American Revolution

CAUSES
ACTS(By Adrian Bolido & Joseph Rizo)

SEDITION ACT is a common law offense that is less than treason but that may be preliminary to it. The new law said that citizens could be fined or jailed if they criticized elected officials.

ALIEN ACT allowed the President to expel any alien or foreigner who he thought was dangerous to the country.

Four international security laws passed by the U.S. Congress restricting aliens and curtailing the excesses of an unrestrained press, in anticipation of an expected war with France. After the XYZ Affair (1797), war appeared inevitable. Federalist, aware that French military successes in Europe had been greatly facilitated by political dissidents invaded countries, sought to prevent such subversion in the United States and adopted the alien and Sedition acts as part of a series of military preparedness measures.

The Three alien laws, passed in June and July, were aimed at French and Irish immigrants, who were mostly pro-French. These laws raised the waiting period for naturalization form 5 to 14 years permitted the detention of subjects of an enemy nation, and authorized the chief executive to expel any alien he considered dangerous. The Sedition Act (July 14) banned the publishing of false ore malicious writing against the government and the inciting of opposition to any act of Congress or the president particles already forbidden by state statutes and the common law but now by federal law. The federal act reduced the oppressiveness of procedures in prosecuting such offenses but provided for federal enforcement.

The acts were the mildest wartime security measures ever taken in the United States, and they were widely popular. Jeffersonian Republicans vigorously opposed them, however, in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, which the other state legislatures either ignored or denounced as subversive. Only one alien was deported, and only 25 prosecutions, resulting in 10 convictions, were brought under the Sedition Act. With the war threat passing and the Republicans winning control under the federal government in 1800, all the Alien and Sedition Acts were repealed during the next two years.

QUEBEC ACT set up a government for Canada and protected the rights of French Catholics.

Act of the British Parliament that vested the government of Quebec in a governor and council and preserved the French Civil Code and the Roman Catholic Church. The act was an attempt to deal with major questions that had arisen during the attempt to make the French colony of Canada a province of the British Empire in North America. Among these were whether an assembly should be summoned, when nearly all the inhabitants of the province of Quebec, being Roman Catholics, would, because of the Test Acts, be ineligible to be representatives; whether the practice of the Roman Catholic religion should be allowed to continue, and on what conditions; and whether French or English law was to be used in the courts of justice.

The act, declaring it inexpedient to call an assembly, put the power to legislate in the hands of the governor and his council. The practice of the Roman Catholic religion was allowed, and the church was authorized to continue to and oath of allegiance substituted so as to allow Roman Catholics to hold office. French civil law continued, but the criminal law was to be English. Because of these provisions the act has been called a generous and statesmanlike attempt to deal with the peculiar conditions of the province.

At the last moment additions were made to the bill by which the boundaries given the province by the Proclamation of 1763 were extended. This was done because no satisfactory means had been found to regulate Indian affairs and to govern the French settlers on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. It was decided, therefore, put the territory between the Ohio and the Mississippi under the governor of Quebec, and the boundaries of Quebec were extended southward to the junction of the Ohio and the Mississippi and northward to the height of land between the Great Lakes and the Hudson Bay.

This provision of the act, together with the recognition of the Roman Catholic religion, was seen to threaten the unity and security of British America by, in effect, reviving the old French Empire destroyed in 1763. The American colonists viewed the act as a measure of coercion. The act was thus a major cause of the American Revolution and provoked an invasion of Quebec by the armies of the revolting colonies in the winter of 1775-76. Its provisions., on the other hand, did little at the time to win French support of British rule in Quebec; and, expected for the clergy and seigneurs, most of the French remained neutral. The act eventually became important to French Canadians as the basis of their religious and legal rights.

TEA ACT the act did away with some taxes paid by the company.

In British colonial history, legislative maneuver by the British ministry of Lord to make English tea marketable in America. A previous crisis had been averted in 1770 when all the Townshend Acts duties had been lifted except that on tea, which had been mainly supplied to the Colonies since then by Dutch smugglers. In an effort to help the financially troubled British East India Company sell 17,000,000 pounds of tea stored in England, the Tea Act rearranged excise regulations so that the company could pay the Townshend duty and still undersell its competitors. At the same time, the North administration hoped to reassert Parliament's right to levy direct revenue taxes on the Colonies. The shipments became a symbol of taxation tyranny to the colonists, reopening the door to unknown future tax abuses. Colonial resistance culminated in Boston Tea Party (December 1773), in which was dumped into the ocean, and in a similar action in New York (April 1774).

QUARTERING ACT under the law, colonists had to provide housing, candles, bedding, and beverages to British soldiers stationed in the colonies.

