...David McCullough's "1776" provides readers with a thorough and insightful analysis of the events that took place during a pivotal year of the American Revolution. Through extensive research and attention to detail, McCullough examines the key figures, decisions, and battles that shaped the nation's destiny. He did research in twenty-five different libraries, archives, and special collections. He even went to several historical sights in the United States and the United Kingdom to make sure that all of his facts were correct and to give the best depiction of what happened in the year 1776. Throughout the book, McCullough puts a huge emphasis on specific military figures, such as General Charles Lee, John Sullivan, Nathanael Greene, Henry Knox,...
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...The Revolutionary War, or American Revolution, started in Lexington and Concord in April 1775. The first shot was fired in the middle of a fight between colonists and British soldiers. The fighting started on April 18, 1775 when the British troops marched into Boston, but they were seen and the colonists were alerted and they fought them off for the night. In the chaos of the fight a shot was fired and a colonist was shot and killed. This shot was known as the shot heard around the world. In the time leading up to the war there were very many conflicts in the colonies between the British troops and the colonists. The tensions were caused by many different things, such as, taxes on the colonies, aggression of the troops, and aggression of the...
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...The American War for Independence: Sea Power, Joint and Combined Operations: Question 7. Given the overwhelming British victories in New York and New Jersey in 1776, how was General Washington able to avoid catastrophic defeat and eventually win the war? By Julie Moss A paper submitted to the Faculty of the Naval War College in partial satisfaction of the requirements of the Department of Strategy and War. The contents of this paper reflect my own personal views and are not necessarily endorsed by the Naval War College or the Department of the Navy. Signature: /JKM/ BACKGROUND Following the French-Indian War, The American Revolution began between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the former British colonies in North America. The British power was trying to overwhelm the colonists of New America with many acts, such as the Stamp Act, the Sugar Act, and the Intolerable Acts, all of which were deemed illegitimate by the colonists and in violation of the rights as Englishmen. For the most part, colonists were trying to reject the oligarchies that were common in Europe and started to believe in Republicanism based on the Enlightenment. Many leaders took part in this Revolution; one of the most important of whom was General George Washington. His role was vital in the victory for Americans and their freedom from the power of Britain. As the war for independence approached, Washington was known throughout the American Colonies for his courage and military exploits...
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...crusade and discuss the extent to which it accomplished its objectives. Why did it succeed or fail? Jonathan Riley-Smith, The Crusades: A Short History; Carole Hillenbrand, The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives; Christopher Tyerman, God’s War: A New History of the Crusades 2. How did anti-Semitism manifest itself in medieval Europe? Kenneth R. Stow, Alienated Minority: The Jews of Medieval Latin Europe; Mark R. Cohen, Under Crescent and Cross: The Jews in the Middle Ages; Solomon Grayzel, The Church and the Jews in the Thirteenth Century 3. What was the position of prostitutes in medieval society? Ruth Mazo Karras, Common Women; Leah Otis, Prostitution in Medieval Society; Margaret Wade Labarge, A Small Sound of the Trumpet: Women in Medieval Life 4. Why did the French choose to follow Joan of Arc during the the Hundred Years War? Kelly DeVries, Joan of Arc: A Military Leader; Bonnie Wheeler, ed., Fresh Verdicts on Joan of Arc; Margaret Wade Labarge, A Small Sound of the Trumpet: Women in Medieval Life 5. Discuss the significance of siege warfare during the crusades. You may narrow this question down to a single crusade if you wish. Jim Bradbury, The Medieval Siege; Randall Rogers, Latin Siege Warfare in the Twelfth Century; John France, Victory in the East: A Military History of the First Crusade 6. Why did the persecution of heretics increase during the high and later Middle Ages...
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...about? How did it relate to other material in this module? Did you know about this topic prior to learning about it in HIST 100? This movie is focused on the 1776, which is during the American Revolution. The colonies in America decided to break paths from the British crown, where they originated. This movie puts a spotlight on Gorge Washington, America’s first president. Then the film also shows how the American colonies tried to claim Canadian colonies but failed to capture the town. Then the next quarter of the film focused on Benjamin Franklin and the Declaration of Independence. Franklin and five other iconic American men drafted this document. This document is also considered a key document of all time that declared all men were created equal. This movie related to the other material by giving a clear visual of the...
