AMH 4130, The American Revolutionary Era Fall 2013

Transcription

1 AMH 4130, The American Revolutionary Era Fall 2013 Study Questions II: War and Revolution; Confederation and Constitution 1. What were the challenges George Washington faced when he assumed command of the army? Why has he often been labeled the indispensable man of the Revolution? 2. Who were the persons that made up the patriot armies? What were the differences (and similarities) between the militia and the Continental Army? 3. Describe the lives of the soldiers. Why did mutinies occur? How did disease affect the armies? 4. Who were the persons that made up the British armies? Why and how were mercenary soldiers used? 5. Explain Joseph Plumb Martin s reasons for enlisting during the Revolutionary War? Did they change over time? 6. Explain Martin s view of the New York and New Jersey campaigns as revealed in his narrative. 7. What were the British and American strategies during the Revolutionary War? How and why did these strategies change? 8. How did the Continental Congress and the state government finance the war and supply and recruit the armed forces? What problems (and successes) of finance and supply as well as military recruitment are revealed in Martin s narrative? 9. How did Martin describe the interactions between the soldiers and their officers? Did the army produce any democratical changes or ideology? 10. What does Martin s narrative reveal about attitudes toward women, the family, children, African Americans, and American Indians during the revolutionary period? 11. How did Martin answer the critics of the revolutionary army and the revolutionary pensioners? 12. Discuss the importance of the French alliance to the American cause. Describe the diplomatic activities of Arthur Lee, Silas Deane, and Benjamin

2 Franklin as well as those of Caron de Beaumarchais and the Comte de Vergennes. 13. What were the effects of the Revolutionary War on the non-military as well as the military population? 14. To review the military course of the Revolution, identify and explain the significance of the following: a. Richard Howe b. William Howe c. Lord George Germain d. Battle of Long Island e. Nathaniel Greene f. Battles of Trenton and Princeton g. John Burgoyne h. Saratoga i. Sir Henry Clinton j. Horatio Gates k. Battle of Brandywine l. Battle of Germantown m. Baron von Steuben n. Marquis de Lafayette o. Charles Lee p. Battle of Monmouth Court House q. Comte d Estaing r. Lord Charles Cornwallis s. Benjamin Lincoln t. Banastre Tarleton u. Seige of Charleston v. Battle of Camden w. Battle of King s Mountain x. Battle of Cowpens y. Battle of Guilford s Court House z. Daniel Morgan aa. Benedict Arnold bb. Comte de Rochambeau cc. Yorktown dd. Joseph Brant ee. George Rogers Clark ff. John Paul Jones 15. Was the American Revolution revolutionary? Discuss the fate of the Loyalists in your answer.

3 16. Evaluate the following statement made by historian Richard Brown: What seems evident from the experiences of native Americans and loyalists in the Revolution is not only that some people gained while others lost but also that the direction of American society and culture was significantly affected by those victories and defeats. 17. What comprised republicanism as the term was used in the revolutionary era? What was the importance of virtue and equality to the concept of republicanism? How did this concept change during and after the Revolution? 18. What effect did republican ideas have on the status of Indians, slaves and women? 19. Describe the experiences of the American Indians during the Revolutionary War. 20. What were the arguments for and against slavery promulgated in the revolutionary era? Describe and evaluate the conclusions of Christopher Leslie Brown in The American Revolution Prompted New Debates About Slavery and Manisha Sinha in Black Abolitionists Developed Their Own Radical Tradition. 21. How did slavery affect the course of the Revolution in the South? 22. How did the Revolution affect the status of women and their rights? Evaluate the conclusions of Rosemarie Zagarri and Elaine Forman Crane on this question. 23. What were the terms of the Treaty of Peace? What were the major areas of contention among the parties drafting the treaty? 24. What was the dominant American conception of a constitution in the 1770 s? How did it differ from the British concept of a constitution, and why? How did the concept change in the 1780 s and through the years of the early republic? 25. What were the most significant features of the state constitutions (particularly the Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts Constitutions) written during the Revolution? What were the common elements of the constitutions? How did they differ? How did the state constitutions change in the years following the Revolutionary War?

4 26. Did Republican ideas foster religious freedom? Explain the background to and the provisions of James Madison s Memorial and Remonstrance and the Virginia Statute on Religious Liberty. 27. Describe the major provisions of the Articles of Confederation. 28. What were the major terms of the land ordinances of 1784, 1785, and 1787? 29. Identify what were seen as the weaknesses of the Articles, citing specific examples of domestic and foreign policy problems. What were the events that precipitated the Constitutional Convention? How was Shays Rebellion significant? 30. Explain the following statement of historian Gordon Wood and assess its validity: Thus by the reconstruction of the central government was being sought as a means of correcting not only the weaknesses of the Articles, but also democratic despotism and internal political abuses of the states. 31. Identify the major issues of conflict during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the eventual resolutions of those issues as embodied in the Federal Constitution. 32. Describe the specific provisions of the Virginia and the New Jersey Plans. Which elements of each plan are to be found in the Constitution? 33. How were sectional interests reflected or compromised in the Constitution? How were the problems of representation, the status of the states, and the nature of the executive resolved? 34. Describe the major provisions of the Federal Constitution, indicating how they are similar and/or dissimilar to the provisions of the Articles. 35. Explain the major arguments used for and against the Constitution during the ratification period. What were the major arguments of the Antifederalists as represented in your readings and the major arguments of The Federalist? 36. What specifically were the arguments presented in The Federalist #10, 51, and 78? 37. Explain the course of ratification of the Federal Constitution in the state conventions. Discuss the importance of the ratification decisions in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Virginia, and New York.

5 38. Trace the history of the major provisions of the Constitution and the concepts behind them for example, the Senate, the House of Representatives, a bicameral legislature, the Presidency, the Electoral College, the veto power, an independent judiciary, and the separation of powers. For each provision, review the following: (a) What was its historical origin, particularly in the revolutionary era? (b) How did this provision or concept fit into American ideas of republican government? (c) How was the provision formulated during the Convention? (d) What were the arguments for and against this provision during the ratification process? 39. What were the nature and consequences of the American Revolution? In your view, what were the most significant consequences of the American Revolution? Why?