USI.4

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=Analyze how Americans resisted British policies before 1775 and analyze the reasons for the American victory and the British defeat during the Revolutionary War=



** The Boston Massacre **

 * ** Dramatic Event page on the Boston Massacre **

** Women and the Revolutionary War **

 * ====** Molly Pitcher **====

** Key Battles **

 * ====** Washington Crossing the Delaware Painting **====
 * ** Spies and Spy Letters **

** Overview and Resources **

 * //For an overview, see [|Teaching the Revolution], an essay by historian Carol Berkin from Baruch College and City University of New York from the History By Era series of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.//**
 * **//The Coming of the American Revolution, Massachusetts Historical Society//**


 * [[image:Screen Shot 2016-02-27 at 11.29.04 AM.png]]American Revolutions: A Continental History, 1750-1804. Alan Taylor, W.W. Norton, 2016**
 * **Read Gordon S. Wood review of the Taylor's book How the American Revolution Worked Against Blacks, Indians and Women, The New York Times Book Review, September 11, 2016**
 * **25,000 Americans in the military died in the war, one percent of the population, more deaths proportionally than any other war except the Civil War**
 * **20 percent of the population remain loyal to the British Empire and faced great suffering and hardship from supporters of the Revolution**
 * **60,000 Loyalists fled to other parts of the British Empire**


 * [[image:rotating gif.gif width="43" height="43"]]For more, s****ee**
 * ** United States History I.5 for the role of Massachusetts in the Boston Massacre, the Tea Party and other events in the revolutionary period. **
 * ** Grade 5.17 for information on the course of the war as well as the experiences of African Americans and Women **



[|The Coming of Independence], a video with transcript from //A Biography of America// from Annenberg Learner.

[|The History of the American Revolution] by David Ramsey (1789) is the first American national history written by an American revolutionary and printed in America.

Timeline of British taxes and acts and American reactions until 1775.Provided by the Library of Congress

[|Battling for Liberty: Tecumseh's and Patrick Henry's Language of Resistance]. See also Patrick Henry's [|Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death speech], March 23, 1775.

[|A Common American Soldier] from Colonial Williamsburg details the experiences of everyday members of the Revolutionary Army.

** Patriots and **** Causes of the Revolution **
[|Nathan Hale] was one of the first American "spies" during the Revolution, and although he was caught, his quote "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country" is still widely known today. This is a short piece about the work he did and his eventual capture.

[|Paul Revere] is another well known patriot. With the help of William Dawes and Dr. Samuel Prescott, [|Revere] helped to warn the Sam Adams and John Hancock of the imminent British march to capture them. The link above leads to a map detailing their routes, and [|this] is an account of the ride's events.

[|Too Late To Apologize (with lyrics)] is a music video about the Declaration and the Constitution from Soomo Publishing.

There were a number causes to the American Revolution, but the primary cause for the outbreak of war revolved around the colonists' acts of defiance toward British policies. The colonists were not content with laws and taxes being enforced without their consent.
 * The British had just won [|the French and Indian war [4] ] and were claiming that the colonists were in their debt for the defense they provided them. They started levying several taxes on the colonies and began enacting laws without the colonists' approval.
 * The famous phrase, [|“No taxation without representation,” [5] ] came out of this period and the colonists were furious and they began to resist British acts and policies.
 * Colonists began by publicly protesting [|the Stamp Act [6] ], which was able to bring together the colonies but also forced the British to repeat that they have full power over the colonies and continued to control them. At the same time they were also attacking the tax collectors, often violently. Colonists were also forced to quarter British troops in private homes.
 * In 1772, the colonists went as far as to destroy a British warship that was being used to make sure British policies were being forced, known as the Gaspee Affair
 * There was also the events known as the Boston Massacre in which British troops shot and killed 5 colonists who were taunting them and the Boston Tea Party, during which the Sons of Liberty, angered by import tariff regulation, dressed up as Mohawks and destroyed a shipment of British tea intended for the colonies by throwing it into the Boston Harbor.
 * The British responded with Coercive Acts effectively limiting Massachusetts' local government.

