369 AP US HISTORY
AMERICA: PAST AND PRESENT
EIGHTH EDITION
CHAPTER 5- THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION FROM ELITE
PROTEST TO POPULAR REVOLT, 1763-1783
Learning Targets
1. Explain why both the American gentry and the common folk supported the
American Revolution.
2. Describe the “expectant” nature of American society in the 1760’s especially in
regard of colonial assemblies
3. Assess and explain the responsibility of George III and Parliament for the loss of
their American colonies
4. Describe each of the fundamental principles and the “politics of virtue” of the
American perspective on imperial politics
5. Analyze both the motivation for Grenville’s regulations and the popular mass
movement that formed in resistance to them.
6. Trace the Townshend duties from their origins through the American resistance to
their repeal
7. Trace the growing conflict between the colonists and the North ministry from the
Tea Act through the fighting at Lexington and Concord
8. Analyze the American decision to declare independence from the convening of the
Second Continental Congress to the Declaration of Independence
9. Compare and contrast the military assets and liabilities of both the British and American
forces in the Revolutionary War
10. Describe the role of African Americans in the fighting of the American Revolution
11. Explain the significance of the American victory at Saratoga, Trenton, Yorktown,
Bunker Hill
12. Trace the American diplomacy leading to the treaties with the French in February 1778
13. Analyze the British southern strategy from their victory at Charleston to Cornwallis’s
defeat the Yorktown
14. Explain how American Loyalists were the greatest losers in the American Revolution
15. Analyze the role of diplomacy in the success of the American Revolution.
16. Describe and explain the role of colonial religious values in promoting the revolutionary
ferment and patriotism of the common folk in the American Revolution
AP Topic Outline for Chapters 5-6
The American Revolutionary Era, 1754–1789
The French and Indian War
The Imperial Crisis and resistance to Britain
The War for Independence
State constitutions and the Articles of
Confederation
The federal Constitution
The Early Republic, 1789–1815
Washington, Hamilton, and shaping of the national
government
Emergence of political parties: Federalists and
Republicans
Republican Motherhood and education for women
Beginnings of the Second Great Awakening
Significance of Jefferson’s presidency
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Important Terms:
GEORGE III
ASSEMBLIES/POWER OF THE PURSE
ACTUAL VS. VIRTUAL REPRESENTATION
LOCKE’S SOCIAL CONTRACT
CIVIC VIRTUE/PUBLIC VIRTUE
PROCLAMATION OF 1763
SUGAR ACT (1764)
STAMP ACT (1765)
SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF LIBERTY
STAMP ACT CONGRESS
QUARTERING ACT (1765)
NO TAXATION WITHOUT
REPRESENTATION
DECLARATORY ACT (1766)
TOWNSHEND REVENUE ACTS (1767)
SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF LIBERTY
(1767-70)
MASSACHSETTS = CIRCULAR LETTER
(1768)
COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE
BOSTON MASSACRE/SAM ADAMS
TEA ACT (1773)
BOSTON TEA PARTY (1773)
COERCIVE ACTS (1774)
FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
PATRICK HENRY
QUEBEC ACT (1774)
LEXINGTON AND CONCORD
SARATOGA/YORKTOWN
SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
PROHIBITORY ACT (1775)
THOMAS PAINE /COMMON SENSE
TORIES/LOYALISTS
TREATY OF PARIS, 1783
CHAPTER 5 ID’S/Terms Definitions (Not all provided)
1760-1820
King George III
Pg. 129
George III came to the throne of England in 1760 when he was only 20 years old. George had led a
sheltered, loveless childhood, and his father died when he was very young. George was basically
uneducated and thought to be stupid by his grandfather George II and other acquaintances. George III
knew this and grew up hating his grandfather and everybody connected with his reign. George III
decided to take a very active role in government once he became king. George did not work within the
established order of Whigs in the parliament and appointed an unaffiliated Scotsman named the Earl of
Bute as his chief minister. The Whigs hated Bute and blamed him for everything that went wrong. Bute
got tired of this, and after him, George went through several other ministers. He also appointed cabinet
ministers in the same way. The underlings of these ministers didn’t have any leadership, so they didn’t
know what to do. They either made bad decisions or none at all. This time of confusion didn’t bode well
for America’s relationship with Britain.
1763
Proclamation of 1763
Pg. 133
The Proclamation of 1763 was a provision of the Treaty of Paris that gave the Ohio River Valley over to
the Indians. The colonists, who had already started moving into the valley, were told to move out and no
more were to be let in. It was Britain’s gift to the Indians for helping with the French and Indian War.
