Wars of Empire
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hsus_te_ch03_na_s04_s.fm Page 85 Tuesday, May 15, 2007 10:41 AM WITNESS HISTORY AUDIO Rogers’ Rangers Step-by-Step The struggle for territory between England and France in North America broke into open conflict during the French and Indian SECTION Instruction War. From 1754 to 1763, the region between the Ohio Valley and Canada became a battlefield. To help win the war, England SECTION authorized units of Rangers—groups of colonial militiamen who served as scouts and soldiers—to aid English Crown soldiers. Rogers’ Rangers, led by Robert Rogers of New Objectives Hampshire, became famous for including Indians and freed As you teach this section, keep students slaves in its ranks and for its unusual but highly effective focused on the following objectives to help tactics. As Rogers explained, his goals were: them answer the Section Focus Question and “. from time to time, to use my best endeavours to distress master core content. the French and their allies, by sacking, burning, and destroying • Describe the causes and major events of their houses, barns, barracks, canoes,... and by killing their the French and Indian War. cattle . and at all times to endeavor to way-lay, attack and destroy their convoys of provisions by land and water, in any • Analyze the causes and effects of Pon- part of the country where I could find them.” tiac’s Rebellion. —Robert Rogers, 1756 • Summarize how the wars and their out- comes changed the relationship between ᮡ Robert Rogers Britain and the colonies. ᮡ Rogers’ Rangers Wars of Empire Prepare to Read Background Knowledge L3 Objectives Why It Matters Conflict between the great European empires Remind students that Britain, Spain, • Describe the causes and major events of the spread to the American colonies throughout the late seventeenth and and France were economic and political French and Indian War. early eighteenth centuries. The British and the colonists fought a rivals. Ask students how this rivalry series of wars against the French and their American Indian allies. • Analyze the causes and effects of Pontiac’s might have affected the ability of British, In the process, however, the relationship between the British and Rebellion. French, and Spanish colonies to coexist. their colonies became strained. Section Focus Question: How did Great • Summarize how the wars and their outcomes Britain’s wars with France affect the American colonies? changed the relationship between Britain and Set a Purpose L3 the colonies. ½ WITNESS HISTORY Read the selec- European Competition and the Colonies tion aloud, or play the audio. Terms and People By the mid-eighteenth century, England, France, Spain, and the George Washington Proclamation of 1763 Netherlands were locked in a worldwide struggle for empire. In Witness History Audio CD, French and Indian War Albany Plan of Union North America, Britain’s greatest rival was France. While Britain Rogers’ Rangers Pontiac’s Rebellion controlled the 13 colonies on the Atlantic seaboard, France controlled Ask What were “rangers”? (colo- a vast territory that extended from the St. Lawrence River to the Gulf nists who acted as scouts and soldiers of Mexico. for Britain during its conflicts with Between 1689 and 1748, the British and the French fought a Reading Skill: Recognize Sequence As you France) What tactics did the rang- series of wars. Most of the fighting took place in Europe, but some read, keep track of the sequence of events that led ers use? (They did not attack directly, to the French and Indian War. spilled over into North America. Before long, British colonists were drawn into the war. but they attacked and destroyed The French build Fort Duquesne. French or their allies’ property and GO overset American Indians Affect the Balance of Power Each war stole or destroyed supplies en route to George Washington’s troops confront the French. between England and France was followed by a treaty that resolved French soldiers.) nothing. Great Britain longed to drive the French from North America, ½ and to accomplish this, the British needed to neutralize the great Focus Point out the Section Focus Question and write it on the board. Tell students to refer to this ques- tion as they read. (Answer appears with Section 4 Assessment answers.) ½ dents the high-use word from this section. Teaching Resources, Vocabulary Builder, p. 11 Preview Have students preview the Section Objectives and the list High-Use Word Definition and Sample Sentence of Terms and People. restrain v. to hold back from action ½ Using the Structured After King John accepted the Magna Carta in 1215, English nobles had the Read Aloud strategy (TE, p. T20), power to restrain the monarch from levying new taxes. have students read this section. As they read, have students sequence the events that led to the French and Indian War. Reading and Note