SSUSH3 The student will explain the primary causes of the American Revolution

1. UNIT 2: NEED TO KNOW STANDARDS FOR US HISTORYStudents must master these standards to perform well on unit exams and the EOCT. SSUSH3 The student will explain the primary causes of the American Revolution 9. Explain how the end of Anglo-French imperial competition as seen in the French and Indian War and the 1763 Treaty of Paris laid the groundwork for the American Revolution. 10. Explain colonial response to such British actions as the Proclamation of 1763, the Stamp Act, and the Intolerable Acts as seen in Sons and Daughters of Liberty and Committees of Correspondence. 11. Explain the importance of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense to the movement for independence. SSUSH4 The student will identify the ideological, military, and diplomatic aspects of the American Revolution. 12. Explain the language, organization, and intellectual sources of the Declaration of Independence; include the writing of John Locke and Montesquieu, and the role of Thomas Jefferson. 13. Explain the reason for and significance of the French alliance and foreign assistance and the roles of Benjamin Franklin and the Marquis de Lafayette. 14. Analyze George Washington as a military leader; include the creation of a professional military and the life of a common soldier, and describe the significance of the crossing of the Delaware River and Valley Forge. 15. Explain Yorktown, the role of Lord Cornwallis, and the Treaty of Paris, 1783.

2. SSUSH5 The student will explain specific events and key ideas that brought about the adoption and implementation of the United States Constitution. 16. Explain how weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation and Daniel Shays’ Rebellion led to a call for a stronger central government. 17. Evaluate the major arguments of the anti-Federalists and Federalists during the debate on ratification of the Constitution as put forth in The Federalist concerning form of government, factions, checks and balances, and the power of the executive, including the roles of Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. 18. Explain the key features of the Constitution, specifically the Great Compromise, separation of powers, limited government, and the issue of slavery. 19. Analyze how the Bill of Rights serves as a protector of individual and states’ rights. 20. Explain the importance ofthePresidencies of George Washington and John Adams; include the Whiskey Rebellion, non-intervention in Europe, and the development of political parties (Alexander Hamilton). SSUSH6 The student will analyze the nature of territorial and population growth and the impact of this growth in the early decades of the new nation. 21. Explain the Northwest Ordinance’s importance in the westward migration of Americans, and on slavery, public education, and the addition of new states. 22. Describe Jefferson’s diplomacy in obtaining the Louisiana Purchase from France and the territory’s exploration by Lewis and Clark. 23. Explain major reasons for the War of 1812 and the war’s significance on the development of a national identity.

3. What was the Stamp Act?

4. British legislation passed in 1765 that required the American colonists to purchase special stamped paper for almost everything that had to be written – licenses, newspapers, legal documents, pamphlets, even playing cards. This taxed virtually every colonist.

5. How did the colonists react to the Stamp Act?

6. The colonists reacted with fury and indignation. They called for a Stamp Act Congress in New York in 1765 where they declared that only their own elected colonial representatives had the legal authority to approve taxes. The Sons and Daughters of Liberty, a secret society organized to intimidate tax agents and many times tarred and feathered revenue officials and destroyed revenue stamps. Colonial Committees of Correspondence formed to exchange information between the colonies about protests and boycotts of British goods in an attempt to organize colonial resistance to the British.

7. What did the Sons of Liberty do in protest against the Tea Act which allowed British tea sellers to sell tea without paying taxes, but did not give the American tea sellers the same right?

8. They were responsible for the Boston Tea Party, where Sons of Liberty dressed as Indians, boarded British ships in the Boston harbor and dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor.

9. What did the British do to punish the American colonists for the Boston Tea Party?

10. In 1774, in response to the Boston Tea Party, the British introduced the Coercive Acts. These acts were called the Intolerable Acts by the colonists and included the closing of the Boston Harbor and an expansion of the Quartering Act that made colonists for responsible for housing British soldiers in their homes.

11. Explain the importance of Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense.

12. In January 1776, Englishman Thomas Paine who had recently immigrated to the colonies, published a pamphlet that had profound impact on public opinion in the colonies. Up until this point, independence had been considered a radical idea. Entitled Common Sense, Paine argued in his pamphlet that the colonies should become independent and break all ties with the British monarchy. Paine said a small island should not rule a large continent and that people should not pledge their support to a corrupt king whose laws were unreasonable. 50,000 copies of this pamphlet were printed and distributed and the idea of independence gained greater support across the colonies.