NAME ______

Chapter 4: The War for Independence

Focus

  • New political ideas about the relationship between people and their government helped to justify the Declaration of Independence.

The ideas of John Locke

  • All people are free, equal, and have “natural rights” of life, liberty, and property that rulers cannot take away.
  • All original power resides in the people, and they consent to enter into a “social contract” among themselves to form a government to protect their rights. In return, the people promise to obey the laws and rules established by their government, establishing a system of “ordered liberty.”
  • Government’s powers are limited to those the people have consented to give to it. Whenever government becomes a threat to the people’s natural rights, it breaks the social contract, and the people have the right to alter or overthrow it.

Thomas Paine and Common Sense

  • Thomas Paine was an English immigrant to America who produced a pamphlet known as Common Sense that challenged the rule of the American colonies by the King of England. Common Sense was read and acclaimed by many American colonists during the mid-1700s and contributed to a growing sentiment for independence from Great Britain.

The Declaration of Independence

The eventual draft of the Declaration of Independence, authored by Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, reflected the ideas of Locke and Paine. Jefferson wrote:

  • “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created 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 becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government….”

Anglo-French rivalry leading to conflict with the colonies

  • The rivalry in North America between Britain and France led to the French and Indian War, in which the French were driven out of Canada and their territories west of the Appalachian Mountains.
  • As a result of the war, Britain took several actions that angered the American colonies and led to the American Revolution. These included

–the Proclamation of 1763, which prohibited settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains, a region that was costly for the British to protect.

–new taxes on legal documents (the “Stamp Act”), tea, and sugar, to pay costs incurred during the French and Indian War and for British troops to protect colonists.

The beginning of the American Revolution

Resistance to British rule in the colonies mounted, leading to war:

  • The Boston Tea Party occurred.
  • The First Continental Congress was called, to which all of the colonies except Georgia sent representatives—the first time most of the colonies had acted together.
  • The Boston Massacre took place when British troops fired on anti-British demonstrators.
  • War began when the “Minutemen” in Massachusetts fought a brief skirmish with British troops at Lexington and Concord.

Differences among the colonists

The colonists were divided into three main groups during the Revolution:

  • Patriots

–Believed in complete independence from Britain

–Inspired by the ideas of Locke and Paine and the words of Virginian Patrick Henry (“Give me liberty, or give me death!”)

–Provided the troops for the American Army, led by Virginian George Washington

  • Loyalists (Tories)

–Remained loyal to Britain because of cultural and economic ties

–Believed that taxation of the colonies was justified to pay for British troops to protect American settlers from Indian attacks

Factors leading to colonial victory

  • Diplomatic

–Benjamin Franklin negotiated a Treaty of Alliance with France.

–The war did not have popular support in Great Britain.

  • Military

–George Washington, general of the American army, avoided any situation that threatened the destruction of his army, and his leadership kept the army together when defeat seemed inevitable.

–Americans benefited from the presence of the French army and navy at the Battle of Yorktown, which ended the war with an American victory.

Vocab

Stamp Act

Committee of Correspondence

Olive Branch Petition

Common Sense

Saratoga

Yorktown

Questions

  1. How did the ideas of John Locke and Thomas Paine influence Jefferson’s writings in the Declaration of Independence?
  1. How did the Declaration of Independence become a road map for the new republic as it extended the franchise, provided for equality of opportunity, and guaranteed “unalienable rights”?
  1. What differences existed among Americans concerning separation from Great Britain?
  1. What factors contributed to the victory of the American rebels?

Select the letter of the term, name, or phrase that best completes the statement.

A. Stamp Act

B. martial law

C. King George III

D. Samuel Adams

E. Intolerable Acts

F. Townshend Acts

G. Boston Tea Party

H. Boston Massacre

I. committees of correspondence

____ 1. In 1765, Parliament passes the ___, requiring colonists to pay a direct tax on a variety of printed

items.

____ 2. In 1765, ___ helps to found the Sons of Liberty, a secret resistance group.

____ 3. In 1766, colonists react with rage and well-organized resistance to the ___, a package of revenue

laws imposing taxes on imports of glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea.

