Declaring Independence in Philadelphia

Hello, American Historyteeller listeners. I have an exciting announcement. I'm going on tour and coming to a theater near you. This live show is a thrilling evening of history, storytelling, and music, with a full band accompanying me as we look back to explore the days that made America And they aren't the days that you might think. Sure, everyone knows july fourth, seventeen seventy six. We'll be hearing a lot about that date this year But there are many other days that are maybe even more influential. So come out to see me live. More shows to be announced soon. So for information on tickets and upcoming dates, go to Americanhistorylive. com. That's Americanhistorylive dot comot Come see my Days that Made America tour live on stage. goo to Americanhistorylive dot com Imagine it's early in the morning on may tenth, seventeen seventy five at Fort Tecondnderoga on the shores of New York's Lake Champlagain. You've been stationed here as a British Army lieutenant for the past two years. the sound of gunfire outside your door You sit up in your narrow bed with a sudden jolt You kick off your blanket and stumble out of bed, desperate to wake your commanding officer, Captain Delalace You only have one leg in your trousers when a sudden pounding on your door causes you to freeze. Open this door and come out this instant You hear me? Come out and surrender your men, you damn old skunk It occurs to you that the attackers must have your room mistaken for the commanders So with your trousers still in hand, you open the door to find a pair of armed men One wears a scarlet coat with gleaming silver buttons, while the other is dressed in an old buckskin shirt and brandishing a sword. Show me your hands If you just allow me to finish getting dressed You're stalling for time until the captain appears The man wearing buckskin shakes his head, his eyes burning We're gonna to sacrifice this entire garrison if you don't come with us this instance. Now wait a minute, you've got this all wrong. I don't have time for this. We must have immediate possession of the fort and all property of King George III Your mind races as you struggle to reconcile the thought of these upstarts laying claim to the king's property force a thin smile again trying to stall And by what authority do you make these demands The authority of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress. And what in the good heavens is the Continental Congress The intruder presses the tip of his sword to your neck Let me speak plainly. Lay down your arms, and you and your men will be treated like gentlemen. Just then, Captain Dela Place emerges in the hallway, hastily buttoning his coat. With one look at the intruders, he throws up his arms and surrender, and the man in buckskin narrows his gaze. A so you're the one in charge. All right, come with us The twoo men march the captain down the hallway. You finish putting on your trousers and follow, stunned by the absurdity of what just occurred. Nothing could have prepared you for the sheer audacity of these motley rebels. But now you must face the reality that their actions had brought down what was once the greatest military fort in North America This message comes from Betterment Dan Egan, VP of behavioral fininance and invvesting, explains how Bettermment takes the time consuming work out of smart investing I grew up learning about finance and investing myself and realizing that I needed to reinvest dividends and rebalance my portfolio And if there was an opportunity for the tax loss over time And then I realized that I was doing all of these things that were pretty straightforward to implement. I just needed to spend my time doing them Betterment automates the same good practices so that I know I'm doing portfolio management and goal based planning in a way that makes sense and is responsible without me having to spend hours of my life doing it Learn more at betterment. com. Investing involves risk, performance not guaranteed. Bettermment does not offer tax advice. TLH may not be suitable for all customers. Learn more at betterment d. com slash thash terms Whether you arere exploring your fascinations or discovering new ones, Otawa has stories that will introduce you to your most fascinating self. Tap into a whole new world of heated conversations with a saucy romantasy series. Know how true the latest blockbuster movie stayed to the sci fi story it was based on, or find unexpected reveals through an exclusive true crime podcast However you listen, Audible keeps you fascinated so you can be just as fascinating. Select any audio book every month, plus exclusive podcasts. pllans now start at eight dollars ninety nine c. Audible. Be fascinated, be fascinating Audible Originals, I'm Lindsy Graham, and this is American Historyteellers. Our history, your story In may seventeen seventy five, colonial militia leaders Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold led a tiny force of men to Fort Teonderoga, a British garrison in upstate New York In a matter of minutes, they took the fort by surprise, captured its priceless store of artillery, and gained a critical staging ground for future operations. Only three weeks had passed since the Battles of Lexington