In American colonial history, the British parliament provision (actually an amendment to the annual Mutiny Act) requiring colonial authorities to provide food, drink, quarters, fuel, and transportation to British forces stationed in their towns or villages. This act was passed primarily in response to greatly increased empire defense costs in America following the French and Indian War and Pontiac's War. Like the Stamp act of the same year, it also was an assertion of British authority over the colonies, in disregard of the fact that troop financing had been exercised for 150 years by representative provincial assemblies rather than by the Parliament in London. The act was particularly resented in New York, where the largest number of reserves were quartered, and outward defiance led directly to the Suspending Act as part of the Townshend legislation of 1767. After considerable tumult, the Quartering Act was allowed to expire in 1770. An additional quartering stipulation was included in the Intolerable Acts of 1774.

TOWNSHEND ACT taxes goods such as glass, paper, silk, lead, and tea. Also set up new ways to collect taxes.

In U.S. colonial history, series of four acts passed by the British Parliament in an attempt to assert what it considered to be its historic right of colonial authority through suspension of a recalcitrant representative assemble and through strict collection provisions of additional revenue duties. The British-American colonists named them after Charles Townshend show sponsored them.

The Suspending Act prohibited the New York Assembly form conducting any further business until it complied with the financial requirements of the Quartering Act (1765) for the expenses of British troops stationed there. The second act often called the Townshend duties, imposed for the second time in history direct revenue duties, payable at colonial ports, on lead, glass, paper, and tea. The third act established strict and often arbitrary machinery of customs collection in the American Colonies, including additional officers, searchers, spies, coast guard vessels, search warrants, writs of assistance, and Board of Customs Commissioners at Boston, all to be financed out of customs revenues. The fourth Towndhend Act lifted commercial duties on tea, allowing it to be exported to the Colonies free of all British taxes.

The acts posed an immediate threat to established traditions of colonial self-government, especially the practice of taxation through representative provincial assemblies. They were resisted everywhere with verbal agitation and physical violence, deliberate evasion of duties renewed nonimportation agreements among merchants, and overt acts of hostility toward British enforcement agents, especially in Boston. Such colonial tumult, coupled with the instability of frequently changing British ministries, resulted, on March 5, 1770 (the same day as the Boston Massacre), in repeal of all revenue duties except that on tea, lifting of the Quartering Act requirements, and removal of troops from Boston, which thus temporarily averted hostilities.

SUGAR ACT replaced an earlier tax on molasses that had been in effect for years.

In U.S. colonial history, British legislation aimed at ending the smuggling trade in sugar and molasses from the French and Dutch West Indies and at providing increased revenues to fund enlarged British Empire responsibilities following the French and Indian War. Actually a reinvigoration of the largely ineffective Molasses Act of 1733, the Sugar Act provided for strong customs enforcement of the duties levied on refined sugar and molasses imported into the colonies from non-British sources in the Caribbean. The Act thus granted a virtual monopoly of the American market to British West Indies sugar Planters. Early colonial protests at these duties were ended when the tax was lowered two years later. The Protected price of British sugar actually benefited New England distillers, though they did not appreciate it. More objectionable to the colonist were the stricter bonding regulations for shipmasters, whose cargoes were subject to seizure and confiscation by British customs commissioners and who were placed under the authority of the Vice-Admiralty Court in distant Nova Scotia if they violated the trade rules or failed to pay duties. As a result of this act, the earlier clandestine trade in foreign sugar, and thus much colonial maritime commerce, were severely hampered.

STAMP ACT this law put a tax on legal documents such as wills, diplomas, and marriage papers.

In U.S. colonial history, the British parliamentary attempt to raise revenue through direct taxation of all colonial commercial and legal papers, and newspapers, pamphlets, cards, almanacs, and dice. The devastating effect of Pontiac's War (1763-64) an colonial frontier settlements added to the enormous new defense burdens resulting from Great Britain's victory (1763) in the French and Indian War. The British chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir George Grenville, hoped to meet at least half of these costs by the combined revenues of the Sugar Act (1764) and the Stamp Act, a common revenue device in England. Completely unexpected was the avalanche of protest form the colonists, who effectively nullified the Stamp Act by outright refusal to use the stamps as well as by riots, stamp burning, and intimidation of colonial stamp distributors. Colonists passionately upheld their rights as Englishmen to taxed only by their own consent through their own representative assemblies, as had been the practice for a century and a half. In addition to nonimportation agreements among colonial merchants, the Stamp Act Congress was convened in New York (October 1765) by moderate representative of nine colonies to frame resolution of "rights and grievances" and to petition the king and Parliament for repeal of the objectionable measures. Bowing chiefly to pressure (in the form of a flood of petitions of repeal) from British merchants and manufacturers whose colonial exports had been curtailed, Parliament, largely against the wishes of the House of Lords, repealed the act in early 1766. Simultaneously, however, Parliament issued the Declaratory Act, which reasserted its right of direct taxation anywhere within the empire, "in all cases whatsoever." The Protest throughout the Colonies against the Stamp Act contributed much to the spirit and organization of unity that was a necessary prelude to the struggle for independence a decade later.

