The Revolution

1. The Revolution • What was the Olive Branch Petition and what was its purpose? • In the early stages of the war what did most Americans believe they were fighting for? • What caused them to change their opinions? • What evidence was there that the Second Continental Congress was taking steps towards an open declaration of independence from Britain? • How did the Declaration of Independence actually help with the Colonial’s war efforts?

2. Describe the historiography of the causes of the Revolution. • What were the Articles of Confederation? • What was the central weakness of the Articles? • Why did the Continental army have to rely on British and French weapons and equipment? • What challenges did Congress face in paying for the war? • What measures did they implement to try and solve the problem? • What were the results?

3. Describe the situation in Boston following the fighting at Lexington and Concord. • What happened at Bunker Hill? • Why did the British decide to evacuate Boston on March 17, 1776? • Why did Benedict Arnold lead an American invasion of Canada and lay siege to Quebec? • What was the result of Benjamin Franklin’s attempt to convince the Canadian colonies to join the rebellion?

4. What was General Howe’s attitude toward the colonials? • Which city did the British target for invasion in the summer of 1776? • How large was the force they assembled and of what quality was the force George Washington brought to oppose them? • Was Washington’s defense of New York successful? • What took place at Trenton New Jersey on Christmas night 1776?

5. What was the British strategy for 1777? • How did Howe change the strategy? • What was his purpose in attacking Philadelphia? • What was the impact of Howe’s change of plans on General Burgoyne’s operations in the north? • What was the actual and perceived importance of the American victory at Saratoga? • Who was to blame for Britain’s failure to achieve victory during this stage of the war? • What role did the native population play in this stage of the war?

6. What were some of the challenges that faced some of America’s ‘amateur’ diplomats? • When and why did France recognize the United States as a sovereign nation? • What did France contribute to the war effort? • Why did Great Britain shift its military efforts to the southern colonies? • How successful was their plan? • Who replaced General Howe as commander of British forces in America? • What did he do with his army?

7. Did the British have any success in their war in the south? • What challenges did they face from patriot forces? • What happened to General Gates? • Who replaced him? • How did Greene “confuse and exasperate” General Cornwallis? • Why were the battles of the Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse important? • Why did Cornwallis retreat to Yorktown? • What was Washington’s plan for Cornwallis?

8. What three main challenges subverted Britain’s ability to win the war? • Why did Washington insist on creating a well trained professional standing army and not engage in a solely guerrilla based approach to fighting? • What role did African Americans play in the fighting? • How did Howe handle the landings at New York and the subsequent rout of the Continental Army?

9. How did Howe and Burgoyne’s plan to cut the colonies in half work out? Why? • How did Benjamin Franklin manage to manipulate the French during his negotiations in Paris? • What were the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance? • How did the open involvement of France in the war change British strategy? • Why was the capture of Charles Town important?

10. What happened at Camden on August 16, 1780? • How was Cornwallis forced to surrender at Yorktown on October 19, 1781? • Which types of people were the Loyalists? • What happened to the Loyalists during and after the war? • Which religion suffered as a result of the war? • Which religion gained strength because of the war?

11. How had the war changed the demographics of the southern states such as South Carolina? • How did the Revolutionary rhetoric about freedom impact the African American population of the United States? • How did this affect southern slave owners? • What role did most Native American tribes play in the war? • Of those that did get involved, which side did the usually support and why? • How did the Patriot victory impact the Native American population?

12. How did the war affect the lives of many colonial women? • What view did General Washington and many of his officers have of the female “camp followers”? • What was their overall effect? • Did the war change the fundamental nature of family dynamics in American households? • Did it have any impact on gender relations? • Did the importance of women as mothers change as a result of the war? Why?

13. What is a privateer and how did Americans make use of them during the war? • How did the war both hinder and help the growth of the American economy?

14. Chapter 6 • Why did the states feel the need to draft constitutions to replace their old colonial charters? • Why did the states feel it essential that these constitutions be explicitly worded documents? • What three fundamental freedoms did most states specifically affirm? • How did the role of governor fair in many new constitutions?

15. Where did most states concentrate governmental power? Why? • Why was the Massachusetts constitution exceptional? • What sort of plan for confederation did John Dickinson’s committee present on July 12, 1776? • How did the Articles of Confederation compare to the Dickinson’s original plan? • How did the population at large feel about the idea of central government?

16. Contrast the attitudes of “landless” states with those that claimed vast western territories? What was their main point of contention? • In 1781 the states settled their dispute over western lands. How did they do it, and what arrangement did they come up with? • What was Thomas Jefferson’s plan to solve the Northwest Territory issue? • What were the challenges surrounding the orderly development of the western frontier? • Ultimately, what were the provisions of the Northwest Ordinance?

17. What challenges did the resumption of trade with Britain pose for the American economy? • What role did the circulation of paper money play in the economic crisis? • What role did federal and state debt play in making the situation worse? • Who were the ‘nationalists’ and what was their main goal in the early 1780s? • Why did they feel a national tax was necessary and why did their plan fail? • What was the Newburgh Conspiracy of 1783?

18. Why did Great Britain refuse to evacuate its soldiers from the Northwest Territory? • Why did Spain close the Mississippi to American trade? What was the impact? • What were some of the symptoms of Congress’ lack of power through the mid 1780s? • How did many of the leaders Revolution’s opinions about the nature of government change in the 1780s? • How did James Madison’s vision of a federal republic differ from Montesquieu’s?

19. How did nationalists finagle Congress into calling a constitutional convention in May 1787? • What was Shay’s Rebellion and how did it give Madison ammunition for his argument for a strong national government? • What important procedural decisions did the members of the Constitutional Conventions make? • What was the Virginia Plan? What was the New Jersey Plan? How did they differ?

20. How did the “grand committee” solve the impasse between large and small states? • What was the “three-fifths” rule? • How did the convention deal with the issue of slavery? • What was the job of the Committee of Detail? • How did the electoral college work? • How did the Convention get around the possibility of state houses blocking passage of the constitution?

21. What clever decision did the proponents of the constitution make with regards to naming their group? • What other advantages did the Federalists possess over their opponents? • What was the “localist perspective” of the Antifederalists? • By which date had all the states ratified the new constitution? • How did the Bill of Rights come into existence? • What rights does it protect?