Module 3

The American
Revolution
Essential Question
How was the American Revolution revolutionary?

About the Image: This colored engraving In this module you will learn what led the American colonists to declare
by John C. McRae depicts the Sons of Liberty independence from Great Britain and why they were victorious in their
pulling down a statue of King George III on fight for freedom.
the Bowling Green in the city of New York on
the night of July 9, 1776. What You Will Learn . . .
Lesson 1: The Stirrings of Rebellion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
The Big Idea Conflict between Great Britain and the American
Explore ONLINE! colonies grew over issues of taxation, representation, and liberty.
VIDEOS, including... Lesson 2: Ideas Help Start a Revolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
The Big Idea Tensions increased throughout the colonies until the
• The Declaration of Continental Congress declared independence on July 4, 1776.
Independence The Declaration of Independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
• Sons of Liberty Lesson 3: Struggling Toward Saratoga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
• The First Continental The Big Idea After a series of setbacks, American forces won at
Congress Saratoga and survived.
• Paul Revere: The Midnight Lesson 4: Winning the War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Rider The Big Idea Strategic victories in the South and at Yorktown enabled
the Americans to defeat the British.
• Saratoga: Force Surrender
• Friedrich von Steuben
Document-Based Investigations
Graphic Organizers
Interactive Games
Image with Hotspots: The Battle of
Bunker Hill
Carousel: Patriots and Loyalists

104 Module 3
 Timeline of Events 1759–1784 Explore ONLINE!

United States Events World Events

1759

1760  George III becomes

king of Great Britain.

1765  The British Parliament passes the Stamp Act.

1767  Parliament passes the Townshend Acts.

1769  Scotland’s James Watt patents a steam

engine capable of running other machines.
1770  Five colonists are killed in the “Boston Massacre.” 1770  Tukolor Kingdom arises in the
former Songhai region of West Africa.

1773  Colonists stage the Boston Tea Party.

1774  Parliament passes the Intolerable Acts.

1774  The reign of Louis XVI
1774  First Continental Congress convenes. begins in France.

1776  Thomas Paine publishes

Common Sense. 1776  Adam Smith’s The Wealth
1776  The American colonies declare of Nations is published.
independence.

1777  The colonists’ victory at Saratoga

marks a turning point in the war.
1779  Spain declares war on Britain.

1781  The British surrender at Yorktown.

1782  Spain puts down a Native

American rebellion in Peru.
1783  Colonists and British sign the
Treaty of Paris, ending the war.

1784

The American Revolution 105

 Lesson 1

The Stirrings of Rebellion

One American’s Story

The Big Idea
On the cold, clear night of March 5, 1770, a mob gathered outside the
Conflict between Great Britain
Customs House in Boston. They heckled the British sentry on guard,
and the American colonies grew
calling him a “lobster-back” to mock his red uniform. More soldiers
over issues of taxation, represen-
tation, and liberty. arrived, and the mob began hurling stones and snowballs at them. At
that moment, Crispus Attucks, a sailor of African and Native American
Why It Matters Now ancestry, arrived with a group of angry laborers.
The events that shaped the
American Revolution are a
turning point in humanity’s fight “This Attucks . . . appears to have
for freedom. undertaken to be the hero of the
Key Terms and People
night; and to lead this army with
banners . . . up to King street with
Stamp Act
their clubs. . . . [T]his man with
Samuel Adams
his party cried, ‘Do not be afraid
Townshend Acts of them. . . .’ He had hardiness
Boston Massacre enough to fall in upon them, and
committees of correspondence with one hand took hold of a bay-
Boston Tea Party onet, and with the other knocked
King George III the man down.”
—John Adams, quoted in The Black Presence Crispus Attucks
Intolerable Acts in the Era of the American Revolution
martial law
minutemen Attucks’s action ignited the troops. Ignoring orders not to shoot,
one soldier and then others fired on the crowd. Five people were
killed; several were wounded. Crispus Attucks was, according to a
newspaper account, the first to die.

106 Module 3
 The Colonies Organize to Resist Britain
The uprising at the Customs House illustrated the rising tensions between
Britain and its American colonies. In order to finance debts from the French
and Indian War, as well as from European wars, Parliament had turned hun-
gry eyes on the colonies’ resources.
THE STAMP ACT  The seeds of increased tension were sown in March 1765
when Parliament, persuaded by Prime Minister George Grenville, passed the
Stamp Act. The Stamp Act required colonists to purchase special stamped
paper for every legal document, license, newspaper, pamphlet, and ­almanac.
It also imposed special “stamp duties” on packages of playing cards and dice.
The tax reached into every colonial pocket. Colonists who disobeyed the
law were to be tried in the vice-admiralty courts, where convictions were
probable.
Background STAMP ACT PROTESTS  When word of the Stamp Act reached the colonies
A New York branch in May 1765, the colonists united in their defiance. Boston shopkeepers,
of the Sons of Liberty
was also founded at artisans, and laborers organized a secret resistance group called the Sons of
around the same time Liberty. Soon many prominent citizens such as merchants and lawyers joined.
as the Boston chapter. One of the founders of the Sons of Liberty was Harvard-educated Samuel
Adams. Although unsuccessful in business and deeply in debt, Adams proved
himself to be a powerful and influential political activist.
By the end of the summer, the Sons of Liberty were harassing customs
workers, stamp agents, and sometimes royal governors. Facing mob threats
and demonstrations, stamp agents all over the colonies resigned. The Stamp
Act was to become effective on November 1, 1765, but colonial protest pre-
vented any stamps from being sold.
Vocabulary During 1765 and early 1766, the individual colonial assemblies
boycott  a collective ­confronted the Stamp Act measure. Virginia’s lower house adopted sev-
refusal to use, buy, or
deal with, especially eral resolutions put forth by a 29-year-old lawyer named Patrick Henry.
as an act of protest These ­resolutions stated that Virginians could be taxed only by the Virginia
assembly—that is, only by their own representatives. Other assemblies passed
similar resolutions.
The colonial assemblies also made a strong collective protest. In
­October 1765, delegates from nine colonies met in New York City. This
Stamp Act Congress issued a Declaration of Rights and Grievances.
It stated that Parliament lacked the power to impose taxes on the
­colonies because the ­colonists were not represented in Parliament. More
than ten years earlier, the colonies had rejected Benjamin ­Franklin’s
Albany Plan of Union. It called for a joint colonial council to address
defense issues. Now, for the first time, the separate colonies began to
act as one.
Many merchants in the cities of New York, Boston, and ­Philadelphia
agreed to boycott, or refuse to buy, goods manufactured in ­Britain
until the Stamp Act was repealed. Many women joined the boycott,
Samuel Adams, holding the
instructions of a Boston town
­calling ­themselves the Daughters of Liberty. The boycotters stopped
meeting and pointing to the ­buying ­British goods and wore clothes of homespun cloth. They also
Massachusetts charter put ­pressure on ­merchants who did not join the boycott. They expected

The American Revolution 107

 that British merchants would force Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act. The
widespread boycott worked. In March 1766 Parliament repealed the Stamp
Act. However, on the same day, to make its power clear, Parliament issued
the Declaratory Act. This act asserted Parliament’s full right to make laws
“to bind the colonies and people of America . . . in all cases whatsoever.”
THE TOWNSHEND ACTS  Within a year after Parliament repealed the
Stamp Act, Charles Townshend, the leading government minister at the
time, impetuously decided on a new method of gaining revenue from the
American colonies. His proposed revenue laws, passed by Parliament in
1767, became known as the Townshend Acts. Unlike the Stamp Act, which
was a direct tax, these were indirect taxes. The act levied duties on imported
materials—glass, lead, paint, and paper—as they came into the colonies
from Britain. The acts also imposed a three-penny tax on tea, the most popu-
lar drink in the colonies.
The colonists reacted with rage and well-organized resistance. Educated
Americans spoke out against the Townshend Acts. They protested “taxation
without representation.” Boston’s Samuel Adams called for another boycott
of British goods. American women of every rank in society became involved
in the protest. Writer Mercy Otis Warren of Massachusetts urged women
to lay their British “female ornaments aside,” foregoing “feathers, furs, rich
sattins and . . . capes.” Wealthy women stopped buying British luxuries and
joined other women in spinning bees. These were public displays of spinning
and weaving of colonial-made cloth designed to show colonists’ determina-
tion to boycott British-made cloth. Housewives also boycotted British tea
and exchanged recipes for tea made from birch bark and sage.
Reading Check  Conflict intensified in June 1768. British agents in Boston seized the
Compare  How Liberty, a ship belonging to local merchant John Hancock. The customs
would you compare
reactions to the inspector claimed that Hancock had smuggled in a shipment of wine from
Townshend Acts with Madeira and had failed to pay the customs taxes. The seizure triggered riots
reactions to the Stamp against customs agents. In response, the British stationed 2,000 “redcoats,”
Act?
or British soldiers—so named for the red jackets they wore—in Boston.

Tension Mounts in the Colonies

The presence of British soldiers in Boston’s streets charged the air with hos-
tility. The city soon erupted in clashes between British soldiers and colonists
and later in a daring tea protest. All of this pushed the colonists and Britain
closer to war.
THE BOSTON MASSACRE  One sore point was the competition for jobs
between colonists and poorly paid soldiers who looked for extra work in local
shipyards during off-duty hours. On the cold afternoon of March 5, 1770,
a fistfight broke out over jobs. That evening a mob gathered in front of the
Customs House and taunted the guards. When Crispus Attucks and several
dockhands appeared on the scene, an armed clash erupted. Three men were
killed, including Attucks, and two more were fatally wounded. Instantly,
Samuel Adams and other colonial agitators labeled this confrontation the
Boston Massacre, presenting it as a British attack on defenseless citizens.

