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This week we will continue our study of the American Revolution. First, we will examine the pivotal years from 1774 to 1776, when many colonial leaders changed their position on British authority. The colonial protest movement, which had once been conservative and based on British rights,
became increasingly radical during this time.
By 1775, when fighting broke out in Massachusetts and Virginia, there was little chance of rapprochement with Britain. Any lingering tie to the mother country was severed when Thomas Paine published his inflammatory pamphlet, Common Sense, in January 1776. By summer, dozens of towns and community organizations had called for separation from Britain, and that July the Continental Congress made America's position official with the Declaration of Independence.
From our discussion of colonial radicalism, we will move to the Revolutionary War (1775-1783). Specifically, we will examine the major campaigns of the conflict, the important French alliance (1778), and the Treaty of Paris (1783).
I encourage each of you to watch the wonderful PBS video entitled, Liberty: The American Revolution. Episodes two and three cover the material we will discuss this week. Episode II is here. Episode III is here.
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