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3
Struggling Towards Saratoga
KEY IDEA
After a series of setbacks, American forces
won at Saratoga and survived.
OVERVIEW
ASSESSMENT
HOME
3
Struggling Towards Saratoga
OVERVIEW
MAIN IDEA
WHY IT MATTERS NOW
After a series of setbacks,
American forces won at
Saratoga and survived.
Determination, resilience, and
unity have become part of the
American character.
TERMS & NAMES
• inflation
• Trenton
• profiteering
• Saratoga
• Valley Forge
ASSESSMENT
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3
Struggling Towards Saratoga
ASSESSMENT
1. List each early battle of the American Revolution, its
outcome, and why it was important.
Battle
Outcome
Importance
New York
British victory forced
Continental Army to retreat.
Pushed Washington’s army, much
reduced in size, into Pennsylvania
Trenton
First significant colonial victory
of the war
Boosted morale and prompted
reenlistments
Philadelphia
British captured the city.
British victory forced Congress to
flee.
Saratoga
Colonial victory resulting in
first British army to surrender
American victory resulted in French
alliance.
continued . . .
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Struggling Towards Saratoga
ASSESSMENT
2. Imagine that Burgoyne and the British had captured
Saratoga in 1777. How might the course of the war have
changed? Think About:
• the military strength of the British
• the fighting skills of the Americans
• French support of the colonists
ANSWER
Since most Americans were not trained soldiers, they might not have been able to
stop the British from moving inland; as more British troops moved into the
countryside, they might have learned to cope with America’s rough terrain and
might have won the war; fearing an American defeat, the French may have
continued . . .
been discouraged from providing further help for the colonies.
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Struggling Towards Saratoga
ASSESSMENT
3. If you were a woman civilian during the beginning of
the American Revolution, what problem caused by the
war do you think would affect you the most? Think About:
• inflation and the scarcity of goods
• the separation of families
• the demands of the war effort
ANSWER
Maintaining a household, often with a husband away in the army;
keeping a family fed, safe, and healthy with so little food and so few
other provisions; having to make so many things for one’s family and
often troops as well; managing houses, farms, and businesses
End of Section 3