BBC iPlayer - American History’s Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley - Series 1: 1. The American Revolution
disclaimer - I've never listened to this, but it looks like it has real promist
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere: Literature v. History | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Detailed lesson plan with links to resources that guide students in a comparison between the iconic poem and the historical record (as recorded in a letter by Paul Revere recounting the ride). Teachers can explore adding an extension piece that explores the context of the period in which it was written and the intentions of Longfellow in writing it, as much as they can be knowm.
Common Sense - British Digital Edition
If you were given the job of printing Thomas Paine's Common Sense in London 1766, would you censor any portion of the text? This digitized version can show exactly what the British printer L. Almon took out of the text and what he left behind
Edmund Burke Speech on conciliation with America March 22 1775 (Speech)
The government of Great Britain is more than King George, and some in parliament did not think it was worth a war to keep control of the colonies
Slavery-entangled philosophy | Aeon
John Locke is a staple of Civics and US History classes. Teachers who like to confront students with counter-narratives, like Locke's support for slavery in drafting the constitutions of the Carolinas should read this more fully extended narrative which explains how Locke served in that role.
Boston Massacre in facts and numbers
Just the facts, just like Dragnet
The Declaration of Independence | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Declaration Project | Connect with your revolutionary heritage. Share your political voice. Take action.
![George Washington's Dog's names - recorded in his diary - Observations [May 1768] - (He had a dog named "Drunkard")](https://rdl.ink/render/https%3A%2F%2Ffounders.archives.gov%2Flib%2Fmedia%2FWashington-200x200.png?width=92&height=&ar=&mode=&dpr=2)
George Washington's Dog's names - recorded in his diary - Observations [May 1768] - (He had a dog named "Drunkard")
Perhaps 5th grade teachers shouldn't share all of the names George Washington used to name his dogs, but this shows how useful a diary is to learn about the past.
Dr.Poelvoorde on what makes ideas catching on - YouTube
A few minutes
"Impeachment Day" by Dr. Jeff Poelvoorde for Constitution Day 2018 at Converse College - YouTube
A few minutes
How the Lowly Mosquito Helped America Win Independence | Science | Smithsonian
You won't find this on any teacher's list of "reasons for Patriot victory", but clearly there's an exceptionally strong argument that is a primary cause of Cornwallis's surrender. What is more important to learn - the causes for the surrender, or the fact that we've never acknowledged one of them?
. Some 51 percent of his men were too sick to stand duty, unable to conduct the counter-siege operations that Cornwallis knew were required. American and French forces penned the troops in until Cornwallis surrendered in October, which in effect decided the outcome of the American Revolution.
A Conversation on Slavery, 26 January 1770 - Ben Franklin
In this fictional conversation between an American and an Englishman, Ben Franklin has his "American" explain to the Englishman that slavery in England is worse than slavery in America. He is referring to English soldiers - who are forced into the army and must kill. Franklin claims that an American slave is not forced to commit murder
Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, 22 September 1774
Abigail Adams tells her husband of colonists training for war seven months before Lexington and Concord. She also tells him of a "conspiracy of Negros" while asking why it is colonists can fight for their own freedom while enslaving others.
Next tuesday they are warned at Braintree all above 15 and under 60 to attend with their arms, and to train once a fortnight from that time, is a Scheme which lays much at heart with many.
It <span title="always">allways</span> <span title="appeared">appeard</span> a most iniquitious Scheme to me-fight ourselfs for what we are daily robbing and plundering from those who have as good a right to freedom as we have. You know my mind upon this Subject.
Taxation No Tyranny - Samuel Johnson 1775
Teachers looking for a Tory or British perspective can find many quotes here to use with students.
The Americans, when the stamp act
was first proposed, undoubtedly disliked it, as every nation
dislikes an impost; but they had no thought of resisting it, till
they were encouraged and incited by European intelligence, from
men whom they thought their friends, but who were friends only to
themselves.
Is Sam Johnson complaining that the Stamp Act resistance was incited by foreign influence? This could be like the Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Would France or Spain want colonists to resist Britain?
If slavery be thus
fatally contagious, how is it that we hear the loudest yelps for
liberty among the drivers of negroes?