Taking Study Guide Use the information below and the following resource to teach stu- Chapter 3 Section 4 85 hsus_te_ch03_na_s04_s.fm Page 86 Thursday, April 12, 2007 1:42 PM French advantage: French support from most of the American Indians in the region. Native Americans dominated the forest passages between the frontiers Teach of the rival empires. The Indians benefited from their middle position between the competing European Competition empires. The British and French both gave generous gifts, especially of arms and ammunition, to woo the Indians. If one empire won a total victory, the Indi- and the Colonies L3 ans would lose their leverage and receive harsher treatment from the victors. They also were aware that the land they lived on was at stake. In the words of Instruct one Iroquois leader: ½ Introduce Tell students that the “We know our Lands are now become more valuable. French and the British were at war in The white People think we do not know their value; but we are sensible [aware] that the mid-eighteenth century, compet- the Land is everlasting, and the few Goods we receive for it are soon worn out that ing to build an empire. Ask students gone.... Besides, we are not well used [treated] with respect to the lands still unsold to predict how this conflict will affect by us. Your people daily settle on these lands, and spoil our hunting.... Your horses life in the North American colonies. and cows have eaten the grass our deer used to feed on.” ½ Teach Note that most Native —Canasatego, Iroquois leader, July 7, 1742 Americans supported the French in Thus, the Indians recognized the importance of preserving the balance of power this French-British rivalry. Using between the French and the British. the Think-Write-Pair-Share strategy The Balance Shifts That balance began to tip as the British colonial popula- (TE, p. T23), have students discuss tion grew. In 1754, the 1,500,000 British colonists greatly outnumbered the factors that made this the case. Ask 70,000 French. The increasingly powerful British often treated the Indians Why did most Native Americans Vocabulary Builder harshly and did little to stop settlers from taking Indian lands. support the French rather than restrain–(rih STRAYN) v. to hold Compared to the British, the French were more restrained. Needing Indian the British? (In general, the Native back from action allies, the French treated most Native Americans with respect and generosity. Americans saw the French as less of The outnumbered French worked with their Indian allies to resist British colo- a threat. Fewer French people in nial expansion. The French built a string of small forts and trading posts along North America were building perma- the Great Lakes and down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Lightly built and A young George Washington led nent settlements and taking Native thinly manned, the posts depended upon the Indians for protection. Most Indi- British troops against the French American lands. The French also in 1754. ans accepted these posts because, as one chief explained, “we can drive away the treated the Native Americans with French when we please.” That was not true of the British. Yet, while most more respect.) What benefit did Native Americans supported the French, some fought for the British. the Indians expect to get from Why did the French and British fight frequently during the supporting the French? (They 1600s and 1700s? hoped to weaken the more powerful British and preserve the balance of power between the two countries, The French and Indian War which was to the Indians’ advantage.) One point of conflict between France and Great Britain was the fertile Ohio ½ Quick Activity Have students River valley, which was claimed by both countries but was largely unsettled. To read the Primary Source quotation discourage British colonists from moving into this area, the French built Fort and discuss how the Native Ameri- Duquesne in what is now western Pennsylvania. can view of land differs from the The new fort angered the British governor of Virginia, Robert Dinwiddie. In 1754, he sent colonial troops to evict the French. Dinwiddie entrusted the com- European view. mand to a young, ambitious Virginian named George Washington. His troops attacked and defeated a small French force. But Washington had to surrender Independent Practice when the French counterattacked. His defeat touched off a world war that even- Have students create a graphic organ- tually spread from America to Europe, Asia, Africa, and the West Indies. In izer that compares the way that the Europe, the war was called the Seven Years’ War. The British colonists called French and the British treated Native the conflict the French and Indian War, after the French and their Indian allies. Americans before the French and Early Battles At first, the British fared poorly in North America. In 1755, a Indian War.