US History - Standards of Learning - USI.3
http://www.masshist.org/exhibitions/obja.cfm
This source is the official Declaration of Independence of the United States. In it they list the founding principles of this country, the abuses of the King, and their attempts to resolve the conflict peacefully. They go on to state that they are willing to pledge “their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor,” for this cause. I have the students read the document in small groups and try to figure out what it is saying. Once they have tried to do so, I then show a short video that was produced that has several dozen actors reading the Declaration aloud. Usually, students gain even more meaning from this oral version. Once students have discussed their new insights, I then have the students rewrite the Declaration in modern language.
-Amy DuBois
Source IDTag: USI.3.001
2. John Trumbull The Signing of the Declaration of Independence
This painting is a rendition by the artist John Trumbull. It is meant to depict the signing of the Declaration of Independence and reveals the somewhat somber yet deliberate mood of the signers. Some members are identifiable , Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin. This image will be used to show the manner and style of conducting the Continental Congress, dress of the time period and mood of the Continental Congress.
-William Monty
Source ID Tag. USI.3.002
3. Revolutionary Love Letters
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/battlelines/chapter3/chapter3_1a.html
Major General NATHANAEL GREENE was one of the most capable generals in the Revolutionary army and a trusted aide to George Washington. In 1774, Greene married Catharine Littlefield, an attractive and vivacious woman, and together they had five children. During the war, she visited her husband as much as she could and garnered great respect from his associates for her courage and charm.
-Kathleen Cwikla
4. Combat from the Revolution
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/battlelines/chapter4/chapter4_1a.html
HENRY KNOX joined the Continental Army in 1775 and rose in the ranks to become General Washington's Chief of Artillery. After the war, he returned home to his devoted wife, Lucy Flucker Knox ( click here to see her letter to him). Knox corresponded with many of the era's most important figures, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John and John Q. Adams, John Hancock, and Thomas Paine. This letter provides an intimate and detailed account of the siege of Yorktown, a turning point in the Revolutionary War.
-Kathleen Cwikla
5. Children of the Revolution
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/docs_current.html
The Americans are Calling: A Colonial Child’s Exclamation Between the pages of his math exercise book John Barstow jotted down a patriot tune called “The Amaricans, Challing" ("The Americans are Calling") on January 2nd, 1777 (GLC 09051). Carefully written in a youth’s unsteady hand, the text appears to be a transcription of a popular camp song from the Revolutionary era. How this declaration of patriotism found its way into Barstow’s math lessons is unknown. One can imagine a young child learning the song from a father or older brother going off to war or hearing the tune sung by soldiers who marched through town. Perhaps it was simply doodled during an instance of classroom boredom. This unexpected entry is, however, evidence of the patriotic fervor that young John and other children must have felt at the time.
-Kathleen Cwikla
6. Revolution Enlistment Papers
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/battlelines/chapter1_6a.html
The letters of HENRY SHERBORN LANGDON and CHRISTOPHER LAKE were written 207 years apart, but they display a constant and heartbreaking theme in the life of a soldier: the pain of separation from his or her family. Henry Langdon was a boy of ten when he wrote to his father, who was serving in the Revolutionary War. He wrote that he had been a "good boy" and was minding his mother, brother and sisters.
-Kathleen Cwikla
7. Interactive Declaration of Independence
www.founding.com/declare
This site shows you the rough draft and Dunlap versions. You can also click
of key phrases to get an explanation. Student will appreciate the time and
editing that took place in the creation of this documentThere is also an
interactive timeline of the Revolutionary War.
-Carl Robidoux
