Describe the progression of the American War for Independence

Assess the battles of Yorktown and Saratoga

The British general John Burgoyne surrendered in Saratoga and lost the battle. This victory convinced the
French that the rebels had formidable forces and were serious in their resolve. This eventually led to the
French who were supporting the Americans covertly to come out in the open about formally recognizing
the independence of America with the help of brilliant maneuvering strategizing by Benjamin Franklin.
After Washington made Cornwalliss army surrender with the help of the French army the war was
considered to be virtually over. The British still controlled some New York City and Charles Town but
fighting had ended except for a few skirmishes. Now the task of securing Independence of America rested
in the hands of diplomats.

Analyze the importance of the Second Continental Congress

The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia on May 1775.After the British government had
ceased to function in mainland colonies the congress slowly took control of the war. The delegates formed
a Continental army and appointed George Washington as its commander. They purchased military
supplies and to pay for them issued paper money. They refused to declare independence even though
they were assuming powers of a sovereign nation.

Analyze the importance of the First Continental Congress

The First Continental Congress Met in Philadelphia on September 5. It took them some time to get to know each
other as they all were strangers from different parts. Differences in opinion suffered. Moderate measures were
rejected. They decided to halt all commerce with Britain until the Intolerable Acts was repealed. They authorized
local communities to enforce nonimportation. Violators had to pay a price through different means like public
apologies or being shunned by patriot neighbors.

Analyze the "Representation" issue from the American and British perspectives
From the British perspective even though the colonists did not elect any members to parliament nor did they have
any contact with them, they were virtually represented by the body and the members represented the political
interest of everyone who lived in the British Empire.
The colonists did not believe in virtual representation. They only recognized representatives as legitimate if they
were actually chosen by the people they represented. The members should think, act, feel and reason like the public
and since the members of parliament could not possibly do any of them they were not representatives.

Assess the effects of the Stamp Act

The effects of the Stamp Act started with passing of an act in Virginia which declared that Virginians had
the right to tax themselves as they saw fit. This eventually led to convening of the Stamp Act Congress
which drafted petitions to the King and the Parliament which stated that no taxes should be imposed on
them without their own consent. After this the resistance spread to the streets as taxing deed, marriage
licenses and playing cards affected ordinary people. In Boston there was violence against stamp
distributor and Lieutenant Governor. Due to this stamp distributors in every major port city resigned.
Colonial merchants boycotted British goods until the act was repealed. The boycott mobilized colonial
women. They reformed consumption and cut out luxury. This all helped in shunning of the British goods.

Analyze the effects of the series of French and Indian Wars

During the French and Indian wars a meeting was held which had the representatives of different colonies
in America to secure their loyalty to British. The delegates declared a union, a president appointed by the
king and delegates chosen by the assemblies. After winning the war London had to organize its new vast
colonies to facilitate defense and distribute evenly cost of imperial administration. The old colonial system
was inadequate for these tasks.

Describe British Politics in the 1700's

In 1700s the British politics was underrepresented. People elected to House of Commons came from the
same background of those who served the House of Lords. They represented the interests of the elites
who owned land. There was no constitutional separation as the King had political followers in the House
of Commons. As of 1715 only 20% of adult males had the right to vote. Size of electoral districts varied
which led to some constituencies choosing representatives by hundred thousand votes and some only a
handful. There were only a few people who spoke out against these problems and they did not win much
support for political reforms.

Describe the effects of the Great Awakening

The first signs of Great awakening appeared in 1730s but it was not until 1750s and 1760s that
it made a big impact. The effect of Great Awakening was that young people started flocking to
the church. They experienced conversion and dependence on god. Evangelical ministers
concluded that god must be preparing Americans his chosen people for the millennium. One of
the most important ministers in this was Jonathan Edwards. He played an active role in the
awakening that their fate had been determined by an omnipotent God and that they could do nothing
to save themselves and were totally dependent on gods will.

Analyze the effect of Non-English immigration to the colonies

Scots-Irish These settlers were welcomed at first as the authorities thought that they would serve as a
barrier between the Indians and the older coastal communities. They soon changed their minds but these
immigrants took lands whichever they felt was the best.
Germans These settlers insisted on speaking German in America. This made the English suspicious and
they were worried about the German population outnumbering theirs.
Both the groups preferred to settle beyond the authority of the colonial government. They preferred to
live with the people of their own background and fought to keep the members of other nationalities out.

Describe the typical English views of American Colonials

English thought of colonials as ungrateful. They provided the troops and funds to liberate the colonists
from the threat of a French attack. The Americans appreciated the aid but refused to pay the bills. This
was one of the reasons why the parliament later taxed America.

Describe the emergence of the Atlantic commercial empire

By 1660s the dominant powers of Europe thought that one nations commercial success was directly
translated into loss for its rival. Due to this England wanted to protect its own market. For this it passed a
Navigation Act which contained rules so that the colonies could trade certain goods that were not
produced in England only with England. These rules boosted the shipbuilding industry in England. After
the colonists started ignoring these rules England passed more rules to impose taxes for ships that passed
through British ports. This created more exports by England and less imports and gave rise to the Atlantic
Commercial Empire.

Analyze the emergence of race based slavery

In the beginning most of the slaves were sold in the Brazil or the Caribbean and relatively small number
reached North America. Slavery existed in all the thirteen colonies but more in South as there was more
physical labor required. English enslaved African and Native American people. The main reason was
economic considerations. English masters however justified slavery with religion. They associated Africans
with heathen religion and barbarous behavior. They maintained that if the slaves converted to Christianity
they would benefit. To meet the demand for slaves Royal African Company was created. The English got
frightened due to the increasing population of Africans and passed stricter slave codes to prevent any
revolt.