INTOLERABLE ACT laws passed by Parliament in 1774 to punish colonists in Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party.

In U.S. colonial history, collective name of four punitive measures enacted by the British Parliament in retaliation for acts of colonial defiance, together with the Quebec Act establishing a new administration for the territory ceded to Britain after the French and Indian War (1754-63).

Angered by the Boston Tea Party (1773), the British government passed the Boston Port Bill, closing that city's harbour until restitution was made for the destroyed tea. Second, the Massachusetts Government Act abrogated the colony's charter of 1691, reducing it to the level of a crown colony, substituting a military government under Gen. Thomas Gage, and forbidding town meetings with out approval.

The third, the Administration of Justice Act, was aimed at protecting British officials charged with capital offenses during law enforcement by allowing them to go to England or another colony for trial. The fourth Coercive Act included new arrangements for housing British troops in occupied American dwellings, thus reviving the indignation that surrounded the earlier Quartering Act, which had been allowed to expire in 1770.

The Quebec Act, under consideration since 1773, removed all the territory and fur trade between the Ohio and Mississippi from possible colonial jurisdiction and awarded it to the province of Quebec. By establishing French civil law and the Roman Catholic religion in the coveted area, the act raised the spectre of popery before the mainly Protestant colonies.

The Intolerable Acts represented an attempt to reimpose strict British control, but after 10 years of vacillation, the decision to be firm had come too late. Rather than cowing Massachusetts and separating it from the other colonies, the oppressive measures became the justification for convening the First Continental Congress later in that same year of 1774.

The Boston Tea Party(By John Perez)
The Boston Tea Party was a raid by American colonists on British ships in Boston Harbor. It took place on December 16, 1773. A group of citizens disguised as Indians, armed with tomahawks threw the contents of 342 chests of tea into the bay. This incident was one of many which stirred up bad feelings between the colonists and the British Government and soon led to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. The raid of American colonists that attacked the ships all began when the people of Massachusetts were angry over a tax which had been placed by the British Parliament on tea coming into the colonies. Though some time ships came into the harbor loaded with highly taxed tea. Because ships carrying cargoes of tea arrived in Boston Harbor continuously, the colonists called town meetings and came up with resolutions to stop the importation. The resolutions urged Governor Thomas Hutchinson to send back the ships and his refusal led to the Boston Tea Party.

Boston Massacre(By Paul Garcia)

The Boston massacre was no massacre at all, but a Boston mob and a squad of British soldiers. The riot took place on March 5, 1770.
It was called a "massacre" because several colonists were killed and several others were wounded. Here is the story as Paul Revere tells it. "Twenty-one days before, on the night of March 5,1770, five men had been shot to death in Boston by British soldiers participating in the event known as the Boston Massacre. A mob of men and boys taunted a sentry guard standing outside of the city's costume house.When other British soldiers came to the sentry's support, a free for all ensued and shots were fired into the crowd. Four died on the spot and a fifth died 4 days later. Capt. Preston and six of his men were arrested for murder, but later were acquitted through the efforts of attorneys Robert Auchmuty, John Adams, and Josiah Quincy who took their defense to ensure a fair trial. Later two other soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter." This was one of the reasons we had the American Revolution.

Common Sense(By John Perez)
Common Sense was written by Thomas Paine and published in January of 1776. This document was one of many revolutionary pamphlets that was famous during that time. It advocated complete independence of Britain and it followed the natural rights philosophy of John Locke, justifying independence as the will of the people and revolution as a device for bring happiness. These words inspired the colonists and prepared them for the Declaration of Independence, although the thoughts were not original.

Benjamin Rush, the Philadelphia physician, encourage Paine, while Paine was writing the pamphlet. Rush read the manuscript, secured the criticism of Benjamin Franklin, suggested the Title, and arranged for its anonymous publication by Robert Bell of Philadelphia. Common Sense was an immediate success. Paine estimated that not less than one hundred thousand copies were run off, and he bragged that the pamphlet's popularity was beyond anything since the invention of printing. Everywhere it aroused discussion about monarchy, the origin of government, English constitution ideas, and independence.

Common Sense traces the origin of government to a human desire to restrain lawlessness. But government at its best is, like dress, "the badge of lost innocence." It can be diverted to corrupt purposes by the people who created it. Therefore, the simpler the government, the easier it is for the people to discover its weakness and make the necessary adjustments. In Britain "it is wholly owing to the people, and not to the constitution of the government, that the crown is not as oppressive as in Turkey. The monarchy, Paine asserted, had corrupted virtue, impoverished the nation, weakened the voice of Parliament, and poisoned people's minds. The royal brute of Britain had usurped the rightful place of law.

