Preserving Revolutionary & Civil War History
Preserving Revolutionary & Civil War History
Author: Mercy Otis Warren Date:1775 Annotation: In May 1775, shortly after the battles at Lexington and Concord, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia. In mid-June, Congress established the Continental Army and named George Washington (1732-1799) commander-in-chief. The colonists…
Date:1775 Annotation: This is a royal proclamation issued by George III, responding to increasing hostilities in the American colonies. Document: A Proclamation, by The King, for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition King George III August 23, 1775 George R. Whereas many of our…
Date:1775 Annotation: Two copies of this petition were sent to King George in hopes of settling amicably. But, King George would not accept the petition which prompted the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. Document: SATURDAY JULY 8, 1775 The Congress met…
Author: Thomas Jefferson and John Dickinson Date:1775 Annotation: This was prepared by the Second Continental Congress to clarify why the British colonies had taken up arms against Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson completed the first draft and John Dickinson prepared the…
Author: Thomas Gage and Laurence Fishburne Date:1775 Annotation: In British eyes, the Revolution was the work of a small group demagogues and radicals who plotted with debtors and smugglers to overthrown British rule. This proclamation, issued by British commander…
Author: Isaac Merrill Date:1775 Annotation: In February 1775, Parliament declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion. This declaration permitted soldiers to shoot suspected rebels on sight. In April, General Thomas Gage (1721-1787) received secret orders to arrest…
Author: Ezra Stiles Date:1775 Annotation: Ezra Stiles (1727-1795), a future president of Yale College, was serving as pastor in Newport at the time he wrote this letter. He describes how Parliament’s repressive laws have inflamed Americans, who fled Europe…
Author: Patrick Henry Date:1775 Annotation: A speech made by Patrick Henry to the Virginia House of Burgesses in order to raise support for the American Revolutionary War. The speech was delivered at St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia. Document: No man…
Author: John Adams Date:1774 Annotation: In the following letter, in which he describes the grievances he feels threaten to reduce the colonists to political slavery, John Adams (1735-1826) revives memories of the Puritan struggle against the religious tyranny of…
Date:1774 Annotation: Many members of the Continental Congress blamed the imperial crisis on the acts of malevolent ministers and implored King George to intercede with Parliament and find some means to preserve English liberties in America. In fact, the king…
Date:1774 Annotation: Declaration and Resolves of the Continental Congress Document: Whereas, since the close of the last war, the British parliament, claiming a power, of right, to bind the people of America by statutes in all cases whatsoever, hath, in some acts,…
Date:1774 Annotation: The Quebec Act enlarged French Quebec to cover the area as far west as the Mississippi River and as far south as the Ohio River. French law prevailed in this area and the Catholic Church would have a privileged…