Chapter 5 The Spirit of Independence (1763-1776)

Lesson 4 Declaring Independence

Colonial Leaders Emerge

• May 10, 1775 at the Second Continental Congress
• Many were NOT ready to break with Britain
• Many of the same delegates from the First Continental Congress
• Also Ben Franklin- he had represented the colonies in London and helped repeal the Stamp Act
• John Hancock was also there- Hancock had funded the Sons of Liberty
• Hancock was chosen president of the Second Continental Congress
• 32 year old Thomas Jefferson was also there

Second Continental Congress

• Began to govern the colonies
• Authorized printing money
• Set up a post office with Franklin in charge
• Committees were set up to communicate with Indians and other countries
• Most important, Congress created the Continental Army
• Would be more organized than the militias
• George Washington was unanimously chosen as the army’s commander

Continental Congress and Peace

• The delegates offered Britain one last chance to avoid war
• Congress sent a petition (formal request) to King George III
• Called the Olive Branch Petition
• Said the colonists wanted peace
• Asked the King to protect their rights
• George III refused the petition
• Instead he prepared for war
• Hired more than 30,000 German troops (Hessians) to fight beside the British

The Colonies Take Offense

• The Colonist found out the British were going to invade New York
• The Americans decided to strike first and attack Montreal (They captured it)
• The Americans failed to take Quebec
• Washington reached Boston in 1775 and realized the army lacked discipline, organization, and leadership
• Washington began to shape the citizens into an army

Continental Army

• March 1776, Washington decided they were ready
• The army was set in a semicircle around Boston
• Washington gave the order to bombard the British with cannons
• The redcoats under General Howe withdrew from the city
• March 17^th, Washington led the jubilant troops into Boston
• The British sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia

Early 1776

• Support for absolute independence was growing
• Thomas Paine published a pamphlet called Common Sense
• Paine called the King “the Royal Brute”
• Paine said “’Tis time to part”
• The call for independence became a roar

Section 4

1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D

Who published a very influential pamphlet called Common Sense?

A. Thomas Paine

B. George Washington

C. Samuel Adams

D. Patrick Henry

Second Continental Congress

• Second Continental Congress was filled with debate
• Should the colonies declare themselves an independent nation or stay under British rule?
• Richard Henry Lee said “all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved”

Debate over Independence

• Congress debated Lee’s resolution
• Some thought the colonies were not ready to form a separate nation
• Others argued that war had already begun
• Still others feared Britain’s power to crush the rebellion
• Congress decided to draft a Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence

• Jefferson wrote
• Used John Locke’s idea that people were born with certain natural rights including
• Life, liberty, and property
• People formed governments to protect these rights
• Also that a government that interferes with these rights might be overthrown

Section 4

1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

A. Thomas Paine

B. George Washington

C. Thomas Jefferson

D. Patrick Henry

D.O.I. Final Touches

• July 2^nd, 1776 Congress voted on Lee’s resolution for independence
• 12 colonies voted for it (New York later announced support)
• Jefferson’s draft of the Declaration of Independence was approved with some changes on July 4^th, 1776
• John Hancock was the first to sign
• Signed it so large that King George could read it without his glasses
• 56 delegates signed the paper announcing the Birth of the United States
• Copies of the Declaration of Independence were distributed to the newly declared states

Parts of the D.O.I

• Four major sections
• 1. Preamble (Introduction)
• 2. Lists the rights colonists believed they should have and the right of people to abolish a government that does not protect these rights
• 3. List of grievances against the King and Parliament
• 4. Announcement of Independence

Essential Question

• Why did the American colonies chose to declare independence?

Why did the American colonies choose to declare independence?

• King George ignored the colonists’ Olive Branch petition, in which they tried to avoid war.
• The Colonists learned the British were planning to invade New York.
• Thomas Paine published an influential pamphlet, Common Sense, which called for complete independence.

Chapter 5 Lesson 4 Quiz

The king of Great Britain accepted the Olive Branch Petition offered by Congress.

1. True
2. False

The king hired German troops to fight in America.

1. True
2. False

The Declaration of Independence explains why the colonies chose to form a new nation.

1. True
2. False

The first commander of the Continental Army was

1. George Washington.
2. Benjamin Franklin.
3. John Adams.
4. Thomas Jefferson.

What did the Olive Branch Petition ask the king to do?

1. protect the colonists' rights
2. leave America
3. start another war
4. stop taxation