and Concord ignited a full fledged rebellion against Great Britain. That summer, colonial militiamen gathered in Boston to confront British regulars, while newly appointed Commander in chief George Washington struggled to turn thousands of undisciplined amateurs into a unified army And over the next year, the war would unfold in a confused and contradictory manner Americans continued to profess loyalty to the king even as they engaged British troops in battle But as the conflict wore on, Americans moved closer to a goal scarcely anyone imagined in seventeen seventy five. creation of an independent United States of America. This is episode two It is time to part In the spring of seventeen seventy five, a thirty four year old colonial militia captain named Benedict Darnold, planned a secret mission to upstate New York Arnold was headstrong and arrogant, but he also had natural charm, undeniable courage and restless ambition on his side. Although he had no experience in battle, he persuaded Massachusetts leaders to let him attack Fort Ticoaroga on the southern end of New York's Lake Champlain stretching one hundred and twenty miles down from the Canadian border toward the Hudson River Lake Champlain was the primary route connecting British held Canada to the Hudson Valley known to the local Indians as the warpath of Nations due to its long standing military significance Ticondnderoga guarded this strategic waterway, but Arnold knew the fort was run down and poorly garrisoned He believed that if he could capture it, he could prevent British troops from attacking from Canada while also seizing British artillery to help the rebel forces in Boston. It might also help boost his own military career So with approval from Massachusetts leaders, Arnold set off for New York with a small force. Along the way, he teamed up with Ethan Allen, the rambunctious leader of a ragtag Vermont militia called the Green Mountain Boys And on the morning of may tenth, seventeen seventy five, the two forces surprised British soldiers in their beds, forcing them to surrender the fort in less than ten minutes They successfully seized much needed arms for the rebel cause, and Arnold cemented his reputation as one of America's most capable military commanders But that very same day, more than three hundred miles south in Philadelphia, fifty five delegates from all thirteen colonies gathered at the Pennsylvania State House for the secondecond Continental Congress. Before the first Continental Congress adjourned in the fall of seventeen seventy four They had agreed to reconvene in May the next year But now in the wake of the bloodshed at Lexington and Concorde, They would no longer simply be coordinating a united resistance to British rule They would also be prosecuting a war And in every colony the delegates hailed from, men were joining volunteer militia companies Congress agreed on the need for soldiers in arms to confront the British Army occupying Boston But from the start, they faced a fundamental dilemma There was still no consensus about the purpose of the war or whether the colony should seek independence or reconciliation And in seventeen seventy five, loyalty to the crown was deep rooted and independence remained controversial But even Pennsylvania's John Dickinson, one of the leading delegates in favor of reconciliation with the crown resigned himself to war, declaring, While we revere and love our mother country, her sword is opening our veins So for the time being, Congress would oversee a contradictory war, raising arms and asserting American rights even as it continually emphasized loyalty to the king And the debates in Philadelphia reflected broader divisions playing out across colonial society On the one side, were patriots who openly embraced the rebellion to protect colonial rights These patriots found strong support in New England with its long history of self government On the other side were loyalists who saw resistance as treason And these divisions within the colonies meant that war was not just a conflict with Britain But a civil war that pitted brother against brother and father against son even leading patriot Benjamin Franklin had a son who was a staunch loyalist The Patriot cause was bolstered in the spring of seventeen seventy five by the sight of thousands of Rdcoat reinforcements streaming into Boston. By June of that year, British General Sir Thomas Gage had seven thousand soldiers under his command Facing this professional army were roughly twenty thousand New England militiamen who had poured into makeshift camps around Boston from the surrounding countryside The colonies had a long tradition of requiring able bodied men to participate in the defense of their communities and united in anger against Britain, but little else These poorly trained volunteers were tied more to their hometowns, neighbors, and locally elected militia captains than to any larger command Their numbers included dozens of black men, both free and enslaved, as well as a company of Native Americans from Stockbridge, Massachusetts, who hopeed to win favor and land protections by aligning themselves with the American cause. But few militia men, whoever they were, believed that they were signing up for a long and drawn out