Page 164 - Key to Social Studies 6

The American Revolution was building up because colonists were getting really tired of the British rule
of the colony. The British governors treated the colonists as their property and denied them any rights.
The War Begins
The colonists decided that if they wanted to be heard, they had to take an aggressive approach and
ght the British. The British knew that the colonists were planning something and decided to stop it.
Paul Revere, who was an American colonist patriot, warned everyone, and the colonists’ army was
ready to ght. The British fought but could not keep up with the colonists and retreated in the battles
of Lexington and Concord. However, the war did not end; it was just the beginning.
Declaring Independence Marching towards Victory

The American colonists gured that they needed a single After the General’s surrender, the French sent ships,
united army. Therefore, they chose George Washington to lead money, and soldiers to help the Americans, which

the army to defeat the British and gain their independence. made the American colonists grow stronger.

The Congress, held on July 4 , 1776, announced the However, in 1777, the British captured Philadelphia at a
th
Declaration of Independence, which motivated the American time when the American army was not in its best form.

colonists to keep ghting against the British for their
As suggested by Benjamin Franklin, George
independence.
Washington had Baron Friedrich von Steuben train his
After a couple of successful attacks the Americans had on the army on modern techniques of war and how to use

British, the British General John Burgoyne marched from weapons and strategies. Washington did not only use

Canada to New York to stop the American colonists. However, ghting to win the war, but also used intelligence; he

his troops did not last for long and he announced his built the Culper Spy Ring, which consisted of patriot
surrender, which was a turning point in the war for colonists with code names. They also devised a code

independence. language to gather information to help the Americans

win the war.

The war nally came to an end on October 19 , 1781,
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when the Americans, with the help of the French,

attacked Yorktown and forced the British to surrender.

The United States of America gained their o cial

independence in 1783.

Let’s Research!

• Divide the class into two groups. Each group should take a side, either the British or the

American colonists, and build an argument against the other. Sit in a debate format,

with equal timing for each group to illustrate their points and equal timing to refute

the points of the other group.

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