US History Objectives Week 2
Explain the colonial response to such British by Sons and Daughters of Liberty and Committees of Correspondence.
American colonists opposed to British authority in Massachusetts formed a secret organization called the Sons of Liberty. To show their dislike of British rule, they damaged British property, including government offices and the homes of wealthy supporters of the British. The Daughters of Liberty joined the Sons of Liberty in protesting British rule in North America. They wove homespun fabric to make clothes and other goods so the colonists would not need to rely on British imports. Colonists called for the First Continental Congress to protest these actions and formed colonial militias to resist enforcement of these acts. Much of the planning for the First Continental Congress was carried out by committees of correspondence. These committees were formed because American patriots could not communicate publicly. One committee would exchange written communications with another committee within or between the colonies. Committees of correspondence were the first organization linking the colonies in their opposition to British rule.
Explain the reason for and significance of the French alliance and foreign assistance and the roles of Benjamin Franklin and the Marquis de Lafayette.
Another turning point in the war was the decision by France to support the American cause. Benjamin Franklin, serving as the American ambassador to France, convinced the French to form a military alliance with the Americans, and France agreed to wage war against Britain until America gained independence. Facing both an American and a European war, Britain would need to pull troops out of America to fight closer to home. French support for America was personified in the Marquis de Lafayette. He commanded American troops and fought battles in many states. He also returned to France for a time to work with Franklin and the French king on how to win American independence.
Identify specific concerns of American colonists by the British king and Parliament regarding violation of their personal rights.
Britain's American colonists believed the king and Parliament were violating their rights as Englishmen. Among the rights they felt were being violated were protection from taxation without representation, the right to a trial by a jury of their peers, protection from searches without warrants, and protection from having troops quartered on their property.
Explain the strategy of British general, Lord Cornwallis and the role of geography at the Battle of Yorktown.
Britain's plan to counter the French-American alliance was to have General Charles Cornwallis move the war to the southern states to try to separate those colonies from revolutionary forces in the North. He immediately succeeded in a series of British victories, but the Americans were able to prevent a complete victory in the South. Cornwallis pursued the Americans into Virginia but met with heavy resistance. Wishing to maintain communications with Great Britain by sea, the British general retreated to the coastal town of Yorktown. His forces were attacked by the combined French and American armies and a French fleet. Cut off from any reinforcements, Cornwallis was forced to surrender, and the American Revolution came to an end in North America.
Explain the importance of Thomas Paine's Common Sense to the movement for independence.
In January 1776, patriot philosopher Thomas Paine published Common Sense. This small pamphlet had a big effect on colonists and moved many Americans to support independence from Great Britain. Colonists were persuaded by the logic of Paine's arguments, which included that the Atlantic Ocean was too wide to allow Britain to rule America as well as an American government could, that it was foolish to think an island could rule a continent, and that the idea of Britain being America's "mother country" made Britain's actions all the worse because no mother would treat her children so badly.
Explain the significance of the crossing of the Delaware River by Washington's forces on Christmas of 1776.
On Christmas night 1776, Washington led his troops to a victory that was a turning point for America and the Revolutionary War. As a snowstorm pounded Washington and his soldiers, they crossed the Delaware River to stage a surprise attack on a fort occupied by Hessian mercenaries fighting for the British. This victory proved Washington's army could fight as well as an experienced European army.
Explain the purpose of the following actions by the British government to control Britain's American colonies: the Proclamation of 1763, the Stamp Act, and the Intolerable Acts.
Parliamentary actions to tax the colonists or to enforce the tax laws provoked a negative reaction from the colonists that eventually led to open rebellion. These actions included the Stamp Act and the Intolerable Acts. • The Stamp Act required the colonists to print newspapers, legal documents, playing cards, and so forth, on paper bearing special stamps (similar to postage stamps). Buying the stamped paper was the equivalent of paying a tax. Some colonists formed groups called the Sons of Liberty to stop distribution of the stamped paper. Nine colonies sent representatives to the Stamp Act Congress, which sent a formal protest to the king. • The Intolerable Acts closed the port of Boston as punishment for the Boston Tea Party. These acts also allowed British officials accused of major crimes to be tried in England and forced the colonists to house British troops on their property.
Identify the results of the Treaty of Paris, 1783.
The 1783 Treaty of Paris ended the American Revolutionary War. The United States won its independence from Great Britain and gained control of land stretching to the Mississippi River. Britain ceded Florida to Spain and certain African and Caribbean colonies to France.
Explain the language, organization, and intellectual sources of the Declaration of Independence; include the writing of John Locke and the role of Thomas Jefferson.
The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents in American history. Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft and then made revisions suggested by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and others. Because the declaration addressed a worldwide audience, its language was made simple and direct so people everywhere would understand and sympathize with the colonists' cause. The text borrowed phrases from the influential writings of English philosopher John Locke. This helped convince readers that American independence was supported by the ideas of a famous philosopher. After it explains the philosophical and legal reasons for seeking independence from Britain, the declaration has its longest section, which gives numerous examples of how King George III violated the rights of the colonists. Finally, the declaration offers a discussion of the Americans' many unsuccessful attempts to get relief from Britain and ends with the conclusion that the only way for Americans to have their rights restored is to restore them themselves by declaring independence from Britain and by controlling their own government.
Explain how the end of Anglo-French imperial competition as seen in the French and Indian War and the 1763 Treaty of Paris laid the groundwork for the American Revolution.
The French and Indian War resulted from a long-simmering rivalry between Great Britain and France and their competition for territory in North America. The French and Indian War broke out in 1754 when Great Britain challenged the French for control of the land that is now Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Native Americans tended to support the French because, as fur traders, the French built forts rather than permanent settlements. Great Britain eventually won the war. The Treaty of Paris (1763), which ended the French and Indian War, forced France to turn over control of Canada to Great Britain. France also surrendered its claim to all land east of the Mississippi River, with the exception of the city of New Orleans. Additionally, the treaty gave the British government control of all of Britain's American colonies. The colonists objected to the loss of control over their own affairs, and some Americans began to think about an American revolution. Tensions grew when Parliament passed laws to tax the colonists to pay for the cost of keeping a large standing army in North America that would protect both Britain's possessions and the American colonists from attacks. Tensions increased with the Proclamation of 1763, by which Americans were forbidden from settling beyond the Appalachian Mountains, in an effort to limit their conflicts with Native Americans.
Explain the significance of the winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge.
Washington and his troops spent the winter of 1777-1778 in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. They spent six months there. The army's problems with wages, housing, food, clothing, and equipment were at their worst. Disease spread throughout the camp, increasing the suffering of the 12,000 men. As conditions worsened, almost 4,000 soldiers were too weak or ill to fight. Yet that winter Washington ordered an intense training program— similar to a modern boot camp—that turned the Continental Army into a capable and self-assured infantry.
Analyze George Washington as a military leader; include the creation of a professional military and the life of a common soldier.
When the American Revolution began, George Washington was named commander in chief of the Continental Army. He displayed extraordinary leadership abilities in the role. Washington reorganized the army, secured additional equipment and supplies, and started a training program to turn inexperienced recruits into a professional military. Life was hard for the common soldier in the Continental Army. Enlistments lasted from one to three years, and the states differed in how well and how often they paid their soldiers, housed them when they were not on the march, and supplied them with food, clothing, and equipment. These issues undermined morale, as did the army's stern discipline, the chances of being wounded or killed, and British victories.