war Militia service was traditionally temporary and part time, and these men believed they could make a show of force and convince the British to back down before returning home to their farms But for the moment, these militiamen were dedicated and marched on Boston British General Gage planned an offensive on rebel positions on the heights overlooking Boston, but after his plans leaked, one thousand militiamen fortified Breeds Hill across the Charles River from Boston And the next day, on june seventeenth, in a battle mistakenly remembered as Bunker Hill Gage and his commanders ordered British regulars to launch repeated assaults up Breed's Hill. The British finally captured the position after the Americans ran out of ammunition came at a heavy cost British forces suffered one thousand casualties, a whopping forty percent of their force, and more than twice as many casualties as the defenders This costly battle of Bunker Hill gave the Patriots a moral victory, despite their retreat, and showed that the rebel fighters could hold their own against the powerful British army in the wake of the disastrous losses at Bunker Hill General Gage was called home and replaced by General William How, a wealthy, well connected officer from a prominent military family. Howe was known for his bravery in battle, but had a reputation for indulgence While leading the first assault at Bunker Hill, he had been joined by a servant, carrying a decanter of wine on a silver tray But by day's end, his stockings were slick with blood During the fighting, Americans had deliberately targeted British officers, easily picking them out by their bright scarlet red coats Cal watched in horror as every member of his staff was killed or wounded He was stunned by the terrible cost of the battle, writing, The success is too dearly bought And while the British reeled from their hard won victory, American forces focused on keeping the British troops bottled up within Boston, cutting off their land acxcess and forcing them to rely on sea shipments for supplies And over the next six months, the Americans settled into a sort of siege, exchanging occasional gunfire with the British while steadily building up their defenses Then, on july third, seventeen seventy five, the Americans received new leadership when George Washington rode into Cambridge, Massachusetts to take up command of the newly created Continental Army Rather than start from scratch, Congress adopted the patchwork of militias already in Boston to form the army and named Washington as commander in chief. And by creating this continental army, Congress assumed responsibility for funding, supplying, and coordinating the war effort, with the goal of transforming a loose collection of local militias into a centralized national force under a single commander. Washington had campaigned for the job for weeks, wearing a blue and beige uniform of his own design in Congress to remind his fellow delegates of his military experience and his readiness to serve But he hadn't worn a real military uniform in two decades, and Congress ultimately chose him less for his battlefield credentials than for political expediency cololonies remained deeply divided about their war aims, and the delegates hoped that as a wealthy and respected Virginia planter, Washington could serve as a unifying figure, someone who could bridge regional differences, align competing priorities, and reassure people that the Army of New Englanders in Boston would serve a broader American cause But even so, Washington struck an imposing figure as commander At forty three years old, he was tall and powerfully built, and he projected a dignified presence that inspired loyalty and respect O man who encountered him in Cambridge wrote It was not difficult to distinguish him from all others. his personal appearance is truly noble and majestic Another said, There is not a king in Europe that would not look like a valet by his side soon after arriving in Cambridge Washington set up headquarters in a home abandoned by a loyalist who fled the city From there, he and his officers took on the monumental task of turning a cluster of undisciplined and poorly armed militias into a national army Imagine' august seventeen seventy five in Boston, Massachusetts You're a brigadier general in the Continental Army, and you'reiding out to inspect the American lines A sharp crack of gunfire shatters the morning quiet, and you spur your horse in its direction We ride past a half dug trench littered with abandoned shovels and come to the edge of a small pond, where a group of riflemen dressed in fringed hunting shirts are aiming their long barreled rifles at a flock of wild geese. Another shot rings out and the geese scatter. You dismount and rush toward the men Hold your fire One of the men turns around and looks at you with disdain He's unshaven and you note the half empty jug of rum beside his feet What's your name, soldier Jeremiah Gordon of the Virginia Rifleman Your company has orders to dig trenches. Why have you left your post? I reckon us riflemen are exempt from manual labor. Our skills are shooting, not shoveling, and our time is better spent at target practice This is war, not a leisure tour, and it's not up to you to decide how your time is spent, whoo gave you permission to quit your post? The man shrugs, his face focused on his rifle. The only orders I follow are my own You take a step closer. You will look at me when you address me soldier But before he can answer, another man fires his rifle and you jump at the sound. Stop firing this instant. I'm ordering you to return to your post. The bearded man thrusts out his chest, his eyes gleaming with defiance I'll tell you what officer, I'll think about it after we're done with shooting practice. You shake your head and disbelieve at their insubordination and pull yourself into your saddle. Go back to your post. If I see you here again, I'll have you court martial Without waiting for a response, you nudge your horse into motion and ride away. But much to your chagrin, another shot echoes through the air You're beginning to doubt whether this ragtag army will ever have the discipline required to defeat the mighty British military In the summer of seventeen seventy five, the Continental Army sprawled out in a ten mile arc around Boston The soldiers were mostly farmers and skilled artisans, some as young as fifteen, others as old as sixty They wore a motley collection of uniforms, which included mismatched shirts and trousers in every color and condition, and headwear ranging from beaver fur hats to striped sailors bandanas And in August, their ranks grew even more varied, with the arrival of Daniel Morgan's C company of Backwoods, Virginia Riflemen They wore fringed hunting shirts and carried long rifles and tomahawks And while hailed for their shooting accuracy, they quickly proved even more unruly than the New Englanders Washington was shocked by the army's poor discipline and lack of supplies He expected to find twenty thousand men, but discovered that only fourteen thousand were fit for service. And then he learned that there was only enough gunpowder for each soldier to fire nine shots in battle. And this news left him speechless The state of the arrmy forced Washington to reckon with his own limitations His largest command during the French and Indian War had numbered just twelve hundred men Daunted by the challenge facing him, he often turned to the young self taught Gal Nathaniel Greene for advice Green was the Continental Army's most unlikely general Although he was born into a peace loving Quaker family, he had taught himself military strategy through books and became the Army's youngest brigadier general at the age of thirty three Despite marching with a limp, he' suffered since childhood. Burley Greene had a sharp mind and a strong resolve that earned Washington's respect And after Bunker Hill, Green joked that if the British attacked again, the Americans would sell them another hill at the same price. But underneath this bluster was concern There were persistent shortages of artillery, gunpowder, and supplies And most troubling was the state of the army itself. Little connected the troops beside their shared sense of righteous anger toward Britain Washington would have to unite men from thirteen disparate colonies, and even he wasn't above showing regional biases, calling New Englanders exceedingly dirty and nasty Nathaniel Green wrote a friend about his concerns, noting how raw and undisciplined the troops are in general and what warlike preparations are going on in England And yet, despite Green's fears, the Continental Army did have important advantages They were fighting defensively on home terrain, with a shared belief in what Washington called the goodness of our cause This sense of purpose would be crucial for sustaining the American war effort Given Britain's financial resources, superior naval power, and professional army of fifty thousand men Still, the British faceed the difficulty of spreading that fighting force across the vast American terrain And they were three thousand miles from home, a distance bound to cause supply and communication delays Because of that distance, it wasn't until late august seventeen seventy five that King George III received news in London of the carnage of Bunker Hill Shocked by the heavy British losses, he formally declared that the deluded people of the colonies were in a state of open and avowed rebellion. And now that the king had branded colonial leaders as traitors The prospect of reconciliation drifted further out of reach, and over the next few months, a series of shocking British actions would only deepen the divide I'm Leon Nfo best known as the co creator of Slowburn and Fiasco. I had of course heard of O fans, but always with a distant and quiet skepticism. A silent judgment, you might say Who is actually using this platform? U I am Hi, I'm Oly Fans creator and comedian, Gracie C Kanan. I work from home now I'm on Oly Fans. and In case you guys don't know what O fans is, ask your husband My journalistic curiosity got the best of me when I found out that my own sister had started an only fansc I'm not a sister, just to clarify. It turns out a lot of what I thought I knew about On fans was wrong. I felt like I wasted three point five years for something that wasn't real And what happens when connection comes with a price tag? Listen to Only Fantasy wherever you get your podcasts, or binge all episodes of Only Fantasy