U.S. History 9 / 24 / 2009 Lesson Plan – Class #15 Unit 3 – Chapter 4 Do Now: Answer Questions on the hand-out in groups. Homework: Read pages 103-108 and create split page notes First thing covered: Check for split page notes, lesson on chapter 4 section 1. Overview: The Stirrings of Rebellion - Tensions arose from the British Parliament’s pressure on the colonies to raise money to finance debts accrued during the French and Indian Wars, as well as European conflicts. - In March 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act (also persuaded by George Grenville). This required colonies to purchase special stamped paper for every legal document, license, newspaper, pamphlet, and almanac, and imposed special “stamp duties” on packages of playing cards and dice. Those who refused to pay the tax were tried in vice-admiralty courts. - Boston shopkeepers, artisans, and laborers organized a secret resistance group called the Sons of Liberty, with one of its founders being Samuel Adams. This group harassed customs workers, stamp agents, and royal governors thus forcing many to resign. Their protests kept any stamps from being sold. - The colonial assemblies met to discuss how to deal with the stamp act, and the overall resolution was that Parliament did not have the right to tax individual colonies since they were not represented in Parliament. - Merchants in NY, Boston, and Philly agreed not to import goods manufactured in Britain until the Stamp Act was repealed. In March 1766, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, but issued the Declaratory Act which stated that the Parliament had full right to make laws “to bind colonies and people of America… in all cases whatsoever.” - Charles Townshend proposed a revenue law, passed by Parliament in 1767, known as the Townshend Acts—Unlike the Stamp Act which was a direct taxation, this act was indirect, or duties levied on materials imported from Britain. These were items such as glass, lead, paint, and paper. The acts also imposed a 3-penny tax on tea, the most popular drink in the colonies. - Colonists reacted with outrage and well-organized protests. Their slogan was, “no taxation without representation.” Women joined the boycott led by Samuel Adams by forming spinning bees, in which public displays of spinning and weaving of colonial-made cloth, as well as boycotting tea. Even the wealthier women did not import British luxuries. - Conflicts intensified in July 1768, when the British agents in Boston seized the Liberty, a ship belonging to a local merchant John Hancock under the presumption that it contained smuggled wine. This sparked riots against customs officials that ended with 2,000 “red coats” being stationed in Boston. - At the Customs House on March 5th, 1770 an uprising led by Cripus Attucks, a sailor of African and Native American descent, ended in the British sentries opening fire on the angry mob killing five and wounding several. The British - - - - - - - - were called “lobster backs,” in reference to their red uniforms. This conflict was soon labeled by Samuel Adams and others as the Boston Massacre. In1772, hostilities arose again when a group of RI colonists attacked a British customs schooner that patrolled the coast for smugglers. King George named a special commission to seek out suspects and bring them to England for trial, but colonists responded by setting up committees of correspondence to communicate with other colonies about this and other threats to American liberties. 1773, Lord Frederick North, the British Prime Minister, faced a new problem. The British East India Company took a huge hit from the boycott of the colonies, and had 17mill lbs of tea surplus. He enacted the Tea Act, which granted the company the right to sell tea to the colonies free of taxes that colonial tea sellers had to pay. This would cut colonial merchants out of the tea trade, and give colonists tea at cheaper prices. The colonists protested violently, and on Dec 16, 1773, a large group of rebels disguised themselves as Native Americans and proceeded to dump 18,000lbs of tea into the Boston Harbor in what came to be known as the Boston Tea Party. In response to the Tea Party, King George III pushed Parliament into passing a series of measures called the Intolerable Acts in 1774. These included the closing of the Boston Harbor since colonists refused to pay for the damaged tea, the Quartering Act which authorized British commanders to house soldiers in vacant private homes and other buildings, and the placing of Boston under martial law by the new governor of Mass, General Thomas Gage. The committees of correspondence moved into action and assembled the First Continental Congress in September 1774, where 56 delegates met in Philadelphia and drew up a declaration of colonial rights. This declaration defended the colonies rights to run their own affairs, supported the protests in Mass, and stated that if the British used force against the colonies, the colonies should fight back. They also agreed to reconvene in May 1775. Colonists stepped up military preparations, and the minutemen (civilian soldiers) stockpiled firearms and gunpowder. Gage sends his troops towards Lexington, where he heard that munitions and Hancock & Adams could be located. Minutemen in Boston overheard of this plan, and one of the young leaders there named Joseph Warren told Paul Revere (a member of the Sons of Liberty) to warn Hancock and Adams, and the town people along the Lexington Road to Concord. Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott went out on the night of April 18th and warned all the people of the 700 British Regulars (army) heading to Concord. Church bells and gun shots signaled the population. The Battle of Lexington lasted only 15 minutes when the British troops fired on the 70 militia men assembled in Lexington, but when they reached Concord and found an empty arsenal, they were ambushed on their return to Boston by 3,000 - 4,000 minutemen. U.S. History 9 / 25 / 2009 Lesson Plan – Class #16 Unit 3 – Chapter 4 Do Now: Answer Questions from hand-out in groups. Homework: Read pages 113-117 and create split page notes First thing covered: Check for split page notes, lesson on chapter 4 section 2. Overview: Ideas Help Start a Revolution - May 1775, colonial leaders convened a 2nd Continental Congress in Philadelphia to discuss their next move as the minutemen and British were still clashing in Boston. - John Adams suggested a radical plan of having each colony set up its own gov’t and the Congress declare the colonies independent. He also argued that the militiamen be considered a Continental Army and they should have a general named to them. - George Washington was named general of the Continental Army, and the Congress, acting like an independent gov’t, issued paper money to pay troops and organized a committee to deal with foreign nations. - June 17th, 1775, General Thomas Gage sent 2,400 British troops up Breed Hill to attack the militiamen. The militiamen waited for them to get close then opened fire. They repeated this once more before munitions ran low and they were forced to retreat. 450 militiamen died / 1000 British troops died. The battle was misnamed Bunker Hill and was the deadliest battle of the war. - The 2nd Continental Congress was readying for war, but still hoping for peace since many were still loyal to King George III and blamed the war on his ministers. They sent the so-called Olive Branch Petition which urged for a return to “the former harmony” between them. George refused and claimed they were in rebellion, then urged Parliament to force a naval blockade on the American coast. - Common Sense, a 50pg anonymous pamphlet began circulating in the colonies, written by Thomas Paine in response to King George III. He argued independence was an American “destiny” and would allow for trade b/t other nations for guns and munitions and foreign aid from British enemies. He also stated that independence would allow America to have a society free of tyranny and with equal social and economic opportunities for all. - By the summer of 1776, events pushed the Continental Congress towards a decision when NC declared independence, as did a majority of Virginia. The Congress appointed a committee to prepare a formal declaration explaining the reasons for the colonies’ actions. Thomas Jefferson, a Virginian lawyer, was chosen to express the committee’s points. - Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, which drew on John Locke’s concepts of Natural Rights of life, liberty, and property which were translated into “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Jefferson argued that the gov’t derives its power from the people, who have the right to alter or abolish any gov’t that threaten these rights and set up one that upholds them. - - - - - - - Of the many points Jefferson made, he states that “all men are created equal” which referred to free citizens, thus leaving out blacks, Indians, and women— but it allowed for these groups to challenge traditional attitudes. In the 1st draft, Jefferson attacked the cruelties of the slave trade, but SC and GA relied heavily on slaves and therefore this was omitted to gain their approval in Congress. The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4th, 1776 and read outside of the Philadelphia State House (Independence Hall) to a crowd of patriots—supporters of independence. Loyalists opposed independence and remained loyal to the crown, and many had served the crown as judges, councilors, and governors as well as being ordinary people of moderate means. They were loyal b/c they thought Britain would win the war, b/c they thought Britain would protect their rights better then the new Congress, and some just new little of the events in Boston. Patriots drew their numbers from people who saw economic opportunity in an independent America. Their caused embraced farmers, artisans, merchants, land owners, and elected officials. While patriots made up ½ the population, many Americans remained neutral. The