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U.S. History Jokes for Teachers
Name: period:
The following activity is uses with the American Revolution: Timeline Interactive.
The following activity is a great interactive that teaches geography skills as well as the history of the American Revolution. The activity is divided into time periods. A teacher can divide the activity into a few days or have the students complete the activity from start to finish.
Notice the arrows that point the direction of military movement.
The correct answers are in bold and italics.
Section I: 1775 – 1778 (Northern Phase)
Introduction: Click anywhere to begin.
Students can scroll over locations. The location is revealed once the cursor is on it, so it is easy for the students to complete. Once the correct location is chosen, additional information is provided. A teacher may want to have questions on a worksheet to have th
Find the city of Boston and click on it.
1775 – 1778:
BOSTON
1. What started in 1768: British troops had been stationed in the city.
2. The British “presence (in Boston) was deeply resented.” ON YOUR OWN define resented to the best of your ability. Answers will vary. Give the correct definition.
3. “After several violent incidents, the British government announced in 1774 that to punish the unruly Bostonians the port of Boston would be closed until further notice.” Explain how this punishment would adversely affect the people of Boston. Students can talk about the economic impact on business and also the impact on a consumer’s ability to purchase imported goods.
4. “Gage had received word that arms, ammunition, and other supplies were being gathered in Concord for an uprising against the British Crown.” ON YOUR OWN define uprising to the best of your ability. Answers will vary. Give the correct definition.
April 19, 1775: Lexington And Concord
1. Who won the battle? the Americans / The British
2. “The militia leaders had received word—in part through the efforts of Paul Revere—that the British were on their way, and they prepared an ambush.” ON YOUR OWN define uprising to the best of your ability. Answers will vary. Give the correct definition.
3. Where did the more “substantial skirmish” occur? (town and location) What was the end result of Smith’s mission? “Smith’s mission had been a complete failure.”
4. The battle of Lexington & Concord was described as “the shot heard ‘round the world.” Explain the origin of this famous phrase (Who, when, how) In an 1837 poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson the fighting at Concord was famously described as “the shot heard ‘round the world.”
June 17, 1775 Bunker Hill (A Boston Holiday)
1. Who won the battle? The Americans / The British
2. “Suspecting that the British might attempt something along these lines, the Americans began to fortify Bunker Hill, which overlooked the coast.” ON YOUR OWN define uprising to the best of your ability. Answers should include the ability to see the coast as well as being on higher ground.
3. List two reasons (your own opinion) the rebels selected the location of Bunker Hill? (see above answer)
4. Describe the impact of the Battle of Bunker Hill & the Battle of Breed’s Hill. Include victorious side and casualties. The British launched two attacks, both of which were repulsed by American fire. However, the British had nearly a two-to-one numerical advantage, and a third assault finally drove the rebels from the two hills. Yet the battle was extremely costly for the British; out of a total of about 2,600 engaged, more than a thousand were killed or wounded.
4. What happened on March 17, 1776 (A Boston Holiday / Evacuation Day) March 17, 1776, when the British withdrew to Halifax, Nova Scotia.
5. What did the British realize after the Battle of Bunker Hill. What they faced was a full-scale revolution, one that would require a large army, and probably the hiring of foreign troops as well.
November 13, 1775 Capture of Montreal:
1. Describe the location of Montreal. Located on the river. Very useful for transportation.
2. Who won the battle? Americans / British
3. At the Continental Congress, who was appointed commander of the Continental Army? George Washington
4. By attacking Montreal, how did the colonist hoped the Canadians would respond? Many residents of the Thirteen Colonies believed that Canadians also sought to rid themselves of British rule, and hoped to spark a popular rebellion there by invading.
December 31, 1775: Assault on Quebec
1. Describe Quebec’s Relative location to Montreal. Northeast
2. Who won the battle? Americans / British
3. List the TWO factors that resulted in Arnold’s forces not being able to capture Quebec. Quebec was heavily fortified, and Arnold lacked cannon.
4. HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION: Describe the biggest factor in the failure of Arnold & Montgomery’s forces succeeding. a snowstorm blew up, rendering the Americans’ muskets useless.
5. Describe the end result of the invasion of Canada. The invasion of Canada had been a miserable failure.
June 19, 1776 New York City
1. Describe the location of New York City. On the coast. Great location for trade.
2. What percentage of British troops were Hessians? roughly a third of which were Hessian mercenaries
3. “On July 3 General Howe and his men landed on Staten Island, which he planned to use as a base for his assault on New York City.” Describe the military benefits of establishing an island as a military base. Overtaking an island is difficult. It is a geographic advantage to be on an island.
August 27, 1776 Battle of Long Island
1. Describe the “relative location” of Long Island. Just south of New York City.
2. Who won the battle? Americans / British
3. Copy the last sentence starting with “Recognizing.. that the Continental Army was insufficient to prevent the British from taking New York City, Washington ordered a withdrawal.
