Revolutionary War HSE

Revolutionary War

Declaration of Independence

Delegates of the Second Continental Congress decided that the 13 colonies should be self governing. They asked Thomas Jefferson, from Virginia, to explain in writing their reasons for the break with the government of Great Britain. He composed the Declaration of Independence . The document was approved by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, a date that has since been recongnized as the birth of the United States.

Multiple Select

The Declaration of Independence lists rights that should not be taken away. Choose the rights the people wanted.

• Liberty

• Life

• Power

• Pursuit of happiness

This person was chosen to be the Commander of the Continental Army.

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​Who is this?

Multiple Choice

Who is he? The Continental Army was created so that their soldiers could be well trained in order to prepare for the war that was anticipated against Britain.

• Benjamin Franklin

• Thomas Jefferson

• George Washington

• George Bush

​Even after the Declaration of Independence was signed, about 20% of Americans still wanted the British to rule the colonies. These people were called Loyalists because they were loyal to King George III. The beginning of the Revolutionary War forced the colonists to decide which side they would support. Battles lasted for several years. They were in New York, Pennsylvania, and later in Southern Colonies. George Washington and his men were outnumbered by the British, but had the advantage of fighting on familiar land. The British were unable to keep up supply for a large military force over a long period of time in distant North America. In 1778, France joined the war on the American side supplying the colonists with money, arms, and naval support. In October 1781, the British surrendered in Yorktown. The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 and the war ended. This treaty granted the United States its independence.