AMH 2010

Module 3 Assignment Guide

Module Introduction: Module 3 explores the broader eighteenth-century Atlantic world
context in which the British colonies became the United States of America. We will explore
transatlantic movements, such as the Great Awakening and the concept of individual rights,
and how these movements influenced America. An understanding of these movements,
along with an examination of the economy, will help us to understand the environment that
made the Revolution possible. Finally, we move to the contest for world power between
Britain and France, which lays the foundation of a crisis between Britain and its American
colonies. By the end, a more complex picture of the causes of the American Revolution that
includes the intellectual, cultural, economic, and political context will have emerged.

18th Century Context (Study Activity 1)

Overall question: How did each of the trends contribute to the coming of the American
Revolution?
Digital History background:
What was the Great Awakening?
Was it limited to North America or was it part of a larger movement? Explain.
Who were the New Lights and the Old Lights?
How did the Great Awakening influence colonial America?

Ideas Slides:
How did the Great Awakening contribute to the American Revolution?
Primary Source: Baptist petition, 1776 – Questions:
What did the Baptists hope to achieve with this petition?
Why did they want what they requested?
Why was this petition written in June 1776? (What is the context?)

How did Enlightenment ideas, particularly those of John Locke, contribute to the American
Revolution?
According to Locke, what should citizens be? In other words, what is their responsibility
before they should really have a say?

What was Republicanism?

What was the culture of sensibility?
How did republicanism and the culture of sensibility contribute to the American
Revolution?
Which of the following best describes the plot of an eighteenth century virtue-in-distress
novel?
What is significant regarding Zenger’s article (1730s)?
 AMH 2010
Module 3 Assignment Guide
Read the article on “Revolutionary Taverns”:
What function(s) did taverns in the pre-revolutionary era fulfill that would now be filled by
other institutions?
What did people discuss in taverns?

Read the article on the “Consumer Revolution”:

What was the consumer revolution and when did it occur?
How did the rise and availability of consumer goods affect society? (In other words, what
did it challenge?)
What is mercantilism?

Refinement of Manners slides on Weebly page:

How did the refinement of manners influence the elites?
How did a Virginian gentry wedding in the 1780s differ from one a hundred years before?
Why the difference?
What helped to create an American identity?
What suggested that Americans had started to create their own identity prior to the
Revolution?

Road to War (Study Activity 2)

NOTE: Read and review the slides and watch the videos included on Road to War
webpage. Optional reading: In American Yawp, chapter 5 (American Revolution), parts I-
IV.
Why did Britain and France fight each other several times from 1688 to 1763?
What sparked the French and Indian War?
What was each side fighting for?
What were the consequences of the French and Indian War?
Why did the British start to tax the colonists?
What was Pontiac’s rebellion? What did it show the British about Americans?
Was the tax policy alone enough to cause a revolution? Or were there other factors and
ideas? (hint: Why did the taxes upset some in America? Keep in mind that the taxes in the
colonies were still lower than those in England)
What was the Sugar Act of 1764? Why did some Americans protest it?
What was significant of the Molasses Act of 1733?
What was the significance of the Stamp Act?
What was or were the consequences of the Stamp Act Crisis?
What was the Boston Massacre?
What prompted the Tea Party?
How did Britain respond to the Tea Party?
What led to the First Continental Congress (1774)?
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Module 3 Assignment Guide
When was the Declaration of Independence?
Did all Americans support the Revolution?
What was the Olive Branch Petition?
What was Paine’s Common Sense?

New York and the American Revolution (Study Activity 3)

The documentary clip begins with the road to war within the New York context, and so
supports the information covered in the previous study activity. The second part of the clip
highlights the effects of the American Revolution on New York. What’s more, it illuminates
the political divides that began to form as the United States became an independent nation.

Note that the information learned in this activity will be important in the
next Module, so keep the notes for to use for Module 4.
Use the following questions as a guide for taking notes on the documentary clip:
Who would have been affected by the Stamp Act? What did it tax?
What did Washington do to defend New York City from the British? Who won the battle of
New York? What did Washington decide to do?
What was the effect of the revolutionary war on New York City? What did the
commentators argue was the longer term consequence of the occupation?
Compare Hamilton and Jefferson's vision for the United States.
Where did Jefferson want the capitol of the U.S. to be?
What was Hamilton's plan for solving the Revolutionary War debt?
What agreement did Hamilton and Jefferson make?
When and why was the New York Stock Exchange created?
What were the benefits for New York of losing its status as the capitol of the U.S.?
Discuss the connection(s) between the economy and democracy?
Describe what New York City looked like at the end of the American Revolution, and then
describe what it looked like by the mid-19th century.