108 Module 3
Document-Based Investigation Historical Source

The Boston Massacre

Paul Revere was not only a Patriot, he was a
silversmith and an engraver as well. One of the
best-known of his engravings, depicting the
Boston Massacre, is a masterful piece of anti-British
propaganda. Widely circulated, Revere’s engraving
played a key role in rallying revolutionary fervor.

• The sign above the redcoats reads “Butcher’s Hall.”

• British commander Captain Prescott (standing at
the far right of the engraving) appears to be inciting
the troops to fire, whereas in fact, he tried to calm
the situation.
• At the center foreground is a small dog, a detail
that gave credence to the rumor that, following the
shootings, dogs licked the blood of the victims from
the street.

Analyze Historical Sources

1. According to the details of the engraving, what advantages do the redcoats have that the
colonists do not? What point does the artist make through this contrast?
2. How could this engraving have contributed to the growing support for the Patriots’ cause?

Despite strong feelings on both sides, the political atmosphere relaxed

somewhat during the next two years until 1772. At that time, a group of
Rhode Island colonists attacked a British customs schooner that patrolled
the coast for smugglers. After the ship accidentally ran aground near Provi-
dence, the colonists boarded the vessel and burned it to the waterline. In
response, King George named a special commission to seek out the suspects
and bring them to England for trial.
The plan to haul Americans to England for trial ignited widespread
alarm. The assemblies of Massachusetts and Virginia set up committees of
correspondence to communicate with other colonies about this and other
threats to American liberties. By 1774 such committees formed a buzzing
communication network linking leaders in nearly all the colonies.
THE BOSTON TEA PARTY Early in 1773 Lord Frederick North, the British
prime minister, faced a new problem. The British East India Company, which
held an official monopoly on tea imports, had been hit hard by the colonial
boycotts. With its warehouses bulging with 17 million pounds of tea, the
company was nearing bankruptcy. To save it, North devised the Tea Act,
which granted the company the right to sell tea to the colonies free of the

The American Revolution 109

 taxes that colonial tea sellers had to pay. This action would cut colonial mer-
chants out of the tea trade. The East India Company could sell its tea directly
to consumers for less. North hoped the American colonists would simply buy
the cheaper tea; instead, they protested violently.
On the moonlit evening of December 16, 1773, a large group of Boston
rebels disguised themselves as Native Americans. They proceeded to
take action against three British tea ships anchored in the harbor. John
Andrews, an onlooker, wrote a letter on December 18, 1773, describing what
happened.
“They muster’d . . . to the number of about two hundred, and
proceeded . . . to Griffin’s wharf, where [the three ships] lay, each with
114 chests of the ill fated article . . . and before nine o’clock in the eve-
ning, every chest from on board the three vessels was knock’d to pieces
and flung over the sides.
They say the actors were Indians from Narragansett. Whether they
were or not, . . . they appear’d as such, being cloath’d in Blankets with
the heads muffled, and copper color’d countenances, being each arm’d
with a hatchet or axe. . . .”
—John Andrews, quoted in 1776: Journals of American Independence

In this incident, later known as the Boston Tea Party, the “Indians” dumped
18,000 pounds of East India Company tea into the waters of Boston Harbor.
THE INTOLERABLE ACTS  King George III was infuriated by this organized
destruction of British property. He pressed Parliament to act. In 1774
Parliament passed a series of laws, the Coercive Acts, to punish the rebel-
lious colonists. In the colonies, these laws were called the Intolerable Acts.
One law shut down Boston Harbor because the colonists had refused to pay
for the damaged tea. Another, the Quartering Act, authorized British com-
manders to house soldiers in vacant private homes and other buildings. Also,
General Thomas Gage, Commander in Chief of British forces in North Amer-
ica, was appointed the new governor of Massachusetts. To keep the peace, he
placed Boston under martial law, or rule imposed by military forces.
The committees of correspondence quickly moved into action and assem-
bled the First Continental Congress. In September 1774, 56 delegates met in
Philadelphia and drew up a declaration of colonial rights. They defended the
colonies’ right to run their own affairs. They supported the protests in
Massachusetts and stated that if the British used force against the colonies,
the colonies should fight back. They also agreed to reconvene in May 1775 if
their demands weren’t met.
THE QUEBEC ACT  An additional cause for American colonists’ discontent
was a British law known as the Quebec Act. This became a ­geographical
issue. Britain had won French territory in Canada after the French and
Indian War. Incorporating that territory into British North America
proved difficult, however. Settlers in Canada were used to French law. In
­addition, the scattered French settlements were difficult to protect from
Native Americans.

110 Module 3
Reading Check
Parliament attempted to solve these problems with the Quebec Act. This
  Analyze Motives act expanded the province of Quebec southward to the Ohio River and
  What did King west to the Mississippi, including the scattered French settlements there.
George set out American colonists were alarmed. They assumed that the Quebec Act
to achieve when
he disciplined would limit their chances to settle on the western frontier. They also felt
Massachusetts? the act threatened their security against the French.

Fighting Erupts at Lexington and Concord

After the First Continental Congress, colonists in many eastern New
England towns stepped up military preparations. Minutemen, or civilian
soldiers, began to quietly stockpile firearms and gunpowder. General Gage
soon learned about these activities and prepared to strike back.
TO CONCORD, BY THE LEXINGTON ROAD  The spring of 1775 was a cold
one in New England. Because of the long winter frosts, food was scarce.
General Gage had been forced to put his army on strict rations, and Brit-
ish morale was low. Around the same time, Gage became concerned about
reports brought to him concerning large amounts of arms and munitions
hidden outside of Boston.
In March Gage sent agents toward Concord, a town outside of
­Boston reported to be the site of one of the stockpiles. The agents
returned with maps detailing where arms were rumored to be stored
in barns, empty buildings, and private homes. The agents were also
told that John Hancock and Samuel Adams, perhaps the two most
­prominent ­leaders of resistance to British authority, were staying in
­Lexington, a smaller community about five miles east of Concord. As
the snows melted and the roads cleared, Gage drew up orders for his
men to march along the Lexington Road to Concord. There they would
seize and destroy all ­munitions that they could find.

The Battle of Lexington, as depicted in a mid-19th-century painting

The American Revolution 111

 “THE REGULARS ARE COMING!”  As General Gage began to ready his
troops quartered in Boston, minutemen were watching. There were rumors
that a strike by British troops against resistance activities would come
soon. However, no one knew exactly when, nor did they know which towns
would be targeted.
With Hancock and Adams in hiding, much of the leadership of resis-
tance activity in Boston fell to a prominent young physician named
Joseph Warren. Sometime during the afternoon of April 18, Dr. Warren
consulted a confidential source close to the British high command. The
source informed him that Gage intended to march on Concord by way of
Lexington. He planned to seize Adams and Hancock and destroy all hid-
den munitions. Warren immediately sent for Paul Revere, a member of the
Sons of Liberty. He told him to warn Adams and Hancock as well as the
townspeople along the way. Revere began to organize a network of riders
who would spread the alarm.
On the night of April 18, Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel
Prescott rode out to spread word that 700 British Regulars, or army sol-
diers, were headed for Concord. Before long, the darkened countryside
rang with church bells and gunshots—prearranged signals to warn the
population that the Regulars were coming.

British Actions and Colonial Reactions, 1765–1775

British Action Colonial Reaction

1765 Britain passes a tax law requiring colonists to Colonists harass stamp distributors, boycott British
Stamp Act purchase special stamps to prove payment of tax. goods, and prepare a Declaration of Rights and
Grievances.

1767 Britain taxes certain colonial imports and stations Colonists protest “taxation without
Townshend troops at major colonial ports to protect customs representation” and organize a new boycott of
Acts officers. imported goods.

1770 British troops stationed in Boston are taunted Colonial agitators label the conflict a “massacre”
Boston by an angry mob. The troops fire into the crowd, and publish a dramatic engraving depicting the
Massacre killing five colonists. violence.

1773 Britain gives the East India Company special Colonists in Boston rebel, dumping 18,000 pounds
Tea Act concessions in the colonial tea business and shuts of East India Company tea into Boston Harbor.
out colonial tea merchants.

1774 King George III tightens control over Colonial leaders form the First Continental
Intolerable Massachusetts by closing Boston Harbor and Congress and draw up a declaration of colonial
Acts quartering troops. rights.

1775 General Gage orders troops to march to Concord, Minutemen intercept the British and engage in
Lexington Massachusetts, and seize colonial weapons. battle—first at Lexington and then at Concord.
and Concord

Interpret Tables
In what ways did colonial reaction to British rule intensify between 1765 and 1775?

112 Module 3
 Revere burst into the house where Adams and Hancock were staying
and warned them to flee to the backwoods. He continued his ride until
he, like Dawes, was detained by British troops. As Revere was being ques-
tioned, shots rang out and the British officer realized that the element of
surprise had been lost. When more shots rang out, the officer ordered the
prisoners released so that he could travel with greater speed to warn the
other British troops marching toward Lexington that resistance awaited
them there.
“A GLORIOUS DAY FOR AMERICA”  By the morning of April 19, 1775,
the king’s troops reached Lexington. As they neared the town, they saw
70 minutemen drawn up in lines on the village green. The British com-
mander ordered the minutemen to leave. The colonists began to move out
without laying down their muskets. Then someone fired, and the British
soldiers sent a volley of shots into the departing militia. Eight minutemen
Paul Revere rode to
warn colonists of the
were killed and ten more were wounded, but only one British soldier was
British army’s approach. injured. The Battle of Lexington lasted only 15 minutes.
The British marched on to Concord, where they found an empty arsenal.
After a brief skirmish with minutemen, the British soldiers lined up to
march back to Boston, but the march quickly became a slaughter. Between
3,000 and 4,000 minutemen had assembled by now, and they fired on the
marching troops from behind stone walls and trees. British soldiers fell by
the dozen. Bloodied and humiliated, the remaining British soldiers made
their way back to Boston.
While the battles were going on, Adams and Hancock were fleeing
deeper into the New England countryside. At one point, they heard the
sound of musket fire in the distance. Adams remarked that it was a fine
Reading Check  day. Hancock, assuming that his companion was speaking of the weather
Summarize  What
did Warren order Paul said, “Very pleasant.” “I mean,” Adams corrected Hancock, “this is a
Revere to do? glorious day for America.”