Watch a video from YA author John Green on Taxes and Smuggling Political Cartoon: [|"The Able Doctor, or America Swallowing the Bitter Drought."] (1774), written to convince the British public that Great Britain had the right to tax the colonies.

**Boston Massacre**

 * ** Go to Boston Massacre page to explore the event in more detail **


 * Boston Tea Party **

[|High Tea in Boston Harbor] from the PBS website, Liberty.

**The Beginning of Revolution: The Shot Heard Around the World**
The first shot fired during the American Revolution is known as The Shot Heard Around the World. It began a revolution that would change the course of history for the entire world.

[[image:battle-of-lexington-1775.jpg width="320" height="214" align="right" caption="The Battle of Lexington"]]

 * The Battle of Lexington took place on April 19th, 1775
 * British troops marched from Boston to Concord and were met face to face with colonial militia in Lexington.
 * The militia men arrived so early that they were told to retire to taverns until further notice. When notice was given, the British were only a mile away. This late notice lead to only 77 colonial militiamen to fight 250 British forces.
 * The first shot was fired but it is uncertain from which side it came from.

This depicts the routes taken by British to get to Lexington. It also shows Revere and Dawe's rides to warn of the British coming.

Watch this School House Rock video on the Revolution and The Shot Heard Around the World.

Click here for an [|Interactive Timeline on the American Revolution]

[[image:Rotating_globe-small.gif]]**African Americans and the Revolutionary War**
Some 1500 people of African descent from Massachusetts served in the Continental Army and state militia during the Revolutionary War.
 * In Franklin County, the town of Shelburne had the highest participation with 7 African Americans serving in the army.

In the colonies, some 5,000 black men served in the Continental Army, and hundreds more served on ships at sea.

[|African Americans in the Revolutionary Period,] National Park Service

For more, go to the website of the [|National Mall Liberty Fund DC].

For more on African American participation, see AP United States History Theme 4.
 * Also see [|African Americans and the American Revolution] for more on roles of Blacks before and during the war.
 * See Grade 3.5 and Grade 5.17 for more resources.
 * In addition, [|this] is a PDF file of many of the important African American individuals and units in the Revolution, who fought for both the Rebels and the British forces

For a perspective from Rhode Island, see [|Deeds of Desperate Valor: The First Rhode Island Regiment]

Blacks also fought for the British. Click here to read [|Lord Dunmore's Proclamation, 1775] that offered freedom to slaves that fought for the British.

**Women and the Revolutionary War**
[|Women of the American Revolution: A Unit of Study for Grades 5-8]from the National Center for History in the Schools. **Molly Pitcher** is a revolutionary war figure who may or may not have been one actual individual.

Click here for [|a brief biography].
 * Click here for the [|Molly Pitcher Historical Marker] in Carlisle, Pennsylvania

See also, [|Will the Real Molly Pitcher Please Stand Up?] is a lesson plan from the National Archives.

[|After Challenging Military Ban on Women in Combat, Molly Pitcher Project's Dreams are Realized] details how legal action led to lifting the military's longstanding ban on direct ground combat by women (May, 2013). Click here for more women who were involved in the Revolutionary War, such as Martha Bratton and Esther Reed.
 * See also Grade 5.17

[|Here] you can also find an article in the Huffington Post from 2012 on Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, also known as "The Baron," a French military genius, and also gay, who helped to train Washington's forces at Valley Forge and was awarded honorary citizenship for his efforts.

Native Americans and the Revolutionary War
Native Americans did not play a significant role but the did assist the British in some affairs regarding the war. Read the article about Native American involvement.

