4 Declaring Independence

160 CHAPTER 6

44 Declaring IndependenceDeclaring Independence TERMS & NAMESEthan Allen

artillery

Second ContinentalCongress

Continental Army

Benedict Arnold

Declaration ofIndependence

Thomas Jefferson

ONE AMERICAN’S STORYIn May 1775—one month after the battle at Lexington and Concord—

Abigail Adams wrote to her husband, John Adams. “The house is a

Scene of Confusion,” she said. Colonial militiamen were camped

outside. Everyone was preparing for war. John Adams was away in

Philadelphia at the time, meeting with other Patriot leaders at the

Second Continental Congress.

Abigail and John Adams would spend most of the Revolutionary

War apart. In his absence, she ran the household and farm in

Braintree, Massachusetts, and raised their four children. During

their separation, they exchanged many letters. Abigail was a very

sharp observer of the political scene. In one letter, she shared her

concerns about the future of the American government.

A VOICE FROM THE PAST

If we separate from Britain, what Code of Laws will be established? Howshall we be governed so as to retain our Liberties? Can any governmentbe free which is not administered by general stated Laws? Who shallframe these Laws? Who will give them force and energy?

Abigail Adams, quoted in Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution by Natalie S. Bober

These questions would be answered later. First, a war had to be fought

and won.

The Continental Army Is FormedAfter the fighting at Lexington and Concord, militiamen fromMassachusetts and other colonies began gathering around Boston. Theirnumbers eventually reached some 20,000. General Gage decided tomove his soldiers from the peninsula opposite Boston to the city itself.Boston was nearly surrounded by water. This fact, he thought, made acolonial attack by land almost impossible.

Not long after, on May 10, 1775, Americans attacked Britain’s FortTiconderoga on the New York side of Lake Champlain. Ethan Allen led

Fighting between American andBritish troops led the colonies todeclare their independence.

The United States of America wasfounded at this time.

MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW

Abigail Adams was an earlyadvocate of women’s rights andone of the great letter writers in history.

160-165US8P R U2C06S4 11/26/02 12:13 PM Page 160 Page 1 of 6

BackgroundThe battle wascalled Bunker Hillbecause the origi-nal plan was tofight the battlethere.

this band of backwoodsmen known as the Green Mountain Boys. Theycaptured the fort and its large supply of artillery—cannon and largeguns. These guns would be used later to drive the British from Boston.

Also on May 10, the Second Continental Congress began meetingin Philadelphia. Delegates included John and Samuel Adams, JohnHancock, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Patrick Henry.They agreed to form the Continental Army. Washington, who wasfrom Virginia, was chosen as its commanding general. He had served asa colonial officer with the British during the French and Indian War.Congress also authorized the printing of paper money to pay the troops.It was beginning to act as a government.

The Battle of Bunker HillMeanwhile, tensions were building in Boston in June1775. Militiamen seized Bunker Hill and Breed’s Hillbehind Charlestown. They built fortifications onBreed’s Hill. Alarmed, the British decided to attack.

General William Howe crossed the bay with 2,200British soldiers. Forming in ranks, they marched upBreed’s Hill. On the hilltop, the militia waited.According to the legend, Colonel William Prescott ordered, “Don’t fireuntil you see the whites of their eyes!” When the British got close, themilitia unleashed murderous fire. The British fell back and then chargedagain. Finally, they forced the militia off the hill.

The redcoats had won the Battle of Bunker Hill, but at tremendouscost. More than 1,000 were killed or wounded, compared with some 400militia casualties. “The loss we have sustained is greater than we canbear,” wrote General Gage. The inexperienced colonial militia had heldits own against the world’s most powerful army.

“Don’t fireuntil you seethe whites oftheir eyes!”

Colonel William Prescott

161

The bloody fighting betweenmilitiamen and British troops isshown in The Death of GeneralWarren at Bunker Hill by JohnTrumbull (1786).


A. AnalyzingPoints of ViewWhy did KingGeorge reject thepetition?A. PossibleAnswer He wasnot used to hav-ing his authorityquestioned. Hefelt that he had aright to demandobedience.

BackgroundThe olive branchis considered asymbol of peace.

A Last Attempt at PeaceDespite this deepening conflict, most colonists stillhoped for peace. Even some Patriot leaders consideredthemselves loyal subjects of the king. They blamedParliament for the terrible events taking place.