Lesson 1 Assessment
1. Organize Information  Create a cluster diagram and 3. Develop Historical Perspective  What opinion might
fill it in with events that demonstrate the conflict a British soldier have had about the Boston Massacre?
between Great Britain and the American colonies. Explain and support your response.
Think About:
• the start of the conflict on March 5, 1770
Conflict • the behavior of Crispus Attucks and other colonists
grows
• the use of the event as propaganda
4. Form Generalizations  Explain whether you think the
British government acted wisely in its dealings with
Choose one event to further explain in a paragraph. the colonies between 1765 and 1775. Support your
explanation with examples from the text.
2. Key Terms and People  For each key term or person in
the lesson, write a sentence explaining its significance. 5. Form Opinions  Do you think that the colonists’
reaction to the seizing of the Liberty was justified?

The American Revolution 113

 Lesson 2

Ideas Help Start a Revolution

One American’s Story

The Big Idea
William Franklin, son of the famous American writer, scientist, states-
Tensions increased through-
man, and diplomat Benjamin Franklin, was royal governor of New
out the colonies until the
Jersey. Despite his father’s patriotic sympathies, William remained
Continental Congress declared
independence on July 4, 1776. stubbornly loyal to King George. In a letter written on August 2,
1775, to Lord Dartmouth, he stated his position and that of others
Why It Matters Now who resisted revolutionary views.
The Declaration of
Independence continues to
inspire and challenge people “There is indeed a dread in the
everywhere. minds of many here that some
Key Terms and People
of the leaders of the people are
aiming to establish a republic.
Second Continental Congress
Rather than submit . . . we
Olive Branch Petition
have thousands who will risk
Common Sense the loss of their lives in defense
Thomas Jefferson of the old Constitution. [They]
Declaration of Independence are ready to declare themselves
Patriots whenever they see a chance of
Loyalists its being of any avail.”
—William Franklin, quoted in A Little
Revenge: Benjamin Franklin and His Son William Franklin

Because of William’s stand on colonial issues, communication

between him and his father virtually ceased. The break between
­William Franklin and his father exemplified the chasm that now
divided American from American.

114 Module 3
 The Colonies Hover Between Peace and War
In May 1775, colonial leaders convened a second Continental Congress in
Philadelphia to debate their next move. Beyond their meeting hall, how-
ever, events continued moving quickly. Minutemen and British soldiers
clashed in a bloody battle outside Boston, and an increasingly furious King
George readied his country for war.
THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS  The loyalties that divided colo-
nists sparked endless debates at the Second Continental Congress. John
Adams of Massachusetts suggested a sweeping, radical plan. He proposed
that each colony set up its own government and that the Congress declare
the colonies independent.
Furthermore, he argued, the Congress should consider the militiamen
besieging Boston to be the Continental army and name a general to lead
them. Moderate John Dickinson of Pennsylvania strongly disagreed with
Adams’s call for revolt. In private, he confronted Adams.

“What is the reason, Mr. Adams, that you New England men oppose
our measures of reconciliation? . . . If you don’t concur with us in our
pacific system, I and a number of us will break off from you in New
England, and we will carry on the opposition by ourselves in our
own way.”
—John Dickinson, quoted in Patriots: The Men Who Started the
American Revolution

The debates raged on into June, but one stubborn fact remained: colo-
Patriot militiamen nial militiamen were still encamped around Boston. The Congress agreed
created flags to represent
their colonies. This
to recognize them as the Continental army. They appointed as its com-
flag was carried to mander a 43-year-old veteran of the French and Indian War, George
the Battle of Bunker Washington. The Congress, acting like an independent government, also
Hill by Massachusetts
authorized the printing of paper money to pay the troops and organized a
militiamen. The Liberty
Tree symbolized freedom. committee to deal with foreign nations. These actions came just in time.
THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL  Cooped up in Boston,
British general Thomas Gage decided to strike at militia-
men who had dug in on Breed’s Hill, north of the city and
near Bunker Hill. On the steamy summer morning of
June 17, 1775, Gage sent out nearly 2,400 British troops.
The British, sweating in wool uniforms and heavy packs,
began marching up Breed’s Hill in their customary broad
lines. The colonists held their fire until the last minute,
then began to shoot down the advancing redcoats. The
surviving British troops made a second attack, and then
a third. The third assault succeeded, but only because the militiamen ran
low on ammunition.
By the time the smoke cleared, the colonists had lost 450 men, while the
British had suffered over 1,000 casualties. The misnamed Battle of Bunker
Hill would prove to be the deadliest battle of the war.
HS_SNLESE454163_1063A
final
11-19-15
LKell

The American Revolution 115

 THE OLIVE BRANCH PETITION  By July the Second Continental Con-
gress was readying the colonies for war while still hoping for peace.
Most of the delegates, like most colonists, felt deep loyalty to George III.
They blamed the bloodshed on the king’s ministers. On July 8, 1775, the
Congress sent the king the so-called Olive Branch Petition. They urged
Reading Check  a return to “the former harmony” between Britain and the colonies.
Draw Conclusions  King George flatly rejected the petition. Furthermore, he issued a
Do you think that the
Olive Branch Petition proclamation stating that the colonies were in rebellion. He urged
was too little too late? Parliament to order a naval blockade of the American coast.

The Patriots Declare Independence

In the months after the Olive Branch Petition, a thin document
containing the powerful words of an angry citizen began to
circulate. This pamphlet began to change public opinion.
COMMON SENSE  In Common Sense, a 50-page pamphlet,
the colonist Thomas Paine attacked King George III. Paine
explained that his own revolt against the king had begun with
the fighting at Lexington and Concord. He called it “slaughter”
at the hands of the king.
Paine declared that the time had come for colonists to pro-
claim an independent republic and to form their own govern-
ment. He argued that a new government established by the
governed would be a great improvement over a king’s rule.

“The present time, likewise, is that peculiar time which

never happens to a nation but once, . . . the time of form-
ing itself into a government. Most nations have let slip the
opportunity, and by that means have been compelled to
receive laws from their conquerors, instead of making laws
for themselves. First, they had a king, and then a form of
government; whereas the articles or charter of government
Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense
should be formed first, and men delegated to execute them
helped to overcome many colonists’ doubts afterwards: but from the errors of other nations let us learn
about separating from Britain. wisdom, and lay hold of the present opportunity—to begin
government at the right end.”
—Thomas Paine, from Common Sense

Paine argued that independence, which was the American

“­destiny,” would allow America to trade freely with other nations
for guns and ammunition and win foreign aid from British ­enemies.
Finally, Paine stated, independence would give Americans the
chance to create a ­better society—one free from tyranny, with equal
social and economic ­opportunities for all. Common Sense sold nearly
500,000 ­copies and was widely applauded. It helped to overcome
many colonists’ doubts about separating from Britain.

116 Module 3
 In April 1776 George Washington wrote, “I find Common Sense is working a
powerful change in the minds of many men.”
DECLARING INDEPENDENCE  By early summer 1776, events pushed the
wavering Continental Congress toward a decision. North Carolina had
declared itself independent. A majority of Virginians told their delegates
that they favored independence. At last the Congress urged each colony to
form its own government. On June 7 Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee
moved that “these United Colonies are, and of a right ought to be, free and
independent States.”
While talks on this fateful motion were under way, the Congress
appointed a committee to prepare a formal declaration that would explain
the reasons for the colonies’ actions. Virginia lawyer Thomas Jefferson,
known for his broad knowledge and skillfully crafted prose, was chosen to
express the committee’s points.
Jefferson’s masterful Declaration of Independence drew on the con-
cepts of the English philosopher John Locke. Locke maintained that peo-
ple enjoy “natural rights” to life, liberty, and property. Jefferson described
these rights as “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
In keeping with Locke’s ideas, Jefferson then declared that governments
derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed”—that is, from
the people. This right of consent gave the people the
ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE right “to alter or to abolish” any government that
threatened their unalienable rights and to install
Abigail Adams a government that would uphold these principles.
The Declaration On the basis of this reasoning, the American colo-
of Independence nies declared their independence from Britain. The
dealt with issues Declaration listed the numerous ways in which the
of equality, justice, British king had violated the “unalienable rights” of
and independence. the Americans.
However, it did not
address conditions of
The Declaration states flatly that “all men are
inequality within the created equal.” When this phrase was written, it
colonies themselves. expressed the common belief that free citizens were
Husbands dominated their wives, for political equals. It did not claim that all people had
example, and slaves lived under complete the same abilities or ought to have equal wealth. It
control of their owners. Speaking on behalf was not meant to embrace women, Native Ameri-
of women, Abigail Adams had this to say cans, and African American slaves—a large number
to her husband John, who served in the of Americans. However, Jefferson’s words presented
Continental Congress:
ideals that would later help these groups challenge
traditional attitudes.
“Remember the Ladies, and be more generous
and favourable to them than your ancestors. In his first draft, Jefferson, a slave owner
Do not put such unlimited power into the h
­ imself, included an eloquent attack on the cru-
hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men elty and ­injustice of the slave trade. However,
would be tyrants if they could. If particular South ­Carolina and Georgia, the two colonies most
care . . . is not paid to the Ladies, we are ­dependent on slavery, objected. To gain the votes of
determined to foment a Rebellion.” those two states, Jefferson dropped the passage on
the slave trade.

