Facing the Revolution: The Main Characters of the American Revolution
Learning Goal: Students will be able to name at least three of the founding fathers and summarize their arguments for creating our own country.
Hook: The Faces of Our Election
Please draw a political cartoon that you think represents the candidates running for the current office of President and that represents their political beliefs. **Please make sure these are appropriate!**
Once everyone is done, people who would like to will share what they drew. As a class we will consider how someone would know what is going on with the election if they never watched the news? How does information spread besides through news? How do the candidates represent certain belief systems in our country?
Main Characters of the American Revolution
Last time we talked about Thomas Paine, the author of Common Sense, and we discussed how he used writing to try to convince the people of the colonies that it was simply "common sense" to separate from England. What we will do today is discuss the other main supporters of separating from England. On your own I would like you to take some time to explore the websites I have listed below and discover who some of the major players in the American Revolution. Please follow along with our lesson guide to keep track of your thoughts and to steer your curiosity.
Now, we will watch the last few minutes of "America the Story of Us" to get an idea of how the war actually began. (Roughly the last 12 minutes of the episode.)
Understanding What Caused us to Write the Declaration of Independence
Finally, it is important to understand what actually pushed us over the edge to the point where Independence was the only option. Together we will look at the History Channel's article about writing the Declaration of Independence.
In a paragraph, please explain to me who three of the founding fathers are and why they support the cause to become our own country. If you are still keeping up with a character, please tell me your thoughts on the idea of independence. (If you are not keeping up with a character then please tell me how you would have felt about independence if you lived during this time period.) Please explain your opinion with at least two examples.