Suffolk resolves
a statement calling for immediate repeal of the intolerable Acts and for colonies to resist them by making military preparations and boycotting British goods
Declaration and resolves
a petition urging the king to redress colonial grievances and restore colonial rights, while recognizing parliaments authority to regulate commerce
continental association
a network of committees to enforce the economic sanctions of the suffolk resolves
Lexington and Concord
April 18,1775, British troops marched on Concord to seize colonial military supplies, but we’re met with resistance from the militia
Bunker Hill
June 17, 1775, a British force attacked a colonial militia position on Breeds Hill, suffering over a thousand casualties
Second Continental Congress
met in Philadelphia in May 1775, with delegates on whether to declare independence or negotiate a new relationship with Britain
New England Delegates
Favored independence
middle colonies delegates
hoped for a negotiated settlement
Declaration of the Causes and Necessities for Taking Up Arms
a statement justifying the colonies decision to take up arms against Britain
Commander-in-chief
George Washington of new colonial army
Thomas Paine
English immigrant argued strongly for independence in his essay “common sense”
Declaration of Independence
adopted on July 4, 1776, listed specific grievances against George III’s government and expressed the basic principles that justified revolution. Thomas Jefferson lead writer
Patriots
40% of the population, favored Independence
Loyalists
20-30% of the population, favored remaining loyal to britian
Neutrals
30-4% of the population, tried to remain uninvolved
Native Americans
initially tried to stay out of war, but eventually many supported the British, who promised to limit colonial settlements in the west
Treaty of Paris
- Britain would recognize the existence of the united States as an independent nation
- The Mississippi river would be the western boundary of that nation
- Americans would have fishing rights off the coast of Canada
- Americans would pay debts owed to British merchants and honor Loyalist claims for property confiscated during the war
States Governments
by 1777, 10 of the former colonies had written new constitutions. most of these documents were both written and adopted by the states legislatures. in a few states, a proposed constitution was submitted to a vote of the people for ratification
Articles of Confederation
adopted by Congress in 1777 and submitted to the states for ratification, established a central government that consisted of just one body, a congress
powers of Congress under AOC
-wage war
-make treaties
-send diplomatic representative
-borrow money
limitations of Congress under AOC
-no power to regulate commerce
-no power to collect taxes
-no executive power to enforce its laws
AOC accomplishments
- winning the rev war
- land ordinance of 1785: Congress established a policy for surveying and selling the western lands
- northwest ordinance of 1787: Congress passed an ordinance that set the rules for creating new states, granting limited self-government to the developing territory, and prohibiting slavery in the region
AOC problems
- Financial: most ware debts were unpaid as well as individual states issued worthless paper money
- Foreign: European nations had little respect for the new nation
- Domestic: uprising over articles
Separation of church and state
in political and financial support was not prohibited by government to religion
