What to know about the Revolutionary War

• John Locke, 17th Cent. English Enlightenment philosopher who came up with the idea of “Social Contract”:

• 1. People are born with natural rights which rulers cannot take away.

• 2. Government governs by “consent of the governed”

If the government fails to

protect our rights, we can

revolt and replace the

government.

Thomas Paine

• Author of Common Sense, which argued that– it didn’t make sense

to have a king., and…

– convinced many.

Thomas Jefferson

• Based the Dec. of Indep. on Locke’s idea of Social Contract

• See Quotes in Quick Review

George Washington—General of the American

Army

• Who was able to somehow keep the army together when defeat seemed inevitable

Saratoga

Saratoga• The turning point of the war,

because after Saratoga Ben Franklin was able to to negotiate a Treaty of Alliance with France

Yorktown

• The last battle of the Revolution, we were helped by the French army and navy

Patriot

• The revolutionaries—Sons of Liberty, Minute Men, etc.

• They controlled the countryside and waged guerrilla warfare

Loyalists or Tories

• Those who remained loyal to the King– economic and cultural ties to Britain

– believed taxation was justified

The British had controlled the cities—after all they had

a huge navy

Picture credits

• The cartoon of Thomas Paine is from:

http://dictionary.reference.com/All the other pictures turn up over and

over when a google image search is done, so it appears that they are in the public domain.