WHY AND HOW OUR FREEDOM WAS WON,
AN “A-Z” ACOUNT
BY; FARMINGTON 7TH GRADE
Did you know
A is for Samuel Adams?
Samuel Adams fought With a mean word This was not a nice thought From everyone who head
Samuel Adams was in the sons of liberty. He made newspapers to argue with the British government. He also helped plan the Boston resistant’s to the tea act an organizer of Boston’s Sons of Liberty. He played a key role from the1765 until the War was over, Independence in Patriot opposition to what Adams believed was a British plot to destroy constitutional liberty. He was selected to represent the Massachusetts colony at the First Continental Congress in the year of 1774. They gathered to send a letter to King George III in protest of the taxes. They also planned to meet again. Patriots throughout the colonies started gathering weapons. In Massachusetts, Adams also helped organize the minutemen.
How old was he when he started fighting and what country did he come from
By: Kristy Gazelle
B is for Boston Massacre 5 men were killed 8 British were arrested The British were unfair And the Patriots were tired of King George’s heir.
The Boston Massacre was on March 5, 1770. Patriots were throwing snowballs at a Sentry and some British officers came to help the Sentry. The British killed 5 men. 3 died immediately and 2 died later because of their wounds. Captain Thomas Preston was arrested for manslaughter and 8 of his men were also arrested. They were all released later. This was one of the key events that made people choose the Patriot side. 2 Patriot leaders, John Adams and Josiah Quincy, wanted to help defend Captain Thomas Preston and his men. The Boston Massacre became a patriotic holiday. Many Patriots disagreed with the verdict of this. They still made it a holiday even though many disagreed with it. Every year, the Boston Massacre is reenacted on March 5 at the actual site that it happened at which was in the front of the Old State House. Do you think the British should’ve been at fault for the Boston Massacre? Why or why not?
www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/boston-massacre www.rhymezone.com
C
is for General Cornwallis
He was a very kind gentleman All his Efforts to keep you close He wanted to show and expose All his abilities and greatness General Cornwallis was born on December 31, 1738 In Grosvenor Square, London, United Kingdom. His real name is Charles Cornwallis. His lovely mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of Charles Townshend. His father was Charles Cornwallis, 1st Earl Cornwallis. He and his family lived in Grosvenor Square for several year. General Cornwallis was the general of the British who had lost the American colonies. Cornwallis served King George the 3, and the British as one of the leading generals of the Revolutionary War, where he proved himself as gifted. He was forced to surrender his troops top the American and French Forced at the Siege of Yorktown. General Cornwallis was sent to America in 1776. He was promoted to general and began service in the colonies. General Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown because they wanted the war to end. General Cornwallis was in 3 wars which included Revolutionary War, Siege of Yorktown, and The American Revolution.
Resources: www.Poetrysoup.com, www.historyisfun.org, and www.google/images.com Question: What was your favorite part of the War?
By: Trista Nichols, 7th Grade, 10th Hour
D Being
is for Declaration of Independence By: Dylan Hunt
ruled by the British was no fun
They picked up their guns and said they were done If there is no freedom give us war Then it was over and the British said “No more�! The Declaration of Independence is a document that was made by the colonists and signed to declare breaking away from the royal crown. It was signed by 13 congressmen from the 13 colonies on July 4, 1776. It was also signed by members of the Second Continental Congress. The Declaration lists reasons why they split and that the right to govern belongs to the people. The colonists had been at war with the British for over a year when it was signed. The Declaration was signed because of all the Acts imposed on the colonists. The patriots were people that supported the Declaration and the colonists breaking apart. Loyalists were people that thought the opposite, that the colonies should stay united with Britain. John Hancock was the first person to sign the Declaration. Signing the Declaration was punishable by death it was considered an act of treason. We celebrate Independence Day because of the Declaration. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration. Sources: www.landofthebrave.info/declaration-of-independence-facts.htm
E is for enlisting for the American colonies By Ethan Emken At the beginning of the Revolutionary war the colonies had a rag-tag group of soldiers who were for the most part bare footed. They would have seemed like no match to the well trained British army. Who would have ever thought a group of untrained rebels could have beaten the biggest and most powerful army in the world? With a little help from the French, a whole lot of dumb luck, and the desire to become their own country, the colonies were able to once and for all, take down the British. The Revolutionary war is not often thought of as a Civil War, but it was. Neighbors killed neighbors, and the colonists were fighting their blood thirsty neighbors who had sided with the British, the Indians. The Indians scalped the dead and tortured whole families and then burned many homes along-side the British. The Indians even demonstrated cannibalism to some of the colonial war heroes. Point in being, the Revolutionary War was one of the most bloody Civil Wars in its era. The colonial army’s soldiers mainly consisted of farmers, merchants, and frontiersmen mostly untrained. Although Washington did have some brilliant officers in his higher ranks, I honestly believe that the colonists couldn’t have won the war if the French wouldn’t of have stepped in and offered their help. They sent in back-ups because they admired what the colonists were doing and they wanted revenge on the British for the French and Indian War. If the French wouldn’t have stepped in and helped us trap Cornwallis, who knows what would have happened.