The American Revolution 117

 On July 2, 1776, the delegates voted unanimously that the American
colonies were free. On July 4, 1776, they adopted the Declaration of Inde-
pendence. While the delegates were creating a formal copy of the Declara-
tion, the document was read aloud to a crowd in front of the Pennsylvania
Reading Check  State House—now called Independence Hall. A rush of pride and anxiety
Analyze Issues  Why ran through the Patriots—the supporters of independence—when they
do you think that
Common Sense was heard the closing vow: “We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our
so effective? Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor.”

Americans Choose Sides

Americans now faced a difficult, bitter choice: revolution or loyalty to
the Crown. This issue divided communities, friends, and even families
throughout the colonies.
LOYALISTS AND PATRIOTS  The exact number of Loyalists—those who
opposed independence and remained loyal to the Crown—is unknown.
Many with Loyalist sympathies changed sides as the war progressed.
Some Loyalists felt a special tie to the king because they had served as
judges, councilors, or governors. Most Loyalists, however, were ordinary
people of modest means. They included some people who lived far from the
cities and knew little of the events that turned other colonists into revo-
lutionaries. Other people remained loyal because they thought that the
British were going to win the war and they wanted to avoid being punished
as rebels. Still others were Loyalists because they thought that the Crown
would protect their rights more effectively than the new colonial govern-
ments would.
Patriots drew their numbers from people who envisioned economic
opportunity in an independent America. The Patriot cause embraced
farmers, artisans, merchants, landowners, and elected officials. German
colonists in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia also joined the fight for
independence. While Patriots made up nearly half the population, many
Americans remained neutral.

DIFFICULT DECISIONS
Reconciliation or Independence? 1. Consider the points of view of different
Many American colonists in 1775 were not groups of colonists, including slaves, in 1775.
convinced that independence from Britain was a What factors do you think would have most
good idea. They felt deep loyalty to the king. They strongly influenced each group’s preference for
were accustomed to British rule and the order that independence or reconciliation? Explain your
it had created. answer.

Many others believed in Thomas Paine’s ideas. 2. Imagine that the delegates at the Second
They wanted to be rid of tyranny as well as free Continental Congress had voted for
to pursue their own economic gain and political reconciliation. What events do you think would
ideals. have followed—both in the short run and in the
long run? Give reasons to support your answer.

118 Module 3
Colonists Choose Sides

Loyalists and Patriots had much to gain and much to lose in the American colonies’ struggle for
independence. Fortunes, family ties, and religious obligations as well as personal convictions were at
stake. For many, the most important issue was that of national identity. Both sides believed that they
were fighting for their country as well as being loyal to what was best for America.

PATRIOTS LOYALISTS

Nathanael Greene Charles Inglis

A pacifist Quaker, A clergyman of the Church
Nathanael Greene of England, Charles
nonetheless chose to fight Inglis was loyal to the
against the British. king and argued against
independence.
“I am determined to
defend my rights and “By a reconciliation with
maintain my freedom or Britain, [an end] would
sell my life in the attempt.” be put to the present calamitous war, by which
many lives have been lost, and so many more
must be lost, if it continues.”
James Armistead Joseph Brant
The state of Virginia Mohawk chief Joseph
paid the following Brant fought for the
tribute to devoted British during the
revolutionary James French and Indian War
Armistead, who as a slave and remained loyal to
had been permitted to the Crown during the
enlist: Revolutionary War.

“At the peril of his life [Armistead] found means to “If we . . . [do] nothing for the British . . . there
frequent the British camp, and thereby faithfully will be no peace for us. Our throats will be cut
executed important commissions entrusted to by the Red Coat man or by America. . . . We
him by the marquis.” should go and join the father [Britain] . . . this is
the only way for us.”
Mercy Otis Warren Isaac Wilkins
Patriot Mercy Otis Warren Isaac Wilkins had to leave
wrote: America after he opposed
sending delegates to the
Second Continental Congress.
“I see the inhabitants of our
plundered cities quitting the
elegancies of life, possessing “I leave America and every
nothing but their freedom, endearing connection because I will not raise
I behold faction & discord my hand against my Sovereign, nor will I draw
tearing up an Island we once held dear and a my sword against my country. When I can
mighty Empire long the dread of distant nations, conscientiously draw it in her favor, my life
tott’ring to the very foundation.” shall be cheerfully devoted to her service.”

The American Revolution 119

 Document-Based Investigation Historical Source

Mob Rule
This British cartoon portrays the events of the Boston Tea Party
from the Loyalist perspective. While Patriots are dumping tea, a
British tax collector, having been tarred and feathered, is having
tea poured down his throat. The “Liberty Tree,” where a copy of
the Stamp Act has been nailed upside down, has been converted
into a gallows, a device used for hanging people.

Analyze Historical Sources

1. How does the cartoonist make the mob look sinister?
2. What kind of comment does the cartoonist make by suspending a
hangman’s noose from the “Liberty Tree”? Explain.

TAKING SIDES The conflict presented dilemmas for other groups as well.
The Quakers generally supported the Patriots but did not fight because
they did not believe in war. Many African Americans fought on the side of
the Patriots. Others joined the Loyalists since the British promised free-
dom to slaves who would fight for the Crown. Most Native Americans sup-
ported the British because they viewed colonial settlers as a bigger threat
to their lands.
Reading Check Now the colonies were plunged into two wars—a war for independence
Contrast How did
and a civil war in which Americans found themselves on opposing sides.
the thinking of the
Loyalists differ from The price of choosing sides could be high. In declaring their independence,
that of the Patriots? the Patriots had invited war with the mightiest empire on earth.

Lesson 2 Assessment
1. Organize Information Create a diagram. Fill it in with 3. Predict Imagine that King George had accepted
details presenting causes, ideas, and results related to the Olive Branch Petition and sought a diplomatic
the Declaration of Independence. resolution with the Congress. Do you think colonists
would still have pressed for independence?
Ide
Ca

Think About:
u

as
ses

• the attitudes of the king and Parliament toward the

in
of

colonies
The Declaration of Independence
• the impact of fighting at Lexington, Concord, and
Re

Breed’s Hill
su
lts

• the writings of Thomas Paine

of

4. Analyze Primary Sources Thomas Paine wrote in the

2. Key Terms and People For each key term or person in introduction to Common Sense:
the lesson, write a sentence explaining its significance. “The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of
all mankind.”
Evaluate the significance of Paine’s statement,
considering Locke’s ideas about natural rights and
Jefferson’s ideas about “unalienable rights.”

120 Module 3
 The Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence is one of the most important and influential
legal documents of modern times. Although the text frequently refers to 18th-century events,
its Enlightenment philosophy and politics have continuing relevance today.
For more than 200 years, the Declaration of Independence has inspired leaders of other inde-
pendence movements and has remained a crucial document in the struggle for democratic
ideals of civil rights and human rights. For example, the Declaration of Independence quickly
became very influential in France. Soon after the American Revolution ended, the French
Revolution began based on the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence.

In Congress, July 4, 1776.

A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of
Jefferson begins America, in General Congress assembled.
the Declaration by
attempting to legally and
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for
philosophically justify the one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected
revolution that was already them with another, and to assume among the powers of the
underway. Here Jefferson
is saying that, now that the
earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature
colonists have begun to and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions
separate themselves from of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which
British rule, it is time to
impel them to the separation.
explain why the colonists
have taken this course of We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are cre-
action.
ated equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the
pursuit of Happiness; that, to secure these rights, Governments
are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the
consent of the governed; that whenever any Form of Government
These passages reveal the
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to
influence of the English
philosopher John Locke. In alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its
Two Treatises of Government foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such
(1690), Locke argued that form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and
if a government does
not allow its citizens to Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long
enjoy certain rights and established should not be changed for light and transient causes;
freedoms, the people and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are
have a right to replace
that government. This more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right
argument is part of the themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accus-
Enlightenment idea of a tomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing
natural social contract in
which people must give invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under
their consent to being ruled absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off
by a government. such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future
security.

The Declaration of Independence 121

 Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such
is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their for-
mer Systems of Government. The history of the present King of
Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all
having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny
over these States. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid
Here begins the section in world.
which Jefferson condemns
the behavior of King George, He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and nec-
listing the king’s many essary for the public good.
tyrannical actions that have
forced his American subjects He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and
to rebel.
pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till
his assent should be obtained; and, when so suspended, he has
utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large
districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right
of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them,
and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual,
uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public
Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance
with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing
with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause
others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable
of Annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their
exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the
dangers of invasions from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for
that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreign-
ers; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither,
and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his
Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure
of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

122 Module 3
This is a reference to the
10,000 troops that the British He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither
government stationed swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their
in North America after
substance.
the French and Indian
War. Although the British He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies, with-
government saw the
troops as protection for out the Consent of our legislatures.
the colonists, the colonists
themselves viewed the
He has affected to render the Military independent of and supe-
troops as a standing army rior to the Civil power.
that threatened their
freedom. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction for-
eign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving
Here Jefferson condemns his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
both the king and Parliament
for passing the Intolerable For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us;
Acts. Most of these laws
were intended to punish the For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any
people of Massachusetts Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these
for the Boston Tea Party. For
example, the Quartering Act
States;
of 1774 forced colonists to For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world;
provide lodging for British
troops. Another act allowed For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent;
British soldiers accused of
murder to be sent back to For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury;
England for trial. The Boston
Port Bill closed the port of For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended
Boston, “cutting off our Trade offenses;
with all parts of the world.”
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbor-
Here Jefferson refers to the ing Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and
Quebec Act, which extended
the boundaries of the
enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and
province. He then refers to fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these
another act that changed the Colonies;
charter of Massachusetts and
restricted town meetings. For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable laws,
and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments;
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves
invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his
Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns,
and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Merce-
naries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny,
already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely
paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the
Head of a civilized nation.

