APUSH

REVOLUTION- AMERICA SECEDES FROM THE EMPIRE -1775-1783

Chapter 8 Homework Questions from Pageant

Thought Provokers- Complete the questions & be prepared to discuss them in class or be prepared for a reading quiz

Big Questions: Why are most colonists considered "reluctant revolutionaries"? What factors led to the defeat of the mighty English?

1. Why did Congress choose George Washington as the commander of the Continental Army?

2. What effect did Thomas Paine have on the drive to independence and why?

3. What effect did Thomas Jefferson have on the drive to independence and why?

4. Who were the “Tories” and/or “Loyalists” and what percentage of the colonial population did they represent at the time independence was declared? What happened to many of the Loyalists as the war progressed?

5. Explain Washington’s military campaigns of 1776-1778. Which battle revealed him at his worst? Which at his best? What was his greatest contribution to the war effort?What battle is considered the turning point battle and why?

6. What were the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1783 and why do many historians think America gained such favorable terms?

7. Why did Americans choose not only to break with Britain, but to adopt a republican form of government in 1776? What republican ideas did they share and what did they disagree about?

8. How did the American Revolution & Declaration of Independence inspire revolution in France, Haiti and Latin America?

9. How did increased awareness of inequalities in society during the Revolution motivate some individuals & groups to call for abolition of slavery and greater democracy? Who is already calling for greater democracy and equality?

Key Terms & People

Second Continental CongressLetters From a Pennsylvania Farmer

Olive Branch Petition Richard Henry Lee

Mercy Otis WarrenLord Charles Cornwallis

HessiansAbigail Adams

privateers

FYI- For Your Information- Past A.P. essays on this area of study:

  1. The Declaration of Independence has been variously interpreted as a bid for French support, an attempt to swing uncommitted Americans to the Revolutionary cause, a statement of universal principles, and an affirmation of the traditional rights of Englishmen. To what extent, if any, are these interpretations in conflict? (1975)
  1. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object, the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. Evaluate this accusation made against George III in the Declaration of Independence. (1988)