Unit 3- Pageant Ch. 8 Study Guide II
“America Secedes from the Empire”
1775-1783
I. The War Before Independence (pp.135-140)
1. Second Continental Congress
a. When did the Second Continental Congress meet?
b. How many colonies were represented?
2. Why was Washington chosen to lead the Continental Army?
3. Why was the war from April 1775 to July 1776 called a “curious war of
inconsistency” by the authors?
4. Summarize the military actions prior to the Declaration of Independence.
5. What was the “Olive Branch Petition” of July 1775?
6. Why did Americans continue to deny any intention of independence?
7. Common Sense
a. How many copies of Common Sense were sold?
b. What arguments did Thomas Paine make in Common Sense to convince
colonists that they should seek independence?
c. Why were Paine’s arguments radical?
8. What is “civic virtue” and why is it essential to successful republican
government?
9. What was the “contest to define the nature of American republicanism”?
-Explain the views of more conservative republicans.
II. The War for Independence
1. What was the main rationale for independence advanced in the Declaration?
2. What do the authors mean when they say, “Like many revolutions, the
American Revolution was a minority movement”? (p.141)
3. a. What was the derisive name given to Loyalists?
b. Approximately what percent of the colonists was loyalist?
c. Describe the general social/economic background of Loyalists?
d. About how many Loyalists were fled or were driven out of the country?
e. About how many Loyalists fought with the British?
4. How did the Battles of Trenton and Princeton change the military situation?
5. a. What was the British strategy for cutting off New England from the
colonies further south?
b. Why were the British unsuccessful in this strategy?
6. a. Where did Washington go for the winter of 1776?
b. Who helped turn Washington’s army into a professional army?
7. Why does the Battle of Saratoga (1777) rank “high among the decisive battles
of both American and world history”? (p.148)
III. World War
1. Which nations ultimately entered the war beginning in 1779?
2. How did France help the Americans from 1778 to 1783?
3. Why did the British attack the southern colonies?
4. Treaty of Fort Stanwix
5. According to some, what was the long-term effect of George Rogers Clarks’
capturing British-held forts in the Illinois country?
6. Where and how did the American and French forces trap Lord Cornwallis?
IV. Peace
1. Who were the American negotiators in Paris?
2. What were the terms of the Treaty of Paris?
3. Why were the terms of the peace so generous?
V. Which event from 1763-1775 made independence (or at least the fight for
independence) inevitable? When was the tipping point? Justify your position. (Choose
your event from either chapter 7 and 8)