American+Revolution+A-H

====**American Revolution (American War of Independence/ Revolutionary War) **====



====**The American Revolution was fought between the colonists and the British. The colonists desired to be free, while the British still wanted to control them. The cause of the American Revolution was because of the British's harsh laws upon the colonists and the tragic events that lead to many deaths. Many colonists did not have faith and did not believe that they could win the war because they were outnumbered, they were fighting the strongest army, they were poorly equipped, and they had inexperienced soldiers. For years, the brave patriots have proven them wrong. **==== ====**The American Revolution lasted for roughly 8 years, beggining at 1775 and ending at 1783. The war first took place in Lexington, which was started by the "shot heard 'round the world." Many important patriots, like Patrick Henry, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Thomas Paine, and Phillis Wheatley fought for independence. In 1775, the governments in the 13 colonies were overthrown by the colonists. They established the Second Continental Congress and the Continental Army. The former wrote the Declaration of Independence, which took more than one year to write. The colonists' freedom was caused by their victory in Saratoga, their alliance with France and Spain, their naval battle victory, their stealthy ambushes that defeated the unsuspecting redcoats, and most importantly, the colonists' victory in Yorktown where General Cornwallis surrendered. All of these helped the colonists defeat Britain, and they finally gained their freedom after the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783. **====


 * The Boston Massacre [[image:mp015.jpg width="395" height="286" align="right"]](The Bloody Massacre in King Street) **

This is one of the major events that caused deaths and enraged many colonists. In October 1768, British soldiers started coming to Boston to keep the Townshend Acts in order. The colonists despised them and thought of them as a threat to their freedom. Small fights then started between the two sides. On March 15, 1770, a group of colonial merchants surrounded 9 British soldiers, including Captain Thomas Preston, threatened them, and started to throw rocks and chunks of ice at the unfortunate redcoats. In fright, they fired at the colonists, killing 5 civilians (including the leader of the group, Crispus Attucks) and wounding 6. Governor Thomas had the soldiers arrested for murder. John Adams defended them. Even though he was a patriot, he was fair and he believed that the British soldiers deserved a fair trial. In the end, only two soldiers were given the punishment.


 * Th﻿e Declar﻿﻿atio﻿n of ﻿Independence **



====The Declaration of Independence was written on July 4, 1776 by Thomas Jefferson(he is a member of the Continental Congress). It states that the colonies are at war with the British and are not part of the empire any longer. It's sole purpose was to completely separate the 13 colonies from Britain, along with the explanation of having the right to be an individual and be free residents of this country. The Declaration of Independence contains roughly 56 signatures of men from the Congress itself. ====

= England = ===There has never been a revolution in England. The King of England at the time of the English Civil War was Charles I.The King of England/Great Britain during the American Revolution was King George III of the House of Hanover.===


 * First Continental Congress **

The First Continental Congress was established in 1774. This Congress was a group of delegates sent from each colony, except Georgia, that met in Philadelphia and discussed their plans and actions regarding to the "Intolerable Acts." The Congress did not want independence from Britain back then. However, they wanted Britain to consider their rights.

The Congress had three obligations: they will come up with a plan to make the British consider their rights, to find out about the violations that the British governments will impose on them, and to how to persuade Britain to acknowledge their rights.

The Congress also persuaded colonists to boycott British goods and protest about their individual rights. The King and the Lord North of England were enraged. As a punishment, they prevented colonists from gaining access to the North Atlantic fishing area by blocking it.

= George Washington = ====George washington was born in 1732 and he died in 1799.George Washington became known as "The Father of Our Country". He is a really important person in the history of the United States. He only went to school for 7 or 8 years, and his favorite subject was arithmetic. His father died when he was 11, and he helped his mother take care of the plantation.He was a really tall guy. He was 6 feet, 2 inches tall. When he was sixteen he went to live with his half brother, Lawrence, who had inherited Mount Vernon from their father. Later on George would inherit the estate from Lawrence since Lawrence did not have any surviving children. George married Martha Custis. They never had children of their own, but they raised Martha's two children, John Parke Custis, who was called "Jacky", and Martha "Patsy" Custis. Then after Jacky's death in the war, they adopted two of his children, their grandchildren. George Washington was the was the commander of the army in american revolution. George Washingtom had alot of horses during the american revolutionnary war.

=** Hancock John **= ==== John Hancock was Born on January12, 1737. He strongly opposed in the Stamp Act. He joined Samuel Admas for oppsing Great Britians rules for the colonies. He sighed the Declaration Of Independence in July6,1776. He also helpin the Boston Tea Party. The following year he spoke to some people about what happened in the Boston Massacre. John Hancock died in 1793.He was an early leader of the Patriots, helping organize the Sons of Liberty and protests against British policies. he became president of the second Continental Congress and helped sway the other delegates to support independence. he was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence. Michael Montagne. He also contibuted by helping pay in the revolution for certain expences because he had quite an anount of money and he signed the declaration if independence first. He also signed it really big so that the king could see his signature without his glasses.