What happened on our trip yesterday? Let’s go find out what’s going to happen! It’s going down!

1. What happened on our trip yesterday?Let’s go find out what’s going to happen!It’s going down! Buckle up and strap on your helmets!

2. First, we must set the time and place. Date Year Place 1774 Philadelphia September 5

3. September 5, 1774 • A group of delegates from each of the colonies meet in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. • The colonies are going to unite against the British government and work together.

4. They decide to reject the Coercive (Intolerable) Acts and the Quebec Act. • They urge the people in the colonies to collect their own taxes and ban all trade with Great Britain until things get straightened out.

5. Also……. • We don’t want to go to war, but just in case… All colonists should arm themselves and form militias (groups of citizen soldiers).

6. The delegates also send a letter to King George, asking for the same rights as Englishmen. • The group ends their meeting, and decide to meet again next spring if nothing happens.

7. April 19, 1775 • King George tells British general Thomas Gage to prepare for the worst. • Gage hears that the colonists have a bunch of military supplies stored in Concord (about 20 miles from Boston). • He decides to go there with his soldiers and destroy the colonist’s supplies!

8. Seven hundred British troops leave Boston in the middle of the night, and paddle across the river…..but….. • The patriots (colonists) have found out about it! • They arrange to have a signal so that they know that the British are coming.

9. A silversmith named Paul Revere is the guy who’s going to give the signal. He’s supposed to put lanterns in the steeple of the church to let the patriots know where the British are coming from. • One if by land, two if by sea! • He hung two lanterns!

10. “Listen my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere…” • Paul Revere then gets on his horse and rides through town, warning people that… • “THE BRITISH ARE COMING!”

11. The redcoats continue to march towards Concord. • They are near the town of Lexington. • They run into a group of minutemen (militiamen who can be ready to fight in a minute!). • “Disperse, ye Rebels! Lay down your arms and disperse!”

12. The patriots are outnumbered. There’s no way they can win this. • So they begin to leave…. • But, all of a sudden…

13. “The shot heard ‘round the world.” • A shot rings out! • No one knows who fired it – it may have been an accident. • The British begin firing in response. • Eight Americans are killed.

14. The British soldiers march on to Concord. • They search for the stashed military supplies, but the villagers have hidden them! • So the British burn whatever they do find. • The redcoats leave and head back to Boston.

15. General Gage keeps 5,000 British troops inside Boston. • King George begins sending warships, troops, and three generals to America.

16. A man named Patrick Henry gives a speech in Virginia: • “Give me liberty, or give me death!”

17. The Continental Congress meets again… • The Second Continental Congress, that is. • A man named Benjamin Franklin calls for liberty. • George Washington shows up in his military uniform. • Samuel Adams and John Hancock (two of the leaders of the Sons of Liberty) show up. • John Hancock is chosen to be the president of the Continental Congress.

18. They choose George Washington to be the leader of the “Continental Army.”

19. June 17, 1775 • The Americans hear that the British plan to seize the high ground around their camp and destroy them. • They decide to make their move first! • They move to a hill across the river from Boston, overlooking the city of Charleston. • This hill is called Breed’s Hill.

20. They think they’re on Bunker Hill. • General Gage orders his troops to fire from their ships, which ends up setting Charleston on fire. • Gage sends his troops marching up the hill – bad idea. • The American commanders tell their troops to hold their fire and wait – until the redcoats were “close enough to see the whites of their eyes.”

21. The Americans fire on the British soldiers, who retreat, regather, and come back to fight until half of them are killed are wounded. • Charleston burns to the ground. • The Americans run out of ammunition and have to retreat. • This is the first big battle between American and British soldiers.

22. 1776 • Congress tries one more time to make things right with England. They send a letter to the king. • King George refuses to even look at the letter. • In Congress one day, Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee stands and proposes that the connection between the colonies and Great Britain be dissolved.

23. Thomas Jefferson is chosen to write the document that declares the colonies free from Great Britain’s rule.

24. ALERT! Time Machine is low on fuel!

25. Help out Thomas Jefferson! Write a list of reasons we should be independent from England. • Think – what are some of the unfair things they have done to us? • Tell the King what you think!