THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

SSUSH4 – The student will identify the ideological, military, & diplomatic aspects of the American Revolution.

Standard 4 Declaration of� Independence John Locke� George �

Washington Delaware River� 1783 Treaty of �

Paris Battle of Saratoga

*Battle of Trenton Valley Forge� Benjamin Franklin� Marquis de �

Lafayette General Charles� Cornwallis Battle of Yorktown�

Key Terms

Paul Revere was sent to alert John Hancock and Samuel Adams of the British’s plans.

Paul Revere promised to warn them when the British soldiers started to march.

Since he wasn't sure that he would be able to get out of Boston with the message, he made plans to alert people by putting lanterns in the Old North Church steeple.

He would light one lantern if the British were coming by land, and two lanterns if the British were coming by sea.

“The British Are Coming”

a. Explain the language, organization, and intellectual sources of the Declaration of Independence; include the writing of John Locke and the role of Thomas Jefferson.

Element 4a

1. What was the purpose of the DOI? 2. Who was the main author of the DOI? 3. Where did the author get his ideas from? 4. How is the DOI organized?5. What is the purpose of the Preamble of the

DOI? 6. What is in the 2nd section of the DOI? 7. What is in the 3rd section of the DOI? Learning Target: The student will be able to explain the

language, organization, and intellectual sources of the Declaration of Independence

EQ for 4a: How would you explain the language, organization, and intellectual sources of the Declaration of Independence

1. The Declaration of Independence was the ideological explanation for American independence.

2. Thomas Jefferson 3. John Locke’s Second Treatise on

Government 4. Broken into 3 sections 5. The reasons why the colonist broke away

from Britain along with the belief about natural rights and the role of government.

answers

6. List of 27 grievances against King George 7. How the colonist tried to remain peaceful

with britain, but unsuccessful attempts to get relief from

Britain and ends

April 18, 1775◦Revere was able to warn the colonists in Lexington

◦The colonists had organized a group of militia, called the Minutemen.

◦8 minutemen were killed

“The British Are Coming”

Revere was captured before reaching Concord, but other messengers were able to warn the colonists.◦Colonists were able to hide supplies at various places.

◦British soldiers headed back to Boston.

◦Along the way, 73 British soldiers were killed.

“The British Are Coming”

After the Battles of Lexington & Concord, colonial leaders met at the Second Continental Congress.◦George Washington was appointed as head

of the new Continental Army.◦They adopted a provisional govt. linking the

13 colonies.◦June 7, 1776, Virginia delegate Richard

Lee proposed that “all political connection” between the colonies & England should be dissolved.

Second Continental Congress

July 4, 1776 – delegates of the Second Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Jefferson wrote the document.

Delegates believed that govt. was a social contract.◦If the govt. became harmful, the people had the right to change it.

◦Outlined what King George III had done wrong.

◦Declared the colonies’ independence.

Declaration of Independence

1) Preamble Purpose of the Declaration

2) Declaration of Natural Rights People have certain rights & the govt. should

protect those rights.

3) List of Grievances Colonists’ complaints esp. against King George III

4) Resolution of IndependenceDeclares that the colonies are “Free &

Independent States”

Declaration of Independence

Colonists wanted a govt. that served the people.

Wanted to be a self-governing people. Declaration was heavily influenced by

Englightment thinkers.◦John Locke held life, liberty, & property as

natural rights.◦French Philosopher, Charles Montesquieu,

wrote in The Spirit of the Laws, “that power in govt. should be divided among an executive & a legislative body.”

Declaration of Independence

b. Explain the reason for and significance of the French alliance and foreign assistance and the roles of Benjamin Franklin and the Marquis de Lafayette.

Element 4b

Why was the alliance with France an important factor in the American Revolution?

What role did Ben Franklin and Marquis de Lafayette play in the American-French alliance?

EQ 4b

Benjamin Franklin◦Helped secure a French alliance that

provided military & financial aid.

Key Figures

Benjamin Franklin The most distinguished scientific and

literary American of his age, he was the first American diplomat.

Benjamin Franklin

Marquis de Lafayette

◦19 yr old French soldier who volunteered to serve in the Continental Army at his own expense.

◦Congress appointed him a major-general.

