B. Listening comprehension – Video bonus

In the late 1700s, the relationship between Great Britain and its thirteen colonies in North America began to crumble. Eventually, the colonies rebelled, and after a war that lasted eight years, the colonies became an independent country: The United States of America. We call this war the American Revolutionary war.
After the French and Indian War – also known as the Seven Year’s War – which ended in 1763, Great Britain was in debt. They needed a way to make more money, and British Parliament decided to tax the North American colonists. The colonists were unhappy about this, as before they had been mostly left alone by the British government. Also, the colonists did not have any representatives in Parliament. They argued that it was unfair to impose taxes on someone without representatives to vote to vote for or against it on their behalf. The colonists said that taxation without representation was tyranny, a cruel and unreasonable system of government. This attempt to tax the colonies was unsuccessful, but it kicked off years of hostility between the colonists and the British.
In 1770, British soldiers opened fire on colonists in Boston, killing five men, in what came to be called the Boston massacre. In 1773, to protest restrictions on the sale of tea in the colonies, a group of colonists dressed as Native Americans and dumped an entire shipment of tea into Boston Harbor, an event known as the Boston Tea Party. Afterwards, British Parliament passed a group of laws designed to punish the colonists and regain control of the colonies. These laws were so harsh that they are known as the Intolerable Acts. In the fall of 1774, the first Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Representatives from almost every colony asked King George III to stop the Intolerable Acts, but they were ignored. By April 9th 1775, the first shots were fired in small battles at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. The Revolutionary War had begun. When the colonists realized that there was going to be a war, the Continental congress met for the second time and appointed George Washington to be the Commander of the Continental Army.
The first major battle of the war was called the Battle of Bunker Hill. The British had taken control of Boston and they wanted to occupy more territory. Thousands of American militiamen gathered to fight the British soldiers – also known as the Red Coats for the red coats of their uniforms. Although the British eventually won the battle, so many of their soldiers were killed or injured, that they realized defeating the colonists would be a very difficult task.
Not long after this battle, the second continental congress sent another letter to King George III called the Olive Branch Petition. The colonist wanted to make peace. They hoped that they could remain British subjects but have their rights recognized. King George refused even to read the letter and instead declared the colonists traitors in a state of open rebellion against the British Empire. After this, the colonists became angry with King George. They realized that he did not care about them. They decided to announce that the colonies were an independent country, free of British rule and in charge of their own government. Thomas Jefferson, along with Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert Livingston and Roger Sherman wrote a document to explain why they were doing this. On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted this document, called the Declaration of Independence.
In the months that followed, the war went badly for the Americans. British forces won several important victories and captured thousands of American troops. As winter set, the small American forces were losing hope. Something had to be done!
On December 25th 1776, George Washington took his men across the icy Delaware River into New Jersey, and launched a sneak attack that resulted in the capture of nearly 1,000 enemy soldiers. This dramatic victory at the Battle of Trenton inspired the American forces to fight hard again! 1777 brought more successes for the Americans. The first major American victory of the war took place in the fall when the Americans defeated the British in the Battle of Saratoga. In a second battle a few days later, British forces surrendered. France had been helping the Americans secretly against its longtime rival, Great Britain, but these victories convinced the French to show their support openly. France recognized the United States as an independent country and formed an alliance, sending money, material, and soldiers that would be needed to win the war. This did not signal the end of the hardships for the American forces, however. That winter they camped at Valley Forge, where they suffered from cold and hunger. Many of the soldiers did not even have shoes to wear and protected their feet from the snow by wrapping them with rags. This could have been the end of the Revolution, but the troops endured until more supplies arrived and they were able to prepare to fight again.
The last great battle of the Revolutionary War took place around Yorktown, Virginia. British forces under General Cornwallis were camped there, waiting for the British ships to come with supplies and reinforcements – but the French navy stopped them from making it through. General Washington, with combined French and American troops, surrounded the city, cutting off any chance of retreat for the British. For eleven days, the Americans attacked the city with cannon fire day and night. When the British realized that no help was coming, they surrendered to George Washington on October 19th, 1781.
This undeniable victory was the beginning of the end of the war in the United States. Over the next year, British troops withdrew, and on September 3rd 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed. This treaty negotiated peace between Great Britain and the United States, officially ended the war, and recognized the United States of America as a new, independent nation. The Revolutionary War was long and bloody, but it marked a turning point in history. Today, the day the colonies declared their independence is celebrated in the United States on the fourth of July as Independence Day!
I hope you enjoyed learning about the American Revolutionary War today. Goodbye till next time!


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