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Revolutionary War papers

When the Revolutionary War started, the colonists didn’t even think about declaring independence. They wanted to stay a part of their mother-land England. They just wanted to be thought of the same way in return. They wanted to be recognized in the eyes of the English Parliament. They even sent out a petition to the King of England asking for the blood shed to be stopped. The King refused to even read it and said that he wanted the colonies to be taken care of. This was the beginning of the colonies wanting to declare their independence from England.

The Congress of the America’s acted much like a regular government. They took command of the army and after King George declined their petition, their only choices were to either yield or fight. They appointed George Washington as the head of the Continental Army. Patrick Henry protested about how their rights as British citizens were being violated.

Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen took over Fort Ticonderoga. There they would gain all the supplies that the Americans found hard to find. They needed supplies because English ships weren’t selling them and infantry. They went up to the door and knocked and very nicely told them that they were being taken over. They didn’t use force or anything. After this little victory, they decided to go to Canada and see if they could take over the English up there. But this only showed the English that the Americans were not good on the offence.

In America there were still loyalists to England. They didn’t want this going on. They didn’t want independence they just wanted to stay under the rule of the English. They had felt that the King was almost like a father to them. They didn’t want to disobey their king some of them would help out the British. Lord Dunmore, the governor of Virginia, was the last loyalist governor. He got the slaves to fight for the British.

There were many attacks on the Americans. The British naval units were brought within shelling range of Breeds Hill. Under the command of General William Howe, there were over 2200 English soldiers. They departed fro Boston. In Charleston, they had burnt the city. The American general Prescott told the soldiers not to fire “until they see the whites of their eyes.” This was because again, the Americans didn’t have a lot of ammunition.

When the colonies decided to declare independence from England, they chose Thomas Jefferson to write the first draft. Jefferson believed that people had the right to create a government. He thought that this government should protect people’s unalienable rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” He wanted to prove that the British had violated their right.

Thomas Jefferson didn’t do this by himself. He had help. He had drawn excerpts from people’s statements over the years and expressed them. He had drew from “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine. In his pamphlet, he attacked the idea of reconciliation with England. He directed his anger at King George and not at the Parliament. He felt that people, through their representatives would have supreme power. Thomas Paine was the first man to openly suggest independence from Britain.
John Adams and Benjamin Franklin also played a part in the Declaration of Independence. They were a part of the committee that would revise and re-write the declaration after Jefferson had finished. They all had their own opinions on what the document would say to the Americans and to the English. They wanted it to be clear that the colonies would be on their own and not under the rule of England.

So in the end, the colonies were declared free from England. They had won the Revolutionary War and had finally been recognized as independent by the English. They had accepted the claim of the Northwest Territory and also the fishing rights off of Newfoundland. They had also promised protection concerning the property and rights of the loyalists. America was finally free.

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