Colonial Soldiers By Ethan Emken Farmers, merchants, frontiersmen galore, they all signed up for the Revolutionary war. After years of being pushed around by a country an ocean away, Those colonial soldiers soon had “their day”!
Question: If you lived in the colonial times, would you be a loyalist or a rebel? Sources: George vs. George The American Revolution as seen from Both Sides.
G is for George Washington George Washington was the British general He used to be an Allie. Now he leads the colonists And wants the British to die
Before the Revolutionary War George Washington was the British General. He left because the way the British were treating the colonists. Also he knew there strategy so he knew he could beat them. Then he joined the colonists as the war starting.
When the war was starting he joined the colonists as a general. During the war he had hope that his army would win and defeat the British. George Washington tried to train his new troops as much as he could.
Some facts about George Washington are that he is was the appointed commander for the colonists. Also another fact is that before the Revolutionary War he had never commanded a large army. Another fact about George Washington was that one of his biggest problems was supplies during the war. Question Would the colonists had won without George Washington?
Sources http://www.mountvernon.org/ https://www.google.com/imghp
H
is for Hessian soldiers by: Jessamine Britt Some allies of the British were Hessians They were from Germany but their skills did not lessen. They mostly did watch and patrol But George Washington took them out he was on a roll.
The Hessian soldiers were soldiers from Germany that worked for the British. About 30,000 men served at North America during the Revolutionary war. They arrived in 1776, their first battle was the battle of Staten Island, and they fought in most wars then on. But in 1777 they were mainly used for garrison and patrol. George Washington crossed the Delaware River to give the Hessians a surprise attack in early morning Dec. 26 1776. 20 died 100 were wounded and 1,000 were captured. One of the Hessians captured was thought to have sent a letter to a relative in Europe and said the army needed help on defending the American colonies from the Indians. When the relatives arrived they found out that they were actually going to be fighting the British Americans. In 1778 the British had been trying to make negotiations with the Washington to trade the Hessians. Some Hessians didn’t go back to the British army after being released. Instead they went and worked as American prisoners of war. Question: How many people died during the surprise attack Washington made?
Resource; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hessian_(soldier)
I
is for intolerable acts By: Aniyah Martinez
The intolerable act were done to punish Massachusetts for pouring tea into the Boston harbor. They cut off importation for Boston. They had the quartering act were in which the colonist would have to house the soldiers. They had the Administration of Justice Actreat, George Washington call it the murder act because it allowed the British soldiers to harass Americans and get away with justice. Britain these laws were called the Coercive Acts. The royal governor ban town meetings. This was only few of the things they did. One of the things they did were cut the British harbor this stopped them from getting goods. They didn’t get goods they couldn’t make in the colonist. It was very hard on the colonist because they couldn’t get glass and stuff make clothing. The intolerable acts And they never held back Even under attack And those are some facts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intolerable_Acts
J
Thomas Jefferson by Alyssa Schade Thomas Jefferson bought some land. It was the Louisiana territory that he wanted. He bought it when he was president. He had it all planned.
Thomas Jefferson was born 1743 and died 1826 he was one of many to help write the Declaration of Independence. He was the 3rd U.S. president and bought Louisiana Territory. Thomas was a successful planter and surveyor, he was also a slave owner. He wrote in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal”. Thomas has many interest and they are music, reading, and gardening. During these years he also met and fell in love with Martha Skelton a widow of one of the wealthiest women in Virginia. They had six children together but only two survived into adulthood. He love playing in the woods as a boy and he began his education when he was nine years old he studied Greek and Latin. Thomas was born in April 13, 1743 and died July 4, 1826. George Washington made him commander-in-chief. He said in the Declaration “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Jefferson wrote,” We have the wolf by the ears, and we can neither hold him nor let him go. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other.”
