More Links:
Here are two different time lines that cover events during the Revolution:

1775-1776

1776-1783

Vocabulary:
minutemen: volunteer soldiers who would be ready to fight the British "on a minute's notice"

skirmish: generally considered a small battle

munitions: guns and ammunition and stuff like that

Video Clips:

"The British are Coming"- here is a little clip about the ride of Paul Revere- leading to Lexington and Concord!

Lexington and Concord

More Notes:
In 1775, tensions in Massachusetts had reached the boiling point. British soldiers had secured warrants for the arrests of John Hancock and Samuel Adams, and they also had word that the colonists were stockpiling weapons in Lexington and Concord. As the British soldiers marched towards the towns, they were stopped by minutemen who fired upon them from behind fences and trees. These professional British soldiers were forced to retreat back to the safety of Boston (where more British soldiers were stationed).

We call this the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" because these are considered the first shots of the Revolutionary War. It was heard around the world because our successful revolution caused others to revolt and establish more democratic systems!

More Links:
This video clip discusses the "Shot Heard 'Round the World".

Read more about Lexington and Concord on this page.

More Notes:
The French were not eager to help the colonists in the beginning. After all, they had been embarrassed 13 years earlier by the British, and were not about to suffer another defeat. BUT, when the American Continental Army actually won the battle at Saratoga, it seemed that the colonists actually had a chance.

Spurred on by the charm of Ben Franklin, the King of France was convinced that it would be in his best interests to support the colonies. We knew that if the French could distract England with another war in Europe, as well as lend us the use of a navy (which we didn't have), we might actually pull off a victory!

Vocabulary:

siege: when an army surrounds a town or fort and does not allow anything in or out- the idea is to starve the people inside into surrender, as well as blast at them with artillery

Video Clip:

Yorktown

More Notes: The battle of Yorktown was actually a siege. Lord Cornwallis, a British General, was growing tired of being harassed in the South by hit-and-run tactics (guerrilla warfare). He wanted to take his army into New York, hunt down Washington and destroy him in order to finish the war. Unfortunately for Cornwallis, American spies stole his plans and alerted Washington, who in turn, marched on Cornwallis at Yorktown. Now, Cornwallis' plan was to have his navy transport his troops up to New York, so he felt very safe in Yorktown.

BUT, the Americans had a different plan! The French fleet had defeated the British ships that were supposed to be Cornwallis' transport. He was trapped. Washington's army and the French army were to the west, and the French Navy was to the east! Embarrassed, Cornwallis surrendered and that ended the war in America!

More Links:
How did G.W. actually get Cornwallis? Check out this battle map and explanation!

More Notes:
During the Second Continental Congress, there was much debate about declaring independence. It had never been done before, and would mean treason for all involved. Further, all the colonies would need to declare independence in order for the action to work. The logical leader for independence should have been Massachusetts, since that's where all the problems seemed to be. The down side to that- the Southern colonies would see it as a regional issue, and not support independence led by Massachusetts.

So, if Virginia (the leader of the South) were to propose independence, the other southern colonies would follow. That's where Patrick Henry comes in. The Virginia House of Burgesses needed to authorize this declaration. Patrick Henry, who was serving in the House of Burgesses at the time, was approached by Richard Henry Lee (the representative at the Second Continental Congress), and asked to convince the House to propose independence. And that's when Patrick Henry gave his, "GIVE ME LIBERTY, OR GIVE ME DEATH" speech. The house approved- and Virginia offered the resolution to declare independence!

Video Clip:

Patrick Henry

More Links:
Click here to read the entire Patrick Henry speech.

Here's a brief bio page of Patrick Henry with extra links!

Video Clip:

George Washington Takes Command

This link goes to a sight where you can watch video clips about George Washington!

More Notes:
Analyzing this war is difficult to do. We know that we technically won, even though Washington seemed to have lost more battles than he won... How can this work?

Well, the Americans did not really have to DOMINATE the British. We were not fighting so much to win, but rather not to lose. That means, if we run and hide, they can't beat us. This war was very expensive for the British to fight- it was 3,000 miles away and they were worried about France (a legitimate enemy). So all we had to do was be such a pain in the you-know-what that they would simply say, "Forget it- y'all ain't worth it". And really, that's what happened. George Washington was instrumental in keeping up morale and avoiding capture. Some historians may argue that he was not a master general, but a master retreat-er... Whatever works... WE WON!!!

More Links:
So- was G.W. a good general? Click here for a map and synopsis of some of his early engagements during the Revolutionary War.

George Washington loved music and dancing. Click here to listen to contemporary songs of G.W.

Video Clip:

This link goes to a sight where you can watch video clips about the life of Ben Franklin!

More Notes:
This war was the first one like it in the world! We were considered to be a "cute little experiment with democracy". Laughed at by the Europeans, later they would all suffer from democratic revolutions of their own! And, let's consider what Americans got out of this.

The Treaty of Paris of 1783 formally ended the war. John Adams and Ben Franklin helped to negotiate the particulars. America received its independence, lands east of the Mississippi River between Canada and Florida. Britain also promised to not hassle us and to remove the troops. France- and we could not have won this war without their help- received back their old land claims from prior to the French and Indian War (sweet revenge for them).

Unfortunately, this war and treaty did not end our problems with the British, we actually will fight another war with them in 1812. But for now, we are starting a new nation-- hope it works!

More Links:
This link will review the causes, ideas and events of the American Revolution.

Here is the Treaty of Paris which ended the Revolutionary War. Can you identify the most important parts?

This is a map that shows the original United States according to the Treaty of Paris.