Transcript Ch.6, Sec.3 – The Road to Lexington & Concord

Ch.6, Sec.3 – The Road to
Lexington & Concord
 The Intolerable Acts
- in 1774, Parliament passed a series of
laws to punish the Massachusetts colony for
their involvement in the Boston Tea Party
- the British called these laws the Coercive
Acts, but they were so harsh that the
colonists called them the Intolerable Acts
- the Boston port was closed, committees
of correspondence were banned, and
colonists were forced to pay for the tea
Ch.6, Sec.3 – The Road to
Lexington & Concord
 The First Continental Congress Meets
- in September 1774, delegates from all the colonies except
Georgia met in Philadelphia for the First Continental Congress
- they voted to ban all trade with England until the Intolerable
Acts were repealed
- this meeting planted the seeds for
future independence and all of the
colonies began training troops, so
colonial rights would be upheld
Ch.6, Sec.3 – The Road to
Lexington & Concord
 Between War and Peace
- the colonists hoped that the trade boycott would force a
repeal of the Intolerable Acts, since boycotting had worked for
the Stamp Act & Townshend Acts
- Parliament stood firm and increased restrictions on trade
- by the end of 1774, some colonists were
preparing to fight and had their troops
continue to train
- Patrick Henry gave his famous speech at the
House of Burgesses in March of 1775
Ch.6, Sec.3 – The Road to
Lexington & Concord
Ch.6, Sec.3 – The Road to
Lexington & Concord
 The Midnight Ride
- spies were busy on both sides and Sam Adams had an
extensive network built to watch British activities
- British spies reported to General Thomas Gage, that the
Massachusetts militia was storing ammunitions in Concord
- he also heard that Sam Adams & John Hancock were in
Lexington
- therefore, on April 18, 1775, Gage ordered his troops to
arrest Adams & Hancock in Lexington and to destroy the
supplies in Concord
Ch.6, Sec.3 – The Road to
Lexington & Concord
- Paul Revere & William Dawes, fellow Sons of Liberty, were
charged with alerting others if this situation were to happen
- they would alert others from the Old North Church in Boston
with one lantern if the British were coming by land & two
lanterns if by sea
- “One if by land, two if by
sea!”
- both men galloped on
horseback through their
“midnight ride” to warn
other Minutemen
Paul Revere
William Dawes
Ch.6, Sec.3 – The Road to
Lexington & Concord
Ch.6, Sec.3 – The Road to
Lexington & Concord
Ch.6, Sec.3 – The Road to
Lexington & Concord
 Lexington and Concord
- at dawn on April 19, 1775, some 700 British troops reached
Lexington and ordered the 70 Minutemen to drop their
muskets and surrender
- the British fired and killed 8 militiamen, then marched to
Concord where they destroyed military supplies
- 4,000 Minutemen fired on the British and they retreated back
to Boston
- the battles at Lexington & Concord started the Revolutionary
War and people had to decide if they were Loyalists or Patriots!
Ch.6, Sec.3 – The Road to
Lexington & Concord