4-3.2

It Is Essential For Students To Know:

• King George III ruled Great Britain before, during and after the American Revolution. George III refused to accept American petitions and declared the colonists in rebellion. The Declaration of Independence charged George III with a long list of “abuses and usurpations” in order to try to break the bond of loyalty many American colonists still felt for their king. It was the British Parliament and not the King who imposed the taxes and pursued the war. However, it was more politically effective to blame one individual, the Hanoverian monarch, rather than the colonists’ English counterparts.
• Patrick Henry was a member of Virginia’s colonial assembly who wrote a strong protest to the Stamp Act that asserted the rights of the colonists. A passionate speaker, Henry ended an important speech by saying, “Give me liberty or give me death". He served as a member of the First Continental Congress from Virginia.
• George Washington represented Virginia at the First and Second Continental Congresses. At the Second Continental Congress, which met after the shots were fired at Lexington and Concord, Washington was named the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. Washington’s only military experience was in the French and Indian War. At first, he made many strategic mistakes. However, Washington inspired his men and kept the army together despite defeat and hardships until the British finally surrendered.
• Benjamin Franklin was a noted colonial journalist and scientist and was widely respected in Europe as well as in America. Before the Revolutionary War, he served as a diplomat to Great Britain but returned to the colonies in time to serve on the committee that was appointed to write the Declaration of Independence. The Second Continental Congress sent him to France where he worked to secure financial assistance and an alliance, which helped the colonists win the Revolution. Franklin was also on the delegation that negotiated the treaty that ended the Revolutionary War
• Thomas Paine was the author of the pamphlet called “Common Sense", in which he used his writing skills to convince the colonists that independence made common sense.
• Thomas Jefferson: Before the Revolutionary War began, Thomas Jefferson helped to set up the Committees of Correspondence in Virginia to keep the colonies informed through letters about what was happening in the other colonies. As a delegate to the Continental Congress, Jefferson was the principal writer of the Declaration of Independence. Later, he served as an ambassador to France.
• John Adams was a Massachusetts leader and a member of the Sons of Liberty, a group that was involved and responsible for the Boston Tea Party. At the Continental Congress, he was a strong advocate of independence and was on the committee charged with writing the Declaration of Independence. Later he served as ambassador to France and to England. He also helped to negotiate the treaty that ended the Revolutionary War.
• The Marquis de Lafayette was a Frenchmen who was attracted to America’s cause. He left his country and came to the colonies where he served as an aide to George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Lafayette is one example of some of the assistance that France gave to the colonists. Lafayette represents the activities of several other European individuals in the Revolutionary War.

It Is Not Essential for Students To Know:

• It is not essential for students to know the life history of each of these people.
• Students do not need to know other examples of individuals involved in the Revolution such as Samuel Adams, or Baron von Steuben.