Paine argued that the political connection with England was both unnatural and harmful to Americans. Reconciliation would cause "more calamities" than it would bring benefits. The welfare of America, as well as its destiny, in Paine's view, demanded steps toward immediate independence.

OLIVE BRANCH PETITION(By Shane Knights)
The Olive Branch Petition was a document that declared the colonists' loyalty to the Britsh king. This document was one of the last atempts to make peace prior to the revolution. The petition also states that the colonists wanted the Intorable Acts repeled. King George III rejected the petition and the colonists had no other choice but to revolt.

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE(By Shane Knights)

In 1776, the second Continental Congress chose Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence. When Jefferson was done with a rough copy, he gave it to his subcommittee, which included Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, for their approval. It only took seventeen days before the copy was presented to Congress with the entire subcommittee's approval. One by one, the representatives signed the document, and on July 4th, made it official. Even though independence was declared on July 4th, it took several days for the news to reach all the colonists. Although the revolution would last until 1783, the United States was free from British rule.

The Declaration of Independence is a document made up of three parts; Introduction and opening statements, wrongs done by the king, and colonists declare independence. The introduction and opening statements features this famous saying: "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." This sentence was the topic for debate during the early and mid 1800s surrounding the slavery issue. The second part lists actions by the king that the colonists considered wrong. It is a long list that takes up most of the space in the Declaration of Independence. Part three is a small paragraph where the colonists actually declare independence.

Next to the Constitution, Thomas Jefferson's document was and still is the most influential document in American history.

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BATTLES

Lexington

Bunker Hill

Long Island

Ticonderoga

Saratoga

Yorktown

BATTLE OF LEXINGTON(By Stephanie Castillo & Vanessa Maldonado)

It was 4:30 in the morning before the British appeared. About 70 American men stood dismayed while the 600 British soldiers in gleaming red and white uniforms with shiny brass buttons and buckles, assembled into battle lines. "Stand you ground!" yelled Captain Parker. "If they want war, let it begin here!" And it did. Knowing there was no way to overthrow the British forces with the tiny American group of men, Captain Parker ordered his men to disband, but the British commander Major Atcairn had orders to take the American's weapons. A small skirmish arose between the Americans and British. Parker was killed. As the sun began to rise, the british marched to Concord.

This battle was fought at a village near Boston, Massachusetts on the morning of April 19, 1775. The reason for this battle was the British wanted to investigate accounts that the colonists were stockpiling weapons in Concord. As the British began to investigate, firing began in Lexington and 8 colonists were killed before the British marched on to Concord. The American men fighting were regular townsmen, many owned property, but others were working men. The Battle of Lexington was important because it signaled the start of the American Revolution.

BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL(By Kimberly Palmer & Melissa Recalde)
WHAT WAS THE BATTLE OF BUNKERHILL??
The battle of Bunkerhill was the first major battle where the British defeated the Americans. It was an exciting and important battle in the Revolutionary War. Many people and events contributed to the outcome of this battle.

WHEN WAS THE BATTLE OF BUNKERHILL??
The Battle of Bunkerhill was fought on June 17, 1775.

WHERE WAS THE BATTLE OF BUNKERHILL??
Actually, the fighting really took place on Breed's Hill, which is an adjacent hill. People may call it the battle of Bunkerhill because it is the bigger of the two hills. Bunkerhill did play a role in the battle though, the Americans retreated and regrouped there. The battle of Bunkerhill was on the Charlestown pennisula, in Boston, Massachusetts, across the Charles River.

WHAT WAS THE CAUSE OF THE BATTLE??
The Americans wanted to keep the British from leaving the city. They received a message that the British were going to secure the hills, so the Americans invaded the area. The Americans wanted to take over Boston, and they wanted to get revenge on the British forces for shooting them in their backs when they were retreating at Lexington.

WHAT WAS THE EFFECT OF THE BATTLE??
The British won against 6,500 Americans engaged in this battle. Four Hundred and 50 of the 6,500 were killed, wounded, or captured. It proved the Americans could fight bravely in battle, and the British could not be easily defeated. The British actually won the battle by driving the Americans off of Breed's hill, but left a heavy toll on the British army. Although it was a British victory, the local situation remained inchanged.

DETAILS OF THE BATTLE:

The lesson learned from the war was that the rebels were a formidable opponent.
The British lost almost half of their starting strength, suffering 1,054 casualties.
The Battle of Bunkerhill was the bloodiest battle in the Revolutionary War.

WHO FOUGHT IN THE BATTLE OF BUNKERHILL??

