- Show how Common Sense and
the Declaration of Independence changed the meaning of
the fighting. Explain why even Patriots were at first reluctant to proclaim
independence and how they eventually came to link their struggle for rights
with the break from Britain.
REFERENCE: Pauline Maier, American
Scripture (1997).
- Show how Washington and his generals essentially
pursued a defensive strategy in the early phase of the war,
while the British had to try for a quick victory. Explain why the Battle of
Saratoga was so crucial politically as well as militarily.
REFERENCES: Bernard Bailyn, Faces
of Revolution: Personalities and Themes in the Struggle for American Independence (1990);
Piers Mackesy, The War for America, 1775 - 1783 (1993).
- Consider the political dimensions of the
war, particularly the civil war between Patriots and Loyalists and the politics
of the French alliance. The focus might be on the role of the American military
effort in swinging the neutral population to the Patriot cause.
REFERENCE: John Shy, A People
Numerous and Armed: Reflections on the Military Struggle for American Independence (1976).
- Consider how the Revolution has been viewed
and celebrated in various periods of American history (e.g., on Independence
Day).
REFERENCE: Michael Kammen, A
Season of Youth: the American Revolution and the Historical Imagination (1988).