In July 1775, moderates in Congress drafted theOlive Branch Petition and sent it to London. This doc-ument asked the king to restore harmony betweenBritain and the colonies. Some members opposed thepetition but signed it anyway as a last hope.

The king rejected the petition, however, andannounced new measures to punish the colonies. Hewould use the British navy to block American shipsfrom leaving their ports. He also would send thousandsof hired German soldiers, called Hessians, to fight inAmerica. “When once these rebels have felt a smartblow, they will submit,” he declared.

The colonial forces were not going to back down,though. They thought they were equal to the Britishtroops. George Washington knew otherwise. TheBritish soldiers were professionals, while the colonialtroops had little training and were poorly equipped. TheMassachusetts militia barely had enough gunpowder tofight one battle.

During the summer of 1775, Washington arrived atthe militia camp near Boston. He immediately began togather supplies and train the army. In the fall,Washington approved a bold plan. Continental Armytroops would invade Quebec, in eastern Canada. Theyhoped to defeat British forces there and draw Canadiansinto the Patriot camp. One of the leaders of this expedi-tion was Benedict Arnold. He was an officer who hadplayed a role in the victory at Fort Ticonderoga.

After a grueling march across Maine, Arnoldarrived at Quebec in November 1775. By that time,

however, winter had set in. Under harsh conditions, the Americanslaunched their attack but failed. After several months, they limpedhome in defeat.

The British Retreat from BostonIn Massachusetts, the Continental Army had surrounded British forces inBoston. Neither side was able or willing to break the standoff. However,help for Washington was on the way. Cannons were being hauled fromFort Ticonderoga. This was a rough job, since there were no roads acrossthe snow-covered mountains. It took soldiers two months to drag the 59heavy weapons to Boston, where they arrived in January 1776.

162 CHAPTER 6

PHILLIS WHEATLEY

Phillis Wheatley was America’sfirst important African-Americanpoet. She was born in Africaabout 1753 and sold into slaveryas a child. She was a householdservant for the Wheatley familyof Boston but was raised andeducated as a family member.

Some of Wheatley’s poemswere about the Patriot cause. OfGeorge Washington, she wrote:

Proceed, great chief, withvirtue on thy side,

Thy ev’ry action let thegoddess guide.

A crown, a mansion, and a throne that shine,

With gold unfading,Washington! be thine.

In other poems, Wheatley connected America’s fight against British oppression withthe struggle for freedom forenslaved African Americans.


B. FormingOpinions Did theLoyalists deservepunishment?Explain.B. PossibleAnswer Somestudents may saypunishment wasfair because theLoyalists weretraitors; othersmay say theyshould have beenallowed toexpress their opin-ions and keeptheir possessions.

Armed with these cannons, Washington moved his troops toDorchester Heights, overlooking Boston. The Americansthreatened to bombard the city. General Howe, who was now incharge of the British forces, decided to withdraw his troops. OnMarch 17, about 9,000 British soldiers departed Boston in morethan 100 ships. Boston Patriots joyfully reclaimed their city.Although the British had damaged homes and destroyed pos-sessions, Boston was still standing.

More than 1,000 Loyalist supporters left along with theBritish troops. Anti-British feeling in Boston was so strong thatthe Loyalists feared for their safety. Some Patriots even calledfor Loyalists to be hanged as traitors. This did not happen, butLoyalists’ homes and property were seized.

Common Sense Is PublishedIn early 1776, most Americans still wanted to avoid a finalbreak with Britain. However, the publication of a pamphlettitled Common Sense helped convince many Americans that acomplete break with Britain was necessary. Written byThomas Paine, a recent immigrant from England, this pam-phlet made a strong case for American independence.

Paine ridiculed the idea that kings ruled by the will ofGod. Calling George III “the Royal Brute,” Paine arguedthat all monarchies were corrupt. He also disagreed withthe economic arguments for remaining with Britain. “Ourcorn,” he said, “will fetch its price in any market in Europe.”He believed that America should follow its own destiny.


Everything that is right or natural pleads for separation. The blood of theslain, the weeping voice of nature cries, “’Tis time to part.” Even the distanceat which the Almighty has placed England and America is a strong andnatural proof that the authority of the one over the other was never thedesign of heaven.

Thomas Paine, Common Sense

Common Sense was an instant success. Published in January, it sold morethan 100,000 copies in three months. The call for independence hadbecome a roar.

A Time of DecisionThe Continental Congress remained undecided. A majority of the del-egates still did not support independence. Even so, in May 1776,Congress adopted a resolution authorizing each of the 13 colonies toestablish its own government.

