The American Revolution
Paper instructions:
Choose one of these questions to write your essay.
What was the Stamp Act? How did it cause a storm of protest in the colonies?
€¢ How did the Boston Massacre of 1770 and the Boston Tea Party of 1773 contribute to the start of the American Revolution?
€¢ Discuss the impact of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense (first published in January 1776) on American colonists. Why was this political pamphlet widely read?
€¢ How and why was the Declaration of Independence written in 1776? Explain its basic message.
€¢ 20-25% of free Americans were not enthusiastic about independence, retaining their allegiance to the British crown. Why? What do you think about those loyalists, some of whom actively supported the British?
€¢ Discuss the ramifications of using slaves in the British and Continental armies. Why did the British authorize the use of slaves? Why did the Americans? How did the slaves benefit? (Review Question 3)
€¢ Is The Patriot, a movie starring Mel Gibson, useful for understanding the American Revolutionary War? Why or why not?
€¢ What was great about General George Washington?
€¢ How were American forces able to prevail against Great Britain, the greatest military power on earth, in the Revolutionary War?
€¢ Why were the French indispensable to the America’s victory and independence?