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What was the Olive Branch Petition and what
was its purpose?
In the early stages of the war what did most
Americans believe they were fighting for?
What caused them to change their opinions?
What evidence was there that the Second
Continental Congress was taking steps
towards an open declaration of independence
from Britain?
How did the Declaration of Independence
actually help with the Colonial’s war efforts?
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Describe the historiography of the causes of
the Revolution.
What were the Articles of Confederation?
What was the central weakness of the
Articles?
Why did the Continental army have to rely on
British and French weapons and equipment?
What challenges did Congress face in paying
for the war?
What measures did they implement to try and
solve the problem?
What were the results?
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Describe the situation in Boston following the
fighting at Lexington and Concord.
What happened at Bunker Hill?
Why did the British decide to evacuate Boston
on March 17, 1776?
Why did Benedict Arnold lead an American
invasion of Canada and lay siege to Quebec?
What was the result of Benjamin Franklin’s
attempt to convince the Canadian colonies to
join the rebellion?
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What was General Howe’s attitude toward the
colonials?
Which city did the British target for invasion
in the summer of 1776?
How large was the force they assembled and
of what quality was the force George
Washington brought to oppose them?
Was Washington’s defense of New York
successful?
What took place at Trenton New Jersey on
Christmas night 1776?
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What was the British strategy for 1777?
How did Howe change the strategy?
What was his purpose in attacking
Philadelphia?
What was the impact of Howe’s change of
plans on General Burgoyne’s operations in
the north?
What was the actual and perceived
importance of the American victory at
Saratoga?
Who was to blame for Britain’s failure to
achieve victory during this stage of the war?
What role did the native population play in
this stage of the war?
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What were some of the challenges that faced
some of America’s ‘amateur’ diplomats?
When and why did France recognize the
United States as a sovereign nation?
What did France contribute to the war effort?
Why did Great Britain shift its military efforts
to the southern colonies?
How successful was their plan?
Who replaced General Howe as commander of
British forces in America?
What did he do with his army?
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Did the British have any success in their war
in the south?
What challenges did they face from patriot
forces?
What happened to General Gates?
Who replaced him?
How did Greene “confuse and exasperate”
General Cornwallis?
Why were the battles of the Cowpens and
Guilford Courthouse important?
Why did Cornwallis retreat to Yorktown?
What was Washington’s plan for Cornwallis?
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What three main challenges subverted
Britain’s ability to win the war?
Why did Washington insist on creating a well
trained professional standing army and not
engage in a solely guerrilla based approach to
fighting?
What role did African Americans play in the
fighting?
How did Howe handle the landings at New
York and the subsequent rout of the
Continental Army?
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How did Howe and Burgoyne’s plan to cut the
colonies in half work out? Why?
How did Benjamin Franklin manage to
manipulate the French during his
negotiations in Paris?
What were the Treaty of Amity and Commerce
and the Treaty of Alliance?
How did the open involvement of France in
the war change British strategy?
Why was the capture of Charles Town
important?
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What happened at Camden on August 16,
1780?
How was Cornwallis forced to surrender at
Yorktown on October 19, 1781?
Which types of people were the Loyalists?
What happened to the Loyalists during and
after the war?
Which religion suffered as a result of the war?
Which religion gained strength because of the
war?
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How had the war changed the demographics
of the southern states such as South
Carolina?
How did the Revolutionary rhetoric about
freedom impact the African American
population of the United States?
How did this affect southern slave owners?
What role did most Native American tribes
play in the war?
Of those that did get involved, which side did
the usually support and why?
How did the Patriot victory impact the Native
American population?
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How did the war affect the lives of many
colonial women?
What view did General Washington and many
of his officers have of the female “camp
followers”?
What was their overall effect?
Did the war change the fundamental nature
of family dynamics in American households?
Did it have any impact on gender relations?
Did the importance of women as mothers
change as a result of the war? Why?
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What is a privateer and how did Americans
make use of them during the war?
How did the war both hinder and help the
growth of the American economy?
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Why did the states feel the need to draft
constitutions to replace their old colonial
charters?
Why did the states feel it essential that these
constitutions be explicitly worded
documents?
What three fundamental freedoms did most
states specifically affirm?
How did the role of governor fair in many new
constitutions?
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Where did most states concentrate
governmental power? Why?
Why was the Massachusetts constitution
exceptional?
What sort of plan for confederation did John
Dickinson’s committee present on July 12,
1776?
How did the Articles of Confederation
compare to the Dickinson’s original plan?
How did the population at large feel about
the idea of central government?
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Contrast the attitudes of “landless” states
with those that claimed vast western
territories? What was their main point of
contention?
In 1781 the states settled their dispute over
western lands. How did they do it, and what
arrangement did they come up with?
What was Thomas Jefferson’s plan to solve
the Northwest Territory issue?
What were the challenges surrounding the
orderly development of the western frontier?
Ultimately, what were the provisions of the
Northwest Ordinance?
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What challenges did the resumption of trade
with Britain pose for the American economy?
What role did the circulation of paper money
play in the economic crisis?
What role did federal and state debt play in
making the situation worse?
Who were the ‘nationalists’ and what was
their main goal in the early 1780s?
Why did they feel a national tax was
necessary and why did their plan fail?
What was the Newburgh Conspiracy of 1783?
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Why did Great Britain refuse to evacuate its
soldiers from the Northwest Territory?
Why did Spain close the Mississippi to
American trade? What was the impact?
What were some of the symptoms of
Congress’ lack of power through the mid
1780s?
How did many of the leaders Revolution’s
opinions about the nature of government
change in the 1780s?
How did James Madison’s vision of a federal
republic differ from Montesquieu’s?
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How did nationalists finagle Congress into
calling a constitutional convention in May
1787?
What was Shay’s Rebellion and how did it give
Madison ammunition for his argument for a
strong national government?
What important procedural decisions did the
members of the Constitutional Conventions
make?
What was the Virginia Plan? What was the New
Jersey Plan? How did they differ?
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How did the “grand committee” solve the
impasse between large and small states?
What was the “three-fifths” rule?
How did the convention deal with the issue of
slavery?
What was the job of the Committee of Detail?
How did the electoral college work?
How did the Convention get around the
possibility of state houses blocking passage
of the constitution?
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What clever decision did the proponents of
the constitution make with regards to naming
their group?
What other advantages did the Federalists
possess over their opponents?
What was the “localist perspective” of the
Antifederalists?
By which date had all the states ratified the
new constitution?
How did the Bill of Rights come into
existence?
What rights does it protect?