ad free right now, only on Audible. Start your Audible subscription in the Audible app or on Apple podcasts I'm Leon Nefak, best known as the co creator of Slowburn and Fiasco I had of course heard of O fans, but always with a distant and quiet skepticism A silent judgment, you might say Who is actually using this platform? U I am I'm Oly Fans creator and comedian, Gracy Canan. I work from home now, I'm on Oly fans and In case you guys don't know an only fans is ask your husband My journalistic curiosity got the best of me when I found out that my own sister had started at only Fans account I'm not a sister, just to clarify. It turns out, a lot of what I thought I knew about On fans was wrong I felt like I wasted three point five years for something that wasn't real What happens when connection comes with a price tag? Listen to Only Fantasy wherever you get your podcasts, or binge all episodes of Only Fantasy ad free right now, only on Audible. Start your Audible subscription in the Audible app or on Apple podcasts In september seventeen seventy five, George Washington planned an audacious move, a two pronged invasion of Canada to prevent the British from using Quebec as a base for attacks and to inspire French speaking Canadians to join the rebellion Washington and other American leaders hoped that French Canadians would be sympathetic to the Patriot cause and could be convinced to support the fight against the British And soon, two of Washington's forces marched north, each numbering more than one thousand men The first, led by Major General Richard Montgomery plan to seize the British garrison in Montreal The second, led by Colonel Benedict Darnold would mount a surprise attack on the city of Quebec In the meantime, Washington struggled to break the long stalemate back in Boston. Although his army had the British surrounded, they lacked the artillery necessary to mount a successful attack against the British defenses But then one of his officers came to him with an idea Henry Knox was a hulking twenty five year old Boston bookseller who had taught himself military engineering from the books he sold in his shop Despite his youth and the fact that he was married to the daughter of a royal official. Knox impressed Washington with his sharp mind, affable personality, and fierce patriotism And in the fall of seventeen seventy five, Knox persuaded Washington to let him mount an expedition to the recently captured Fort Ticonderoga to retrieve dozens of cannons and mortars and bring them to Boston to be used against the British After receiving Washington's blessing, Knox set out for U upstate New York He left in mid November just days before the first snow fell on Boston marking the start of a brutal winter. In the weeks that followed, severe storms, scarce food and rampant disease destroyed morale in both the British camps within Boston and American camps surrounding the city Smallpox and dysentery claimed an estimated twenty to thirty lives every day, and one British officer complained that the city had become the grave of England But while the British Army was languishing in Boston British official in Virginia had his own idea of how to break American resolves John Murray, the Earl of Dunmore, was the royal governor of Virginia, but as tensions surged in the summer of seventeen seventy five He had fled the capital of Williamsburg and set up a base on a British warship off the coastal city of Norfolk, where he hoped to raise an army. He did manage to assemble a few British regulars and American loyalists, but his numbers fell short of expectations So in November, Dunmre issued a proclamation designed to fill out his ranks and undermine the American cause He targeted rebel plantations, promising freedom to any enslaved man who was willing to fight under the British flag. Imagine us just before dawn in november seventeen seventy five at a tobacco plantation outside Richmond, Virginia, where you've been enslaved all your life. You're trying to slip away before anyone notices, and as you round your cabin and creep across a garden plot, from face to face with your sister, Lucy She drops the firewood in her arms and ees the bundle you're carrying over your shoulder Where are you going? I don't know head down to the creek for a bath. Aw, come out with it. You're not actually trying to run away, are you? Where the hell do you think you're going to? Well, I've got a plan, Lucy. I'm going to join the British arrmy. They're promising freedom to any slaves who take up arms for the crown Lucy takes a step back, her mouth falling open in shock. Are you serious? How can you even consider fighting for the king? Well, the Patriots talk of freedom and liberty, but it's just talk. They don't mean to change things for people like us. The British, they're offering something real, a way out of this life. No, no, you're being reckless. It's bad enough for anyone caught running away from their plantation. but if the master catches you Running off to fight for the British, you'll have your head. Well, I've weighed the risks. Have you? What will happen if the British change their minds and go back on their promise? What if they lose? And besides, what do you know about fighting in a war anyway In the dim morning light, you