BRITISH		AMERICANS
Lt. General Thomas Gage General Artemas War 16,000 New England Volunteers 6,400 British Troops General William Howe Sir Henry Clinton		Peter Salem Colonel William Prescott 1,200 Massachusetts and Connecticut Troops Colonel John Starks George Washignton

BATTLE OF FORT TICONDEROGA(By Ryan Brown & Juan Meza)
On May 10, 1775, Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold led 83 Americans called the Green Mountain Boys through the morning fog. They easily took over the 45 man British garrison at Fort Ticonderoga, New York without a shot being fired. It was located at the southern tip of Lake Champlain. The capture of Crown Point, New York on May 11th gave the patriots control of Lake Champlaign and opened up Canada to invasion from the south.

BATTLE OF SARATOGA(By Mindy McKirahan)

IMPORTANT FACTS:

Turning point of the war.
Ended the British threat to New England
Boosted American's spirits at a time when Washington's army was suffering defeats in Pennsylvania

IMPORTANT DATES:

OCTOBER 7, 1777: the patriots defeated in the second Battle of Freeman's Farm
OCTOBER 17, 1777: Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga

PEOPLE TO KNOW:

John Burgoyne
Benedict Arnold
Jane McCrea

JANE McCREA:
was on her way to the British camp to visit her sweetheart, one of Burgoyne's Redcoats, when she was jumped by Indians, tied to a tree, and scapled, and then her clothes were stripped from her. When the murderous Indians were certain Jane McCrea was dead, they left the scene.
JOHN BURGOYNE:
at Ft Ticonderoga, he forced the Americans to retreat. Then his army began to run out of supplies. To get new supplies, he sent 700 Hessians east to what is now Vermont. There they were stopped just west of Bennington by a New Hampshire militia force.

BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND(By Lester Cabrera, Jeff Gabriel, & Juan Hernandez)
The Battle of Long Island was an engagement of the American Revolution. The battle was waged on August 27, 1776 and ended on August 30, 1776. This was the first large-scaled battle of the war and had two commanding officers, George Washington and William Howe.

The whole ideal of the war was a British campaign to seize New York City during the American Revolution. General George Washington had sent out one-third of his troops across the East River to Brooklyn Heights from the American headquarters on Manhattan Island, where they constructed strong enough entrenchments.

There was a defect in their plan. You see, by George Washington sending out 4,000 men to guard the Heights of Guana, he left the left flank un-defendable and vulnerable. They failed to protect it, which caused the Americans to lose more than a thousand men. Howe only lost 400 men.

The Americans retreated to their Brooklyn Entrenchments, and during the night of August 29-30th, Washington took his demoralized army back to their headquarters on Manhattan Island.

	AMERICANS	BRITISH
COMMANDERS	Washington	Howe
DEAD & WOUNDED	250	400

BATTLE OF YORKTOWN(By Lester Cabrera, Jeff Gabriel, & Juan Hernandez)
Yorktown was the area where the last major battle of the American Revolution War took place. The U.S. forces and the forces from France worked together to give the British froces under Cornwallis a massive defeat.

In July 1780, about 5,500 French soldiers led by Lieutenant General Jean Rochambaeu, arrived in America. George Washington still hoped to force the troops from Britain out of New York City in an operation combined with France. Washington learned that an enormous fleet from France headed toward Virginia in August 1781. The fleet was under Admiral Francois Grasse. He planned to prevent Cornwallis from escaping by ocean, by obstructing Chesapeake Bayy. The French forces, led by Rochambeau, and the American forces under Washington hurried southward to capture Cornwallis on land. Admiral Grasse battled a naval force from Britain that sailed from New York to Chesapeake Bay's mouth in the beginning of September. The British then returned to New York to repair after several days of battle. An allied French and American force of approximately 18,000 sailors and soldiers encircled Cornwallis at Yorktown by the end of September 1781. On the night of October 16th, Cornwallis tried to bring his forces over the York River to safety. A storm had driven them back which caused Cornwallis to capitulate the next day. On October 19, 1781, Cornwallis surrendered.

Greater than 8,000 soldiers brought down their arms while a band from Britain played the song called "The World Turned Upside Down," over and over again. The men were approximately one-fourth of Britain's force in America.

Even though Britain was defeated at Yorktown, it didn't mean the Revolutionary War had ended. For two more years, the fighting conitinued in some other areas. Because the British leaders feared they may possibly have to give up other parts of the British empire if they proceeded to fight in America, they began talks about peace with the Americans.