Quakers generally supported the patriots, but they did not believe in war. Many African Americans fought on the side of the patriots while others would fight for the crown b/c they were promised freedom. Native Americans supported the British b/c they felt the colonists were a bigger threat to their land. The colonies were plunged into 2 wars—one with Britain and a civil war. U.S. History 9 / 28 / 2009 Lesson Plan – Class #17 Unit 3 – Chapter 4 Do Now: Answer Questions from hand-out in groups. Homework: SPNotes 118-123 and complete any make-up work owed to me. First thing covered: Check for split page notes, lesson on chapter 4 section 3. Overview: Struggling Toward Saratoga - Very few people thought the rebellion would last, seeing that the colonies were a divided population of 2 ½ million against a nation of 10 million that was backed by a world empire. - In the winter of 1777-1778, Valley Forge, PA, served as the site of the Continental Army’s camp. British troops found quarters within Philadelphia in warm homes, while the Continental troops huddled in make shift huts in the freezing woods of PA—underfed and under-clothed. - The British had retreated from Boston in March 1776, moving the war to the Middle Atlantic States. The British decided to seize NY as a plan to isolate New England. - New York was taken by Gen. William Howe and Admiral Richard Howe in the summer of 1776. The 32,000 British troops beat back Washington and his untrained and ill-equipped army of 23,000. The British also utilized German mercenaries (called Hessians b/c many came from the German region Hesse). - The British Army pushed Washington’s forces across the Delaware, into PA by the fall of 1776. A large number of Washington’s men had deserted, been killed, or captured, leaving him with only 8,000 troops. Also, the terms of the remaining men’s enlistment was up on Dec. 31. A victory was needed to raise the morale of the men. - On Christmas night in 1776, Washington led 2,400 men across the Delaware in small rowboats, and then marched 9 miles through the snow and ice to reach Trenton, NJ where there was a garrison of Hessians. The drunken Hessians were ambushed and 30 were killed, 918 taken prisoner, and 6 cannons were confiscated. Another victory in Princeton 8 days later against 1,200 British troops rallied Americans. - Gen. Howe began his campaign to seize the capital in Philadelphia in the spring of 1777. He succeeded in doing so by late August. At the same time, Gen. John “Gentleman Johnny” Burgoyne hatched a plan to march down from Canada to Albany to join forces with Howe and isolate New England. - The Americans, led by Gen Horatio Gates, clashed with the Burgoyne along his route and eventually surrounded the British in Saratoga causing the surrender on Oct. 17th, 1777. This changed the British strategy from inland warfare to remaining on the coast where the naval fleet could supply the troops. - France had been sending Patriots weapons secretly since 1776, and the victory at Saratoga had bolstered their confidence in the Americans causing them to join the revolutionary forces. They signed in alliance with the Americans, - - - - - - recognizing their independence and promising not to make peace with Britain until they recognized the American independence as well. French aid would take months to arrive as Washington and his forces faced the bitter winter in Valley Forge. Many troops suffered from exposure and frostbite in the woods. More than 2,000 troops of the 10,000 died that winter. The Revolutionary War not only affected the soldiers, but the American citizens as well. Congress ran out of hard money (gold & silver) and borrowed money by selling bonds to American investors and foreign gov’ts, esp. France. It also printed paper money called Continentals, and as they printed more and more money, its value plunged, causing rising prices, or inflation. Profiteering was also an issue with gov’t officials who sold scarce goods at a profit. Corrupt merchants hoarded goods or sold defective merchandise like spoiled meat, cheap shoes, and defective weapons. Finally, Robert Morris and Haym Salomon raised funds from various sources so by 1781, troops were finally paid in specie, or gold coin. The demands of war affected civilians as well. Women were left at home to manage farms, shops, and businesses, as well as households and families. Many women helped the war effort by mending clothes, making munitions at home with their household silver, and some even went to the battlefield with their husbands where they washed, mended, and cooked for the troops. Some women even joined battle such as; Margaret Corbin and “Molly Pitcher” Thousands of African American slaves escaped to freedom- some to cities, where they passed as free people and others to Native American tribes in the frontier. About 5,000 African Americans served on the Continental Army. Native Americans remained on the fringes of the war, some fighting for the British but most remaining out of the conflict. U.S. History 9 / 29 / 2009 Lesson Plan – Class #18 Unit 3 – Chapter 4 Do Now: Answer Questions in groups. Homework: Short Answers from Review Packet and get any make-up work handed in. First thing covered: Check for split page notes, lesson on chapter 4 section 4. Overview: Winning the War - In February 1778, the American troops were transformed when a Prussian captain and talented drill master, Friedrich von Steuben, volunteered his services to General Washington. He taught the colonial soldiers how to stand at attention, execute field maneuvers, fire and reload quickly, and wield bayonets. - Also, Marquis de Lafayette, a brave, idealistic 20-yr.