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Home , Stamp Act Congress, Tench Tilghman

LESSON IV “The Horse America Throwing His Master” I. Background Information British policy following the defeat of the French in North America during the Seven Years’ War aroused the ire of American colonists. The Proclamation of 1763 forbidding settlement beyond the Appalachian Mountains, the adjustment of the custom’s duty on sugar (1764), the (1765), and the Townshend Duties (1767) united the colonies in resis- tance. The Resolutions of the Stamp Act , coupled with pressure within the British Parliament, ultimately led to repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766. The Parliament, however, passed the reasserting its right to pass legislation governing the colonies. Still in need of funds, Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend imposed duties on glass, paint, lead, paper, and tea. Americans responded with non-importation agreements. became one of the leaders in Virginia’s opposition to the Townshend duties and served as the presiding officer of a Fairfax County committee that drafted a series of resolutions challenging British policy. Similar resolutions were passed throughout the colonies. Massachusetts, however, became the center of more violent protests. In 1768 British troops occupied the city. Despite the repeal of the Townshend duties in 1770, resistance continued. On March 5, 1770, a crowd of Bostonians taunted British regulars who, unable to disperse the crowd, opened fire killing five. Labeling the British action a massacre, Paul Revere circulated an engraving of the event entitled “The Bloody Massacre perpetrated in King Street.” The arrest and trial of Captain Thomas Preston did little to quell the hatred stirred-up by the events of that evening. Hostility was directed at customs agents who collected the tax on tea. Throughout the colonies, and espe- cially in Massachusetts, agents were seized and tarred and feathered by mobs of patriots. Disguised as Mohawks, a band of patriots boarded British merchant ships on December 16, 1773, and destroyed some fifty tons of tea by dumping it into Boston harbor. Parliament retaliated by passing the . News of the passage of a series of acts to coerce one colony prompted other colonies to demonstrate their support for the people of Massachusetts. In colonial Virginia, Washington pro- claimed “the cause of Boston [is] the cause of America.” He further argued that appeals to the King or Parliament were futile. King George III told his prime minister, “The dye is now cast, the colonies must either submit or triumph.” In September, 1774, delegates from 12 colonies met in to develop a unified response to the Intolerable Acts. This First advised 31 LESSON IV

each of the colonies to form its own militia and urged strict enforcement of boycotts of British goods. The delegates disbanded near the end of October having agreed to meet again if their grievances went not resolved. The Second Continental Congress convened on May 10,1775, less than a month after blood was shed at Lexington and Concord. The Congress organized a continen- tal army and on June 15 appointed George Washington as Commander in Chief. Two days later British forces, suffering heavy casualties, dislodged the Patriots from Breed’s Hill overlooking Boston (the ). What had begun as loyal resistance to Parliamentary acts had now become a revolu- tion. On July 4, 1776 the Second Continental Congress, having voted for indepen- dence on July 2, approved the Declaration by a vote of 12-0 with abstaining. On July 9, New York agreed to endorse the Declaration of Indepen- dence. Fifty-six delegates signed the document on August 2, 1776. Independence, now openly declared, had to be won on the field of battle.

II. Materials ★ Paul Revere, The Bloody Massacre perpetrated in King Street ★ The Bostonian’s Paying the Excise-Man, or Tarring & Feathering ★ Instructions from the Continental Congress ★ Martha Washington letter to Elizabeth Ramsey ★ Thomas Paine’s Addressed to the Inhabitants of America ★ The Declaration of Independence ★ Triumphal Entry of the Royal Troops at New York and Representation of the Terrible Fire at New York, 19 September 1776 ★ George Washington’s letter to Lieutenant Colonel John Laurens, January 30, 1871 ★ George Washington’s letter to Tench Tilghman, January 10, 1783 ★ The Horse America Throwing His Master

III. Lesson Activities A. Divide the class into teams of two to four students depending on class size. Each team selects one student to draw from a “document card” that designates the research topic for the team. Each of the cards contains a different document. Duplicate the pages provided in the lesson on card stock or mount and laminate. Place the “document cards” in a box, and have students draw a card at random. B. Tell students that their task is to read sections in their text book that will give them background information on the topic selected by their draw. They are also to research the topic in other sources such as books on the , a standard encyclopedia, and/or CD-ROM or web sources on the Internet. Provide students class time to begin their research. Depending on the class you may allot one to three days for research.