	AMERICANS	BRITISH
COMMANDERS	Washington	Cornwallis
DEAD & WOUNDED	100	600

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PEOPLE

Thomas Jefferson	George Washington	Ben Franklin
Betsy Ross		Benedict Arnold

George Washington

(By Chris Bartnesky, Tyler Burns, & Casey Landry)

George Washington was born in Westmoreland county, Virginia on February 22, 1732. George was the youngest son of Augustine Washington and his second wife, Mary Bell Washington. George's early education consisted of the study of such subjects as mathematics, surveying, the classics, and rules of civility. His father died in 1743. From then on, he went to live with his half brother Lawrence. George then lived and traveled with his brother for nine years. His brother also died of tuberculosis. After George's brother passed away he ultimately inherited the Mount Vernon estate.

George Washington played a major part in the American Revolution. On July 3, 1776, Washington took command of the troops surrounding British occupied Boston. He spent the next few months training the rag-tag team made up mostly of untrained colonists. There were 14,000 men with little supplies. Even though Washington prevailed, he nearly failed due to the lack of men and supplies. Until he surprised the Hessian garrison by crossing the Delaware River on Christmas night 1776. In 1780 the main theater of the war shifted to the south where, in cooperation with Comte de Rochambeau and the com d Esaing, Washington brilliantly planned and executed the Yorktown Campaign. During this action, Washington and his troops defeated Charles Cornwallis and the British forces; securing American victory on October 19, 1781. George Washington had grown enormously in the time during the war. After the war he gradually learned to trust his own judgement after he had taken some advice from officers such as Gates and Charles Lee. Then George developed what was maybe his greatest strength in the society suspicious of the military. His ability to deal with civil authority. On the battle field, Washington relied on a policy of trial and error, soon becoming a master of improvisation. Often Washington was accused of being overly cautious. He could be bold when success seemed possible. He learned to be skillful and to combine green troops with veterans to produce a winning, fighting force. After the war Washington returned to Mount Vernon, which had declined in his absence. Upon his return to Mount Vernon, Wasington concentrated on restoring his home. Even though he had become President of the Society of the Cincinnati, an organization of former Revolutionary war officers, he avoided involvement in Virginia politics. Washington added a greenhouse, a mill, an icehouse, and new land to the estate of Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon like Washington had already become a national institution.

Thomas Jefferson

(By Jessica Achtsam & Mindi Zamora)

Thomas Jefferson was born April 13, 1743 in Shadwell, Virginia. During his life, he had many accomplishments. Among them were a lawyer, a farmer, and a public official. He was the founder of the Democratic-Republican party. He became a member of the Continental Congress in 1775. He wrote the Declaration of Independence, and was the governor of Virginia from 1779 to 1781. As governor of the state, he guided Virginia through the troubled last years of the American Revolution. He was vice-president from 1797 to 1801 and later became 3rd President of the United States from 1801-1809.

Jefferson's most famous accomplishment was writing the Declaration of Independence. He was 33 when he wrote it. Jefferson had to write a declaration that would show the spirit of America -- one that would state the basic rights of individuals, justify a revolution, and inspire the people to make it happen. It had to state principles such as freedom, equality, justice, and democracy; but it also had to be written in an accurate, logical manner that would appeal to common sense and be understood by all the people who read it or heard it read. As stated by John W. Selfridge in Thomas Jefferson the Philosher President, "As enthusiastic as Adams was, in 1776 neither he, Jefferson, nor any of their friends could have forseen that the Declaration of Independence would be cherished by generations of Americans to come. The Declaration of Independence became a priceless national treasure, not only for its historical value with respect to the founding of the United States of America, but for its universal themes of freedom, equality, justice, and democracy. These ideals are at the foundation of American society and government, and have inspired democratic movements around the world for more than two centuries."

Of all his accompishments, the one he is most proud of is his family. His wife Martha Wayles Skelton, and his children, Martha Jane Randolph, Mary, and Lucy. They lived in a nice, cozy house overlooking Albermarle Country's lovely rolling hills. He named the place Monticello which means "little mountain" in Italian.

Ben Franklin

(By Cortney Mild & Heather Padgett)

Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 on Milk Street in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the 15th of 17 children. His father was a candle and soap maker and a mechanic who emigrated from England in 1783. His mother, Abiah Folger, was his father's second wife.

Franklin had only 2 years of schooling, as his parents could not afford more. Franklin wanted to be a sailor, but since his older brother, Josiah, had died at sea, his father did not approve. Instead, his father sent him to apprentice his brother, a printer of the "The New England Courant." Because he was an insightful writer, and because he knew his brother would not print his work, Franklin wrote letters to the paper as Silence Dogwood, an elderly woman. When his brother discovered his secret, he became very angry with Benjamin and beat him on several occasions. Franklin Published the "Pennsylvania Gazette." He also wrote "Poor Richards Almanac" which became a best seller in North America. It included sayings such as "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."