____ 4. In 1770, tensions rise between Britain and the colonies when the ___ leaves Crispus Attucks and

four others dead.

____ 5. In 1772, the assemblies of Massachusetts and Virginia set up ___ to communicate with other

colonies about British threats to colonists' liberties.

____ 6. In 1773, Colonists stage the ___ to send a forceful message to Britain communicating their feelings about the Tea Act.

____ 7. In 1774, ___, the royal head of England urges Parliament to take quick action to punish

Massachusetts.

____ 8. In 1774, Parliament passes what the colonists call the ___, a series of measures that, among other things, shut down Boston Harbor and authorize British commanders to house soldiers in private

homes.

____ 9. In 1774, to keep the peace, General Thomas Gage places Boston under ___.

____ 10. In 1774, the ___ rally around the colonists of Boston, quickly moving into action and assembling the First Continental Congress.

Select the letter of the term, name, or phrase that best matches each description. Note: Some letters may not be used at all. Some may be used more than once.

A. Patriots

B. Loyalists

C. Common Sense

D. Olive Branch Petition

E. Declaration of Independence

F. Second Continental Congress

____ 11. It was written by Thomas Paine.

____ 12. It was written by Thomas Jefferson.

____ 13. It was the document that urged King George to consider a return to "the former harmony" betweenBritain and the colonies.

____ 14. After reading it, King George issued a proclamation stating that the colonies were in rebellion andurging Parliament to order a naval blockade of the American coast.

____ 15. It was the group of colonists who supported Britain during the Revolution.

Select the letter of the term, name, or phrase that best matches each description. Note: Some letters may notbe used at all. Some may be used more than once.

A. Trenton

B. inflation

C. Saratoga

D. New York

E. profiteering

F. Philadelphia

G. Valley Forge

____ 16. This is the site of the Continental Army's camp during the winter of 1777-1778.

____ 17. This is what resulted when Congress printed more and more money.

____ 18. This victory for the colonists dramatically changed Britain's war strategy.

____ 19. After withdrawing from Boston in 1776, the British tried to isolate New England by seizing this city.

____ 20. This is where, on Christmas night in 1776, George Washington led 2,400 men in rowboats acrossan ice-choked river.

Document-Based Questions. Historical Context: The communication of information during a war is alwaysessential. During the Revolutionary War, information was conveyed for various purposes and by variousmethods.

Study each document carefully and answer the question about it. (4 points each)

Whereas many of our subjects in divers parts of our Colonies and Plantations in North America,

misled by dangerous and ill designing men, and forgetting the allegiance which they owe to the power

that has protected and supported them; after various disorderly acts committed in disturbance of the

publick peace, to the obstruction of lawful commerce, and to the oppression of our loyal subjects

carrying on the same; have at length proceeded to open and avowed rebellion, by arraying

themselves in a hostile manner, to withstand the execution of the law, and traitorously preparing,

ordering and levying war against us: And whereas, there is reason to apprehend that such rebellion

hath been much promoted and encouraged by the traitorous correspondence, counsels and comfort

of divers wicked and desperate persons within this realm: To the end therefore, that none of our

subjects may neglect or violate their duty through ignorance thereof, or through any doubt of the

protection which the law will afford to their loyalty and zeal,we have thought fit, by and with the advice of our Privy Council, to issue our Royal Proclamation,hereby declaring, that not only all our Officers, civil

and military, are obliged to exert their utmost endeavours to suppress such rebellion, and to bring the

traitors to justice, but that all our subjects of this Realm, and the dominions thereunto belonging, are

bound by law to be aiding and assisting in the suppression of such rebellion, and to disclose and make

known all traitorous conspiracies and attempts against us, our crown and dignity. . . .

GOD save the KING.

21. How might this proclamation have affected the attitudes and actions of loyal British citizens?

22. What information regarding the peace agreement was not available at the time of the publication of thisnotice?

23. How can various methods of communication not only record but possibly change history?