" Olive Branch Petition"

John Dickinson drafted the Olive Branch Petition, which was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 5 and submitted to King George on July 8, 1775. It was an attempt to assert the rights of the colonists while maintaining their loyalty to the British crown. King George refused to read the petition and on August 23 proclaimed that the colonists had "proceeded to open and avowed rebellion."

King GeorgeIII of England ,believed the Americans to be in rebellion, and believed he could quickly end it with his military force.

Interesting Questions**

What ideas were express in the declaration of independence?

= *Rights of free people to change their government when it no longer serves their needs.
*Natural law cannot be altered by any government.
*Humans have inherent rights to their life, their liberty to utilize the resources around them.
*And the most important, that all men were created equal.

Thomas Jefferson

Was the third President of the United States (1801–1809), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence in (1776), and for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States one of the most influential Founding Fathers. Jefferson envisioned America as the force behind a great "Empire of Liberty" that would promote republicanism and counter the imperialism of the British Empire.
As a political philosopher, Jefferson was a man of the Enlightenment and knew many intellectual leaders in Britain and France.

Besides practicing law, Jefferson represented Albemarle County in the Virginia House of Burgesses beginning in 1769. Following the passage of the Coercive Acts by the British Parliament in 1774, he wrote a set of resolutions against the acts, which were expanded into A Summary View of the Rights of British America, his first published work.

Continental Army

The American Continental Army was an army formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on May 10, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in their revolt against the rule of Great Britain. The Continental Army was supplemented by local militias and other troops that remained under control of the individual states. General George Washington was the Commander-in-Chief of the army throughout the war.

Declaration of Idependence & It's real meaning

The legal separation of the American colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia. After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4.

***** What does the declaration of Idependence said?******
= It said that all men are created equal and there are certain unalienable rights that governments should never violate. These rights include the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. When a government fails to protect those rights, it is not only the right, but also the duty of the people to overthrow that government.

Thomas Paine..!!

´´Thomas Paine (February 9, 1737 was an author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Born in Thetford, Norfolk, Paine emigrated to the British American colonies in 1774 in time to participate in the American Revolution. His principal contributions were the powerful, widely-read pamphlet Common Sense (1776), advocating colonial America's independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, and The American Crisis (1776–1783), a pro-revolutionary pamphlet series. The historian Saul K. Padover in the biography Jefferson: A Great American's Life and Ideas, refers to Paine as "a corset maker by trade, a journalist by profession, and a propagandist by inclination."
Paine greatly influenced the French Revolution. He wrote the Rights of Man (1791), a guide to Enlightenment ideas. Despite not speaking French, he was elected to the French National Convention in 1792. The Girondists regarded him as an ally, so, the Montagnards, especially Robespierre, regarded him as an enemy. In December of 1793, he was arrested and imprisoned in Paris, then released in 1794. He became notorious because of The Age of Reason (1793–94), his book advocating deism, promoting reason and freethinking, and arguing against institutionalized religion and Christian doctrines. He also wrote the pamphlet Agrarian Justice (1795), discussing the origins of property, and introduced the concept of a guaranteed minimum income.´´
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine

``Common Sense´´ by Thomas Paine..!!

Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine. It was first published anonymously on January 10, 1776, during the American Revolution. Common Sense, signed "Written by an Englishman", became an immediate success. In relation to the population of the Colonies at that time, it had the largest sale and circulation of any book in American history. Common Sense presented the American colonists with a powerful argument for independence from British rule at a time when the question of independence was still undecided. Paine wrote and reasoned in a style that common people understood; forgoing the philosophy and Latin references used by Enlightenment era writers, Paine structured Common Sense like a sermon and relied on Biblical references to make his case to the people. Historian Gordon S. Wood described Common Sense as, "the most incendiary and popular pamphlet of the entire revolutionary era".

John Adams...!