Franklin was a very ingenious man. He invented the Franklin stove, also known as the Pennsylvania Fireplace. It gave a greater amount of heat and used less firewood. He also thought up a way to test if lightening was a form of electricity. He flew a kite during a thunderstorm. A bolt of lightening struck a wire fastened to the kite and caused an electric spark. This proved that lightening was a form of electricity. Using his newly found knowledge, he created the lightening rod which saved many buildings from fire. He also contrived bifocal lenses.

While he was alive, Benjamin Franklin improved Philadelphia greatly. He created a circulating library, Philadelphia's first fire company, a hospital, and an insurance company. Franklin offered plans for paving, cleaning, and lighting the streets. He also started a college, which later became a major university.

Franklin had quite an impressive political career. In 1751, he was elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly. This assembly wrote laws for the colonies. He was in public office for 40 years. He signed, edited, and framed the Declaration of Independence. Franklin also helped to write and accomplish the adoption of the Constitution of the United States of America.

Sadly, Benjamin Franklin died on April 17, 1790 at the age of 84. He is still known today for his vast accomplishments as an American printer, inventor, scientist, politician, philosopher.

Benjamin Franklin's Words of Wisdom

"Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise"
"When you run in debt you give another man power over your liberty."
"A penny saved is a penny earned."
"Never leave that til tomorrow which you can do today."
"God helps those who help themselves."
"Three can keep a secret if two are dead."
"Where liberty dwells there is my country."
"The doors of wisdom are never shut."

Betsy Ross

(By Cortney Mild & Heather Padgett)

Betsy Ross was born Elizabeth Griscom January 1, 1752 in Philadelphia. She was the eighth of seventeen children and a fourth generation American. Betsy went to school at a Quaker public school where she learned writing, reading, and possibly sewing. Thereafter, she was apprenticed to a local upholsterer. During this time, upholsterers were hired for all sorts of jobs including flag making.

At this apprenticeship, she met her first husband John Ross. They married in November 1773, but because Betsy's Quaker church frowned upon inter-denominational marriage and John was Episcopalian, so they chose to elope to a New Jersey tavern. Soon after their marriage, John and Betsy Ross started an upholstery business. In 1776, her husband was killed in a munitions explosion. After his death, Betsy returned to the Quaker church.

In June 1777, she married a sea captain named Joseph Ashburn at Old Swedes Church in Philadelphia. Betsy and Joseph had two daughters. Her second husband died shortly after the end of the American Revolution.Betsy met her third husband, John Claypoole, when he told her of her second husband's death. The two were married May of 1783 at Christ's Church. Before their marriage, John had earned a living as a sailor, but because of her second husband's death at sea, Betsy convinced him to go into business with her. Later he worked with the U.S. Customs house in Philadelphia. John and Betsy had five daughters. After years of ill health, he died in 1817, and Betsy never remarried.

In June 1776, a committee headed by General Washington came to visit Mrs. Ross. One of the members of the committee was Betsy's first husband's uncle, George Ross. This committee gave her a rough design of a flag that they requested her to make. It is said that Betsy was the one who convinced George Washington to use five-pointed stars instead of six-pointed, but no evidence has been found to prove this. It is not hard to believe that Betsy was chosen to sew the flag; her husband's uncle was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and she prayed next to George Washington in church. On June 14, 1777 Congress adopted the flag that she may have sewn.

Betsy retired to Abbington, Pennsylvania in 1827, She died on January 30, 1836 in Philadelphia. Now a major Philadelphia bridge is named in her honor.

Benedict Arnold

(By Kirby Backues & Lauren Booth)

Benedict Arnold was born on January 14, 1741 in Norwich. Benedict Arnold had some pretty tough times during his childhood, but since he was an energetic and intelligent kid, he managed.

Arnold's family had some poor business deals that caused some finance problems at home. His father later turned to the local taverns for solace. Arnold attended school at Canterbury. There, some of his siblings died from the yellow fever.

Arnold was a very energetic kid; he was willing to do just about anything. Because of lax parental control, he was a bit of a troublemaker. Finally his mother found help from their family. Ben's cousins Daniel and Soshua Lathrop took Arnold into their apothecary business. He left his apprenticeship a few times to join the army for periods of time during the French and Indian War. But he remained in his cousin's business for years.

Ben's mother passed away in 1759, and his father died two years later.

Arnold married Margret Mansfield in 1767. They had 3 sons. Later Arnold became a Captain in the Governor's second company of Guards. When the news about the Battles of Lexington at Concord spread, Arnold marched off into action with his troops. Since he was eager for action at Cambridge, he asked permission of the Massachusetts Committee of saftey to capture Ft. Ticonderoga.

There he met up with Ethan Allen who was just as excited to capture such a prize. Arnold couldn't talk Allen out of relinquishing command, so Arnold had to accompany Allen and his tumble fighters, on May 10 they surprised the British Garrison and the Green Mountain Boys celebrated.

