8.2.1

Explain the purpose of the Articles of Confederation which established the first American national system of government to support and conduct a war against Britain.

8.2.2

Evaluate the motivations and points of view of various populations to remain loyal to Britain, join the patriot cause, or choose neutrality, including:

A. Patriots and Loyalists and their political, economic, and family interests

B. American Indians and the preservation of their homelands, cultures, and trade

C. women and their political status

D. free and enslaved blacks and their petitions to colonial governments for a ban on slavery

8.2.3

Identify and evaluate the contributions of individuals and significant groups toward winning independence from British rule.

8.2.4

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of the British and the American colonists including political and military leadership, military strength, population and resources, motivation, foreign alliances, financial and military support, and the British recruitment of enslaved black men in exchange for freedom.

8.2.5

Summarize the impact of key military and diplomatic events of the Revolutionary War including:

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A. military leadership of General George Washington

B. victories at Boston, Trenton, and Saratoga

C. publication of Thomas Paine’s The Crisis

D. Valley Forge encampment

E. French alliance, negotiated by Benjamin Franklin

F. victory at Yorktown

G. Treaty of Paris, 1783