02: Revolutionary America

02: Revolutionary America

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Revolutionary Fever: Disease and War in the Lower South, 1776–1783
Revolutionary Fever: Disease and War in the Lower South, 1776–1783
This article is for US history teachers seeking a more complete, authentic and accurate explanation for the colonial victory in the Revolutionary War. The role of disease in the outcome of the war, especially in the southern campaigns, is virtually ignored in most textbooks and absolutely unheard of in classroom instruction. Yet there is strong evidence that disease not only played a significant role in the outcome of the war, it may very well have been the determining factor.
#US I Unit 2 - Revolutionary America#myth canon
·ncbi.nlm.nih.gov·
Revolutionary Fever: Disease and War in the Lower South, 1776–1783
Let’s work together: A loyalist historian from Canada responds to American scholars | Borealia
Let’s work together: A loyalist historian from Canada responds to American scholars | Borealia
This article is proof that history still lives. Although it probably wouldn't make the cut in the competition for instructional time for students, teachers can share what they learn from this article to show not only are understandings of loyalists changing, but some Canadian historians are trying to entice their American counterparts to learn more about loyalists and how to understand them. At the very least, thinking of loyalists as people who wanted "evolution not revolution" is worthwhile to share with students.
#5th Grade Unit 3 - American Revolution#US I Unit 2 - Revolutionary America#WS Unit 5: Atlantic & Industrial Revolutions
·earlycanadianhistory.ca·
Let’s work together: A loyalist historian from Canada responds to American scholars | Borealia
Founders Online: Home
Founders Online: Home
The papers of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams (and family), Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison. Over 175,000 searchable documents, fully annotated, from the authoritative Founding Fathers Papers projects.
#US I Unit 2 - Revolutionary America#primary source
·founders.archives.gov·
Founders Online: Home
Mosquito Revolutions: Disease, War, and Independence in the U.S. South, Haiti, and Venezuela, 1776-1825
Mosquito Revolutions: Disease, War, and Independence in the U.S. South, Haiti, and Venezuela, 1776-1825
This 18 page lecture transcript is not for students, but rather teachers who are interested in the role of mosquitos in the American Revolution. Environmental history can show how teaching students about the "guerilla" tactics of George Washington ignores the fact that the continental army lost 50,000 or more soldiers from disease, and only 4,500 from combat.
the Continental Armylost 50,000-70,000men to disease and about 4500 to combat.
#US I Unit 2 - Revolutionary America#WS Unit 5: Atlantic & Industrial Revolutions
·diigo.com·
Mosquito Revolutions: Disease, War, and Independence in the U.S. South, Haiti, and Venezuela, 1776-1825
Today in History: June 14
Today in History: June 14
Teachers who insist that ".gov" sites are reliable can look to this page at the Library of Congress if they want to confirm their convictions that these sites are reliable. Notice the statement about Betsy Ross. There is nothing specifically incorrect about what it states. However, the phrase "Scholars debate this legend" is far less than is necessary to debunk the myth that Betsy Ross designed the first American flag.
#historiography#web literacy#US I Unit 2 - Revolutionary America
·memory.loc.gov·
Today in History: June 14
American Affairs 1760-1783: Topic Page
American Affairs 1760-1783: Topic Page
More for teachers seeking lesson material and background information, this section of Dr. Majorie Bloy's English Web oF History focuses on American Affairs from 1760 through 1783. There are encyclopedic entries, primary documents and maps
#US I Unit 2 - Revolutionary America
·historyhome.co.uk·
American Affairs 1760-1783: Topic Page
How the British Won the American Revolutionary War - Journal of the American Revolution
How the British Won the American Revolutionary War - Journal of the American Revolution
Any teacher reading this article can realize that what they tell students through direct instruction in their Revolutionary War powerpoint is incomplete and inaccurate. Teachers who want a little more accuracy can scan through this article to find that the Revolutionary War was much more than a war of the colonies against the crown, but rather a world war in which a dozen countries were allied against Great Britain. When finished with that task, the teacher should then read Jr McNeil and to find even this conclusion was incorrect - it was a mosquito that won the revolutionary war.
#US I Unit 2 - Revolutionary America
·allthingsliberty.com·
How the British Won the American Revolutionary War - Journal of the American Revolution
Finding Aaron - HSI: Historical Scene Investigation
Finding Aaron - HSI: Historical Scene Investigation
This is a lesson in which students "do history" on a small scale - they help someone find out more about their long lost relative. After analyzing a series of primary source documents, students have to come up with a plausible explanation of what happened to Aaron between December, 1767 and January, 1771. Most importantly, they have to establish how they came to that particular conclusion.
#US I Unit 2 - Revolutionary America#lesson plan#primary source
·hsionline.org·
Finding Aaron - HSI: Historical Scene Investigation
Essex County, New Jersey, Resolution - American Memory Timeline- Classroom Presentation | Teacher Resources - Library of Congress
Essex County, New Jersey, Resolution - American Memory Timeline- Classroom Presentation | Teacher Resources - Library of Congress
Students may appreciate a primary document from neighboring Essex County. But what makes this document truly useful is paragraph number 4. Teachers should be able to coach students through the understanding that this helps lend support to the argument that it was the end of salutary neglect that angered colonists the most.
#US I Unit 2 - Revolutionary America
·loc.gov·
Essex County, New Jersey, Resolution - American Memory Timeline- Classroom Presentation | Teacher Resources - Library of Congress
Revolutionary War New Jersey | Guide to New Jersey Revolutionary War Sites| New Jersey Historic Sites
Revolutionary War New Jersey | Guide to New Jersey Revolutionary War Sites| New Jersey Historic Sites
This extensive, well-documented site includes descriptions, information and citations regarding American Revolution locations throughout New Jersey. Materials are organized by county.
#5th Grade Unit 3 - American Revolution#US I Unit 2 - Revolutionary America
·revolutionarywarnewjersey.com·
Revolutionary War New Jersey | Guide to New Jersey Revolutionary War Sites| New Jersey Historic Sites
Online Activity: Rewriting the Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence | Teaching with the Library of Congress
Online Activity: Rewriting the Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence | Teaching with the Library of Congress

Rewriting the Rough Draft prompts students to examine edits in a section of Jefferson’s draft. For each edit, they must choose between Jefferson’s original text and the edited text. Through this process, students create a new draft and, after finding all of the edits, can compare their draft of the Declaration side-by-side with the first printed version.

