4-3.5

It Is Essential For Students To Know:

• Aid in the form of ships, soldiers, supplies and financial assistance was received from France and helped to win the war after the battle at Saratoga.
• Benjamin Franklin worked to negotiate the treaty.
• it was the French rivalry with Great Britain in Europe that caused the French to aid the Americans, not support for American ideals or independence.
• The Netherlands supported the Patriots because Dutch merchants hoped to increase their trade with the Americans.
• The mercantilist policies of Great Britain limited the trade that the Netherlands was able to carry on with Britain’s American colonies. Once the war started, the Dutch allowed the Americans to trade freely in the Dutch West Indies. In retaliation, the British declared war on the Netherlands. The bankers in the Netherlands were the first to make loans to the Americans.
• At first the Native Americans were neutral in the conflict between the British and the colonists. The British promised the Native Americans that their lands would be protected from colonial expansion if they allied with the British.
• When colonists attacked the Native Americans all along the Appalachian frontier, Native Americans united to protect their lands.
• The treaty that ended the Revolutionary War gave Native American lands to the United States, but the Native Americans continued to resist American encroachment on their lands.

It Is Not Essential For Students To Know:

• Students do not need to know other countries’ relationships with Great Britain at this time.
• Students do not need to know about the monarchs of France and the Netherlands.
• Students do not need to know about the lifestyles of the people in these countries.
• Students do not need to know the names of the tribes that fought the American colonists.
• Students do not need to know the major battles on the western frontier or the American commanders.