can see tears forming in her eyes. But you look away, refusing to let her emotions get you. No, don't bother trying to talk me out of it. My mind's made up. But you take care, Lucy, and when this is all over, I'll save a little money and I'll come back for you. You give your sister a brief, tight hug, then push past her and head toward the woods As much as you want to take a last look, you keep going, telling yourself that if you take this opportunity now, at least you'll have a chance know that if you stay here and let the war pass you by, you'll never be free At the end of november seventeen seventy five, Lord Dunmore wrote to British Commander in Chief William Howe boasting proclamation has had a wonderful effect. The negroes are flocking in from all corns But Dunmore was no abolitionist He offered freedom to enslave people purely in the hopes of disrupting the Southern economy by stripping it of its labor force He also hoped it would have a powerful psychological effect White southerners lived in fear of slave uprisings, especially in Virginia, where slaves outnumbered free whites in many areas The idea of putting weapons into the hands of enslaved men was a slave owner's worst nightmare That included George Washington who called Lord Dunmore a monster, declaring, If the Virginians are wise, that arched traitor to the rights of humanity Lord Dunmore, should be instantly crushed in a letter to his plantation manager Washington expressed fears for Mount Vernon, where he and his wife Martha owned roughly two hundred enslaved men and women. And one of those men was Harry Washington who fled Mount Vernon to join another eight hundred former slaves in a military unit Dunmore called his Ethiopian regiment Hundreds of enslaved women and children also sought freedom behind British lines But while it proved a beacon of hope for the enslaved, Dunmore's proclamation failed to disrupt the American war effort Instead, it hardened the resolve of southern slave owners to defend their profitable plantation economy and push many toward the patriot cause The hypocrisy of the colonists demanding liberty while holding half a million black people in slavery was not lost on observers In seventeen seventy five, the famous British writer Samuel Johnson wrote How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of neegroes Prominent patriots, including Benjamin Rush, John J, and Patrick Henry, acknowledged the contradiction Nevertheless, most patriots clung to slavery as the very foundation of their own freedom and prosperity They were fighting a war to defend their property from British interference That property included thousands of enslaved people They also refused to let debates over slavery interfere with the larger goal, the success of the rebellion. By december seventeen seventy five, the future of that rebellion hung in the balance With militia enlistments due to expire at the end of the year, volunteers were returning home to their farms and Washington faced the alarming prospect of his army dismanding He managed to persuade officials in New Hampshire and Massachusetts to send him another five thousand militiamen But the manpower shortage soon forced him to consider an option he once deemed unthinkable, the enlistment of free black men Even though Back men had already fought at Lexington in Concorde and Bunker Hill, that October, Washington had relented to pressure from southern slave owners and expelled bllack soldiers from the army But on december fifth. teen Army officers petition the Massachusetts Assembly to recognize the bravery of Salem Por. a free black man who they said fought at Bunker Hill like an experienced officer as well as an excellent soldier whether or not Washington was aware of this appeal. Shortly thereafter, he wrote Congress declaring that he understood that Black Army veterans were very much dissatisfied at being discarded Mindful of these protests, desperate for manpower, and aware that enslaved men were joining the British, Washington decided to reverse his earlier policy And on december thirtieth, he allowed free black men to enlist in the continontental Army. Salem Por was one of the roughly five thousand free black men who would fight with the Patriots over the course of the war In the meantime, the war continued to unfold on multiple fronts While Washington was keeping the British at bay in Boston with an army that had shrunk to just eight thousand men, Benedict Arnold was about to confront the British in Quebec, following a miserable three hundred fifty mile trek Over the course of forty five days, Arnold and his soldiers had trudged through the rugged main wilderness in the face of heavy snow and rashation so scarce they were left eating shoe leather and candles Roughly half of the one thousand men under Arnold's command had died or deserted during this march. But in December, the survivors joined forces with Major General Richard Montgomery's army and began planning an attack on the city of Quebec They launched their assault on december thirty first under the cover of a blinding snowstorm But the attack ended in a disastrous defeat Arnold was wounded in his leg at the start of the battle, and Montgomery was killed. The French Canadians in Quebec saw the Americans as