The Declaration of Independence 123

 He has constrained our fellow Citizens, taken Captive on the high
Seas, to bear Arms against their Country, to become the execu-
tioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by
their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has
endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the mer-
ciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undis-
tinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for
Redress in the most humble terms; Our repeated Petitions have
been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character
is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to
be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren.
Here Jefferson turns his We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their
attention away from the
legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We
king and toward the British
people. Calling the British have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and
the “common kindred” of settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and
the colonists, Jefferson magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our com-
reminds them how often the
Americans have appealed mon kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which would inevita-
to their sense of justice. bly interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have
Reluctantly, the colonists are been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must,
now forced to break their
political connections with therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separa-
their British kin. tion, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in
War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of Amer-
ica, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme
Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the
name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies
solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and
In this final paragraph, of Right ought to be, Free and Independent States; that they are
the delegates declare
independence.
Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all
political connection between them and the State of Great Britain
is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; and that as Free and Inde-
pendent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace,
contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and do all other Acts and
Things which Independent States may of right do.

124 Module 3
The Declaration ends with
the delegates’ pledge, or
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on
pact. The delegates at the the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each
Second Continental Congress other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
knew that, in declaring
their independence from SIGNED BY
Great Britain, they were
committing treason—a
John Hancock [President of the Continental Congress]
crime punishable by
death. “We must all hang
together,” Benjamin Franklin GEORGIA MARYLAND DELAWARE
reportedly said, as the
delegates prepared to sign Button Gwinnett Samuel Chase Caesar Rodney
the Declaration, “or most Lyman Hall William Paca George Read
assuredly we shall all hang George Walton Thomas Stone Thomas McKean
separately.”
Charles Carroll
RHODE ISLAND NEW YORK
Stephen Hopkins VIRGINIA William Floyd
William Ellery George Wythe Philip Livingston
Richard Henry Lee Francis Lewis
CONNECTICUT
Thomas Jefferson Lewis Morris
Roger Sherman Benjamin Harrison
Samuel Huntington Thomas Nelson, Jr.
NEW JERSEY
William Williams Francis Lightfoot Lee Richard Stockton
Oliver Wolcott Carter Braxton John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
NORTH CAROLINA
PENNSYLVANIA John Hart
William Hooper Abraham Clark
Robert Morris
Joseph Hewes Benjamin Rush
John Penn NEW HAMPSHIRE
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton Josiah Bartlett
SOUTH CAROLINA
George Clymer William Whipple
Edward Rutledge Matthew Thornton
Thomas Heyward, Jr. James Smith
Thomas Lynch, Jr. George Taylor MASSACHUSETTS
Arthur Middleton James Wilson Samuel Adams
George Ross John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry

The Declaration of Independence 125

 Lesson 3

Struggling Toward Saratoga

One American’s Story

The Big Idea
After the colonists had declared independence, few people thought
After a series of setbacks,
the rebellion would last. A divided colonial population of about
American forces won at Saratoga
two and a half million people faced a nation of 10 million that was
and survived.
backed by a worldwide empire.
Why It Matters Now
Determination, resilience, and Albigense Waldo worked as a surgeon at Valley Forge outside Phila-
unity have become part of the delphia. Valley Forge served as the site of the ­Continental army’s
American character.
camp during the winter of 1777–1778. British troops o ­ ccupied Phila-
Key Terms and People delphia and found quarters inside warm homes. The ­underclothed
Valley Forge and underfed Patriots huddled in makeshift huts in the freezing,
Trenton snow-covered Pennsylvania woods. Waldo, who wrote of his stay at
Saratoga Valley Forge, reported on what was a common sight at the camp.
inflation
profiteering “Here comes a bowl of beef soup full of dead leaves and dirt.
There comes a soldier. His bare feet are seen through his worn-
out shoes—his legs nearly naked from the tattered remains of
an only pair of stockings—his Breeches [trousers] are not suf-
ficient to cover his nakedness—his Shirt hanging in Strings—
his hair disheveled—his face meager.”
—Albigense Waldo, quoted in Valley Forge, the Making of an Army

General Washington’s troops march to Valley Forge.

The ordeal at Valley Forge marked a low point for General

­Washington’s troops, but even as it occurred, the Americans’
hopes of winning began to improve.

126 Module 3
The War Moves to the Middle States
The British had previously retreated from Boston in March 1776, moving
the theater of war to the middle states. As part of a grand plan to stop the
rebellion by isolating New England, the British decided to seize New York
City.
DEFEAT IN NEW YORK Two brothers, General William Howe and
Admiral Richard Howe, joined forces on Staten Island. They sailed into
New York harbor in the summer of 1776 with the largest British expedi-
tionary force ever assembled—32,000 soldiers. Their force included thou-
sands of German mercenaries, or soldiers who fight solely for money.
The Americans called these troops Hessians, because many of them came
from the German region of Hesse.
As an early supporter of American independence, George Washington
had begun to recruit and train a militia when tensions first arose with the
British. Washington rallied 23,000 men to New York’s defense, but he was
vastly outnumbered. Most of his troops were untrained recruits with poor
equipment. The battle for New York ended in late August with an Ameri-
can retreat following heavy losses. Michael Graham, a Continental army
volunteer, described the chaotic withdrawal on August 27, 1776.

“It is impossible for me to describe the confusion and horror of

the scene that ensued: the artillery flying . . . over the horses’ backs,
our men running in almost every direction, . . . [a]nd the enemy huz-
zahing when they took prisoners. . . . At the time, I could not account
for how it was that our troops were so completely surrounded but
have since understood there was another road across the ridge several
miles above Flatbush that was left unoccupied by our troops. Here the
British passed and got betwixt them and Brooklyn unobserved. This
accounts for the disaster of that day.”
—Michael Graham, quoted in The Revolution Remembered: Eyewitness
Accounts of the War for Independence

By late fall, the British had pushed Washington’s army across the Dela-
ware River into Pennsylvania. The vast majority of Washington’s men
had either deserted or had been killed or captured. Fewer than 8,000 men
remained under Washington’s command, and the terms of their enlist-
ment were due to end on December 31. Washington desperately needed
some kind of victory for his men to keep them from going home.
THE BATTLE OF TRENTON Washington resolved to risk everything on
one bold stroke set for Christmas night, 1776. In the face of a fierce storm,
he led 2,400 men in small rowboats across the ice-choked Delaware River.
By 8 o’clock the next morning, the men had marched nine miles through
sleet and snow to the objective—Trenton, New Jersey, held by a garrison
of Hessians. Lulled into confidence by the storm, most of the Hessians had
drunk too much rum the night before and were still sleeping it off. In a

The American Revolution 127

 surprise attack, the Americans killed 30 of the enemy and took 918
captives and six Hessian cannons.
The Americans were rallied by another astonishing victory eight days
later against 1,200 British stationed at Princeton. Encouraged by these vic-
tories, Washington marched his army into winter camp near Morristown,
in northern New Jersey.
THE FIGHT FOR PHILADELPHIA  As the muddy fields dried out in the
spring of 1777, General Howe began his campaign to seize the American
capital at Philadelphia. His troops sailed from New York to the head of
Chesapeake Bay, and landed near the capital in late August. The Conti-
nental Congress fled the city. Washington’s troops unsuccessfully tried
to block the redcoats at nearby Brandywine Creek. The British captured
Philadelphia, and the pleasure-loving General Howe settled in to enjoy the
hospitality of the city’s grateful Loyalists.
VICTORY AT SARATOGA  Meanwhile, one of Howe’s fellow British gen-
erals, John “Gentleman Johnny” Burgoyne, convinced the London high
command to allow him to pursue a complex scheme. Burgoyne’s plan was
to lead an army down a route of lakes from Canada to Albany. There he
would meet Howe’s troops as they arrived from New York City. According
to Burgoyne’s plan, the two generals would then join forces to isolate New
England from the rest of the colonies.

Explore ONLINE!
Revolutionary War, 1775–1778
N

E QUÉBEC, 1775 MAINE

W R. (MASS.)
e C
c

CANADA
en

ol

S
wr

on

(British)
La

el

Montréal
St.

A rn
ol d

Lake
General Burgoyne Champlain
N.H.
FORT TICONDEROGA, LEXINGTON,
La

1775,1777 1775 CONCORD, 1775

ke

SARATOGA,1777 BUNKER HILL, 1775

Hur

ri o
Ont a Boston
L a ke General Gates
on

MASS.
Hudson R

Albany R.I. e
N.Y. CONN. ow
lH 40°N
ira
IN N

De General Washington Adm

TA I A
S

rie
U NAC H

law R.