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...Daniel Van Aken Hist223 – Pontiac’s War American Indian History Tracy Derks December 26, 2013 The story of Pontiac’s War is one of great tragedy and of great change in the geographic area of the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes Region and present day Illinois. We will look at this topic from the point of few of the American Indian who inhabits the vast area of the frontier, and the British Policies that were conducted that helped ignite hostilities. Another item for consideration is did these policies and the way the British Army conducted the war possibly set into motion more conflicts that led to the American Revolution. In 1759 white men were discovered in what is now present day Michigan by a band of Ottawa, Huron and Potawatomi. As would be the norm to strangers in a land that did not belong to them the question was asked by the leader of the Ottawa’s Pontiac why they were there. After the trading of gifts the British Rangers explained that they were there only to remove the French. The French and Indian War and been raging across the globe for 5 years. The Ottawa had allied themselves with the French but explained to the British Rangers that upon French removal they would accept the policies of the British Crown, on the condition that if the Indians felt ignored by the British King then all routes into the lush interior of the Ohio Valley would be closed off to them. The treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War which officially ended...
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...significant for the Americans because this was the first battle they had that made the Americans look like a contender. The reason the patriots had a chance was because of their leader William Prescott. This battle was also the turning point of the American Revolution. Because of William Prescott commanding the Americans contended at Bunker Hill. James L Nelson says in his book, With Fire and Sword, the Patriots required to be identical patient at Bunker Hill (267). The patriots obligated to wait until daylight to move at the British. The British’s objective was to circle around the Americans. The British wanted...
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...American Revolutionary War Helen Dunlap COM/150 29 January 2012 Lisa Pope The American Revolutionary War was an event that lasted from 1775 to 1783. This war has begun as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the former 13 United British colonies, but ended in a global war between several European palatable powers. For about a decade, tension had been mounting between Great Britain and the American Colonies. The British government had passed a series of laws in an attempt to take control over the colonies. Americans had become so used to having control over their own local government so they objected to the new laws and protested against being tax without their consent. This was the sudden and unfair taxation of the colonists that led to the Revolutionary War. The American Revolution was the result of a series of social, political, and intellectual transformations in early American society and government, collectively referred to as the American Enlightenment. Americans rejected the oligarchies common in aristocratic Europe at the time, championing instead the development of republicanism based on the Enlightenment understanding of liberalism. Among the significant results of the revolution was the creation of a democratic elected representative government responsible to the will have of the people. However, sharp political debates erupted over the appropriate level of democracy desirable in the new government, with a number of Founders. Seventeen sixty-three...
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...impact did the American Revolution have on Europe? The American Revolution impacted Europe in certain ways. The most obvious would be Great Britain declaring war on the Americans due to their attempt at seceding and being their own nation. However, there were other countries involved in the American Revolutionary War as well, especially France. France wanted to aid the Americans for the reason of getting back what was taken from them by the British in 1763. At first, they sent the Americans weaponry, and the first significant victory by the Americans (The Battle of Saratoga) was won primarily using French weapons. Seeing that the Americans were able to win a major battle, the French became formal allies with them and declared war on Great Britain. Eventually, Spain and Holland also sided against the British, which turned the tide of the war to America’s favor (Lewis 381). With the surrender of Lord Cornwallis in 1781, and the Treaty of Paris signed two years later (which recognized the United States as a sovereign nation) , France was given back Quebec and America became their new trade partner and ally. However, despite the war’s successful outcome, France was under overwhelming debt, which forced the monarchy to place a permanent tax throughout the land for all subjects in 1786. This was the beginning of the end of the “Old Regime”, eventually leading to the French Revolution, which was (ironically) inspired by the American Revolution (381, 385). 1. Why did the Industrial...
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...war. Two major wars have been fought on this land, but one revolution had the power to transform a group of thirteen unruly colonies to one united country able to conquer the world’s greatest empire. The Revolutionary War began as tensions grew between England and her North American colonies over who should have the power to tax and govern. After many petitions and pleas, the colonies were ready to rebel and start a nation without their mother...
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...2012 Why the Revolutionary War was Revolutionary The American Revolution was the war for American independence from Britain. Britain was using the colonist’s money to fuel their economy and pay off their taxes by taxing the colonists unfairly. From being taxed unfairly, the colonists started the American Revolution which took place during the last part of the eighteenth century. The thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from British rule, combining to become the United States of America. The American Revolution had historic consequences. The American Revolutionary War was revolutionary because the colonists fought back against Britain’s government and in the processed gained freedom from Britain and their blasphemous taxes. Colonists felt they deserved all the constitutional rights of Englishmen. The British, on the other hand, felt that the colonies were created to be used in the way that best matched the crown and parliament. This quarrel is in material form in one of the rallying mottos of the American Revolution: “No Taxation without Representation.” Similar to such a cry, is the announcement, “The demand for no taxation without representation was the primary force motivating the American Revolutionary movement, and for many it became a symbol of democracy;” eventually saying that the American Revolution, as well as the colonist’s wrath towards Britain, grew out of mounting, nonstop limitations positioned upon the colonies by the British. The...