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C. Explain to students that their responsibility is to carefully examine the document and read as much as possible to help them explain their selected document to the class. Have students formulate questions to help focus their research. You may wish to give students a few general questions as a guide, such as: 1. When did the event occur? 2. What information about the Revolution can you gather from the document? 3. Who were the people involved in this event? 4. How did people at that time respond to this event? 5. Why was the event important?

D. After completing their research, the teams will place their “document card” on a large timeline (constructed on butcher paper) spanning a period of twenty years, 1763-1783, from the end of the Seven Years’ War to the ending the American Revolutionary War. Once the document cards are appropriately placed on the time line, each team will explain their document to the class. You may wish to have students, as part of their class presentations, assume the role of one or more of the individuals associated with their document. Have students speak to the class from the perspective of that person or persons telling their reactions to the event as a way of explaining the significance of the document. The activity could be extended to include costumes and props students may deem appropriate and could take the form of skits, tableaus, or “found poems” culled from the document, etc. (For teams with illustrations, students could place themselves in the picture as one of the participants in the event and describe what is occurring.) E. If this lesson is used after a prior study of the Revolutionary era, ask students to brainstorm the major events or battles of the Revolution as a review. However, if it is used to support the state curriculum as a teaching unit on the Revolution- ary War, develop the time line by adding other major events such as Parlia- mentary acts that prohibited settlement beyond the Appalachian Mountains (Proclamation of 1763), Stamp Act, Townshend Duties, , Intolerable or Coercive Acts, and battles such as Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Saratoga, Trenton, Winter quarters at , or Yorktown. Discuss with the class how these events are connected and help them understand cause and effect relationships.

IV. While Touring the Exhibit While touring the exhibit look for General Washington’s letters to the Continental Congress regarding the progress of the war as well as his letters to individuals pertaining to the need for supplies and concerns about the war effort. In addition examine the illustrations and maps that highlight aspects of the Revolutionary War.

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V. Extended Lesson Ideas ★ During a break in the meetings of the Federal Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, George Washington and a colleague decided to go trout fishing in the vicinity. While on the excursion, Washington decided to return to Valley Forge where he had established winter quarters during the Winter of 1777-78. He recorded in his diary his return to Valley Forge but wrote nothing to indicate what he thought about while there. Have students, assuming the persona of George Washington, complete a diary entry during this visit to Valley Forge describing what Washington may have recorded if he had written a detailed entry. It would be appropriate to believe that Washington not only reflected on the winter at Valley Forge but also on the events of the war before and after Valley Forge. Looking back on Valley Forge after the war, how would Washington have appraised the hardships that his forces encountered during that winter? Would he have considered the terrible sacrifices of eight years of war worthwhile considering the developments since the end of the war? How might he reflect on the attempts to strengthen the government at this crucial period during the Federal Convention? Have students refer to the documents in the exhibit that examine Washington’s attitudes toward the government under the Articles of Confederation. ★ Examine the Benjamin Huntington manuscript documenting the enlistment of an African American soldier. Research Lord Dunmore’s proclamation promising freedom for slaves who served in the military and explain how effective it was in recruiting persons to fight for the British. Examine the contributions of African Americans in the and investigate the efforts of John Laurens to recruit a regiment of African Americans in South Carolina and Georgia. ★ Construct a map of North America and locate the major campaigns during the Revolutionary War. Include the names of the major military leaders in each of the campaigns. ★ Have students write an evaluative essay on the importance of foreign assistance in the form of military leaders, naval support, and financial aid in the American Revolution.

