American Independence

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Battle of Bunker Hill

After the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the Massachusetts Militia followed the Redcoats back to Boston.

They surrounded the city and took positions on Bunker Hill. They knew the British planned to invade Massachusetts to regain control, and Bunker Hill was the perfect spot.

Locate Boston on the map below.

After their retreat, the British planned to land just north of the city and establish a stronghold.

Consider what the Battle of Bunker Hill meant as you watch the following video.

• Did you know the famous order not to fire until the whites of the enemy's eyes were visible came from this war?

It reminded the colonial soldiers to conserve their limited ammunition and make every shot count.

Even though the colonists lost, this battle proved they could outwit the British using intelligent tactics. It showed the Founding Fathers that they had a fighting chance against the British Empire.

Siege of Boston

By the winter of 1775, British forces in the colonies started questioning if the war was worth it. Fighting 3,000 miles away using wind-powered ships was tough.

By early 1776, the British occupied Boston, but Washington wanted to drive them out of the city and the thirteen colonies.

As you watch this next video on the Siege of Boston, note how logistics impacted the British ability to fight.

The British struggled to feed themselves, making it easier for the colonists to overpower them.

The colonists used a clever strategy by placing cannons on Dorchester Heights, overlooking Boston. This forced the British to evacuate the city because they were vulnerable to bombardment.

By May 1776, Boston had fallen to the colonists, and the British retreated to Canada.

Declaration of Independence

By June 1776, no British forces remained in the thirteen colonies, but everyone knew they'd be back. The colonial troops had been at war for about a year, but most soldiers were still barely trained.

Watch the following video clip and imagine how scary it must have been for someone like George Washington to know that the colonial army wasn't strong enough.

Facing this British threat, the Founding Fathers decided it was time to declare independence from Britain formally.

However, the Declaration of Independence wasn't just about wanting freedom. Thomas Jefferson listed 27 reasons why the Founding Fathers felt it was necessary.

Explore some of these grievances and what they meant below.

While the Preamble talks about the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," most of the document lists these grievances. This was the first time a region told its ruler it wanted independence because the government wasn't protecting its rights — a revolutionary idea in Europe then.

Continue to the Got It? section to consider how risky declaring independence actually was.