invaders and showed no desire to support the Patriot cause Back in Boston, Washington was growing desperate for support and manpower as he faced a massive turnover of troops Following the expiration of initial enlistments at the end of seventeen seventy five But he decided the turnover was an opportunity to reshape the army into a more unified national force So on New Year's Day seventeen seventy six, he announced the reorganization of the Continental Army, establishing twenty seven infantry regiments of more than seven hundred men each, alongside rifle and artillery units From there on out, local part time militias would be relegated to a supporting role opposed to the main backbone of the army But much to Washington's frustration, fewer than ten thousand men enlisted in the Continental Army for the new year, less than half the number Congress had hoped for So to lift morale and foster a spirit of unity, Washington unveiled a new Contental Union flag with thirteen alternating white and red stripes representing the colonies But despite the proud display There was still a British Union jack in the upper left hand corner a symbol of lingering ties to Britain British actions were starting to drive Americans closer to the cause of independence Word soon arrived that Lord Dunmore had set fire to Norfolk, Virginia, reducing it to smoking ruins This news destroyed any remaining a faction Washington fell toward Britain He declared that he hoped the destruction of Norfolk would cause the colonies to unite against a nation which seems to be lost to every sense of virtue. and feelings that distinguish a civilized people from the most barbarous savages Then, on january seventeenth, a writer delivered Washington the worst news of the war so far The brutal defeat at Quebec and the death of General Montgomery. Washington was horrified Although Congress had approved the invasion of Canada, the assault on Quebec was his own idea And now, many of his army's best leaders and militiamen had been killed, wounded, or captured But the very next day brought a flicker of hope Henry Knox had returned to Boston and announced that he had succeeded in transporting the artillery from Fort Ticonderoga. It was a mammoth endeavor Over the course of two months, hundreds of men, horses, and oxen had hauled fifty five cannons from the Hudson Valley to Boston Dead of winter, they had traveled through three hundred miles of rugged forests, frozen lakes and icy mountains But now, Washington finally had the heavy artillery he needed to break through the British defenses in Boston. And he entrusted Henry Knox to oversee the offensive, placing him in charge of the continental artillery even over more experienced men So that on the night of march fourth, seventeen seventy six, Knox's men hauled their newly acquired cannons into Dorchester Heights overlooking Boston and quickly fortified their position The British woke up and saw the Americans commanding the harbor and city They realized that Boston was no longer defensible After eleven months under siege, they hastily evacuated for Nova Scotia, Canada and were joined by more than one thousand local loyalists Soon, all across the colonies, Americans celebrated their biggest victory so far, one that many thought would bring an end to the war. But George Washington knew better Certain that the British would strike New York because of its valuable port and central location He began marching the Continental Army toward Manhattan. The next major phase of the war was about to begin One burning question loomed above all others whether it was time at last to declare independence. Whether you're exploring your current fascinations or discovering new ones, Audible has all the stories that'll introduce you to your most fascinating self. Tap into a whole new world of heated conversations with a Sucy romantasy series. Become your friend group's sci fi expert on the latest blockbuster book to sccreen adaptation Or find unexpected reveals through the exclusive episodes of a viral true crime podcast. However you choose to listen, Audible keeps you fascinated, so you can be just as fascinating. All in one easy app, with plans now starting at eight do ninety nine cents, you'll get access to over one million audio books and podcasts, including trending bestsellers The hottest new releases and exclusive podcasts you won't find anywhere else. Sign up now to become a member and get any audio book every month plus exclusive podcasts. pllans now start at eightll ninety nine cents Be fascinated, be fascinating. Whether you're exploring your current fascinations or discovering new ones, Audible has all the stories that'll introduce you to your most fascinating self. Tap into a whole new world of heated conversations with a Sucy romantasy series. Become your friend group's sci fi expert on the latest blockbuster book to screen adaptation Or find unexpected reveals through the exclusive episodes of a viral true crime podcast. However you choose to listen, audible keeps you fascinated, so you can be just as fascinating. All in one easy app with plans now starting at five pounds ninety nine c. you'll get access to over nine hundred thousand audioobooks and podcasts, including trending bestestsellers, the hottest new