E PENN. New York

ke
are

La
M OPA L

LONG ISLAND, 1776 ATLANTIC

Valley Forge
OCEAN
AP

TRENTON, 1776

American campaign BRANDYWINE, Philadelphia

N.J.
1777
British campaign MD.
DEL. Interpret Maps
American victory
1. Location  From which city did General Bur-
British victory
VIRGINIA goyne march his troops to Saratoga?
0 100 200 mi
2. Place  What characteristics did many of the
0 100 200 km
battle sites have in common? Why do you think
this was so?
NORTH 35°N
CAROLINA

75°W 70°W 65°W

128 Module 3
Military Strengths and Weaknesses
United States Great Britain

Strengths Strengths
• familiarity of home • strong, well-trained
ground army and navy
• leadership of • strong central
Washington and government with
other officers available funds
• inspiring cause of • support of colonial
independence Loyalists and Native
Americans

Weaknesses Weaknesses
• most soldiers • large distance
untrained and separating Britain
undisciplined from battlefields
• shortage of food • troops unfamiliar
and ammunition with terrain
• inferior navy • weak military leaders
• no central government • sympathy of certain
to enforce wartime British politicians for
policies the American cause

Burgoyne set out with 4,000 redcoats, 3,000 mercenaries, and 1,000
Mohawk under his command. His army had to haul 30 wagons containing
138 pieces of artillery along with extra personal items, such as fine clothes
and champagne. South of Lake Champlain, swamps and gullies, as well as
thick underbrush, bogged down Burgoyne’s army. Food supplies ran low.
The Continental Congress had appointed General Horatio Gates to
command the Northern Department of the Continental army. Gates, a
popular commander, gathered militiamen and soldiers from all over New
York and New England. Burgoyne lost several hundred men every time
his forces clashed with the Americans, such as when Ethan Allen and his
Green Mountain Boys attacked Burgoyne at Bennington, in what is now
Vermont. Even worse, Burgoyne didn’t realize that Howe was preoccupied
with conquering and occupying Philadelphia and wasn’t coming to meet
him.
Massed American troops finally surrounded Burgoyne at Saratoga,
where he surrendered his battered army to General Gates on October 17,
1777. The surrender at Saratoga dramatically changed Britain’s war strat-
egy. From that time on, the British generally kept their troops along the
coast, close to the big guns and supply bases of the British fleet.
A TURNING POINT  France continued to be Great Britain’s biggest rival in
the struggle to build a world empire. The French were still bitter from their
defeat by the British in the French and Indian War, resulting in loss of
North American territory. This rivalry caused the French to work with the
Americans against the British.

The American Revolution 129

 Document-Based Investigation Historical Source

Ordeal at Valley Forge

General Washington’s letters to the Congress and his friends were filled with reports of the suffering and
endurance of his men.

“To see men without Clothes to cover their nakedness, without Blankets to lay on, without Shoes,
by which their Marches might be traced by the blood of their feet, and almost as often without
Provision . . . is a mark of patience and obedience which in my opinion can scarcely be paralleled.”
—George Washington, quoted in Ordeal at Valley Forge

Analyze Historical Sources

What was Washington’s opinion of his soldiers? Why?

To begin the American–French alliance, the French had secretly sent

weapons to the Patriots since early 1776. The Saratoga victory bolstered
French trust in the American army. France now agreed to support the
Revolution. The French recognized American independence and signed an
alliance, or treaty of cooperation, with the Americans in February 1778.
According to the terms, France agreed not to make peace with Britain unless
Britain also recognized American independence.
WINTER AT VALLEY FORGE It would take months for French aid to arrive.
In the meantime, the British controlled New York and parts of New England.
While British troops wintered comfortably in Philadelphia, Washington and
his meager Continental army struggled to stay alive amidst bitter cold and
primitive conditions at winter camp in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The sol-
diers lived in makeshift huts and tents, which provided little protection from
Reading Check
Analyze Motives the cold. Soldiers suffered from exposure and frostbite. Surgeons like Albig-
What was the reason ense Waldo worked constantly but often unsuccessfully to save arms and legs
France wanted from amputation. Of the 10,000 soldiers who braved wind, snow, and hunger
to ally with the
Americans during the at Valley Forge that winter, more than 2,000 died. Yet those who survived
Revolutionary War? remained at their posts.

Colonial Life During the Revolution

The Revolutionary War touched the life of every American, not just the men
on the battlefield. Congress struggled to finance the war. Women on the
home front worked to maintain farms and businesses while the men were
away fighting the war.
FINANCING THE WAR When the Congress ran out of hard currency—silver
and gold—it borrowed money by selling bonds to American investors and
foreign governments, especially France. It also printed paper money called

130 Module 3
 BIOGRAPHY

George Washington (1732–1799)

During the Revolutionary War, Commander in
Chief George Washington became a national
hero. An imposing man, Washington stood six
feet two inches tall. He was broad-shouldered,
calm, and dignified, and he was an expert
horseman. But it was Washington’s character
that won hearts and, ultimately, the war.

Washington roused dispirited men into a

fighting force. At Princeton, he galloped on his
white horse into the line of fire, shouting and
encouraging his men. At Valley Forge, he bore
the same cold and privation as every suffering
soldier. Time and again, Washington’s tactics
saved his smaller, weaker force to fight another
day. By the end of the war, the entire nation
idolized General Washington. Adoring soldiers
crowded near him just to touch his boots when
he rode by.

Continentals. As Congress printed more and more money, its value plunged,
causing rising prices, or inflation.
The Congress also struggled to equip the beleaguered army. With few
munitions factories and the British navy blockading the coast, the Ameri-
cans had to smuggle arms from Europe. Some government officials engaged
in profiteering, selling scarce goods for a profit. Corrupt merchants either
hoarded goods or sold defective merchandise like spoiled meat, cheap shoes,
and defective weapons.
In 1781 the Congress appointed a rich Philadelphia merchant named Rob-
ert Morris as superintendent of finance. His associate was Haym Salomon, a
Jewish political refugee from Poland. Morris and Salomon begged and bor-
rowed on their personal credit to raise money to provide salaries for the Con-
tinental army. They raised funds from many sources, including Philadelphia’s
Quakers and Jews. Due to the efforts of Morris and Salomon, on September 8,
1781, the troops were finally paid in specie, or gold coin.
CIVILIANS AT WAR  The demands of war also affected civilians. When men
marched off to fight, many wives had to manage farms, shops, and businesses
as well as households and families. Some women, such as Benjamin Franklin’s
daughter, Sarah Franklin Bache of Philadelphia, organized volunteers to mend
clothing for the soldiers. Many women made ammunition from their house-
hold silver. And hundreds of women followed their husbands to the battle-
field, where they washed, mended, and cooked for the troops.
Some women risked their lives in combat. A few, such as 21-year-old
­Deborah Sampson, disguised themselves as men and became soldiers in

The American Revolution 131

 Molly Pitcher was the heroine of the battle of Monmouth, New Jersey, in 1778.

the Continental army. At Fort Washington, New York, Margaret Corbin

replaced a gunner who was shot and then was shot herself. Mary Ludwig
Hays McCauly took her husband’s place at a cannon when he was wounded
at the Battle of Monmouth. Known for carrying pitchers of water to the
soldiers, McCauly won the nickname “Molly Pitcher.” Afterward, General
Washington made her a noncommissioned officer for her brave deeds.
Thousands of African American slaves escaped to freedom. Some went
to the cities, where they passed as free people. Others went to the frontier,
where they sometimes joined Native American tribes. About 5,000 African
Reading Check  Americans served in the Continental army, where their courage, loyalty,
Summarize  In what and talent impressed white Americans. Native Americans remained on the
ways did women
contribute to the fringes of the Revolution. Some fought for the British, but most Native
Revolutionary War? Americans remained apart from the conflict.

Lesson 3 Assessment
1. Organize Information  In a chart, list each early battle 3. Develop Historical Perspective  If you were a
of the American Revolution, its outcome, and why it woman civilian during the beginning of the American
was important. Revolution, what problem caused by the war do you
think would affect you the most?
Battle Outcome Importance
Think About:
• inflation and the scarcity of goods
• the separation of families
• the demands of the war effort
2. Key Terms and People  For each key term or person in 4. Predict  Imagine that Burgoyne and the British had
the lesson, write a sentence explaining its significance. captured Saratoga in 1777. How might the course of
the war have changed?
5. Evaluate  How did George Washington measure up
as a military leader? How did his leadership affect the
common soldier in the Continental army?

132 Module 3
 Lesson 4

Winning the War

One American’s Story

The Big Idea
Colonel William Fontaine of the Virginia militia stood with the Ameri-
Strategic victories in the South
can and French armies. They lined a road near Yorktown, Virginia,
and at Yorktown enabled the
on the afternoon of October 19, 1781, to witness the formal British
Americans to defeat the British.
surrender. The French were dressed in bright blue coats and white
Why It Matters Now trousers. The American troops, standing proudly behind their gener-
The American defeat of the als, wore rough hunting shirts and faded Continental army uniforms.
British established the United Colonel Fontaine later described the scene.
States as an independent nation.
Key Terms and People “I had the happiness to see that
Yorktown British army which so lately
Marquis de Lafayette spread dismay and desolation
Friedrich von Steuben through all our country, march
Charles Cornwallis forth . . . at 3 o’clock through
Treaty of Paris our whole army, drawn up in
egalitarianism two lines about 20 yards dis-
tance and return disrobed of
all their terrors. . . . You could
not have heard a whisper or The detail of John Trumbull’s painting
seen the least motion through- of the British surrender at Yorktown
out our whole line, but every depicts General Charles O’Hara, who
countenance was erect and stood in for General Cornwallis at the
ceremony.
expressed a serene cheerful-
ness.”
—Colonel William Fontaine, quoted
in The Yorktown Campaign and the
Surrender of Cornwallis, 1781

The American Revolution had finally ended, and the Americans had
won—a fact that astonished the world. Several years before, in the
depths of the Valley Forge winter of 1777–1778, few would have
thought such an event possible.

