Ch 5: The American Revolution, 1763-1783.

     "Voice of Freedom"     

1. Why do you think the Virginia House of Burgesses adopted the first four resolutions but rejected the first three?

In the eighteenth century, the Virginia House of Burgesses only accepted the first four of seven resolutions on the Stamp Act because the last three were too drastic. The first four resolutions were requests which treat the people equally and with a little independence, and they didn’t allow taxes or laws to pass without representation. The last three instead would have lowered the colonists’ liberty. One law, for example, would have said that it is possible to pass laws and taxes without any representation.

2. What would be the difference between the resolutions’ arguments on “British freedom” and appealing to a more universal concept of liberty?

What England considered as “British freedom” could not be compared to the liberty the Americans had. What they called freedom was more a law connected to several rules. The British freedom was always affected by the king and the British people. The American liberty enabled the colonies to back out of the political connection with Great Britain and to create their own independent rules and laws. The rules and laws of the American liberty was fairer than the ones of the British freedom.

"Give Me LIberty"

1. Discuss the ramifications of using slaves in the British and Continental Armies. Why did the British authorize the use of slaves? Why did the Americans? How did the slave benefit?

The British and the Continental Armies deployed black people as recruits during the Revolution war in the eighteenth century. The Americans under George Washington first refused blacks in their army, but Washington changed his mind after he saw that the British hired blacks for their army. The blacks who joined the armies were offered freedom after their service, so over 5,000 blacks joined the both armies. Besides the South of the colonies, they didn’t offered freedom to the slaves who joined the army but they recied some independence.

2. Why did people in other countries believe that the American Revolution (or Declaration of Independence) was important to them or their own countries?

The American revolution let other countries realize that they can fight for their own independence and that every person in a country has a “voice”. America introduces other countries to the concept of democracy and away from monarchy. The Revolution made it happen that people could vote for their own government and that they had a choice. America renounced itself from Britain, their former ruler and created their own independence.