Notes
fgjhgChapter 8 outline America secedes from the Empire (1775-1783) I. Congress drafts George Washington A. Second Continental Congress (May 10, 1775) 1. All colonies represented 2. Not meeting for independence, just to organize fighting hoping king and parliament would remedy their grievances- drafted new appeals to king also 3. Raised money for army and navy 4. Drafted George Washington for general of militia that was sieging boston B. George Washington 1.Inexperienced a)Never had been above rank of colonel, and that was 20 years before, with only 700 men b) Ended up losing more battles than he won 2. Strong and trusted leader by all a)chosen for political reasons because all of the armies were from New England colonies and Washington was from Virginia and southern colonies hadn’t had any influence on army or battles yet (some Americans were getting distrustful of large New England colonies) b) served without pay c) couldn’t be accused as fortune seeker since he already had wealth II. Bunker Hill and Hessian Hirelings 1. Contradictory War a) Americans tried to affirm their loyalty to king b) at same time they shot down his soldiers 2. Bunker Hill (June 1775) a) set up in may 1775 by capturing British garrisons at Ticonderoga and Crown Point and getting and getting large amounts of gun powder and artillery b) June 1775, American forces captured Bunker hill and bombarded Boston c) British attacked American occupied hill and captured it but sustained HUGE numbers of casualties and Americans retreated successfully 3. Olive Branch Petition (July 1775) a) told king that colonies were still loyal to king and wanted to resolve problems b)August 1775-King George rejected Olive Branch and officially declared the colonies in rebellion 4. Hessians a) King George hired mercenaries from Germany called Hessians b) colonists were insulted because they thought the quarrel was within family, so why bring in foreigners? Especially brutal ones c) Hessian-weren’t good mercenaries because they didn’t stay loyal to Britain III. Abortive Conquest of Canada 1. Americans Attack Canada a) British attacked Falmouth, Maine in October 1775 b) Americans thought that Canadians resisted British pressure c) successfully capturing Canada would add 14th colony and take away British base d) this showed that Americans weren’t just looking to defensively resolve conflicts with England because it was an offensive attack 2. Attacks fail a) Montreal was captured BY General Richard Montgomery b) Montgomery meets with General Benedict Arnold at Quebec (Arnold’s forces war-worn from hike) c) Assault on Quebec fails on last day of 1775 d) French-Canadian leaders were treated well by British in Quebec Act in 1774 and wanted nothing to do with American invaders 3.