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1722-1803
Samuel Adams
Pg. 141-42
After the repeal of the Townshend Acts, American life basically went back to normal. Americans were
kind of scared about how close they came revolution so they pulled back, and the British were still getting
some money from them, so everybody was relatively happy except Samuel Adams. Adams said that the
repeal of the Townhshend Acts meant nothing. He used publicity to keep the cause against unfair taxes
alive. He commemorated the repeal of the Stamp Act and the Boston Massacre. He also reminded people
that the tax on tea was still around. Every time Britain tried to tighten its control around America, more
people listened to Adams. In 1772, Adams suggested that a committee of correspondence be set up to
communicate grievances to people throughout all of Mass. This plan was taken up in many other
colonies. Overall, Adams was a true revolutionary obsessed with keeping American public virtue.
1774
First Continental Congress
Pg. 144
The First Continental Congress was set up in 1774 to decide what to do about the building tension
between Britain and America. The Congress was composed of 55 members from 12 colonies. The
Congress convened on Sept. 5. It included some of America’s most articulate leaders. It took awhile for
the delegates to get used to each other, and differences of opinion surfaced quickly. Sam Adams got the
moderates for the middle colonies to take a more radical stand, so the Congress was basically
revolutionary. Finally, the Congress decided to cut off all trade with Britain until the Intolerable Acts
were repealed.
1775
Lexington and Concord
Pg. 145
On the evening of April 18, 1775, General Gage sent troops from Boston to seize American supplies.
Paul Revere, warned the Lexington militia, and they went and stood out on the town green. When the
British came by, someone got confused and fired a shot. The British opened fire and killed eight
colonists.
1774
Second Continental Congress
Pg.145-46
The Second Continental Congress convened in May of 1775. It was extremely important because once
the Revolution started, all British government ceased to exist. The rebelling Americans desperately
needed some leadership. The Congress set up an army and made George Washington its leader.
Congress also bought supplies for the army by implementing paper currency. The one thing they didn’t
do was declare independence. They couldn’t do this because, if they did, it would look like it was the
rebellion of one clique rather than a national movement. Eventually, after more British injustice,
Congress finally voted for independence. They chose Jefferson to write the declaration, and then they
sent it to Great Britain.
1776
Thomas Paine, Common Sense
Pg. 146-47
Thomas Paine was born in England and held several jobs there temporarily. He wasn’t very well off, so
he decided to come to America. He met Ben Franklin, and Franklin introduced him to many of America’s
leading men. These new friends urged Paine to write his pamphlet Common Sense. Common Sense took
away all of a monarch’s theological and historical justification. Paine completely destroyed monarchy
and supported democracy. His pamphlet was a bestseller and basically convinced the common people of
America that independence was the way to go.
1776
Declaration of Independence
Pg. 147-48
The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson after the Second Continental Congress
voted for independence on July 2, 1776. Jefferson used his training as a lawyer to present a list of
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specific grievances to George III along with evidence for independence. Also, Jefferson relied heavily on
the philosophy of John Locke.
October 17, 1777
Saratoga
Pg. 151-52
In the summer of 1777, General John Burgoyne was sent from Canada with a huge army in order to clear
out the Hudson River Valley of rebels. Burgoyne was then supposed to meet with Howe who was
coming up from Albany. At Bennington, John Stark destroyed part of Burgoyne’s army, and then at
Saratoga, Horatio Gates defeated the rest.
1777
Tories/Loyalists
Pgs. 155-56
Tories of Loyalists were people who were against the revolution and supported the British. They were
harassed by revolutionaries and often forced to convert their beliefs.
1781
Yorktown
Pgs. 154-155
At Yorktown, the British family lost the American Revolution. General Conwallis had been making
stupid tactical blunders all year, and losing parts of his army constantly. Finally, he went into Virginia.
The French cut him off from the sea and the Americans surrounded him. He had no choice but to
surrender.
1783
Treaty of Paris
Pgs. 157
The treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary war was signed in a completely different way than it was
supposed to be signed. The American delegation sent to Paris consisted of Ben Franklin, John Adams
and John Jay. When they got to Paris, they found out that the French had a military alliance with Spain,
and that the French wouldn’t sign anything until Spain won Gibraltar for the British. The Americans
entered into negotiations on their own. They got a very favorable treaty fro the British including all land
east of the Mississippi River, and very good northern and southern boundaries. Finally it recognized the
sovereignty of America.
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