<p>The time is now,
perhaps, at hand, which sir Thomas Browne predicted, between jest
and earnest:
</p><blockquote>
<p>"When America should no more send out her treasure,<br>
But spend it at home in American pleasure."</p></blockquote>
How would students react to this? Are the patriots fighting for liberty - or just to keep their own money to spend it on their pleasure?
Boston Tea Party Debate | C-SPAN.org
On the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, re-enactors and observers recreated the debate that took place in the Old South Meeting House, blocks away from Griffin’s Wharf. On December 16, 1773 thousands of Massachusetts colonists gathered at Old South Meeting House in Boston to discuss a shipment of tea that had recently arrived in port from Britain. The arrival of the tea escalated an already existing debate over the new tea tax, and the Sons of Liberty led an effort to protest the King’s new measure. After the debate, colonists marched to Griffin’s Wharf and dumped the tea into Boston Harbo
Avalon Project - Articles of Confederation : March 1, 1781
If any person guilty of, or charged with, treason, felony, or other high misdemeanor in any State, shall flee from justice, and be found in any of the United States, he shall, upon demand of the Governor or executive power of the State from which he fled, be delivered up and removed to the State having jurisdiction of his offense.
From James Madison to Joseph Jones, 28 November 1780
Many recognize this as the first reference of James Madison to slavery - in this letter suggesting that the colonies enlist black soldiers in the Continental Army
would it not be as well to liberate and make soldiers at once of the blacks themselves as to make them instruments for enlisting white Soldiers? It wd. certainly be more consonant to the principles of liberty which ought never to be lost sight of in a contest for liberty,
Advertisement for a Runaway Slave, 7 September 1769
Runaway slave advertisement written by Thomas Jefferson could be used in a DBQ or for a lesson introduction. How do students react to this advertisement? What can be inferred from Jefferson's description of the horse, the stolen shoemaker's tools and Sandy himself.
Plaster soldier calls attention to race and the Revolutionary War
This short story of the creation of the mannequins used in Philadelphia's Museum of the American Revolution illustrates the way the present makes understanding of the past. This reflects American's growing understanding of an element of the American Revolution that was ignored in popular understanding of the War for centuries, despite all of the evidence in the historical record
A Look Back … The Story of Nathan Hale — Central Intelligence Agency
The taught narrative canon casts Nathan Hale as the American hero, who inspired patriots to fight for their freedom, regretting that he "only had one life to give" for his country. The problem with this is finding evidence that he said that and that other colonials heard he said than and, third, that they were inspired by it. This CIA article provides some of the leads someone could follow to find out just what happened to him, just what he said and whether anyone else even knew he said that
Nathan Hale Revisited (July/August 2003) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin
Teachers who include the Nathan Hale story or quote in their teaching should look at this first. Knowing "how we know" is as important as what we know - Hale is a great vehicle for exploring that dynamic.
What caused the American War of Independence? | Origins of the American Revolution - YouTube
7 Minute video from Royal Holloway, University of London, for a different perspective on the causes of the American Revolution
Evaluating Evidence: Primary Materials and the Lifelong Value of the Humanities (A Conversation with Professor Joanne B. Freeman) | Readex
5 minutes of Yale professor Joanne Freeman explains why she feels that primary document research is at the heart of the historical discipline. Although this is an advertisement for a commercial product, it provides a real historian's view of primary sources. If students know the human side of what they are doing, they may be better situated to see the value in it
Perspectives on the Boston Massacre - Massachusetts Historical Society
Lots of resources and links to primary source document
Boston 1775: Ebenezer Richardson: Customs informer and killer
This short article fills out the details of Ebenezer Richardson, the Customs official who murdered 11 year old Christopher Snider and was convicted of murder by a jury but pardoned by the king
Massachusetts House of Representatives 1775 - smallpox quarantine
While the British army was trapped and surrounded in the city of Boston by George Washington and the newly formed Continental Army, the Massachusetts House of Representatives were ready to take in some of the residents of Boston, except those who had small pox. Those would be sent to quarantine houses in Salem
From George Washington to Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Reed, 15 D …
Washington writes fro his encampment at Boston that Lord Dunmore should be "instantly crushed" [for offering slaves freedom to fight for the British] and also that if the army escaped small pox "it will be miraculous"
How picturing the Boston Massacre matters | National Museum of American History
Descriptions of portrayals of the Boston Massacre to be included in Boston Massacre lessons
Museum of the American Revolution – MoAR Virtual Tour