◦Was a military genius◦Worked closely with George Washington

Benjamin Franklin He was charged with the critical task of gaining

French support for American independence. French aristocrats and intellectuals embraced

Franklin as the personification of the New World His popularity and diplomatic skill--along with the

first American battlefield success at Saratoga--convinced France to recognize American independence

He was the first American ambassador to be received by a foreign government.

The French saw the weakening of the British as an opportunity to finally conquer them & regain control of the seas.

1781◦ With French help, the Continental Army defeated

General Cornwallis & trapping 8,000 British soldiers at the Battle of Yorktown.

French Alliance

Treaty of Paris 1783◦Officially ended the war.◦Est. United States of America◦Borders were now all land from the Great

Lakes on the north to Florida on the south, & from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River.

◦The U.S. agreed to pay all existing debts owed to Great Britain.

◦The U.S. also agreed not to persecute loyalists still in America and allow those that left America to return.

Treaty of Paris

a. Explain the language, organization, and intellectual sources of the Declaration of Independence; include the writing of John Locke and the role of Thomas Jefferson.

Purpose: explain the reasons why they were breaking away from Britain

(language) Simple and direct so everyone could understand it.

Sources: John Locke influenced the writers Thomas Jefferson wrote it Organization

◦ Preamble (philosophical and legal reasons)◦ 27 grievances of how the King violated their rights◦ Statement of resolution for independence since they

could not come to a peaceful agreement with Britain

Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence was the ideological explanation for American independence.

The Declaration was drafted by John Adams, Robert Livingston, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Thomas Jefferson, although Jefferson was the principle author of the Declaration.

Most scholars hold that the ideas of John Locke’s Second Treatise on Government played a significant influence on the Declaration. Locke’s key ideas of “natural rights,” the equality of all men, and the

Declaration of Independence

Most scholars hold that the ideas of John Locke’s Second Treatise on Government played a significant influence on the Declaration. Locke’s key ideas of “natural rights,” the equality of all men, and the role of government are featured prominently in the preamble.

Declaration of Independence

The Declaration can be divided into three key parts.

1. The Preamble called the attention to why the American colonies had chosen to break away from the British government.

Key ideas included many of those Locke had outlined earlier.

These ideas included natural rights, the origin and purposes of government, the reasons why the colonists had elected to

rebel against the King and Parliament.

Declaration of Independence section 1

2. The second section is the list of grievances or justifications.

This section contains 27 separate points of difference the colonies had with King George III and his government.

Declaration of Independence section 2

3. Finally, the declaration offers a discussion of the Americans’ many unsuccessful attempts to get relief from Britain

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.

Declaration of Independence section 1

b. Explain the reason for and significance of the French alliance and foreign assistance and the roles of Benjamin Franklin and the Marquis de Lafayette.

EQ: How would you explain the importance of the French alliance during the War for Independence?

Great Britain became the dominate world power after successfully concluding the Seven Years War (French and Indian War).

Britain’s traditional enemies (France, Spain, and the Netherlands) looked

for a way to regain the advantage in world trade.

French Alliance

As Britain’s American colonies began rebelling, Louis XVI’s ministers began negotiating with the Americans.

Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were instrumental in negotiating the

Franco-American Treaty of 1778.

French Alliance

Benjamin Franklin He was charged with the critical task of gaining

French support for American independence. French aristocrats and intellectuals embraced

Franklin as the personification of the New World His popularity and diplomatic skill--along with the

first American battlefield success at Saratoga--convinced France to recognize American independence

He was the first American ambassador to be received by a foreign government.

The alliance essentially turned the tide of the war against Great Britain.

French naval attacks in the Caribbean and against British holdings in India forced the Royal Navy to weaken its blockade along the eastern seaboard of the United States.

Large quantities of muskets, cannons, shot and powder were given to Washington’s forces.

And French forces played a key role in the defeat of the British at the Battle of Yorktown.

French Alliance

The Marquis de Lafayette had arrived earlier and led American forces in battle against British and Hessian forces.

Lafayette was instrumental in persuading the French government to commit additional land forces against the British in the colonies,

He also helped Washington train his men at Valley Forge.