By helping students to critically examine evidence of the creative process that produced the Declaration of Independence, this online activity demonstrates the importance of language, tone and word choice. For example, even a seemingly insignificant change in wording, such as replacing “a people” with “one people,” dramatically altered the meaning and expression of our nation’s democratic principles, first declared to the world in this document.

#5th Grade Unit 3 - American Revolution#US I Unit 2 - Revolutionary America#primary source
·blogs.loc.gov·
Online Activity: Rewriting the Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence | Teaching with the Library of Congress
Black Soldiers in the Revolutionary War | Article | The United States Army
Black Soldiers in the Revolutionary War | Article | The United States Army
Although Lord Dunbar's proclamation offering freedom for slaves who fought to maintain the British Empire garners some attention in classrooms, this article published by the US Army claims that 10% to 15% of the army led by George Washington was black. Students should note the manner in which this article explains the use of the term "black" as opposed to "African American" and the direct manner in which it addresses the evidence upon which it is based.
#5th Grade Unit 3 - American Revolution#US I Unit 2 - Revolutionary America
·army.mil·
Black Soldiers in the Revolutionary War | Article | The United States Army
The Paris Peace Treaty of September 30, 1783
The Paris Peace Treaty of September 30, 1783
Instead of having students pick the name of the Treaty out from a list of three others on a multiple choice question, teachers should have students read Article 7 - what does this say about the new country of The United States? Specifically, what is to be done with colonial's slaves taken by the British Army?
In the name of the most holy and undivided Trinity.
the said United States
carrying away any Negroes or other property of the American inhabitants,
#US I Unit 2 - Revolutionary America#primary source
·avalon.law.yale.edu·
The Paris Peace Treaty of September 30, 1783
Lexington and Concord - Lesson Plan
Lexington and Concord - Lesson Plan
Four primary source documents, both public and personal, paint a vivid picture of the American colonists’ armed conflict with England. These texts also reveal how the American colonists’ values, loyalties, and ideals shifted during the conflict. This lesson takes students beyond the tale of the Boston Tea Party and explores the thoughts and emotions of individuals as they are deciding to separate from a ruling power through war. This lesson provides extensive support for the teacher in terms of questions answers and contextual explanations
#US I Unit 2 - Revolutionary America#lesson plans#primary source
·americainclass.org·
Lexington and Concord - Lesson Plan
Successful Colonies in the New World – Lesson Plan
Successful Colonies in the New World – Lesson Plan
Why did some European colonies thrive while others failed? Through the cooperation and mercy of the Native Americans. This lesson uses two documents, both from the European colonists’ point of view and rife with European biases. These texts work as both a source of 17th-century American history and a provide a lens through which to study the impact of essentializing racial identities.
#US I Unit 2 - Revolutionary America#lesson plans#primary source
·americainclass.org·
Successful Colonies in the New World – Lesson Plan
MHS Collections Online: Sarah Winslow Deming journal, 1775
MHS Collections Online: Sarah Winslow Deming journal, 1775

Within this 12-page letter written in the form of journal entries from 15-26 April 1775 Sarah Winslow Deming transmits news of Lexington and Concord and the first few days of the Siege including the unpleasant conditions in the town until her difficult departure from Boston on 20 April 1775. Deming, the wife of Captain John Deming, describes various locations in Boston: Charlestown Ferry, Bartons Point, Boston Common, Boston Neck, as well as outside of the town in Jamaica Plain, Roxbury Hill, Dedham, Attleborough, and Providence. Students can read the transcription to get a contextual sense of the period outside of the textbook narrative canon.

#5th Grade Unit 3 - American Revolution#US I Unit 2 - Revolutionary America#primary source
·masshist.org·
MHS Collections Online: Sarah Winslow Deming journal, 1775
America's 100 Other Declarations of Independence - POLITICO Magazine
America's 100 Other Declarations of Independence - POLITICO Magazine
Teachers may, at first, dismiss this article becuase it is published by Politico. But they should look more closely to see that it was written by Rutgers Professor. The article can provide teachers with a much more nuanced understanding of the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. Short of reading miller's book, this is the next best thing.
In place of Paine’s sweeping calls for a new age of mankind, colonists offered detailed, particular, pragmatic reasons for severing their bonds with Britain. The “declaration” was a familiar form, a genre, with roots in British politics, and colonists emulated past declarations, especially the English Declaration of Rights of 1689, which had justified the deposition of King James II. Following this form, colonists enumerated the specific wrongs committed by King George, citing mainly the offenses of the last two years—especially the Prohibitory Act of 1775, which blockaded American ports—and not the longer train of incidents dating to the 1760s. Also common to most of these documents was the claim that the call for separation was a last resort—a step taken only because the king had rejected their previous entreaties and no alternatives remained.
Pauline Maier’s history of the Declaration elevates the role of “the people” in revolutionary history. She belonged to a generation of historians who tried to expand the study of the past beyond “great men” to focus on regular citizens
#US I Unit 2 - Revolutionary America#secondary sources
·politico.com·
America's 100 Other Declarations of Independence - POLITICO Magazine