Revolutionary+War

Concord Hymn By the rude bridge that arched the flood Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled Here once the embattled farmers stood And Fired **the shot heard round the world.** The foe long since in silence sleptlike the conqueror silent sleeps; And time the ruined bridge has swept Down the dark stream which seaward creeps. On this green bank, by this soft stream, We set today a votive stone; That memory may their deed redeem,When, like our sires, our sons are gone. Spirit, that made those heroes dare To die, and leave their children free, Bid time and nature greatly spare The shaft we raise to them and thee.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1892)

Read: Web Concept


 * Essential Questions**
 * How can disagreement lead to revolution?
 * How can leaders inspire, lead, and bring unity to a cause?
 * How do historians determine pivotal events?
 * How did the American victory affect political control of North America?

1. Have students create a set of criteria to determine if a group should be identified as “revolutionary.” As they study the events of the American Revolution ask them to use these criteria to evaluate the actions of the Americans. 2. Inform students that you have received information from the School Administration that you are required to share with the. Due to funding cutbacks for the Virginia Beach City Schools, the following steps will be implemented as of August 2011 to provide aditional monies for division projects: The following fees are in effect immediately
 * Use of cafeteria - $1.00 per day
 * Use of library - $2.00 per visit
 * Checking out library books - $.50 per book per day
 * Materials fee - $10.00 per class
 * Locker fee - $15.00 per semester

As a show of support for American manufacturing and to lessen the increasing foreign debt of the United States, only those students with automobiles manufactured within the United States may use school parking lots.


 * Discuss with students their reactions to the new fees and rule, and what actions they might take in response.

2. R eferring to the copy of the Declaration of Independence on pages 74-75 of the text, have students identify the preamble, theory of government, grievances against the king, and the formal declaration of independence as the four parts of the document. To assist students with their reading, have them answer the following questions. **WIKI**
 * What are the four parts of the Declaration?
 * To whom is the Declaration addressed?
 * Why was it written and published?
 * Name two-self-evident truths.
 * List three unalienable rights.
 * What is the purpose of governments?
 * What is the source of the power and authority of government?
 * What conditions justify abolishing a government?
 * What evidence is offered to show that the colonists tried to secure their rights peacefully?
 * Who is the “he” referred to in part three of the document?
 * Why is “he” blamed rather than Parliament?
 * List five grievances in part three that justified abolishing the British government in the colonies.
 * List two grievances that are based on exaggeration or emotional appeals.
 * What powers did the new government claim as free and independent states?
 * Cite the passages that announced the independence of the colonies.

Have students discuss the following:
 * Can the overthrow of a government ever be justified?

3. Have students complete a chart such as the one below to identify and categorize the causes of the American Revolution. **(11.2.1, 11.2.3) WIKI**


 * = Cause Category ||= Explanation ||= Illustrative Events ||
 * = Economic ||=  ||=   ||
 * = Political ||=  ||=   ||
 * = Social / Philosopohical ||=  ||=   ||

5. Use the INSERT strategy to identify the events leading to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. (11.2.1) **WIKI**

6. Write a speech or letter to the editor that accurately portrays a Patriot or British viewpoint of the Boston Tea Party. (11.2.2) **WIKI**

7. The following reading selection provides a different view of the American Revolution. **WIKI**
 * Read the excerpts and type any words or phrases that you do not understand. Research the words or phrases and type clarify the parts of the excerpts that you did not understand.
 * Ensuring the students understand the following terms used in the piece will assist student comprehension: - suzerain (Okay, I’ll admit it- I have never seen this word before in my life. It is, however, legitimate. It’s meaning? A nation that controls another in international affairs but allows it domestic sovereignty.)- bourgeois/bourgeoisie- gentry- clique- propagate- enunciated- exploitation- legitimacy- annihilate- precarious
 * Provide students with the following reading. In addition, ask students to complete the following statements as they read: - One way this is different from what I know is…- I really disagree with …- One thing that makes sense to me is…- (Add others as needed)

Use student responses to begin a discussion of the information in the reading. **__On the American Revolution__** Excerpt 1 > As a result of the ceaseless struggle of the colonial people for their political rights, the thirteen colonies practiced bourgeois representative government by setting up their own local legislatures. As electoral rights were restricted in many ways in every colony, those elected to the colonial legislatures were mostly landlords, gentry, and agents of the bourgeoisie, without any representation whatsoever from the working people. There were struggles between the Governors and the legislatures. These struggles reflected the contradictions between the colonies and the suzerain state. Excerpt 2 > The British administration of the colonies was completely in the interest of the bourgeoisie in Britain. The British colonial rule impeded development of the national economy of North America. It forced certain businesses into bankruptcy. As a consequence, contradictions became increasingly acute between the ruling clique in Britain and the rising bourgeoisie and brad masses of people in the colonies. Heretofore (prior to the Britain Massacre) the struggle of the colonial people had been scattered and regional. In their course of their struggle, however, they summed up their experience and came to feel it necessary to stand together for united action. Thus, in November 1772 a town meeting in Boston adopted a proposal made by Samuel Adams to create a Committee of Correspondence to exchange information with other areas, act in unison, and propagate revolutionary ideas. In less than two months, a Committee of Correspondence was formed by more than eighty cities and towns in Massachusetts, and later became the organs of revolutionary power. Source 3 > The Declaration of Independence was a declaration of bourgeois revolution. The political principles enunciated in it were aimed at protecting the system of capitalist exploitation and legitimizing the interests of the bourgeoisie. In practice, the “people” referred to in the Declaration only meant the bourgeoisie, but the “right of the pursuit of happiness” was deduced from the “right of property” and intended to stamp the mark of legitimacy on the system of bourgeois exploitation. The Declaration was signed by 56 persons, of whom 28 were bourgeois lawyers, 13 were big merchants, 8 were plantation slave owners, and 7 were members of free professions, but there was not one representative of the working people. Excerpt 4 > During the time of the war, America began its westward expansion on a large scale. From the first, the colonies had been founded on the corpses of Indians. In 1779 George Washington sent John Sullivan with a force to annihilate the Iroquois tribe settled in northern New York. In his instructions he wrote: “The present aim is to completely smash and flatten their settlement, take as many prisoners as possible, the more the better, whether they are women or men…You must not only mop up their settlement but destroy it.” Thus at the time of its founding, America had already nakedly exposed its aggressive character. Excerpt 5 > During the war patriotic women also played a big role. While men went to the front, they took over the tasks of production. They tilled fields and wove cloth and sent food, garments, and other articles to the front. When Washington was in a precarious situation retreating into Pennsylvania with his army, the women risked their lives to bring ammunition, transmit intelligence, and rescue the wounded. Some even served as artillery gunners. Excerpt 6 > After the outbreak of war, America not only failed to organize the enslaved Negroes, but guarded them more closely, thus intensifying their oppression. This seriously impeded their participation in the war and was one reason why the war for independence was slow in achieving victory. > The American people are a great people. They have a revolutionary tradition. At present, they are in a period of new awakening. We believe that the American people will make still greater contributions to the cause of human progress in the future.
 * Upon completion of the reading, ask students to compare the information in the reading with the information in their text.