October 28, 1776 Battle of White Plains
1. Who won the battle? Americans / British
2. Howe missed his chance “to destroy Washington’s army once and for all.” What did he decide to do instead? instead of pursuing, he stopped and ordered construction of artillery batteries on the heights.
3. “This gave Washington the opportunity to retreat further north, taking his supplies and his wounded with him.” ON YOUR OWN define retreat to the best of your ability. Answers will vary. Give the correct definition.
December 26, 1776 Battle of Trenton
1. Who won the battle? Americans / British
2. HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION: When did Howe stop operations? Explain why HOWE thought this might be a good choice. In early December General Howe ordered his army to cease operations for the winter.
3. What was going to happen at the end of the year that would have an incredible impact on Continental troops. All but 1,400 of these were likely to head for home after their enlistments expired at the end of the year
4. Thomas Paine, an extremely influential writer during the Revolutionary period used some famous words to describe the circumstance facing the Patriots. Copy his words. “the times that try men’s souls.”
5. What was the biggest factor in Washington’s success at Trenton? On the morning of the 26th the Continental Army attacked, taking the enemy completely by surprise.
January 3, 1777 Battle of Princeton
1. Who won the battle? Americans / British
2. Washington defeats the British forces at Trenton. Describe the impact this victory had on the American cause. More importantly his exploits reenergized the revolutionary cause, leading some 8,000 new recruits to join the Continental Army in the coming months.
July 5-6, 1777 Battle of Fort Ticonderoga
1. Describe the location of Ticonderoga. It is located on a lake.
2. Who won the battle? Americans / British
3. Describe the geographic and military significance of Sugarloaf. The fort suffered from one major weakness—if an enemy held the heights of a nearby mountain called Sugar Loaf, he could pour cannon fire down on the interior of the fort
4. Why did General St. Clair decide to evacuate Fort Ticonderoga. Realizing that once the battery was completed the British cannon would be able to pound the fort to rubble, General St. Clair ordered an evacuation that night under cover of darkness.
July 5-6, 1777 Siege at Fort Stanwix
1. Who won the battle? Americans / British
2. What percentage of the British Troops were Iroquois Indians? This force consisted of 2,000 men, roughly half of which were Iroquois Indians.
3. Why did the Iroquois Indians desert? St. Leger’s Indian warriors—unaccustomed to sitting around and waiting for the other side to give up—began to desert.
4. What did Arnold do to force the British to evacuate? He sent agents into the Mohawk Valley to spread the rumor that Arnold was on his way with a very large force. Ultimately St. Leger became convinced that the rumor was true, lifted the siege of Fort Stanwix on August 20, and headed back to Canada.
September 11, 1777 Battle of Brandywine
1. Who won the battle? Americans / British
2. HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION: What affected the landing of the British Troops? Explain the impact of the environment on the British landing at Chesapeake Bay. Fortunately for the Americans, however, the landing area was muddy from recent rains, so the act of unloading took far longer than expected.
3. What was the immediate result of the battle? The most immediate result of the battle was that nothing now stood between Howe and Philadelphia. The Continental Congress fled the city for York, Pennsylvania, and on September 26 the British marched unopposed into the American capital.
4. What happened on September 26, 1777?
September 19, 1777 & October 7, 1777 Battle of Saratoga
1. Who won the battle? Americans / British
2. 7,000 men British Troops an army of close to 10,000 men Continental Troops
3. What did Burgoyne do following the defeat at Saratoga? He realized that the situation was hopeless. He opened negotiations with Gates, and on October 17 he and his army laid down their arms.
4. Explain the international impact of the American victory at Saratoga. The victory convinced the French monarchy that the Continental Army had at least a decent chance of winning the war. In February 1778 France became the first foreign country to recognize the United States of America, and this paved the way for active French involvement in the conflict.
Primary Sources:
Overview Battle of Freeman’s Farm (link does not work)
The Battle of Fort Montgomery (link does not work)
Articles of Convention Between Lieutenant-General Burgoyne and Major General Gates; October 16, 1777 (link does not work)
Saratoga National Historical Park (link does not work)
NPS Historical Handbook: Saratoga (link does not work)
June 28, 1778 – Battle of Monmouth
1. Who won the battle? Americans / British
2. HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION: Describe the impact of the weather on casualties. In the end the battle was inconclusive, and both sides lost as many men to heat stroke (the temperature that day may have exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit) as to combat, but ultimately the British lost nearly 1200 soldiers, compared to fewer than 500 casualties on the American side.
3. How many soldiers fought on BOTH sides (use your math skills.) 26,000 + In terms of numbers of participants, Monmouth was largest single battle of the war, with over 13,000 soldiers on each side
Lieutenant Hale, British Account of the Battle of Monmouth Court House, July 4, 1778
