthouse – March 15, 1781

– Greene goes to NC and waits for Cornwallis at Guilford County Courthouse (now Greensboro)

– British win, but are badly weakened—1/4 of British troops dead or badly wounded

– “Another such victory would destroy the British army” (British politician’s quote)

• Tory War—just in NC – conflict between Patriots and Loyalists

– Tory leader=David Fanning

– Major attack near Hillsborough; took prisoners including the NC governor which were handed over to the British

End of War• Cornwallis is surrounded by American and French

armies and French navy at Yorktown, Virginia• British surrender on October 20, 1781 – last major

battle of war• Some trivia: The British army band played “The World

Turned Upside Down”

• British decided war was not worth the cost—pulled troops

• Treaty of Paris is signed in 1783 – America gets independence

(Make sure you have read pp. 116-143 in your textbook A Journey Through North Carolina.) You are responsible for all information included in these pages.

George Rogers Clark

Francis Marion – The Swamp Fox

Charles Cornwallis

Nathanael Greene

British surrender at Yorktown

Revolution’s Aftermath • NC’s economy was wrecked and the state had a

large war debt - $3 million• Thousands of casualties (dead and wounded)—

often from fighting each other• Raleigh was chosen as state capital—near center

of the state• 1795 – University of North Carolina opens

– Chartered in 1789 by General Assembly– nation’s first public university– 1st student=Hinton James attends classes for 1st time in

February