French Alliance (Marquis de Lafayette )

c. Analyze George Washington as a military leader;

include the creation of a professional military

and the life of a common soldier, and describe the significance of the

crossing of the Delaware River and Valley Forge.

EQ: How would you identify George Washington as a good military leader?

The Revolutionary Armies were composed of two distinct groups-the state militias and the Continental Army.

Militias were organized by each state and community and generally provided their own weapons and uniforms.

Enlistments were short term and training was poor.

They were notoriously unreliable in battle.

Creation of the Army

At the urging of Washington, Congress provided for the creation of a standing army—The Continental Army.

Enlistments were for one to three years. Pay was meager. Rations were short and the army often had

to scavenge to find supplies

Creation of the Army

Disease, brought on by close confinement combined with poor diet and sanitation, was

a bigger danger than the British Army. The most common killers were influenza,

typhus, typhoid, and dysentery, dedicated surgeons, capable nurses, a

smallpox inoculation program, and camp sanitation regulations limited the death tolls.

Creation of the Army (problems)

George Washington was appointed by Congress to be Commander and Chief of the Continental Army in June 1775.

Washington had developed an excellent military reputation in the French and Indian War when he led British and Virginian forces out of the ambush that killed the British commander William Braddock.

George Washington and the Continental Army

Washington reorganized the Continental Army, Called for a standing army.

secured additional equipment and supplies, started a training program to turn

inexperienced recruits into a professional military.

Washington Takes charge

As a field general, Washington was not the most successful commander.

Despite losing many battles, Washington’s strong personality and reputation garnered him the support and respect of American soldiers.

His force of will is best exemplified at the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse in June 1778 when Washington personally stopped American forces from fleeing the battlefield and led a counter-attack which pushed the British back.

Early in the war Washington preferred to engage the British in quick, strong strikes and then retreat as a means of overcoming the inadequate training of American forces and to boost morale.

This principle is illustrated when Washington crossed the Delaware River on December 25, 1776.

His forces routed the Hessian forces at Trenton, New Jersey in a surprise attack.

Washington then marched his force across New Jersey and defeated a pursuing British force before retreating into winter quarters.

These two decisive victories boosted the morale of American forces, which had been defeated in New York earlier that year.

Crossing the Delaware River

Washington’s skill at maintaining his force under trying conditions is best shown during the Winter of 1777-1778 when the American Army was encamped at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

With winter approaching, Washington withdrew the Continental Army into a winter encampment. In the popular imagination, Valley Forge was the winter home of a ragged, starving dispirited American Army.

Valley Forge

While clothing was in short supply, the army was kept fed and remained intact throughout winter.

However, Valley Forge proved to be critical in the further development of the army.

European soldiers such as Baron von Steuben and Lafayette arrived.

Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Augustus von Steuben taught close-order drill critical for the maneuver and fire tactics of eighteenth century warfare.

Valley Forge

d. Explain the role of geography at the Battle of Yorktown, the role of Lord Cornwallis, and the Treaty of Paris, 1783.

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 heavy resistance.

American Victory

Wishing to maintain communications with Great Britain by sea, the British general retreated to the coastal town of Yorktown. While awaiting the British

While awaiting the British fleet, his forces were surrounded by the combined French and American armies. The timely arrival of the French fleet drove away the British evacuation fleet.

Cut off from any reinforcements, Cornwallis was forced to surrender, and the American Revolution came to an end in North America.

Charles Cornwallis

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.

1783 Treaty of Paris

• John Locke • George Washington • Crossing the Delaware River • Valley Forge • Benjamin Franklin • Marquis de Lafayette • General Charles Cornwallis • Battle of Yorktown • 1783 Treaty of Paris

Forced to pay taxes they did not agree with Laws passed by a government they did not

think they should have to follow Government officials place over them they did

not like want or agree with. Citizens houses were burnt down People imprisoned and not told why they were

being jailed Invaded by soldiers who would steal from

them Property taken away without due process.

Forced to pay taxes they did not agree with Laws passed by a government they did not

think they should have to follow Government officials place over them they did

not like want or agree with. Citizens houses were burnt down People imprisoned and not told why they were

being jailed Invaded by soldiers who would steal from

them Property taken away without due process.

Confederate States of America.Reasons for leaving the union.