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...2. Identify the victors at the Battle of Trafalgar. Where is this battle most highly commemorated and why? Map of the battle and deployment of ships during the battle of Trafalgar from National Geographic. [1] “Six thousand Frenchmen and Spaniards were killed or wounded at Trafalgar as well as 1,700 Britons; nineteen enemy ships were taken and one sunk; but the immensity of the victory at Trafalgar transcended such mundane calculations. It guaranteed British control of the oceans, and the creation of a unique global power that would endure for more than a century. The iconic value of the two names Nelson and Trafalgar for the British state was immense: they would be combined in many forms, most obviously in the centre of imperial London.”[2] This quote taken form Andrew Lambert’s article on the lasting effects of the battle of Trafalgar illustrates the significance of that battle of the world’s stage. The battle reinforced British supremacy of the seas and set forth the uncontested dominance of the British Empire throughout the globe. The fact that the British Empire then dominated the seas led directly to their ability to develop as a nation state and to influence the political landscape of Europe. Nations of Europe that had any interest in maritime trade with others now had to contend with the British Empire. The maritime supremacy of Great Britain, secured at the Battle of Trafalgar, is arguably one of the most important aspects of...
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...There are many reasons why peaceful resistance positively impacts a free society.Although many view that opposing civil disobedience is absolutely disastrous, many incidents have led to more preferable conditions in our society such as the Rosa Parks bus boycott incident, women’s suffrage movement, and Gandhi’s opposition to the British rule. One of the most memorable acts regarding civil disobedience is the Rosa Parks bus boycott incident. What happened on December 1st, 1955 was a historical moment that screamed equality for all. One afternoon in Montgomery, Alabama, a middle-aged African American woman named Rosa Parks had wanted to return home from work, so she rode a bus for transportation. Seeing a full bus, a white passenger walked...
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... The American and French Revolutions: Compared and Contrasted The history of the human race always has been, and most likely will always be, that of evolution and revolution. – Lewis F. Korns, Thoughts A revolution occurs when one government is overthrown and replaced with another (Yahoo). The American and French revolutions can be both compared and contrasted in their origins and outcomes. Both revolutions began due to the common peoples’ need to obtain independence and liberty from an oppressive government (2). The American Revolution was triggered by the American colonists’ need for financial independence from the overpowering nation of Great Britain, while the French revolution was a struggle to gain social equality among the masses. Although the American and French Revolutions were fought over some of the same ideas, the American Revolution is considered more "conservative" than the French is (2). The intent of the American revolutionaries was not to initiate a revolution, but rather to gain their freedom from a "long train of abuses" (Jensen). In contrast, the French were trying to cause a true revolution because they were not just fighting for freedom but rather to over throw and remove the monarchy (3). The American revolutionaries had no choice but to defend their liberties and the tactics used by the Americans were not as directly aggressive as those used by the French. The American and French Revolution...
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...Why did Ludendorff plan failed? It is believed that Ludendorff and Hindenburg realized as early 8th august 1918 that victory was not possible for the Germans because of the America joining in the war Ludendorff wanted to defeat British and France before the Americans join in the war. The Russians pulled out the on 18th march because of the Russian revolution here are some examples of why did the plan failed. * 21 march The Germans brake trough the British defense at one point after six days .the Germans advanced forty miles .Ludendorff held Back those of his force that had advanced the farthest so that they would not run too far ahead of the rest of his offensive the rest of his offensive foundered as a result of Ludendorff having failed to deploy reserves with sufficient effectiveness. Nevertheless, the offensive great fight among the leaders of Britain and France. That’s how the plan failed and you can see that how close he was from being successful that he broke through the British and after that only one country left to defeat. * Germans were tired after they carry on fighting for six days they did have food to eat in these six days after the stop fighting they had a big party because they didn’t eat anything in six days so that night they ate and drink alcohol and some other kind of drugs. When they try to stat attacking again but they couldn’t because they couldn’t even get up of. That how the plan failed because the time they wasted in this party that British...
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