John Adams was Samuel Adams' younger cousin, but they were very different. John Adams was 13 years younger than Samuel Adams.
John Adams was born in 1735 in Braintree, Massachusetts. He became known as the Duke of Braintree because of where he was born. He graduated from Harvard. He taught school for a year but didn't like it. He studied law and became a lawyer. John Adams thought everyone should have a fair trial. He even defended the British soldiers, also known as the Redcoats. He was the lawyer who defended the British soldiers who were accused of murdering Crisps Attucks at the Boston Massacre.
On October 25, 1764 he married Abigail Smith. She tried to read as much as possible and tried to keep up with what was happening in the colonies. When John Adams was away, Abigail Adams and her husband wrote many letters to each other.
In 1775, the Battle of Lexington and Concord made people angry, so some important colonists had a meeting in Philadelphia to discuss it. The meeting was called the Second Continental Congress. John Adams made speeches for independence from England. The Congress voted for independence which meant they were probably choosing to go to war with England. John Adams thought they would need help from the South so the Congress chose George Washington from the Southern state of Virginia to be the General of the Continental Army.
On the 4th of July, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted. John Adams was one of the five people who was asked to write the Declaration of Independence, but Thomas Jefferson really wrote most of it. John Adams was one of the 56 men who signed it.
In 1783, after the Revolutionary War, John Adams helped write the peace treaty with England. It was called the Treaty of Paris. In 1789, John Adams became Vice President for George Washington. In 1796, he became the Second President of the United States, and he had more trouble. France got mad because they wanted the U.S. to help them fight against England, not be friends with England. In 1800, the U.S. signed a peace treaty with France.
John and Abigail Adams were the parents of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States who was elected in 1825.
Both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died the same day on July 4, 1826--exactly fifty years after the Declaration of Independence was adopted. John Adams was ninety years old when he died of old age. Not knowing that Thomas Jefferson had died too, just a few hours earlier, John Adams said, "Thomas Jefferson still survives."

What is the Second Continental Congress??...

In a large room of the State-house in Philadelphia, now known as Independence Hall, the Second Continental Congress met on Wednesday, the 10th of May, 1775 and chose Peyton Randolph of Virginia for the President, and Charles Thomson, Secretary. Again Mr. Duche was invited to become the chaplain of Congress. Representatives of all the colonies were present on that day, except from Georgia, but late in July there were delegates present from that province. They met under a dense cloud of difficulties, through which, for awhile, few rays of sunlight could pierce. They had met as the representatives of separate colonies that were in a state of virtual rebellion against a powerful government which had declared its intention to bring them into submission by force of arms. Armies and navies were already on their coasts for the purpose, and more men were on the way. War had actually begun in two of the colonies, and overt acts of treason had been committed in nearly all. As an executive body, they were legally powerless. They had no authority from any one to employ a soldier or levy or collect a tax. They had no executive head, no legislative functions, no treasury. They were assembled, as was the First Congress, simply as a great advisory committee composed of smaller committees from the several colonies. They were representatives of colonies groaning under serious grievances and petty tyrannies, and ready to fight for their rights, and yet loyal and loving subjects of the king of Great Britain. Even so radical a Son of Liberty as Dr. Warren, wrote from the Massachusetts Provincial Congress after the 19th of April, expressing a hope that the government would see the folly of its course and act justly, and saying: "This I most heartily wish, as I feel a warm affection still for the parent state." The delegates were more varied in their nationalities, their theological views, and their local interests than the prismatic colors; how were they to combine and become white, powerful, life-giving sunlight? Was the vital question of the hour? The unexpected kindling of war compelled them to consider measures for defense, and yet there was indecision, for many members believed reconciliation possible, and wished to keep the door open.

