Main+Ch.8+Study+Guide


 * 1) //Peter Salem:// Was a free African who fought in Concord, Massachusetts and at //The Battle of Bunker Hill// in Boston, Massachusetts, with the Minutemen. He was one of 5,000 Africans who battled in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
 * 1) //The Second Continental Congress:// This group was formed because of the fighting in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. They asked King George III for peace in the colonies. And if the king so refused, the Congress had already formed a Colonial army as a backup.
 * 1) //Battle of Yorktown:// Yorktown was a small town in the Virginia colony on Chesapeake Bay, which was taken over by the British. The French and Continental armies then surrounded the town, and the French navy took control of the bay, blocking the British navy. Since the British navy brought in the British army supplies, this trapped them in Yorktown and the British had no choice but to surrender.
 * 1) //Friedrich von Steuben:// Was a German soldier who fought with the Patriots. In winter 1777, he trained the Continental Army for battle under the order of General George Washington—this mission was accomplished in the spring of 1778.


 * 1) //Treaty of Paris:// Was an agreement between Britain and the Patriots, signed on September 3, 1783. The treaty gave the newly named nation of //The United States of America// its freedom, and established its borders.


 * 1) //Mercenaries:// Were hired soldiers used by the British to fight with them.


 * 1) //Phillis Wheatley:// Was an educated slave who was later freed by her owner, John Wheatley. She was also one of the first American poets.


 * 1) //Olive Branch Petition:// Was a letter to King George III from the Patriots asking the king for peace in the colonies and to repeal the Intolerable Acts.


 * 1) //George Washington:// Was from Virginia and was chosen as general of the Continental Army. This was because of his understanding of soldiers and war, which he developed as while fighting in the French and Indian War.


 * 1) //Battle of Saratoga:// On October 17, 1777, the British lost the fight at Saratoga, New York. This was because they came down from Canada, hoping to surprise the colonists. But the colonists were already prepared for this siege, and were able to overpower the British troops.
 * 1) //Thomas Jefferson:// Was from Virginia, a lawyer and the leader of the Patriots in Virginia. At age 33, he wrote—and rewrote—the document that became the Declaration of Independence.


 * 1) //Mary Slocumb:// Was part of the North Carolina militia. She fought in the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge.


 * 1) //Quakers:// Were against all wars because they thought violence was wrong, and would not take sides in any battle.


 * 1) //Thomas Paine:// Originally from Britain, he thought people should rule themselves and that they should set up their own government.
 * 1) //Thaddeus Kosciuszko:// Was a Polish soldier who fought with the Patriots. He then later returned to Poland to fight in a revolution there.


 * 1) //The Declaration of Independence//: There are four parts to the document.

They are:

//__Part I:__// This states why the declaration was needed in the first place. Thomas Jefferson wrote that it was because people needed to cut ties with their old country to form a new one, and to enjoy the same liberties as other nations.

//__Part II:__// A list of ideas about government was stated here, including subjects such as equality, rights, freedom and happiness.

//__Part III:__// The colonists’ grievances were mentioned here, including the unfair practices of King George III and of British Parliament.

//__Part IV:__// This part mentions that now was the time to separate and form a new nation. The document states here the colonists’ official assertion of independence from Britain.