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Winning the Revolution

Winning the Revolution. Chapter 9. Declaring Independence. Chapter 9, Lesson 1 4-3.2, 4-3.1, 4-3.2, 4-3.3, 4-3.4. The Second Continental Congress.

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Winning the Revolution

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  1. Winning the Revolution Chapter 9

  2. Declaring Independence Chapter 9, Lesson 1 4-3.2, 4-3.1, 4-3.2, 4-3.3, 4-3.4

  3. The Second Continental Congress • The First Continental Congress met in 1774. They were trying to work out things with England, but decided to form militias for protection. They agreed to meet in a year if the situation was not better. • The Second Continental Congress began meeting in Philadelphia in May 1775. • One of the first things this Congress did was to form the Continental Army, an army with soldiers from all 13 colonies.

  4. The Second Continental Congress • John Hancock served as president of the Second Continental Congress. He declared George Washington had been elected to be General and Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. • In July, Congress sent the Olive Branch Petition to King George III to avoid war. The petition stated that the colonists were still loyal to England and war could be avoided if the colonists were given greater freedom to govern themselves. King George III refused to even read the petition and said he would use force to quickly end this.

  5. Time to Part • Thomas Paine published a pamphlet called Common Sense. He argued it was time to part with Britain. He convinced many colonists it was time to declare independence. • The Declaration of Independence was written to explain why the colonies wanted independence. Members of the Declaration of Independence writing committee were: Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman (from Connecticut), Robert Livingston (from New York), and Thomas Jefferson (a lawyer from Virginia). • Adams insisted Jefferson be the main writer. It took two weeks.

  6. The Declaration of Independence (pg. 299) • In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson explained why the American colonies must declare independence from Britain. Jefferson stated that people were born with certain “unalienable rights,” meaning rights that cannot be taken away. • Next, the Declaration states that if these rights are abused by the government, the people should have the right to form their own government. • The Declaration listed “injuries” such as taxation without representation. • The Declaration then said that because the king had abused his power, the American colonists had decided to declare independence, and they had a right to form a government of their own. • The Declaration ends by declaring the United Colonies free and independent states.

  7. A Dangerous Decision • Congress approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. • There were celebrations from New England to Georgia. • Patriots pulled own a statue of King George III and melted the metal into bullets for the Continental Army. • The signers of the Declaration of Independence would be considered traitors (a person who works against his/her own country) by King George III and could be put to death by hanging. • John Hancock signed the document first and his signature is the largest. (That is why a signature is sometimes referred to as a John Hancock.)

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