Chapter 8 Section 1 Notes

Chapter 8Section 1 Notes

The Second Continental Congress

At its largest, the CONTINENTAL ARMY numbered about 15-20,000 SOLDIERS.

The CONTINENTAL ARMY lacked DISCIPLINE and TRAINING. However, its soldiers knew the countryside and how to survive in the wilderness. They also believed in their cause of freedom. In addition, GEORGE WASHINGTON was a brilliant military leader.

The British army numbered about 50,000 SOLDIERS. The soldiers were WELL TRAINED and EXPERIENCED.

The British troops, however, were unfamiliar with the American landscape. In addition, they had to fight an army that knew how to hide in the wilderness.

George Washington

Redcoat Soldier

Redcoat Soldiers

The Green Mountain Boys; The Battle of Bunker Hill

The colonist ETHAN ALLEN led a well-known group of rebels called the GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS. In May 1775, they seized a British outpost in New York and took a valuable supply of AMMUNITION for the colonists.

In June 1775, British and colonial forces clashed on BREED’S HILL outside Boston. More than 1,000 British were killed or wounded, while the colonists lost 400 men.

The battle became known as the BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. It was a moral victory for the Americans because the untrained militia had stood up to the British Army.

Ethan Allen

Green Mountain Boys

Battle of Bunker Hill

Bunker Hill Monument

Declaring Independence

The journalist THOMAS PAINE published Common Sense in January 1776. It described why THE COLONIES SHOULD BREAK FREE FROM BRITAIN. The work helped stir many colonists to action.

In June 1776, colonial delegate RICHARD HENRY LEE introduced a resolution to declare INDEPENDENCE from Great Britain. Supporters of the resolution asked THOMAS JEFFERSON to write a formal DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.

On July 2, the Second Continental Congress adopted LEE’S resolution. Two days later on JULY 4, 1776, the delegates officially approved the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.

Thomas Paine

Richard Henry Lee

Thomas Jefferson

Independence Hall

Room inside Independence Hall

Writing the Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence

Declaring Independence (cont.)

The DECLARATION was based on the ideas of JOHN LOCKE. It explained that the government’s main duty was to protect THE PEOPLE’S RIGHTS. If the government fails at this duty, the people MAY OVERTHROW IT.

In the wake of the DECLARATION, the colonists became divided. LOYALISTS supported keeping ties with Great Britain. PATRIOTS favored separating from Great Britain.