A shot that made headlines was one to be remembered. The Shot Heard 'Round the World was regarded as a truly important event in history. It was the start of the Battle of Lexington which was the first official battle of the Revolutionary War. On April 19th, 1775 British troops were marching to Lexington where many militia were already awaiting their arrival. The British were after the ammunition of the militia. Paul Revere had warned the militia ahead of time so that they could be prepared. They removed their stockpiles of ammunition from their hiding places and moved them to a new shelter. When the British arrived at Lexington, the militia were lined up, ready to defend themselves. The British stopped, prepared to face the militia. They remained silent yet stood their ground until a shot was fired. The first shot that was fired began the Battle of Lexington. It was unclear which side fired the first shot. Historians, however, used this to their advantage. They were able portray an image of the large British Army ganging up on the significantly smaller militia. Both sides claimed the other had fired the first shot, only adding to the already evident tension. While this battle was taking place, a separate group of British soldiers reached the destination at which they were told they would find the stockpiles of ammunition. After searching the area, they realized the stockpiles had been moved. The Revolutionary War greatly affected the nation and it's people. The people wanted badly to be free from the British, however they needed something to push them into fighting for their freedom. The Shot Heard 'Round The World was just the push they needed. After being pushed into the Battle at Lexington, the American's were pushed into ... ... middle of paper ... ...trol, the colonists started to realize how different they were from the British and how unfairly they were being treated. Colonists were treated with much violence and were really beginning to desire breaking away from the British. They began governing themselves even though they were committing treason in the eyes of the British. People were finally serious about breaking away from the British and wanted their independence. In 1776 they decided to write the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson was the main writer of this declaration which established the United States as a nation. After the Continental Congress approved The Declaration of Independence, it was official. Though the British refused to recognize The United States as a nation, the United States were fighting for their freedom and independence. They no longer wanted the British controlling them.
The number one reason that the colonists began protests, and boycotts, against the British was because they believed their natural rights as citizens were being violated. After the french and Indian War Great Britain was in massive debt. So the King began to tax the colonies. For example the heavy taxes in the colonies led to the Boston Massacre and to the Boston Tea Party. The British then adopted the policy of mercantilism.
Lucia Raatma’s “The Battles of Lexington and Concord” is important because it describes why the battles were fought and their effects. The American Revolution as a whole was fought to “give colonies freedom from British rule” (Raatma 4) due to unfair taxation from King III of England (Raatma 8). This shows that the driving force of the revolution was the dissatisfaction of the colonists concerning the treatment they received from the king. As a result, the colonists had had enough of the unfairness and tyranny and decided to take matters into their own hands. Several acts of protests, such as the Boston Tea Party, made the British king “furious” (Raatma 10). As a response to these protests, the king sent more soldiers and made stricter laws, which only made colonists even more upset. The back and forth tension between the colonists and the British government was the reason why the Battle of Lexington and Concord occurred, and in turn, why the American Revolution began. The American Revolution caught attention from the entire world, giving the nickname to the first shot fired the “shot heard ‘round the world” (Raatma 5). The 13 colonies who were weak economically and militarily, were taking on Great Britain, a world power with a strong military, a situation which naturally other countries wanted to see. The firing of the first shot at Lexington marked the beginning of a revolution that other countries, such as France and Haiti, would soon attempt to mimic. There were several factors that contributed to the beginning of the revolution, which are significant around the world.
The battles of Lexington and Concord were neccessary battles to the American Revolutionary War because they started the very thing that made our country free. Many people have always wondered how the historic American Revolutionary War got started. Sure, they have heard the stories of Paul Revere and the Midnight Ride: There was even a poem written about his ride, but Paul Revere didn’t start the war. It was a much bigger deal than just that.
The Revolutionary war, sparked by the colonist’s anger towards taxation without representation, was a conflict between the United States and its mother country Great Britain. This event had been considered the most significant event in the American history. It separated the thirteen colonies from the tyrannical ruling of King George. The revolutionary war was not a big war, “The military conflict was, by the standards of later wars, a relatively modest one. Battle deaths on the American side totaled fewer than 5,000”1. However, the war proved that the thirteen colonies were capable of defeating the powerful Great Britain. Over the years there were many Hollywood films made based on the revolutionary war, 1776, Revolution, Johnny Tremain, and The Patriot. But, no movie has stirred up as much controversy as the Mel Gibbson movie The Patriot. The patriot is very entertaining but it is historically inaccurate. Too much Hollywood “spices” was added to the movie for viewing pleasures.
Regarded as a truly important event in history, the Shot Heard 'Round the World made headlines. It was the start of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the first official battle of the Revolutionary War.
