The Road to Lexington and Concord: Intolerable Acts, Midnight Ride, and Battles

1. Section 6.3: The Road to Lexington and Concord 1. Describe the Intolerable Acts and their impact. 2. Explain how the colonies wavered between war and peace. 3. Profile the Midnight Ride. 4. Describe the battles of Lexington and Concord. After instruction, students will be able to:

2. Vocabulary • summarize – give a brief description • prompted – caused to happen • committee – group of people appointed to perform a specific service or task • correspondence – communication by exchanging letters

3. What We Already Know To raise revenue and to demonstrate its authority, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts in 1767, leading to a new wave of protests in the colonies.

4. What We Already Know When British merchants began suffering from colonial boycotts, Parliament repealed most of the Townshend Acts. Charles Townshend

5. What We Already Know In 1773, Parliament opened old wounds by passing the Tea Act, and colonists responded by staging the Boston Tea Party.

6. After the Boston Tea Party, Parliament issued the Intolerable Acts. • Boston’s harbor would be closed until the tea was paid for. • The committees of correspondence were banned. • A new quartering act was put in effect. • British officers accused of crimes in the colonies would now be tried in England. • A military governor was placed in charge of Massachusetts.

7. Other colonies immediately offered Massachusetts their support. • They sent food, supplies, and money to Boston. • The committees of correspondence also called for a meeting of colonial delegates to discuss what to do next.

8. The First Continental Congress made two important recommend–ations about what to do next. • They voted for a new trade boycott with Britain until the Intolerable Acts were repealed. • They called for all colonies to begin training troops. They were not ready to declare independence yet, but were determined to stand up for colonial rights.

9. While Congress hopefully waited for the boycotts to work as they had in the past . . . • Britain stood firm, refusing to repeal the Intolerable Acts.

10. While Congress hopefully waited for the boycotts to work as they had in the past . . . • Britain stood firm, refusing to repeal the Intolerable Acts. • colonial troops continued to train and stockpile weapons.

11. While Congress hopefully waited for the boycotts to work as they had in the past . . . • Britain stood firm, refusing to repeal the Intolerable Acts. • colonial troops continued to train and stockpile weapons. • Patrick Henry made his famous, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” speech. “Gentlemen may cry peace, peace—but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why should we idle here? . . . I know not what course others may take. But as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

12. The British military had spies who informed them that the colonists were storing arms and ammunition in Concord, 20 miles west of Boston.

13. Hearing that Revolutionary leaders John Hancock and Sam Adams were reportedly in Lexington, between Boston and Concord, General Gage ordered 700 redcoats to arrest the two rebels and seize the weapons.

14. General Gage sent his Paul Revere and William Dawes left Boston to warn the colonists that the British were marching their way. In Lexington, they were joined by Samuel Prescott.

15. Although Revere and Dawes were captured, Prescott made it all the way to Concord.

16. When the British entered Lexington at dawn, they were met by several dozen colonial militiamen. Shots were fired and eight colonists were killed.

17. The British marched on to Concord, destroyed the arms and ammunition, and prepared to return to Boston.

18. But 4,000 militiamen rushed to the area and fired at them all along the way.

19. With shots fired, no peaceful solution was to be found. The war for American independence would now begin and everyone would have to choose a side. Those who supported Britain would be called Loyalists, and those who wanted independence were called Patriots.