How do you think would be like if Thomas Jefferson didn’t buy Louisiana Territory? History.com Biography.com
King George was very unfair King George extensively reigned King George reigned for 59 years King George often complained King George was a very unfair ruler. He ruled for 59 years, 3 months, and 2 days. He started his reign in 1760. During the Revolutionary War, King George III led England’s resistance throughout his countries “Seven Year War.” King George was born in 1738 and died on January 29 in 1820. King George suffered major insanity in 1804 and recovered, but in 1810 he was finally diagnosed with his final illness. When King George died, he was deaf, blind, and very mad. When the Declaration of Independence was written, King George was very offended. The colonists were making him (King George) sound like a tyrant who destroyed the rights of the people, when King George says that it was all Parliament’s fault.
What do you think the war would’ve been like if the British would’ve won the war? Sources http://www.history.com/topics/british-history/george-iii Google Images
L
is for Loyalists By Josh Cecil
Loyalists are people who liked the king They hate the people who dislike Britain Patriots are people who wanted freedom Patriots are people who wouldn’t be sittin’ There were about 50,000 Loyalist who want the king to rule all. The percentage would be 20%. Many people in the Revolutionary War accepted John Locke’s theory of natural rights and like limited government. Loyalists believed that King George iii could save them all. They thought Britain would be the Alpha country. They could have won it all. They always were tortured by the patriots. About 100,000 left the country. And about 15% left America to go to Britain. At least 30,000 loyalists died in the American Revolutionary War.
Question: Why did they like the king so much? Lists of resources: Google Pictures, George vs George, www.history.com
by: Madison Kingsley
They are ready in minutes Their pushed to their limit Fighting for freedom All they want is to be free men
These men where trained to be ready in minutes. They fought the British on multiple times during the war. Even if it did not look like it. But they were just regular people. Minutemen were just people who were willing to fight for their country. Who they were was not really publicized. They were self-trained, meaning they learned everything on their own. The only problem that they had was, they did not have a control leadership, inspect of that, they were the most organized part of the army. They were imported and without the help of the minutemen, the war would have probably gone differently. They were all volunteers that did not like what the British where doing. And even when they were not payed they still did it because they thought it was the right thing. What would the environment be like if the British won the war? www.ushistory.org/people/mintuemen.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mintuemen
N IS FOR NURSES BY TY ANDERSON The nurses helped the colonist in the war by helping their wounds. They also helped with food and shelter for the colonist. They were a very important role in the war.
They also helped the Red Coats. Today the nurses that were in the revolutionary were today called camp followers’. His troops were injured and he could not afford that. So he brought in the Nurses they helped the America to win the war. They also did the laundry for the colonist and red coats. It’s cool because some women were so desperate to fight they dressed up as men and fought.
The nurses helped the war, The colonist were very poor But they did not ask for more Just to win the war
http://www.history.org/history/teaching/enewsletter/volume7/nov08/women_revarmy.cfm http://news.pennmedicine.org/.a/6a0120a5b452fd970c01b7c7dcbace970b-pi George vs George book. WERE THE NURSES PAID DURING THE WAR?
O
IS for Officers
By: Abigail Keplar
They guarded with all their might They were British soldiers They worked really hard They were up all night
The officers wore red coats just like the British soldiers. They guarded like their life depended on it. They always had at least one gun or more just in case they needed it because they were officers. When the British soldiers marched the officers were always there.
The officers were smart and always knew what to do. When the British soldiers suffered during the war, so did the officers. The officers had to have hard training in order to be a good officer. Because back then during the war, they needed to have good officers. Most officers didn’t want to be an officer but had to be an officer.
