Main ideas in this section:
1. Fighting broke out in New England even while
congress tried to make peace with Britain.
2. The opening battles indicated that the war would
not be easily won by either side.
Key terms:
Patriot--favored war with the british
Loyalist--favored a peaceful solution to the conflict with the british.
The colonists were evenly divided
1/3 Patriots,
1/3 loyalists,
1/3 undecided.
After the battles at Lexington and Concord, still most people did not want war. Congress sent a letter to King George called the Olive Branch Petition. This petition asked the King to negotiate with them in order to avoid war. They ask for him to repeal the Intolerable Acts.
This video shows what the debate within our congress may have looked like at the time that we decided to send the Olive Branch Position and make one last attempt to avoid war. To watch the video click here.
This video below is a lecture on the Olive Branch Petition to King George III and Parliament.
King George doesn't even open the Olive Branch Petition! He hears about the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the disorder in the Colonies and sends this letter to our Congress. Click here to watch this video. Spoiler alert: The King is mad!
The colonist who remained loyal to king george and britain were called loyalists.
Loyalists wanted a peaceful solution to the conflict with the british.
loyalist advantages
--well-trained troops
--world's best navy
--more supplies and more troops
The colonists who wanted to be independent from Britain (which meant they wanted war) were called Patriots.
The Patriots wanted war with the british.
PATRIOT ADVANTAGES
--WASHINGTON'S LEADERSHIP
--FIGHTING FOR THEIR HOMES
--SKILLED WITH THEIR INDIVIDUALLY OWNED WEAPONS.
--GOOD KNOWLEDGE OF AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY.
At the beginning of the american
the colonists are evenly divided:
1/3 Loyalists
1/3 patriots
1/3 undecided
meanwhile at fort ticonderoga, the green mountain boys take matters into their own hands!
in the meantime, the Second continental congress had to decide what to do about the makeshift armies, militias (such as the green mountain boys) gathering and taking matters into their own hands.
click here to watch george washington be nominated to be the general of the continental army.
Even before washington could reach boston, the patriot militias took action! The battle of bunker hill---the 1st major battle of the revolution---took place before washington even arrived in boston!
The battle of fort ticonderoga by ethan allen and the green mountain men and the battle of bunker hill demonstrated that both armies had strengths and weaknesses. it demonstrated that they were more equally matched opponents than britain had expected.
click here for more info on the battle of bunker hill!
click here for a slide show.....you have to click the arrows at the bottom left of the link to move from slide to slide.
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