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US History 1

    Revolution: What You Should Know

To be educated you should know the following: Why there was a revolution - what events, people and attitudes led to war. What ideas about freedom, social leveling, representation, taxation, religion, race or economics were important factors leading to revolution. How Great Britain's overwhelming success in the Seven Years' War (the French and Indian War in America) helped produce an imperial crisis with the English colonies in North America after 1763. How the terms of The Treaty of Paris of Feb. 10, 1763 helped bring about the revolution.  How the end of the French and Indian War changed relations between Natives, French, English and the Colonists. Who Neolin was.  What was his influence? Which tribes constituted Pontiac’s alliance? What was the effect of the break up of the alliance? What was the colonist's objection to the Proclamation of 1763? What motivated George Grenville, Charles Townshend, and Lord Frederick North to attempt to tax the Americans? Provide a brief description of British colonial policies between 1763 and 1774. Why did the Stamp Act cause such immense fury among the colonists? What various nonviolent and violent tactics were employed by the colonists in resisting British policy actions? Which proved to be most effective, and why? The Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party were pivotal events in the colonial resistance movement. Examine both events by considering their short-term and long-term causes as well as their wide-reaching consequences. Why did the combination of the Coercive Acts and the Quebec Act prove to be a legislative tactical blunder for Lord North's administration? How did the colonists respond to these measures, and why did their response seem to imply rebellion? Why were so many leaders in the Second Continental Congress so hesitant about moving toward formal independence? Know the text of the Declaration of Independence. How does the Declaration both summarize colonial grievances and provide a vision for the future of an independent American republic? What is meant by the concept rage militaire? What factors account for the widespread desire of the American colonists to challenge Great Britain militarily by the spring and summer of 1775? Who was involved in the war, both at the level of important historical persons and at the level of which groups were (and were not) involved in urban areas, rural areas, the South, mid Atlantic, North and West. How did the revolution affect the poor, middle class and rich. What percentage of the American population supported the war. Did support differ geographically or socially? What groups fought and which groups avoided fighting?  How were women affected by the war? Examine the composition of British and American military forces. How did the Continental army change as the war progressed beyond 1775 and 1776? Who were the real Continentals, and what did they accomplish as the backbone of Washington's "respectable" army? Which native peoples were involved in the Revolutionary war, where, why and what was the outcome. Depending on your interest in military history, you should have a general idea of the major campaigns, leaders, battles on land and sea, e.g. Lexington/Concord, Ticonderoga, Quebec campaign, Bunker Hill, Great Bridge, Trenton, Oriskney, Brandywine, Saratoga campaign, Valley Forge,  Monmouth, Vincennes, Savannah, Charleston, Carolina campaign, King’s Mountain, Yorktown. Assess the role of European powers such as the French, Spanish, and Dutch and the role of Native Americans in the colonists' fight for independence. Of these groups, did any seem to benefit from their support of the rebel cause? If so, how? If not, why not? You should have some sense of the diplomatic maneuvering that was necessary to finance the war, and attempts to involve or prevent the involvement of outside powers, particularly France, in the war. Why did the Americans emerge victorious in the Revolutionary War? Explain how all three of the following contributed to that final triumph—American strengths, British weaknesses, and the global diplomatic and strategic situation. How did these factors help secure a favorable peace settlement in 1783? Why didn't the rest of Canada join with the American colonies?