The American Revolution 133

 European Allies Shift the Balance
Help came to the colonists from other European countries. France and Spain
had lost a huge amount of valuable American land to the British as a result
of the French and Indian War. This motivated both countries to join the
Revolutionary War to fight against Great Britain. France and Spain hoped
that a British defeat in America would also make Britain weaker in Europe.
Holland also chose to fight with the Patriots.
FRENCH ALLIANCE  The French government helped the Americans by send-
ing gunpowder, artillery, and muskets. Then in 1776 the Americans sent
Benjamin Franklin to France as an influential diplomat. In his fur cap and
homespun coat, he became a favorite with both aristocrats and the ordinary
people. Franklin was in Paris when the news of Saratoga reached there in
December 1777. As a result of Saratoga and Franklin’s diplomatic skills,
France soon signed two treaties. One formally recognized the United States
as a nation. The other promised military help. In 1780 France sent a 6,000-
soldier army to help the Americans fight the British.
A French military leader, the Marquis de Lafayette (mär-kēʹ
dә lăf´ē-ĕtʹ), offered great assistance to the American cause. He
was a brave, idealistic 20-year-old aristocrat. The young Lafay-
ette joined Washington’s staff and bore the misery of Valley
Forge. He lobbied for French reinforcements in France in 1779,
and led a command in Virginia in the last years of the war.
FRIEDRICH VON STEUBEN  As a firm believer in military disci-
pline and training, George Washington was dismayed at the lack
of preparation displayed by the militia troops under his com-
mand. Later in February 1778, in the midst of the frozen winter
Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge, American troops began an amazing transforma-
speak with a soldier at tion. Friedrich von Steuben (vŏn stooʹbәn), a Prussian captain and talented
Valley Forge.
drillmaster, volunteered his services to General Washington. He went to
Reading Check  work “to make regular soldiers out of country bumpkins.” Von Steuben
Find Main Ideas  taught the colonial soldiers to stand at attention, execute field maneuvers,
Who were some of the fire and reload quickly, and wield bayonets. With the help of such European
European allies that
came to the aid of the military leaders, the raw Continental Army was becoming an effective fight-
colonies? ing force.

The British Move South

After their devastating defeat at Saratoga, the British changed their mili-
tary strategy. In the summer of 1778, they began to shift their operations to
the South. There, the British hoped to rally Loyalist support, reclaim their
former colonies in the region, and then slowly fight their way back north.
EARLY BRITISH SUCCESS IN THE SOUTH  At the end of 1778, a British
expedition easily took Savannah, Georgia. By the spring of 1779, a royal
governor once again commanded Georgia. In 1780 General Henry Clinton,
who had replaced Howe in New York, along with the ambitious General
Charles Cornwallis sailed south with 8,500 men. In their greatest victory of

134 Module 3
 the war, the British captured Charles Town, South Carolina, in May 1780 and
marched 5,500 American soldiers off as prisoners of war. Clinton then left for
New York, leaving Cornwallis to command the British forces in the South and
to conquer South and North Carolina.
For most of 1780, Cornwallis succeeded. As the redcoats advanced, they
were joined by thousands of African Americans who had escaped from Patriot
slave owners to join the British and win their freedom. In August, Cornwal-
lis’s army smashed American forces at Camden, South Carolina. Within
three months, the British had established forts across the state. However,
when Cornwallis and his forces advanced into North Carolina, Patriot bands
attacked them and cut British communications lines. The continuous harass-
ment forced the redcoats to retreat to South Carolina.
BRITISH LOSSES IN 1781  Washington ordered Nathanael Greene, his ablest
general, to march south and harass Cornwallis as he retreated. Greene divided
his force into two groups, sending 600 soldiers under the command of Gen-
eral Daniel Morgan to South Carolina. Cornwallis, in turn, sent Lieutenant
Colonel Banastre Tarleton and his troops to pursue Morgan’s soldiers.
Morgan and his men led the British on a grueling chase through rough
countryside. When the forces met in January 1781 at Cowpens, South Caro-
lina, the British expected the outnumbered Americans to flee. However, the
Continental army fought back and forced the redcoats to surrender. Angered
by the defeat at Cowpens, Cornwallis attacked Greene two months later at
Guilford Court House, North Carolina. Cornwallis won the battle, but the vic-
tory cost him nearly a fourth of his troops. Ninety-three were killed, over 400
were wounded, and 26 were missing. Greene had weakened the British, but he
worried about the fight for the South.
After the exhausting battle in the Carolinas, Cornwallis chose to move the
fight to Virginia, where he met up with reinforcements. First he tried to cap-
Reading Check  ture the divisions led by Lafayette and von Steuben. When that failed, Corn-
Summarize  How did wallis made a fateful mistake. He led his army of 7,500 onto the peninsula
generals Morgan and between the James and York rivers. He camped at Yorktown, a few miles from
Greene work together
to defeat British
the original English settlement of Jamestown. Cornwallis planned to fortify
forces? Yorktown, take Virginia, and then move north to join Clinton’s forces.
Daniel Morgan’s colonial
forces defeated a British
regiment under Colonel
Tarleton at the Battle of
Cowpens in 1781. This detail
from The Battle of Cowpens
by William Ranney shows
that the Americans included
both white and African
American soldiers.

The American Revolution 135

 Explore ONLINE!
Revolutionary War, 1778–1781
Lake N.H.
Huron tari o
American/French campaign L a ke O n
NEW YORK S MASS.
British campaign IN
A CONN. uR.I. 40°N
American/French victory
Lake ea
b
am

T
Michigan Newport
ch

N
ie
Er Ro

U
British victory ke

O
La

M
Thirteen Colonies PENNSYLVANIA New York N
Other British territory Philadelphia
n N.J. E

Washingto
0 100 200 mi Ft. Pitt W

IA
MD.

es
H
ar k
0 100 200 km S
DEL.

v
C

Gra
Cl

LA
VINCENNES, YORKTOWN,
Jan. 29, 1779

PA
Oct. 19,1781 CAPES,
St. Louis Sept. 5–9, 1781

AP
Cahokia
er
Riv VIRGINIA
KASKASKIA, O hio GUILFORD COURT HOUSE,
July 4, 1778 March 15, 1781

De
Cornwallis
LOUISIANA 35°N

Gr
is
N.C.
all
(Spanish)

as
nw

s
e
Morgan
Cor

Charlotte
Interpret Maps
1. Place  Where were most
S.C. Wilmington
of the later Revolution- COWPENS,
ne
Jan. 17, 1781 llis ATLANTIC
wa
Gre e
ary War battles fought? KINGS MOUNTAIN, r n OCEAN
o
Oct. 7, 1780 an dC
2. Movement  Why might C li n to n
GEORGIA
General Cornwallis’s l
CHARLES TOWN, bel
May 12, 1780 Camp
choice of Yorktown as a SAVANNAH,
base have left him at a Dec. 29, 1778
75°W 30°N 70°W
military disadvantage?

HMH—High School American History—2016

HS_SNLESE454194_635M
The British Surrender at Yorktown Revolutionary War, 1778-1781
Map area: Vital Information Area (per page): 51p wide x 29p deep
A combination of good luck and well-timed decisions
Mask nowpage):
Area (per favored the wide x 29p9 deep
51p9
First proof 03/16/16
American cause. In 1780 a French army of 6,000 had landed in Newport,
Rhode Island, after the British left the city to focus on the South. The
French had stationed one fleet there and were operating another in the
West Indies. When news of Cornwallis’s plans reached him, the Marquis de
Lafayette suggested that the American and French armies join forces with
the two French fleets and attack the British forces at Yorktown.
VICTORY AT YORKTOWN  Following Lafayette’s plan, the Americans and
the French closed in on Cornwallis. A French naval force defeated a British
fleet. Then it blocked the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, thereby prevent-
ing a British rescue by sea. Meanwhile, about 17,000 French and American
troops surrounded the British on the Yorktown peninsula and bombarded
them day and night. The siege of Yorktown lasted about three weeks. On
October 17, 1781, with his troops outnumbered by more than two to one
and exhausted from constant shelling, Cornwallis finally raised the white
flag of surrender.
On October 19, a triumphant Washington, the French generals, and their
troops assembled to accept the British surrender. After General Charles

136 Module 3
 O’Hara, representing Cornwallis, handed over his sword, the British troops
laid down their arms. In his diary, Captain Johann Ewald, a German offi-
cer, tried to explain this astonishing turn of events.

“With what soldiers in the world could one do what was done by these
men, who go about nearly naked and in the greatest privation? Deny
the best-disciplined soldiers of Europe what is due them and they will
run away in droves, and the general will soon be alone. But from this
one can perceive what an enthusiasm—which these poor fellows call
‘Liberty’—can do!”
—Johann Ewald, from Diary of the American War

SEEKING PEACE  Peace talks began in Paris in 1782. Representatives of

four nations—the United States, Great Britain, France, and Spain—joined
the negotiations, with each nation looking out for its own interests. Britain
hoped to avoid giving America full independence. France supported Ameri-
can independence but feared America’s becoming a major power. Spain was
interested in acquiring the land between the Appalachian Mountains and
the Mississippi River.
Many observers expected the savvy European diplomats to outwit the
Americans at the bargaining table. But the Continental Congress chose
an able team of negotiators—John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John
Jay of New York. Together, the three demanded that Britain recognize
American independence before any other negotiations began. Once Britain
agreed to full independence, the talks officially opened.
In September 1783 the delegates signed the Treaty of Paris, which con-
firmed U.S. independence and set the boundaries of the new nation. The
United States now stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi
River and from Canada to the Florida border.
Some provisions of the treaty promised future trouble. The British made
no attempt to protect the land interests of their Native American allies,
and the treaty did not specify when the British would evacuate their Amer-
Reading Check  ican forts. On the other side, the Americans agreed that British creditors
Identify Problems  could collect debts owed them by Americans and promised to allow Loyal-
What issues did the
Treaty of Paris leave ists to sue in state courts for recovery of their losses. The state govern-
unresolved? ments, however, later failed to honor this agreement.

The War Becomes a Symbol of Liberty

With the signing of the Treaty of Paris, all European nations recognized
the United States of America. Former British subjects now possessed a new
identity as free Americans, loyal to a new ideal. The American Revolution
would inspire the world as both a war for independence and a democratic
revolution, introducing a new form of government for the United States.

The American Revolution 137

 Document-Based Investigation Historical Source

Map of the New United States

This “A New and Correct Map of the United
States of North America” of 1784 was one
of the first maps produced to show the
boundaries of the new nation. Unfortunately,
it contained much inaccurate information,
such as the incorrect placement of rivers.