The colonists hated the quartering act. They thought that it was cruel. King George however thought it was fine. And the colonists wanted to rule. The quartering act forced colonists to keep soldiers in their home. They also had to provide them with material they needed like food, bedding, candles, salt, firewood, and eating utensils. This happened on May 16, 1765. The colonists also believed that the act violated the English Bill Of Rights. The colonists didn’t always do as they were told. In 1766 a ship of 1,500 redcoats sailed into the New York Harbor. The colonists refused to let them stay in their houses and feed them so the redcoats stayed on their ship because they had nowhere else to stay. The Quartering Act was actually an add on. The original act was the Mutiny Act of 1686. There was also another Quartering Act in 1774 that required the colonists to provide the soldiers with less. The colonists were still against it and rebelled. Question: What would you have done if you were the colonists? http://www.landofthebrave.info/quartering-act.htm quartering-act google images
http://www.bostonteapartyship.com/the-
R
for red coats by the one and only Kyle Peckham
The red coats were the British they were called red coats because they had red coats. They killed a lot of colonist they were in the revolutionary war with the colonist. They ended up losing to the colonist. The red coats had a lot more weapons then the colonist and more ammo then the colonist. King George was the British king and George Washington was the colonist commander and chief. The red coats did a lot of bad thing to the colonist like tax them and raped them and burned there houses. Some of the taxes were tea tax stamp tax and other ones. The red coats were out number at the end the. Colonist had the French on their side so the red coats serenaded but note King George he had some on surrender for him because he didn’t like George Washington.
The British were call red coats They are a joke Because they ride on little paddle boats This wasn’t a joke just a lot of cannon smoke
Sources: google images, George vs. George.
When did the British stop wearing the red coats?
S
is for sugar act by Brayden Smith
The sugar act was caused because of the money the British spent in the war. So they needed a way to get the money they spent back. They put a tax on the colonists. Who put the act on the colonists? The sugar act is properly known as the sugar act. The sugar act was put on the colonists by parliament on April 5, 1764. The sugar act reduced smuggling. The colonists protested the act. the colonists thought it was dumb.
There once was a sugar It made the colonists mad The act went away And the colonists were glad http://www.americanhistorycentral.com/entry.php?rec=494&view=quick-facts
T is for tea act The day that parliament passed the tea act The colonist made a pact That they would no longer buy east India tea For that is how they stay free The tea act of 1773 was an act passed by British law that taxed all tea sold and stock housed by the east India tea company. This act was passed on May 10th 1773, the colonist diced to only drink liberty tea. The tea act was a flow up of the revenue acts, part of the Townshend acts. The Townshend acts were a group of taxes witch taxed goods such as lead, glass, paint, and tea. Parliament taxed these things because the colonist couldn’t provide for themselves at home. The amer98ican colonist boycotted tea to show that they didn’t approve of the taxes. All of these events lead up to the Boston tea party. This was when the colonist dressed up as Native Americans and raided a bunch of British ships caring goods and TEA! They dumped to tea over the side of the ships into the Boston harbor. This made the parliament mad! By:Addison gilstrap Question: why did the parliament care so much about the colonist not drinking tea? Recourses: www.landofthebrave.info/tea-act.htm , google images
U
Is for
Unsung
hero of the Revolutionary War - Dr. Joseph Warren By: Aidan Adkins
An important unsung hero of the war was Dr. Joseph Warren. The British were thwarted by his many actions. They tried to raid Concord and arrest Adams and Hancock. Warren sent out Revere on the famous “midnight ride”.
While practicing medicine in Boston, Joseph Warren became friends with Samuel Adams and John Hancock as well as other radical leaders of the Sons of Liberty.
In 1774, he wrote a song, "Free America” that was published in colonial newspapers. Warren was appointed to the Boston Committee of Correspondence. He spoke twice in commemoration of the Boston Massacre, the second time in March 1775 while the town was occupied by army troops. He also drafted the Suffolk Resolves, which were endorsed by the Continental Congress to advocate resistance to Parliament's Coercive Acts. Not only that, but, he was appointed President of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, the highest position in the revolutionary government. However, he is most known for what he did on the night of April 18th, 1775. Warren received information from a highly placed British informant that British troops were planning a raid on Concord to destroy munitions stored there by the colonials. Warren also learned that the troops intended to arrest Sam Adams and John Hancock. Warren sent William Dawes and Paul Revere on their famous "midnight rides" to warn Hancock and Adams in Lexington about the approaching troops. "The British are coming! The British are coming!" Warren was a brave man, he was quoted: "Where danger is, dear mother," he answered, "there must your son be. Now is no time for any of American’s children to shrink from any hazard. I will set her free or die”. June 1775, General Warren went to battle at Bunker Hill. The British captured Charlestown and the brave unsung Hero Fell bleeding on the battlefield with dignity and pride. His men buried him in Forest Hills, Boston.
Question: Would the war have turned out differently if Warren had not met the Sons of Liberty?
