Revolutionary+Period

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** Famous People/Quotes **

 * Thomas Paine**- "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it //now//, deserves the love and thanks of men and women."[[image:thomas_paine.jpg width="163" height="226" align="right" caption="Thomas Paine, Revolutionary writer"]]
 * Phillis Wheatley**- "The world is a severe schoolmaster, for its frowns are less dangerous than its smiles and flatteries, and it is a difficult task to keep in the path of wisdom."
 * Thomas Jefferson**- "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is a natural manure."
 * Benjamin Franklin**- "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
 * John Adams**- "It's simply a matter of doing what you do best and not worrying about what the other fellow is going to do."
 * Patrick Henry**- "Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third may profit by these examples."
 * John Dickinson**- "Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all! By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall."
 * George Washington-** " Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses."
 * Abigail Adams-** "Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors."
 * James Madison-** "If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."
 * James Monroe-** "The best form of government is that which is most likely to prevent the greatest sum of evil."
 * Sam Adams-** "It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds."
 * John Hancock-** "There, I guess King George will be able to read that. [Remark on signing American Declaration of Independence]"
 * Richard Henry Lee-** "To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
 * Paul Revere-** "I knew what they were after; that I had alarmed the country all the way up, that their boats were caught aground, and I should have 500 men there soon. One of them said they had 1500 coming; he seemed surprised and rode off into the road, and informed them who took me, they came down immediately on a full gallop."
 * William Dawes-** Did the same exact job as Paul Revere but got little to no credit because Henry Longfellow wrote a poem and William Dawes' name did not rhyme as well as Paul Revere's name did.
 * Benjamin Rush-** "Dreams are nothing but incoherent ideas, occasioned by partial or imperfect sleep."
 * John Quincy Adams-** "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."
 * Henry Knox**- "Were an energetic and judicious system to be proposed with your signature it would be a circumstance highly honorable to your fame . . . and doubly entitle you to the glorious republican epithet, The Father of your Country."

Background Information
It seems hard to believe that just over ten years before the independence of America, the sheer idea of independence was preposterous. It all began with the French and Indian War. The French and Indian War plunged Great Britain into debt. The debt was so severe that the British really could not afford their military (although the King insisted upon it anyway.) As a result, the British imposed high taxes upon the colonists. (These were only a fraction of the taxes imposed upon those actually living in Britain; therefore, colonists got very little sympathy from those in Britain.)

A few of the most preposterous acts the British put into effect were the Navigation Acts, the Stamp Act, and the Coercive Acts. The Navigation Acts forced mercantilism on the colonists. We were only allowed to trade with the British under these acts. The Stamp Act was a tax on all paper goods including newspapers, etc. This outraged us so much that they were actually able to get it repealed before it was ever put into effect. Eventually, the British imposed the Tea Act, giving the East India Tea Company a monopoly over tea. (The British held stock in the East India Tea Company, so they wanted it to prosper.) This infuriated the colonists who displayed their unrest through the Boston Tea Party. Nothing on the ship was damaged (if anything was broken it was fixed) but all the tea was thrown into the ocean. The British were not pleased by this and reacted by enacting the Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts by the colonists. The Coercive/Intolerable Acts included the Boston Port Act, Quartering Act, Administration of Justice Act, and Massachusetts Government Act. The Boston Port Act shut down the Boston ports until the tea dumped into the ocean was paid for. The Quartering Act allowed any Red Coat to stay in any home they chose. The Administration of Justice Act allowed any Red Coat accused of capital punishment to go to England to be tried instead of being tried in the colonies. Finally, the Massachusetts Government Act placed several limits on town meetings, which limited the amount of American self-government. Clearly, none of us took too kindly to these acts.

Once the colonists first heard about the Stamp Act, most were infuriated. As a result, the Stamp Act Congress came about. In fact, at this meeting Patrick Henry made an appearance. During the meeting Patrick Henry stood up and said, "Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the Third. . ." At this point during his sentence, someone begins to shout "Treason! Treason!" because Patrick Henry was putting everyone in the room at risk with his treasonous thoughts. After this, Patrick Henry finishes his sentence with, "may profit by these examples."

The colonists certainly gave the king enough warning that they were unhappy. They sent several letters describing their unrest and demanding change. One of the most famous was the Olive Branch Petition. An olive branch represents peace, which is exactly what the Olive Branch Petition asked for. Primarily written by John Dickinson, a Quaker who believed the colonists were being treated unfairly, but felt independence was far too much, the Olive Branch Petition asked King George for peace. King George ignored it like all the other letters sent to him previously, which may be seen as his downfall.

Soon Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet called //Common Sense//. It was a revolutionary pamphlet that encouraged Americans to declare independence. It was incredibly popular and sold over 120,000 copies.

In June of 1776, Congress decided that independence was necessary. Richard Henry Lee proposed a three part plan to declare independence. Part one was to declare independence. Part two was the Articles of Confederation. Lastly, part three was to gain alliances with European nations. A committee of five delegates was appointed to write the Declaration of Independence. This committee was made up of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Ben Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. Congress voted for independence on July 2, 1776. The Declaration was comprised of three major portions: a preamble, a list of twenty-seven grievances, and a formal declaration. Thus the beginning of a newly independent nation.

The war is said to have ended with the Battle of Saratoga. It was by far the most decisive battle. The Battle of Saratoga revived the colonial cause, meaning it refreshed colonial spirits. It also assured the French that the Americans could win, which brought them into the war as an ally to the Americans. This was the greatest turning point America could have ever hoped for.

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**Abigail Adams' Blog
Revolutionary Abigail