Advanced Placement/Dual Credit US History – Mrs. Mayhall and Mrs. Jordan
Period 3: 1754-1800
America: The Essential Learning Edition Reading and Study Guide CHAPTER 5 – The American Revolution 1776-1783
Learning Outcomes/Objectives:
Condensed AP Key Concepts:
1.
Analyze the factors leading to
the American Revolution,
describe the events of the
Revolution, and consider the
nature of the Revolution and its
impact upon the people who
lived through it.
Key Concept 3.1: British attempts to assert tighter control over its North American
colonies and the colonial resolve to pursue self-gov’t led to a colonial independence
movement and the Revolutionary War.
II.
Essential Questions:
1.
2.
3.
What factors leading to the
American Revolution?
Trace the events and nature of
the Revolution.
What was the impact of the
Revolution upon the people who
lived through it?
The desire of many colonists to assert ideals of self-gov’t in the face of
renewed British imperial efforts → colonial independence movement &
war with Britain.
A) The imperial struggles of the mid-18th cent.& new British efforts to
collect taxes w/out direct colonial representation or consent & to assert
imperial authority in the colonies, began to unite the colonists against
perceived & real constraints on their economic activities & political rights.
B) Colonial leaders based their calls for resistance to Britain on arguments
about the rights of British subjects, the rights of the individual, local
traditions of self-rule, & the ideas of the Enlightenment.
C) The effort for Amer independence was energized by colonial leaders
such as Benjamin Franklin, as well as by popular movements that
included the political activism of laborers, artisans, and women.
D) In the face of economic shortages & the British military occupation of
some regions, men and women mobilized in large numbers to provide
financial and material support to the Patriot movement.
E) Despite considerable loyalist opposition, as well as Great Britain’s
apparently overwhelming military & financial advantages, the Patriot
cause succeeded because of the actions of colonial militias and the
Continental Army, George Washington’s military leadership, the colonists’
ideological commitment and resilience, and assistance sent by European
allies.
Key Concept 3.2: The American Revolution’s democratic and republican ideals
inspired new experiments with different forms of government.
I.
The ideals that inspired the revolutionary cause reflected new beliefs
about politics, religion, & society that had been developing over the
course of the 18th cent.
A) Enlightenment ideas & philosophy inspired many American political
thinkers to emphasize individual talent over hereditary privilege, while
religion strengthened Americans’ view of themselves as a people blessed
with liberty.
B) The colonists’ belief in the superiority of republican forms of
government based on the natural rights of the people found expression in
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense & the Declaration of Independence. The
ideas in these documents resonated throughout American history,
shaping Americans’ understanding of the ideals on which the nation was
based.
C) During & after the American Revolution, an increased awareness of
inequalities in society motivated some individuals and groups to call for
the abolition of slavery and greater political democracy in the new state
and national governments.
D) In response to women’s participation in the American Revolution,
Enlightenment ideas, & women’s appeals for expanded roles, an ideal of
“republican motherhood” gained popularity. It called on women to teach
republican values within the family and granted women a new
importance in American political culture.
E) The American Revolution & the ideals set forth in the Declaration of
Independence reverberated in France, Haiti, & Latin America, inspiring
future independence movements.
II.
After declaring independence, American political leaders created new
constitutions and declarations of rights that articulated the role of the
state and federal governments while protecting individual liberties and
limiting both centralized power and excessive popular influence.
A) Many new state constitutions placed power in the hands of the
legislative branch and maintained property qualifications for voting and
citizenship.
B) The Articles of Confederation unified the newly independent states,
creating a central government with limited power. After the Revolution,
difficulties over international trade, finances, interstate commerce,
foreign relations, and internal unrest led to calls for a stronger central
government.
→ = caused, affected, led to ↗ = promoted, increased ↘ = opposed, decreased
Be sure to analyze visual components.
Use MAP/SPARK for primary sources
where appropriate.
1.
The Death of General Merecer at
the Battle of Princeton (ca. 17891831) p.150
2. George Washington at Princeton
p.153
3. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
p.156
4. Major Campaigns in New York
and New Jersey, 1776-1777
p.157
5. General John Burgoyne p.159
6. Major Campaigns in New York
and Pennsylvania, 1777 p.160
7. Joseph Brant p.162
8. Western Campaigns, 1776-1779
p.163
9. Major Campaigns in the South,
1778-1781 p.167
10. Yorktown, 1781 p.168
11. North America, 1783 p.169
12. Four Soldiers (ca. 1781) p.171
Shi Core Objective Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Explain the challenges faced by both British and American Military leaders in
fighting the Revolutionary War.
Identify key turning points in the Revolutionary War, and explain how they
changed the direction of the war.
Describe the ways in which the American Revolution was also a civil war.
Examine how the Revolutionary War was an “engine” for political and social
change.
Compare the impact of the Revolutionary War on African Americans, women,
and Native Americans.
13. The Fate of the Loyalists (1783)
p.172
14. Religious development p.175
15. Abigail Adams p.178
Key Terms (Be sure to understand the
meaning of each and its historical
significance):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
citizen-soldiers p.153
Battle of Saratoga (1777) p.159
alliance with France p.159
Valley Forge (1777-1778) p.161
Battle of Yorktown (1781) p.168
Republican ideology p.173
state constitutions p.173
Articles of Confederation p.174
Virginia Statue of Religious
Freedom (1786) p.176
Big Picture Questions: