Violence in Boston

  The biggest riots were in Boston because the officials abused their power. The Massachusetts legislature issued a circular letter denouncing the Townshend Act. Very few colonist pay attention to this, until the governor dissolve the Massachusetts legislator and passed the Massachusetts Government Act; it put the colony over the control of an appointed governor. The elective assembly was closed down. Towns meetings were gone too; the colonist lost the right to govern themselves.

   In already a tense situation, the costumes officers seize a merchant ship called ¨Liberty¨ and this was seized for smuggling. It belongs to a wealthy man called John Hancock. This created riots, the crown sent 4000 troops to Boston. The presence of the troops inflamed overall anger. Troops started to take away the colonist jobs. One night of March 5 of 1770 a group of colonists hurled snowballs and rocks to the troops. The British soldiers were gardening the costume house. The soldiers killed the 5 colonist. Samuel Adams called this ¨The Boston Massacre¨ like the one in the picture.

     Later Adam organized the ¨committees of correspondence¨. It was organized through Massachusetts. This provides leadership and promoted cooperation. By 1773 other colonies were creating this which built colonial unity. Parliament back down once again. The British withdrew the troops from Boston.

The War Shifts to the Middle States

  

 After the British left Boston in early 1776 they decided to attack New York City. By taking New York they would cut the England colonies. After series of battles they were able to capture the city in September 15 by William Howe. About 30,000 British and German troops crushed the Patriots. The continental army was forced to retreat across to New Jersey. Washington barely saved the army and the revolution by counterattacking in December 26 by crossing the Delaware River, in the middle of a Christmas night surprising the Garrisons (a body of troops stationated in a fortified place) of more than a thousand Germans. This was called The Battle of Trenton. This victory raised the spirit of the Patriots.
    Washington began with another victory in 1777. Again moving his troops on the middle of the night. General Charles Cornwallis was in charge of this Battle of Princeton. During the remainder of 1777 George Washington suffered more defeats. In the fall of 1777 he lost Philadelphia for the house of the army. Let by General John Burgoyne, another British army marched from Canada to invade the New York Hudson River and this was the greatest victory. Saratoga suggested that US might win the war.

The British Make Mistakes

  In 1775 the British didn´t take the colonist serious. Two months after they defeat Concord, minutemen ambushed the Red Coats. The mistake by marching in at Concord passed again and its main purpose was to push them out of the sea port, to retake the hills.
  
    The British had a new commander ´´Lord William Howe´´. With order at frontal assault to the Patriots at the middle of the day going upward the hill and run away the Patriots that were hidden in frenches and they attacked the Red Coats. The first charge the colonist won. The second colonist won again but in the third charge the Red Coats won because the Patriots run out of ammunitions. The British suffered blood but unless the British took the hills, for the Patriots was a psychological boost.
    In January 1776 a coronel called Henry Krox brought cannons to strengthen the Patriots outside Boston. These cannons were brought all the way from New York. A man called Ethan Allen and their man had captured the cannons in Fort Ticonderoga. The British were surrounded by cannons and abandoned the City on March.

The Colonist Declared Independence

 By spring of 1776 Paine´s ideas had build momentum for American independence. Noting the shift on public opinion congress created a committee to draft the document declaring the American independence.
   In July the second congress voted that America was free. Two days later in July 4 they approved the Declaration of Independence. This was drafted by men called Thomas Jefferson. This drew up thanks to Paine´s ideas who declared the king was a tyrant.
 It made American independence necessary although the declaration primarily a long list of colonial grievances. The declaration also advanced the idea that all men are created equal. Congress embraced the enlightenment idea that all men are born with natural rights, which are life, liberty and property could not be taken away by a government. Thomas Jefferson called this rights the unalienable rights.

  Women did not have equal rights. They were ahead the social and economic reality. Many of the declaration signers own slaves. The sweeping statement was of the social and economic reality, but this created a sense of future hope for the slaves and the people. The colonists face many challenges before getting a nation. No colony in America had ever achieved winning independence from the British Empire. Fitting the British for independence would pit the poorly organize colonies. People do fight for liberty.

 

Opinion Swings Toward Independence

   In January 1776 a short but powerful book swung popular opinion in favor of Independence it was called ´´The Common Sense´´ written by a man called Thomas Paine, an artesian, immigrant and tax collector.
   In forceful and direct language Paine propose a radical course for colonist. The first thing he proposes was the independence for Britain. The second thing was the union of the new states and the third thing was to have a republican state government.
  
    Paine denounced the king and the aristocrats as frogs and parasites. He also wanted common people to be elected. He saw the king as the enemy of the American liberties. He hated for smothering the hopes of people that didn´t have money. He said that in a republic would provide opportunities. If they were independent they would have liberty to have a good economy and they also could trade with anyone.
        By uniting to create a republic, Americans would create a model for making people to reject the king and the monarchs. This people are learning with Paine´s book. He said the cause of America is the cause of human kind to be free. In 1776 this view was powerful when the revolution was a desperate gamble.