releases, and exclusive podcasts you won't find anywhere else Sign up now to become a member and get any audiobook every month plus exclusive podcasts plans now start at five pounds ninety nine Be fascinated, be fascinating. In april seventeen seventy six, while George Washington was moving the Continental Army to New York He began to notice a shift in his soldiers' attitudes about what they were fighting for Increasingly, Washington's countrymen seem to favor not just freedom from British taxation and military control tootal independence And these more radical views often came in response to an explosive pamphlet commommon sense. The pamphlet's author was a recent English immigrant named Thomas Payne a son of a corset maker Paine had arrived in America poor, uneducated, and so sick with typhus that he had to be carried off the ship But just one year after his arrival in january seventeen seventy six, Caine published common Sense. In plain and simple prose, he boldly attacked the British monarchy and urged the colonies to establish a republic He wrote Everything that is right or natural pleads for separation. Blood of the slain, the weeping voice of nature cries, 'Tis time to part His pamphlet was an instant bestseller In three months, one hundred twenty thousand copies had been sold, and newspapers across the colonies printed excerpts so that most literate Americans read all or part of it No piece of writing did more to harden the colonists' resolve to break from Britain This change in public opinion could not come soon enough for the man who led the Independence Fion in Congress, John Adams Cousin of sons of Liberty founder Samuel Adams and representative of Massachusetts Adams complained that the colonists were fighting half a war insisting that the conflict would never be won until the Patriots aggressively pursued independence He declared, If we finally fail in this great and glorious contest, it will be by groping after this middle way And that spring, Congress took an important step away from the middle ward independence by sending an envoy to Paris to secretly purchase arms while also exploring the possibility of a French alliance. American leaders realized that independence would hinge on foreign support But they also understood that France would only openly offer aid if the colonies formally declared independence. To that end, support was growing within the broader population Between April and june seventeen seventy six, calls for independence poured in from more than ninety colonial communities, many arguing that the king had placed the colonies outside of his protection by waging war against them And in mid May, the delegates received a piece of disturbing news Britain had hired thousands of German troops known as Hessians to help them defeat the Patriots Americans were outraged by the idea of their mother country hiring foreign mercenaries to crush the rebellion And on june seventh, Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution in Congress declaring that the colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states John Adams seconded the motion But after three days of fierce debate, the delegates agreed to postpone a vote for three weeks to allow time for the resolution to gain unanimous support Meanwhile, Congress appointed a committee to draft a formal declaration explaining their reasoning to the world. The task of writing the first draft fell to thirty three year old Thomas Jefferson tall, red haired Virginia lawyer, planter, and slave owner Despite his young age though, he'd already gained recognition as a brilliant writer and Jefferson threw himself into the challenge Writing in a rented room in Philadelphia, he drafted the immortal words We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal They are endowed by their creator with certain inaliable rights. that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This soaring preamble expressed the radical idea that governments derive their powers from the consent of the governed and that Americans had not only the right, but the sacred duty to govern themselves But beyond the famous opening, the bulk of the Declaration consisted of a long list of the ways King George had abused his power. These grievances were meant to support the argument that separation was justified because the king had forfeited his legitimate authority Over time, the Declaration would be remembered as the foundational text for American ideals of freedom and equality But it also had a legacy far beyond Jefferson's intentions His words would be invoked in the struggle to end slavery, the women's suuffffrage movement, and the independence movements around the world. But in june seventeen seventy six, the fate of the Delaration was far from certain When Congress reconvened on july first, Pennsylvania moderate John Dickinson declared that breaking with Britain would be like braving a storm in a skiff made of paper Afterwards, John Adams rose to speak, delivering a forceful plea for independence as Thunder rumbled outside the meeting hall Jefferson remembered that while Adams was not graceful, nor elegant, nor remarkably fluent He spoke with a power of thought and expression that moved us from our seats But when a preliminary vote was taken,