About 7 years later his wife died. Years later in Philadelphia, Arnold met Peggy Shippen, aboisterous young women. She was the youngest of 3 daughters of Judge Edward Shippen. Arnold finally succeeded in convinced Peggy's father to allow him to marry her. She was eighteen and he was thirty-eight. While they were married he gained a lot of social status, but it was something he could really not afford. He was soon brought up on charges and was court martialed. He defended himself furiously but was found guilty on two charges: using government wagons and issuing a pass to a ship he later invested in. Even Washington announced the charges as "imprudent and improper and peculiarly reprehensible."

As many years passed his family moved to London where he found no job, some admiration, and even some contempt. He recentered the shipping business and moved his family to Canada. The Tories did not like him so they moved back to London. He tried again for military service once the fighting between France and England began but no avail. He failed with his shipping ventures and he died in 1801. His wife joined him in death three years later.

Since then Benedict Arnold has and always will be remembered as the greatest traitor.

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AFTER THE REVOLUTION
TREATY of PARIS(By Chris Claudio, Raul Ontiveros, & Eric Zapata)
Under the Treaty of Paris, Britain recognized the United States as an independant nation. The borders of the new nation extended from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. The southern border stopped at Florida, which belonged to Spain again.

The Americans agreed to ask state legislatures to pay loyalists for their property they had lost in the war. In the end, however, most state legislatures ignored loyalists' claims. On April 15, 1783, Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris. It was eight years to the month since the opening shots were fired at Lexington and Concord.

ARTICLES of CONFEDERATION(By Noe Sandoval)
The United States Constitution consists of basic laws that define the rights of American citizens and limits the power of the government. The Articles of Confederation gave each state more power than the federal government. The main reason for the Articles were to form some type of national government in order to defend against foreign countries. The Articles gave Congress the right to raise an army and navy, but the states had to approve it. Congress could pass laws, but could not force the states to follow them. People began to protest against their state governments and the antional government could not do anything about it. Therefore, the leaders of the country decided to meet again to solve these and other problems of the Articles of Confederation. They met and came up with a new national government, which is set up in the Constitution of the United States.

CONSTITUTION(By Roy Yanez)
The Constitution of the United States is one of the most remarkable documents in history. Written over 200 years ago, it still works as well today as it did then. It was written at a Constitutional Convention that was held in Philadelphia in May, 1787. The American states had just gained their independence from England, they had been operating under an agreement called the Articles of Confederation. They met to alter the Articles, but decided to start all over and make a Federal (United) government.

The Constitution was a compromise of two ideas. The Virginia Plan, the men in favor of the Virginia Plan were from the larger states. The Virginia Plan gave all the power in congress to the larger states. The men in favor of the New Jersey Plan wanted each state, large and small, to have equal power. For weeks the convention tried to decide how to please everyone. A compromise settlement was proposed by William Samuel Johnson of Connecticut. The "Connecticut Compromise"set up Congress as it is today. There would be two houses of Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The number of members in the House of Representatives would be determined by population of each state. In the Senate, all states would have equal representation with 2 Senators. Before the Constitution could be used, nine of the thirteen states had to ratify it. Many farmers (small), and poorer classes did not like it, neither did Virginia and New York. Finally they agreed to the Constitution when the Bill of Rights were added. The Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments to the Constitution.

A basic idea of the Constitution is that the people play an important part in the government. The government is to be run for and by the people. The Framers (writers) of the Constitution divided the government into three branches: Executive, Judicial, and Legislative. The Legislative branch (Congress) creates and passes the laws and acts. The Judicial branch (Supreme Court) is to be the final judge of any disagreement between state and national governments. The Executive branch (President) carries out and enforces laws. Each branch has a system of checks and balances over each other. If the President vetos (rejects) a bill passed in Congress, Congress can still pass it again. This time a two thirds vote is neede in both houses to pass the law. A majority (one more than half) is all that is needed to pass a law the President does want. The Supreme Court can check up on Congress. If a law is passed the Supreme Court can declare it unconstitutional. Congress can check up on Federal officers, including the President. If Congress thinks a Federal official is guilty of a crime, they have the power to remove them from office.

As you can see the Constitution is not the best document in the world, but it still works today. The Framers had an idea of equal power for the government, people and state, and their idea is still going strong in the young and old of this country.

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LINKS

This page was constructed by Mr. Whalen's 3rd Period American history class.

Pre Revolution	Battles	People	Post Revolution
CAUSES: Acts Boston Massacre Boston Tea Party Common Sense Olive Branch Petition Declaration of Independence	Lexington Bunker Hill Long Island Ticonderoga Saratoga Yorktown	George Washington Thomas Jefferson Benjamin Franklin Betsy Ross Benedict Arnold	Treaty of Paris Articles of Confederation Constitution