On June 7, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced a key resolu-tion. It called the colonies “free and independent states” and declared

The Road to Revolution 163

This is the frontpage of CommonSense by ThomasPaine (above). Itwas one of themost influentialpolitical docu-ments in history.


that “all political connection between them and the state ofGreat Britain is . . . totally dissolved.”

Congress debated the resolution, but not all the dele-gates were ready to vote on it. They did, however, appointa committee to draft a Declaration of Independence.

The committee included Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, RogerSherman, Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson.

The group chose Jefferson to compose the Declaration. Two reasonsfor selecting Jefferson were that he was an excellent writer and that hecame from Virginia. The members knew that no independence move-ment could succeed without Virginia’s support. Jefferson immediatelywent to work. In two weeks, he had prepared most of the Declaration.(See pages 166–169.) On July 2, 1776, Congress considered Lee’s reso-lution again. Despite some strong opposition, the measure passed. Fromthis point forward, the colonies considered themselves independent.

The Declaration Is AdoptedTwo days later, on July 4, 1776, Congress adopted the document thatproclaimed independence—the Declaration of Independence. JohnHancock, the president of the Congress, was the first to sign theDeclaration. According to tradition, he wrote in large letters and com-mented, “There, I guess King George will be able to read that.” The coreidea of the Declaration is based on the philosophy of John Locke. Thisidea is that people have unalienable rights, or rights that government

164 CHAPTER 6

The Declaration of Independ-ence is presented for adoptionto the Continental Congress byJohn Adams, Roger Sherman,Robert Livingston, ThomasJefferson, and Benjamin Franklin(left to right). John Trumbullpainted this work many yearsafter the adoption of theDeclaration on July 4, 1776.

What is the artist trying toshow about the mood ofthe American leaders asthey declare independence?

The Liberty Bellwas rung toannounce the firstpublic reading ofthe Declaration ofIndependence, inPhiladelphia onJuly 8, 1776.


cannot take away. Jefferson stated this belief in whatwas to become the Declaration’s best-known passage.


We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men arecreated equal, that they are endowed by their Creator withcertain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence

If a government disregards these rights, Jeffersonexplained, it loses its right to govern. The people thenhave the right to abolish that government, by force ifnecessary. They can form a new government that willprotect their rights. When Jefferson spoke of “the peo-ple,” however, he meant only free white men. Womenand enslaved persons were left out of the Declaration.

The Declaration also explained the reasons for break-ing with Britain. It then declared the colonies to be freeand independent states. This was a very serious action—treason from the British point of view—and the dele-gates knew it. John Hancock urged the delegates to standtogether in mutual defense. Each realized that if the warwere to be lost, they would most likely be hanged.

The Declaration closed with this pledge: “And forthe support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance onthe protection of divine Providence, we mutuallypledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and oursacred Honor.”

Americans had declared independence. Now theyhad to win their freedom on the battlefield.

2. Taking NotesUse the chart below toexplain colonial views for and against independence.

What is the strongest reasonfor independence? againstindependence?

3. Main Ideasa. What challenges didGeorge Washington face informing the army?

b. What forced the British toleave Boston?

c. What is Common Sense?

4. Critical ThinkingDrawing ConclusionsWhy did it take colonists solong to declare independ-ence?

THINK ABOUT

• the colonists’ British traditions

• the risk of revolution

1. Terms & NamesExplain the

significance of:• Ethan Allen• artillery• Second Continental

Congress• Continental Army• Benedict Arnold• Declaration of

Independence• Thomas Jefferson

Section Assessment

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4

Views About Independence

For

Against

The Road to Revolution 165

THOMAS JEFFERSON

1743–1826

Jefferson was just 33 when cho-sen to write the Declaration ofIndependence. He was already abrilliant thinker and writer and ahighly respected political leader.Jefferson came from a wealthyVirginia family. As a child, he wasinterested in everything, and hebecame an inventor, scientist, andarchitect, among other things. In 1769, he began his politicalcareer in the House of Burgesses.

Jefferson felt that writing theDeclaration was a major achieve-ment of his life. He had that factcarved on his tombstone.

Why do you think Jeffersonfelt the Declaration was oneof his greatest achievements?

C. SummarizingWhen does theDeclaration say it is right to overthrow anestablishedgovernment?C. PossibleAnswer Peoplecan abolish a governmentwhen it disre-gards their rights.


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4 Declaring Independence