By the time the colonists had settled into their new land they had established some order such as small governments to keep the colonies in line. The ocean separating England and the colonies made it difficult though for England to guide the colonists successfully the way they had wanted. The main thing the British tried was implementing taxes, but they also went so far as letting the colonies on their own for awhile and using military to keep them in place. On the other hand, the colonists saw that the British were stalling their attempts at self-governing so they worked together to disregard any British policies. By the eve of the Revolution, colonists had developed a sense of their identity and unity as Americans that was brought about by the British parliament. Exasperated by British efforts to hinder their growing self-reliance, colonists began pushing them away by doing various things such as rioting, boycotting, or voicing their opinions on paper.
The colonists have to deal with a government that is trying to dictate what and how things should be done in America, from across the ocean, and they are starting to realize that they should have a voice for their own well being. The Proclamation of 1763 is just the beginning of the rebellion towards the British and their control over the colonists.
With the widespread of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, American independence gained extensive support. As Paine insisted, “membership in the British empire was a burden to the colonies, not a gift.” Finally, on July 2, 1776, the Congress declared the United States as an independent nation, and America soon gained international recognition.
In May of 1776 a resolution was passed at the Virginia Convention in Williamsburg that asked the thirteen American colonies to declare the United Colonies free and independent from the British crown. At the second continental congress the resolution passed and on June 11, 1776 a five-man committee led by Thomas Jefferson was established to write the Declaration of Independence. On July 4, 1776 the members of the second continental congress signed into existence one of the most influential documents in history.
On March 5, 1770, an event occurred in Boston, which consisted of British troops shooting upon colonists. People refer to this as a massacre, but they only look at one side of the story. The Boston Massacre in 1770 was not really a massacre, but a mutual riot (Boston Massacre History Society). British soldiers went to America to keep the people of Boston in order. However, the soldier's presence there was not welcomed by the Bostonians and this made things worse (Boston Massacre History Society). The British had to fire their guns because the Bostonians were antagonizing the soldiers, which caused five people to die. The Bostonians made the soldiers feel threatened so in turn they acted in self-defense. The British soldiers and their Captain had to go through a trial, to prove they were not to blame for what had occurred.
By the time of the late 18th century, the colonies had grown socially, culturally, economically, and politically setting the mood for a majority of the colonists to want to break ties with the mother country. The colonies were well established, growing rapidly with new settlers arriving, and had begun to interact and socialize with not only each other, but also the Indians and the French, with whom they shared the new lands. (Devore, Lecture # 3.) These newfound social and cultural interactions allowed the colonies to grow economically giving the colonists a sense of importance. The lack of recognition by parliament started to plant the seeds for the revolution.
The American Revolution: the war for our independence. This revolution opened the door to our liberty, freedom, and basically what America is now. Most Americans have heard the stories of famous battles, important people (George Washington for instance), and everything in between. However, this was only for our side of the American Revolution and a small fraction of people have been told of Britain’s campaign of the revolution. The only thing people have been told was the Britain lost the war. What of Britain’s triumphs, strategies, and everything that happened in the span of a few years? Not many people know it, but the British struck a major blow against the Patriots in the last few years of the war. Even though the United States won the American Revolution, Britain struck a major blow against the colonists when the British successfully and brutally took the town of Charleston, South Carolina.
The British were trying to control the Americans entirely, with their monopoly on trade, and also thought that the Americans would do everything they demanded them to do. The colonists soon figured out Great Britain's angle on the situation. That was, they didn't understand why they were forced to pay taxes to the British, when they had no say in Britain's actions.
In 1776 when the Colonies declared their independence from Great Britain with the Declaration of Independence they had one clear goal in mind: become a sovereign nation and avoid the tyranny of Great Britain. What they did not know, however, is that they had to face many more issues beyond simply cutting the ties with Great Britain; they also had to create and maintain a working system of rules which could guide them into becoming the United States of America. Once Independence was gained in 1783, the Articles of Confederation were created, but with many deep flaws in the system. The Federal government had no power, and the states were loosely held together and hardly acted as if they were a single united nation. After recognizing that these problems were too large to overcome easily, several of the greatest men in the nation gathered together to rectify these problems.
Wars affect a country one way another, either for best or for the worst. The outcome of the war can change a country and the citizens of the country. The American Revolutionary was a war where the affect was tremendous. The American Revolution began in 1775 till 1783. The American Revolution is also known as the United States War of Independence. As soon as people left England to come to United States there was smell of revolution in the air. The revolutionary war was a way for the United States to make a statement and move forward as a country that wasn’t underneath the British rule. John Adams, the second prime minister of the United States explains how the American Revolution began when he says, “The Revolution was affected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people” . Adam basically means that everyone was thinking about the revolution and in their minds they were already there, wanting to break free from the British rule. Once everyone was against England the people were ready for war. The American Revolution started for many reasons, some of the few are; social, economic, and political changes. These changes provided America to be an independent country with its own government. The increase in strict laws and violent events made many Americans angry and that’s why the revolution began. The French and Indian war, taxes without representation, as well as the first continental congress. These are just some of the reasons that Americans wanted the revolution; there are many more causes that can be justified for this major event. Americans did not want to be ruled by the British who were thousands of miles away from them, they wanted to have control of their country and have their own laws....