The Congress having resolved them into a committee of the whole to take into consideration the state of the colonies, reported on the 26th of May, that war had been commenced by Great Britain; that they had no intention to cast off their allegiance to the crown; and that they anxiously desired peace. At the same time they declared that the colonies ought to be put in a posture of defense against any attempt to coerce them into submission to parliamentary taxation. They resolved that no provisions ought to be furnished the British army or navy; that no bills of exchange drawn by British officers ought to be negotiated, and that no colonial ships ought to be employed in the transportation of British troops. They considered it useless to memorialize the Parliament; but after strenuous opposition from the Massachusetts delegation, among whom the idea of independence was fast blossoming, it was resolved that another petition to the king should be drawn up and sent to his majesty. It was done. An Address to the Inhabitants of Canada; a Declaration setting forth the causes and the necessity for the colonies to take up arms; an Address to the Assembly of Jamaica, to the Inhabitants of Great Britain, and to the People of Ireland, were also adopted. To the king they expressed their continued devotion to his person, and their deep regret that circumstance had in the least weakened their attachment to the crown. To the people of Great Britain, they truthfully declared that their acts were wholly defensive; that the charge that they were seeking absolute independence was a malicious slander, and that they had never applied to a foreign power for countenance or aid in prosecuting a rebellion, as had been falsely alleged. They set forth, in very nervous sentences, that ill-treatment by the British government in the rejection of petitions, and oppressive acts of Parliament, was the cause that placed them in the attitude of resistance which they then assumed, contending that it was necessary and justifiable, and worthy of the free character of the subjects of Great Britain. They boldly said, when commenting upon the wanton exercise of arbitrary power; "Shall the descendants of Britons tamely submit to this? No, sirs! We never will, while we revere the memory of our gallant and virtuous ancestors, we never can surrender those glorious privileges for which they fought, bled, and conquered. Admit that your fleets could destroy our towns, and ravage our sea-coasts; these are inconsiderable objects, things of no moment to men whose bosoms glow with the ardor of liberty. We can retire beyond the reach of your navy, and without any sensible diminution of the necessaries of life, enjoy a luxury which, from that period, you will want-the luxury of being free."

From this time the Continental Congress were less timid. From the beginning they had evinced a determination to sustain Massachusetts in her defense of her charter. Now they assumed comprehensive authority without any fixed limits of action. They did not wait for the result of their petition to the king, but went forward in preparations for a struggle for life. They exercised supreme executive, legislative, and sometimes judicial functions; and in the ready obedience to their mandates observed by the several colonies, they derived their authority. The supporters of the Congress throughout the land were so strong in character and intelligence, which, from the summer of 1775 until the end of the war, that body never lacked moral strength for the exercise of the functions of a nation’s government. All subjects of a genera character were submitted to the consideration of the Congress. For example: When a rumor prevailed that a British regiment had been ordered from Ireland to New York, the Committee of One Hundred, of that city, which had been appointed to supersede that of Fifty-one, asked the Congress how they should act; and when a Provincial Congress had been organized in that colony in May, 1775, that body submitted grave questions of public policy to the Continental Congress as a national and supreme tribunal, and suggested to them the propriety of issuing bills of credit in the name of the United Colonies, to furnish funds for defraying the expenses of defending the whole people. This was the first suggestion for the Congress to exercise national functions.



At first the Continental Congress hesitated to approve the capture of the forts on Lake Champlain, but when timidity gave place to courage, they were anxious to maintain possession of them as a means for keeping the control of the Hudson Valley. For the like purpose, they directed the Provincial Congress of New York to fortify posts at the upper end of New York Island, and on both sides of the Hudson in the Highlands. At about the same time, when President Randolph was called to the chair as Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses, they chose John Hancock to succeed him. Mr. Harrison of Virginia, as he conducted Hancock to the chair, said: "We will show Britain how much we value her proscriptions."

Battle of Lexington & Concord!

The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Monotony (present-day Arlington), and Cambridge, near Boston. The battles marked the outbreak of open armed conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and its thirteen colonies in the mainland of British North America.
About 700 British Army regulars, under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith, were given secret orders to capture and destroy military supplies that were reportedly stored by the Massachusetts militia at Concord. Through effective intelligence gathering, Patriot colonials had received word weeks before the expedition that their supplies might be at risk and had moved most of them to other locations. They also received details about British plans on the night before the battle and were able to rapidly notify the area militias of the enemy movement.
The first shots were fired just as the sun was rising at Lexington. The militia was outnumbered and fell back, and the regulars proceeded on to Concord, where they searched for the supplies. At the North Bridge in Concord, approximately 500 militiamen fought and defeated three companies of the King's troops. The outnumbered regulars fell back from the minutemen after a pitched battle in open territory.
More militiamen arrived soon thereafter and inflicted heavy damage on the regulars as they marched back towards Boston. Upon returning to Lexington, Smith's expedition was rescued by reinforcements under Lieutenant-General Hugh Percy. The combined force now of about 1,700 men, marched back to Boston under heavy fire in a tactical withdrawal and eventually reached the safety of Charlestown. The accumulated militias blockaded the narrow land accesses to Charlestown and Boston, starting the Siege of Boston.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his "Concord Hymn", described the first shot fired by the Patriots at the North Bridge as the "shot heard 'round the world," even though it was not the first shot of the war.

