THE EMPIRE IN TRANSITION
Essay Question (will appear on next exam):
What effect did the French and Indian War have on the coming of
the American Revolution?
Main themes of Chapter Four:
• The growing enmity between the British and French in North America,
culminating in the Seven Years' War
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The consequences of the Seven Years' War in driving further wedges
between England and the people of the colonies
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The participation of Native Americans in the Seven Years' War and the
results of that war for those populations
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The policies taken by Parliament in the 1760s and 1770s that served
to incite resistance and rebellion in British North America
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The varied responses to English policies made by colonial leaders, and
the growing cooperation among the thirteen colonies
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The outbreak of military hostilities between England and the colonies
in Lexington and Concord, and the start of America's War of
Independence
A thorough study of Chapter Four should enable the student to
understand the following:
• The primary reasons for the growth of the differences between colonial
Americans and the British government in the years leading up to the
Revolution
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The growing conflict between the English, the French, and the Iroquois
Confederacy, culminating in the Seven Years' War
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The three distinct phases of the Seven Years' War, and their
implications for the colonies of British North America
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The effects of the war on the American colonists and on the status of
the colonies within the British Empire
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The effects of the war on the Native American populations, whether
they participated or did not participate
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The options available to the British for dealing with the colonies in
1763, and the reasons for adopting the policies that they chose to
implement
The importance of the series of crises from the Sugar Act through the
Coercive Acts, and how each crisis changed colonial attitudes toward
the mother country
The change in American attitudes toward Parliament, the English
constitution, and the king resulting from the policies of George
Grenville, Charles Townshend, and Lord North
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The meaning and significance of such slogans as "No taxation without
representation."
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The significance and accomplishments of the First Continental
Congress
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The events of Lexington and Concord and the beginnings of the
American Revolution
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Essay Question (will appear on next exam):
Why did the Articles of Confederation ultimately fail? Why was
pressure building for a new Constitution during the second half
of the 1780s?
Main themes of Chapter Five:
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The political strategies employed by the 2nd Continental
Congress in declaring their independence from England and
uniting the colonies in military endeavor
The battle strategies and military contingencies that
characterized the three distinct phases of the American War
of Independence
The attempt by Americans to apply revolutionary republican
ideology to the building of the nation and to the remaking of
society, and how this application affected such minority
groups as African-Americans, Native Americans, and women
in the newly independent colonies
The problems that remained after, or were created by, the
American Revolution and that were faced by the weak
national government under the Articles of Confederation
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A thorough study of Chapter Five should enable the
student to understand the following:
• The historical debate surrounding the nature of the
American Revolution and the reasons for disagreement
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The defining of American war aims and the importance
of Thomas Paine's Common Sense
The origins and content of the Declaration of
Independence
The three distinct phases of the War for Independence,
and its transformation into a new kind of conflict that
worked against British military superiority
The impact of the Revolution on women, AfricanAmericans, Native Americans, and other minorities
The assumptions and rhetoric of the political philosophy
of republicanism
The types of governments created by the new states,
and the important features in their governments
The course of diplomacy between Americans both during
the War and in the years afterwards during attempts to
stand up the new nation
The features of the Articles of Confederation, and the
reasons for its creation
The domestic and diplomatic problems faced by the
government under the Articles of Confederation, and
how they were addressed
THE CONSTITUTION AND THE NEW
REPUBLIC
Essay Question (will appear on next exam):
Characterize the 'competing visions' the Federalists and the
Republicans had for the country during the 1790s. Which side do
you believe had the better vision for how the Federal and State
governments should relate to each other and share power?
Main themes of Chapter Six:
• The origins of and debates surrounding the U.S.
Constitution, and how the debates were resolved
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The differing views of what the nation should become,
and how these differences led to the rise of the
Federalists, the Republicans, and America's "first party
system"
The ways in which the new United States tried to
establish itself as a nation in the eyes of both foreign
powers and its own people
The rise and fall of the Federalist Party and the
background of the "Revolution of 1800"
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A thorough study of Chapter Six should enable the
student to understand the following:
• The groups that advocated a stronger national
government and how they, probably a minority, were
able to achieve their objective
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The historical debate concerning the motives of the
delegates to the Constitutional Convention
The debate over the Virginia and New Jersey plans and
how it was resolved
The idea of federalism and the working design of the
American Constitution
The importance of The Federalist Papers in the
ratification struggle, and the arguments of the
Antifederalist opposition
The financial program of Alexander Hamilton, and its
contribution to the success of the new government
The emergence of the first party system, the political
philosophies of the Federalists and Republicans, and
their respective influence through the election of 1800
The ways in which the weak new nation coped with
various domestic and international problems, including
the Whiskey Rebellion, Native American unrest, and the
"quasi war" with France
The presidency of John Adams, the passage of the Alien
and Sedition Acts, and their role in helping to bring
about the "Revolution of 1800"