**Key Battles**


 * See Grade 5.17 for specific information about key battles during the war**
 * The Continental Army struggled for finances, trained regulars, and supplies early in the war. Forcing the British out of Boston was a critical moment for survival at that particular stage.
 * Great Britain faced long supply routes along the Atlantic Ocean, an unsympathetic population in the colonies, and an increasingly vocal political opposition in Parliament.
 * After [|Gates' unexpected victory in Saratoga Springs], New York, Ben Franklin had increasing success forming an alliance with the French. Benjamin Franklin to France Lesson Plan
 * The French, bringing a formidable naval power, were vital to the the colonists' victory over Great Britain. The Dutch and Spanish also provided smaller but important assistance.
 * British forces under General Cornwallis surrendered after the Battle of [|Yorktown] in 1781, the last major action to take place on the American mainland.

**The Washington Crossing the Delaware Painting**


On December 25, 1776 General Washington lead 5,400 troops across the Delaware River.
 * He was planning to surprise Hessian (German mercenaries) who were celebrating Christmas in Trenton, New Jersey. Washington lead about 2,400 men himself, the remaining 3,000 were split into two separate groups, which did not make it across the river.
 * They departed around 11pm on the 25th and headed towards the Hessians by 8am the 26th. The Hessians were not only caught off guard, but also underestimated the troops lead by Washington.
 * By 9:30am, the town was surrounded. Hundreds of Hessians escaped, but the troops captured about 1,000 Hessians. Only four men were lost under Washington.
 * However, because not all the troops and weapons made it across the river, Washington was forced to withdraw.
 * Despite this, the attack restored faith in the Continental Army, who suffered many losses and lost control of New York City in the previous months. This gave people confidence the Continental Army could win the war.

Click here for the website for Washington Crossing Historic Park.


 * [|Crossing the Delaware, 1851] from National Endowment for the Humanities


 * [|Emanuel Leutze's Symbolic Scene of Washington Crossing the Delaware] from EDSITEment



Spies and Spy Letters
Spy Letters of the American Revolution, University of Michigan

Culper Spy Ring, Mt Vernon


 * The Culper Code Book has the code the Culper Spy Ring used to send messages to George Washington's headquarters

Caleb Brewster and the Culper Spy Ring, from Connecticut History.org

The Culper Spy Ring: Path Through History, from Discover Long Island NY

[[image:primary_sources.PNG link="http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=old&doc=6"]] [|Treaty of Paris (1783)]
The American War for Independence was actually a world conflict, and the end of the Revolution brought the new United States nation into international relationships with many other countries. Link here for a lesson plan on the Treaty of Paris
 * The Treaty of Paris is a key document for learning about the beginnings of American foreign policy.
 * It was negotiated by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay. It required British recognition of US independence and allowed for westward expansion of the US.

Links
[2] Hewes, G Boston Tea Party- Eyewitness Account. Retrieved April 10, 2007, from The History Place Web site: http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/teaparty.htm [3] Boston Massacre. Retrieved April 10, 2007, from Boston Massacre Historical Society Web site: http://www.bostonmassacre.net/ [4] (2007). Seven Years War Timeline. Retrieved April 10, 2007, Web site: http://ns1763.ca/remem/7yw-timeline-w.html [5] (2000). No Taxation Without Representation. Retrieved April 10, 2007, from Virtuology Web site: http://www.notaxationwithoutrepresentation.com/ [6] (2001). Stamp Act 1765. Retrieved April 10, 2007, from America's Homepage Web site: http://ahp.gatech.edu/stamp_act_bp_1765.html [7] (April 7, 2007). Gaspee Affair. Retrieved April 10, 2007, from Wikipeida Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaspee_Affair [8] (March 22, 2009). Timeline of Resistance, 1763-1774, from Library of Congress: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-revolution/4275

Image IDs from left to right
1. Wikimedia Commons, "Boston Tea Party - Cooper". 2. Wikimedia Commons, Sons of Libery". 3.  Wikimedia Commons, "Gaspee Affair". 4.  Wikimedia Commons, "Washington Crossing the Delaware".