V is for Valley Forge
by Anna Melnikoff
There once was a king named George Whom sent many troops to Valley Forge? There was not a battle Could not prepare for battle Were the patriots at Valley Forge? , The continental army came to Valley Forge on 12/19/1777. Some people think there was an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 men at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777 1778. Some of those people believe that over 2,500 men and women died from things like disease, and exposure. The continental congress was forced out of Valley Forge when the British army started to surround the city of Valley Forge. Valley Forge is approximately 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia. , George Washing ton chose to camp at Valley Forge because of many reasons but one of the main reasons was it was very easy to spy on the British leader Charles Cornwallis. George Washington had fought for the British because he was loyal to the king at one point in time but now he knew that freedom should be available to all people including the colonists. , George Washington spent some of the time that the continental army was in Valley Forge trying to make a better army. General Washington chose to have his army spend the winter because he thought that it would be a good spot to plan and do a surprise attack on the British army.
How miserable was it for all the continental army? 3.
1.
Yahoo.com
4. eyewitnesstohistory.com
2.
Google.com
5. Ushistory.com
Awnser.com
6. Ducksters.com
W
omen
During the revolution war Women were in charge of the house. Women made their own materials because they were boycotting against the British. Women made clothes and blankets for Colonial Army. When Women were in war they would take care of the wounded and the sick. Women would cook, care, and help the soldiers. The women would sew. They would take care of the sick. They would be very quick. They wouldn’t stand and look. By: Tierney Mckown
X is for Louis XVI
by Jack Stevens
Louis, the King of France, Of his name sixteen, He had his sides in two Revolutions, Till’ he was ended by guillotine.
Louis XVI was the king of France during the American and French Revolutions. He became the French Dauphin, or heir to the throne, after his father, mother, and brother died by the time he was just 11. Louis was the king in the time of the American Revolution. He wanted French troops to help the British colonies in their fight against Frances archenemy, Britain. After the British had a crushing defeat at Saratoga, France believed the colonists had proved themselves. After this, King Louis signed a document agreeing in the financial support of the Patriots. This also allowed France to send approximately 12,000 troops and 30,000 sailors. Eventually Louis lost his support and was beheaded by guillotine on January 21, 1793. His wife Marie Antoinette was also executed 9 months later. What was the other Revolution he was in? http://www.biography.com/people/louis-xvi-9386943 http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/revolut/jb_revolut_francoam_1. html
Y
is for Yorktown
by Mrs. Vallas
The last major battle of the war was the Battle of Yorktown. Washington and the French were able to set a trap for General Cornwallis. Cornwallis and his men tried to stand strong, but became too weak. Washington and his men were able to take the British down.
The Revolutionary war had now been going on for approximately six years. Leaders on both the British and the American side thought the war could be won with a major victory in the south. Washington learned that General Cornwallis was setting up his operation in Yorktown, Virginia. George Washington saw this as an opportunity to win and started making a plan to trap Cornwallis. Washington learns that the French were sending 28 ships and the timing worked out perfectly. The French were able to sail into the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay while Washington’s men were able to surround the top of the bay. Great Britain’s Navy tried to defeat the French, but failed and Cornwallis was surrounded on all sides. Cornwallis tried to get help as he and his men were running out of supplies Three weeks after the Americans and the French had surround Cornwallis he finally surrendered. Cornwallis faked being sick and has in second-in-command formally surrendered to Washington. With this major win, the Revolutionary War was basically over.
Question: Would the war have been won if the French were unable to help? George vs. George Google Images
Z
is for Anhalt-Zerbst
Anhalt-Zerbst made quite an impression Its’ name was ImpossIble to pronounce Although it sent a few Hessians, They were all thoroughly trounced
Anhalt-Zerbst was a German city-state that was established in 1252 after the partition of the principality of Anhalt. During the Revolutionary War, Anhalt-Zerbst sent a few Hessians over to fight the Colonists. After the war, Anhalt-Zerbst ceased to exist in 1796 when it was absorbed by Anhalt-Dessau. During the war, the Hessians that were sent were told they were going to help fight the Native Americans. They surprised when they found out that they were actually fighting the colonists. Many of the Hessians stayed after the war was over, got married, and farmed. As a quick side note, there was a promise from the Colonial Government that if the Hessians fought for the colonies they would receive 80 acres. The Hessians from Anhalt-Zerbst fought in battles such as The First and Second Battle of Trenton, Germantown, and the battle of White Plains. After the war, most Hessians returned home and led normal lives, though many remained in the military.
How different do you think the war would have been if Anhalt-zerbst hadn’t sent hessIans to the amerIcas? Bibliography:wikipedia