-old French aristocrat, offered his assistance. He stationed himself in Valley Forge, lobbied all the French reinforcements in France in 1779, and led a command in Virginia in the last years of the war. - The British began moving South in the summer of 1778, after their defeat at Saratoga. They hoped to rally Loyalist support and gain back former colonies, and then fight back in the North. - A British expedition easily took Savannah, GA and by 1779 a Royal Governor commanded GA. Afterwards, Gen. Clinton and Gen. Charles Cornwallis sailed south with 8,500 men and took their biggest victory in Charles Town, SC in May of 1780, taking 5,500 American P.O.W’s. - Cornwallis continued to succeed in the South in 1780, and was aided by several African Americans who had escaped from Patriot slave owners. Cornwallis set up forts all throughout SC, but when he entered NC the British lines of communication were cut by bands of Patriots who attacked them, forcing them back to SC. - Washington ordered Nathaniel Greene to march south and harass Cornwallis as he retreated. Greene divided his troops into 2 groups; one group led by Daniel Morgan was sent, but were pursued by a group sent by Cornwallis, led by Lt. Col. Tarleton. Morgan led the British on a grueling chase through rough countryside until they met in Cowpens, SC where the British were forced to surrender in January of 1781. - Cornwallis then decided to move the fight to Virginia where he met up with reinforcements. He first failed to capture the forces led by Lafayette and von Steuben, and then made the grave mistake of leading his troops to the peninsula b/t the James and York rivers to camp in Yorktown. - In 1780, a French army of 6,000 landed in Newport, RI. Lafayette suggested that the French and American armies join forces with the two French fleets from RI and the West Indies to set up a joint attack on Yorktown. The French fleet defeated the British fleet then blocked off the Chesapeake Bay to prevent a rescue by sea. 17,000 French and American troops surrounded the British and bombarded them for a month until Cornwallis surrendered. - - - - - - On October 19th, 1781, Washington was handed Cornwallis’s sword in surrender. Peace talks began in Paris in 1782, where representatives from France, America, Britain, and Spain assembled. Each nation had its’ own interests: Britain hoped to avoid giving America full independence. France supported American independence, but feared them becoming a world power. Spain hoped to gain land between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River. American delegates were the able John Adams, Ben Franklin, and John Jay of NY who demanded that Britain recognize American independence before any bargaining began. In September 1783, the delegates signed the Treaty of Paris, which confirmed the U.S. independence and set the boundaries of the new nation. The U.S. now stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to Mississippi River, and from Florida to Canada. The British made no provisions to protect their Native American allies, and the treaty did not specify when they would evacuate their forts. Also, the Americans agreed that British creditors could collect debts owed to them and promised that Loyalist could sue in courts for recovery of their losses, but these were not honored by state gov’ts. The American Revolution would inspire the world as both a democratic revolution and a war for independence. Also, the rise of egalitarianism—a belief in the equality of all people—was fostered by the blurring of the class distinctions during the war and created a new attitude that ability, effort, and virtue, not wealth or family, defined one’s worth. Egalitarianism of the 1780’s only applied to white males, not to women, slaves / African Americans, or Indians. Left with a new nation, the people of the US now had to figure out how they would set up a republic different from the monarchies they had once known. U.S. History 9/30 through 10/01/2009 Lesson Plan – Class #19 & #20 Unit 3 – Chapter 4 This time is to be allotted for the students to review the readings and notes that have been done in class thus far, and to answer any questions on what is to come in the midterm. Also, this should be a time to hand in any make-up work that needs to be completed before the midterm grades go out. Homework: Finish review packet and Midterm Essay by the exam date.