Chapter 6 Test – Study Guide

The battles of Long Island and Saratoga took place in New York.

The superior ability of the patriot generals was the primary cause of the failure of the
British strategy.

One of the main ideas of the Declaration of Independence was the belief that everyone
has the right to life and liberty.

British general William Howe abandoned Boston in March 1776 because the American
cannons threatened Boston Harbor.

The final step of the colonists’ decision to break with Britain came with the vote by
Congress to approve the Declaration of Independence.

The Patriot hero John Paul Jones defeated the British warship Serapis.

The military strategy based on the local geography was a major strength of the
Continental Army and led to its ultimate victory.

The treaty of Paris did not call for the return of Canada to France.
Patriot Advantages:
British Advantages:
Washington’s leadership
Well-trained troops
Fighting for their homes
world’s best navy
Skill with individually owned weapons
Loyalist support from Americans
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
One third of Americans favored independence, one third favored continued allegiance
to Britain and one third of Americans were undecided.

The British had well trained troops but the pay of the Patriot troops was increased
which helped the Patriots overcome this advantage.

Diary entry - Albigence Waldo, December 14, 1777
‘I am sick – discontented- and out of humor. Poor food- hard lodging – cold weatherfatigue – nasty clothes- nasty cookery…”
The above quotation was written by an American soldier at Valley forge.
The harsh conditions described in the above quote were eased by the arrival of warm weather
and necessities that were collected and delivered by women.
The above diary entry was talking about the Continental Army’s winter at Valley Forge.
The conditions described were made worse by the lack of government resources.

An American naval blockade helped the Continental Army gain control of Boston in
1776.

The three main ideas of the Declaration of Independence were Natural Rights, British
Wrongs and Independence.

The final battle of the Revolutionary War was the Battle of Yorktown.

The action that finalized the colonies’ independence from Great Britain was a mutual
agreement with Parliament.

The second continental Congress immediately responded to the fighting at Lexington
and concord by sending a petition to King George III.
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
The British tried to encourage African Americans to join their army by offering them
their freedom.

The British commander in chief Clinton shifted the focus of the war t o the South in
hope that he would be able to supplement his troops with backcountry southerners who
might be loyalists.

Saratoga was a turning point in the war because it prompted the French to join the
Patriots after they saw that the Patriots were capable of winning battles.

The governor of Spanish Louisiana helped the Patriot cause by seizing British forts on
the southwestern frontier.

The British General Cornwallis made a serious mistake which led to the defeat of the
British army when he disregarded an order and retreated to Yorktown Peninsula.

Richard Henry Lee said that he was now “convinced of the necessity of separation,”
after reading Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.

Few delegates of the Continental Congress in May 1775 wanted a formal break with
Britain.

Washington changed his enlistment policy during the Revolution by allowing free
African Americans to join the Continental Army.

The British army was trapped at Yorktown by a fleet of French warships.
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Required key terms and people:
radical
Saratoga
patriot
Trenton
ally
Yorktown
mercenary
Cowpens
loyalist
Bunker Hill
blockade
guerrilla
preamble
cavalry
siege
ratify
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