Analyze Historical Sources

Why do you think Americans wanted to have
maps made of the new United States?

THE IMPACT ON AMERICAN SOCIETY Revolutionary ideals set a new course

for American society. During the war, class distinctions between rich and
poor had begun to blur as the wealthy wore homespun clothing and military
leaders showed respect for all of their men. These changes stimulated a rise
of egalitarianism—a belief in the equality of all people. That belief fostered
a new attitude: the idea that ability, effort, and virtue, not wealth or fam-
ily, defined one’s worth. The average workingman benefited from the new
attitude. Farmers and skilled urban workers had more respect, more politi-
cal power, and more economic opportunities.
The egalitarianism of the 1780s, however, applied only to white males.
From earliest western civilization, traditional women’s roles and rights were
very limited. The American Revolution did not bring any new political rights
to women. A few states made it possible for women to divorce, but common
law still dictated that a married woman’s property belonged to her husband.
The American Revolution did bring a shift in ideas about women’s roles.
Before the war, American women had become politically active for the first
time, organizing boycotts and later supporting the war effort. During the
war, women ably managed farms and businesses. Some women fought in
battle or forcefully defended their homes. The concept of republican moth-
erhood developed from these roots. It was recognized that women had the
first opportunity to educate children in civic responsibilities. Republican
motherhood encouraged mothers to raise their children to be intelligent,
patriotic, and competent citizens, so sons could become leaders and daugh-
ters could run households and raise well-educated children. While women’s
roles continued to be traditional and very limited, republican motherhood
added respect and importance to the perception of those roles.
The new egalitarianism did not apply to African Americans either. Most
African Americans were still enslaved, and even those who were free usually

138 Module 3
 faced discrimination and poverty. However, by 1804 many northern states
had taken steps to outlaw slavery.
The Southern states, where slavery was more entrenched, did not outlaw
the practice, but most made it easier for slave owners to free their slaves.
Planters in the upper South debated the morality of slavery. Some, like George
Washington, freed their slaves. In Maryland and Virginia, the number of free
blacks increased from about 4,000 to over 20,000 following the war. The slav-
ery debate generally did not reach the Deep South, although some southern
slaveholders did have grave misgivings.
For Native Americans, the Revolution brought uncertainty. During both the
French and Indian War and the Revolution, many Native American communi-
ties had either been destroyed or displaced. The Native American population
east of the Mississippi had declined by about 50 percent. Postwar develop-
ments further threatened Native American interests. Settlers from the United
States moved west and began taking tribal lands left unprotected by the
Treaty of Paris.
THE CHALLENGE OF CREATING A GOVERNMENT  In adopting the Declara-
tion of Independence and fighting the Revolutionary War, Americans had
rejected the British system of government, in which kings and nobles held
power. In its place, they set out to establish a stable republic, a government
of the people. This new American government would not allow taxation
without representation.
The Continental Congress had chosen a motto for the reverse side of the
Reading Check 
Analyze Issues  Great Seal of the United States: “a new order of the ages.” Creating this new
What were the order forced Americans to address complex questions: Who should participate
exceptions to the in government? How should the government answer to the people? How could
spirit of egalitarianism
that arose after the a government be set up so that opposing groups of citizens would all have
Revolutionary War? a voice?

Lesson 4 Assessment

1. Organize Information  Choose five significant events 3. Analyze Causes  Do you think the colonists could
described in this lesson. For each, write a newspaper have won independence without aid from foreigners?
headline that summarizes its significance. Explain.
Think About:
Event Headline • the military needs of the Americans and strengths of
the French and Spanish
• the Americans’ belief in their fight for independence
• von Steuben and Lafayette
4. Analyze Effects  What were the political, economic,
social, and geographic effects of the Revolutionary War
on the American colonists?
Choose one of the headlines and write the first 5. Evaluate  In your opinion, what was the single biggest
paragraph of the article. challenge facing the new country?
2. Key Terms and People  For each key term or person in
the lesson, write a sentence explaining its significance.

The American Revolution 139

Module 3 Assessment
Key Terms and People 10. Explain how civilians supported the war
For each term or person below, write a sentence effort in the colonies.
explaining its connection to the American 11. What roles did African Americans and
Revolution. Native Americans play in the Revolutionary
1. Stamp Act War?
2. Boston Massacre Winning the War
3. committees of correspondence 12. How did the inexperienced colonists
4. Olive Branch Petition become professional, effective soldiers?
5. Common Sense 13. How did France help the colonies during
6. Thomas Jefferson the American Revolution?
7. Saratoga 14. How did the Revolutionary War impact
the colonial practice of taxation without
8. Valley Forge
representation?
9. Marquis de Lafayette
15. Describe three significant challenges facing
10. Yorktown the United States when the American Revo-
lution ended.
Main Ideas
Use your notes and the information in the module Critical Thinking
to answer the following questions. 1. Summarize Create a dual-path chart show-
The Stirrings of Rebellion ing how the colonies became independent.
1. What methods did colonists use to protest On one path, list four or more military
actions by Parliament between 1765 and events, such as battles and changes in com-
1775? mand. On the other, list four or more politi-
2. Why were the committees of correspon- cal events, including protests, publication
dence established? of documents, and legal actions.
3. Describe the causes and the results of the Colonies
Boston Tea Party.
4. What were the results of fighting at Lexing- Military Events Political Events
ton and Concord?
Ideas Help Start a Revolution
5. What did Jefferson mean, and not mean, by
the phrase “all men are created equal”?
6. What reasons did Thomas Jefferson give to Independent Country
justify revolt by the colonies?
7. Why did many colonists not support 2. Develop Historical Perspective  What are
independence? some fundamental American values and
principles expressed in Thomas Paine’s
Struggling Toward Saratoga Common Sense?
8. Why was the Battle of Trenton significant?
9. What British military plan did the colonial
victory at Saratoga ruin?

140 Module 3
Module 3 Assessment, continued
3. Draw Conclusions  Thomas Jefferson Engage with History
included the following in the text of the Recall the issues that you explored at the begin-
Declaration of Independence: ning of the module. Imagine that it is 1783, and
• legal and philosophical justifications for you have been present at a gathering of your
the American Revolution friends who recall the many sacrifices made
• a list of King George III’s tyrannical during the war for independence from Great
actions Britain. Write a journal entry in which you try
• an aside to the British people in England to describe some of those sacrifices. Recall key
• a statement declaring independence military events, contributions made by civilians,
from England and key figures who played important roles in
the struggle for freedom.
Why do you think Jefferson wanted to
include all of those portions, rather than
just the statement declaring independence
Focus on Writing
from England? Do research on major governmental ideas estab-
4. Summarize In the second and third para- lished in the colonial period using secondary
graphs of the Declaration of Independence, sources. A secondary source interprets or ana-
Thomas Jefferson wrote about philosophi- lyzes a primary source, which is an eyewitness
cal justifications for the American Revolu- or firsthand account of history. Find sources and
tion. In your own words, summarize these write a paragraph about each of the following:
justifications. • analyses of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
5. Analyze Motives  Near the end of the • analyses of the Declaration of
Declaration of Independence, Jefferson Independence
wrote a paragraph addressed to the British
people in England. What point was he mak- Collaborative Learning
ing and what was his motivation in commu- In a small group, read and discuss the “One
nicating it? American’s Story” at the beginning of Lesson 2.
6. Form Opinions  Review France’s role in Then consider the following question: What
helping the colonies rebel against Great makes someone a Patriot? Using stories and
Britain. Under what conditions, if any, do images from the Internet, books, magazines, and
you think the United States should help newspapers, make a list of people you consider
other countries? to be Patriots. List their names as well as the
7. Analyze Effects  How did ideas about reasons why you chose them on a chart in your
women’s roles begin to change as a result classroom.
of the American Revolution?

The American Revolution 141

 MULTIMEDIA CONNECTIONS

the
American
revolution

The American Revolution led to the formation of Declaration of Independence, announcing that the
the United States of America in 1776. Beginning in American colonies were free from British rule. In reality,
the 1760s, tensions grew between American colonists however, freedom would not come until after years of
and their British rulers when Britain started passing a fighting.
series of new laws and taxes for the colonies. With no Explore some of the people and events of the
representation in the British government, however, American Revolution online. You can find a wealth of
colonists had no say in these laws, which led to growing information, video clips, primary sources, activities, and
discontent. After fighting broke out in 1775, colonial more through your online textbook.
leaders met to decide what to do. They approved the

141 MC1 MULTIMEDIA CONNECTIONS

 Go online to view these and
other HISTORY® resources.

“I know not what course others

may take; but as for me, give
me liberty or give me death!”
—Patrick Henry

Seeds of Revolution
Watch the video to learn about colonial discontent
“Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!” in the years before the Revolutionary War.
Read an excerpt from Patrick Henry’s famous speech,
which urged the colonists to fight against the British.

Independence!
Watch the video to learn about the origins of the
Declaration of Independence.

Victory!
Watch the video to learn how the American
colonists won the Revolutionary War.

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 141 MC2

Copyright © 2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any informa-
tion storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner
unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Requests for permission to
make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Pub-
lishing Company, Attn: Intellectual Property Licensing, 9400 Southpark Center Loop, Orlando,
Florida 32819-8647.
Portions © 2010 A&E Television Networks, LLC. All rights reserved.
HISTORY® and the HISTORY® H Logo are trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. All
rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, all maps ©Maps.com LLC.
Printed in the U.S.A.

If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt Publishing Company retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of
examination copies is strictly prohibited.

Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or
any portion of it, into electronic format.

ISBN 978-0-544-45419-4
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 XXXX 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16
4500000000 CDEFG