The Declaration of Independence

The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration is a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The birthday of the United States of America—Independence Day—is celebrated on July 4, the day the wording of the Declaration was approved by Congress.
After finalizing the text on July 4, Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several forms. It was initially published as a printed broadside that was widely distributed and read to the public. The most famous version of the Declaration, a signed copy that is usually regarded as the Declaration of Independence, is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Although the wording of the Declaration was approved on July 4, the date of its signing has been disputed. Most historians have concluded that it was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed.
The sources and interpretation of the Declaration has been the subject of much scholarly inquiry. The Declaration justified the independence of the United States by listing colonial grievances against King George III, and by asserting certain natural rights, including a right of revolution. Having served its original purpose in announcing independence, the text of the Declaration was initially ignored after the American Revolution. Its stature grew over the years, particularly the second sentence, a sweeping statement of human rights:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
This sentence has been called "one of the best-known sentences in the English language" and "the most potent and consequential words in American history". The passage has often been used to promote the rights of marginalized groups, and came to represent for many people a moral standard for which the United States should strive. This view was greatly influenced by Abraham Lincoln, who considered the Declaration to be the foundation of his political philosophy, and promoted the idea that the Declaration is a statement of principles through which the United States Constitution should be interpreted.

Interesting Question!

How did the enlightenment ideas influence the american revolution?

1. The ideas of the enlightenment influenced the american revolution and the american government in many ways. one of these ways is an itellectual movement that spread from europe to the americans

2. influenced the thinking of leader of the american revolution

3. cores beliefs: truth can be discovered through reason, what is natural is also and reasonable, people can find happiness in this life, society and humankind can progress and improve, peoples liberty should be protected by the law.

Interesting no??

About Us!!

Hello, welcome to our blog ... This blog was created in the US History class, we are from Tegucigalpa, Honduras ... The purpose of this is to learn a little more about the American Revolution. We just created our blog but we will like you to check it, because it has interesting information which you can learn a lot ... We hope you like it....!!!!

The First Continental Congress

The First Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen North American colonies that met on September 5, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution. Called in response to the passage of the Coercive Acts (also known as Intolerable Acts by the Colonial Americans) by the British Parliament, the Congress was attended by 56 members appointed by the legislatures of twelve of the Thirteen Colonies, the exception being the Province of Georgia, which did not send delegates. At the time, Georgia was the newest and smallest province and declined to send a delegation because it was seeking help from London in pacifying its smoldering Indian frontier.

The Congress met briefly to consider options, including an economic boycott of British trade; publish a list of rights and grievances; and petition King George for redress of those grievances.

The Congress also called for another Continental Congress in the event that their petition was unsuccessful in halting enforcement of the Intolerable Acts. Their appeal to the Crown had no effect, and so the Second Continental Congress was convened the following year to organize the defense of the colonies at the onset of the American Revolutionary War. The delegates also urged each colony to set up and train its own militia.



The Congress had two primary accomplishments. The first was a compact among the colonies to boycott British goods beginning on 1 December 1774. The West Indies were threatened with a boycott unless the islands agreed to non importation of British goods. Imports from Britain dropped by 97 percent in 1775, compared with the previous year.Committees of observation and inspection were to be formed in each colony for enforcement of the Association. All of the colonial Houses of Assembly approved the proceedings of the congress with the exception of New York.

If the "Intolerable Acts" were not repealed, the colonies would also cease exports to Britain after 10 September 1775. The boycott was successfully implemented, but its potential for altering British colonial policy was cut off by the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War.

The second accomplishment of the Congress was to provide for a Second Continental Congress to meet on 10 May 1775. In addition to the colonies which had sent delegates to the First Continental Congress, the Congress resolved on Oct. 21, 1774 to send letters of invitation to Quebec, Saint John's Island (now Prince Edward Island), Nova Scotia, Georgia, East Florida, and West Florida.However, letters appear to have been sent only to Quebec (three letters in all). None of these other colonies sent delegates to the opening of the second Congress, though a delegation from Georgia arrived the following July.