VI. References ★ For additional letters and documents on the Revolutionary War refer to Wash- ington Writings, edited by John Rhodehamel (Library of America, 1997) under the heading “Commander of the Continental Army, 1775-1783” (pages 167-547). ★ For a concise description of the Revolutionary War era, see The Great Experiment: George Washington and the American Republic, by John Rhodehamel ( Press, 1998).

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DOCUMENT 1 The Bloody Massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th 1770 by a party of the 29th Reg.

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DOCUMENT 2 The Bostonian’s Paying the Excise-Man, or Tarring & Feathering.

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DOCUMENT 3 Instructions from the Continental Congress This Congress having appointed you to be General & Commander in chief of the army of the United Colonies and of all the forces raised or to be raised by them and of all others who shall voluntarily offer their service and join the said army for the defense of American liberty and for repelling every hostile invasion thereof, you are to repair with all expedition to the colony of Massachusetts-bay and take charge of the army of the United Colonies. . . .

. . . You are . . . to use your best circumspection and (advising with your council of war) to order and dispose of the said army under your command, as may be most advantageous for the obtaining the end, for which these forces have been raised, making it your special care, in discharge of the great trust committed unto you that the liberties of American receive no detriment. By Order of Congress John Hancock President

DOCUMENT 4 Martha Washington letter to Elizabeth Ramsey Cambridge December the 30th 1775 Dear Miss I now sit down to tell you that I arrived here safe, and our party proved fine all the time we were on the road . . . . I have waited some days to collect something to tell, but alas there is nothing but what you will find in the papers—every person seems to be cheerful and happy hear, - some days we have a number of cannon and shells from Boston and Bunkers Hill, but it does not seem to surprise any one but me; I confess I shudder every time I hear the sound of a gun . . . . I just look at pore Boston & Charlestown—from prospect Hill Charlestown has only a few chim- neys standing in it, thare seems to be a number of very fin Buildings in Boston but god knows how long they will stand; they are pulling up all the warfs for firewood—to me that never see any thing of war, the preparations, are very terable indeed, but I endever to keep my fears to myself as well as I can. . . .

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DOCUMENT 5 Common Sense Addressed to the Inhabitants of America

Thomas Paine appealed to the Americans’ growing conviction that they were a people chosen to lead the world to liberty: “the cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind.” Washington was one of the tens of thousands of readers who found Paine’s eloquence persuasive.

DOCUMENT 6 In Congress, July 4, 1776 A Declaration by the Representatives of the of America in General Congress Assembled. When in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation. We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. . . .

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DOCUMENT 7 Following Washington’s defeat at the Battle of Manhattan on September 15, 1776, the British captured New York and held the city until November 1783.

Triumphal Entry of the Royal Troops at New York and Representation of the Terrible Fire at New York, 19 September 1776

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DOCUMENT 8 Letter to Lieutenant Colonel John Laurens

New Windsor, January 30, 1781 Dear Sir: Before this letter reaches Boston, you will, no doubt, have heard of the revolt of part of the Jersey line. I did not hesitate a moment upon the report of it, in determining to bring the matter to a speedy issue, by adopting the most vigorous coercion; accordingly, a detachment Marched from the Posts before, and on the Morning of the 27th. surrounded their quarters and brought them, without opposition to unconditional Submission. two of the principal Actors were immediately executed on the Spot, and the remainder exhibiting genuine signs of contrition, were forgiven. . . .

DOCUMENT 9 Letter to Tench Tilghman Newburgh, January 10, 1783 . . . The obstinacy of the King, and his unwillingness to acknowledge the Independency of this Country, I have ever looked upon as the greatest obstacles in the way of a Peace. . . Peace is not yet made nor will it, I conceive if the influence of the Crown can draw forth fresh Supplies from the nation for the purpose of carrying on the War. . . . The King of G B by his Letters Patent (wch. I have seen) has Authorized Mr. Oswald to treat with any Comr. or Commissioners from the United States of America, who shall appear with proper Powers; this certainly, is a capital point gained. It is at least breaking ground on their part; and I dare say proved a bitter pill to Royalty. . . .

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DOCUMENT 10 The Horse America Throwing His Master

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