Skip to content
Chronological Reasoning and Causation

American Revolution: Why was New York State important during the American Revolution?

  1. Load Hudson River Sites Related to British Major John Andre and the American Revolution, c.1900 in Main Image Viewer
  2. Load Artillery Orders found on John Andre, West Point, 1780 in Main Image Viewer
  3. Load Benedict Arnold Letter Offering West Point for $20,000, July 15, 1780 in Main Image Viewer
  4. Load Benedict Arnold Letter Offering West Point for $20,000, July 15, 1780 in Main Image Viewer
  5. Load Pass Written by Benedict Arnold for John Andre, September 22, 1780 in Main Image Viewer
  6. Load Pass Written by Benedict Arnold for John Andre, September 22, 1780 in Main Image Viewer
  7. Load Diagram of Fort Clinton, Fort Montgomery, and the Chain on the Hudson River, n.d. in Main Image Viewer
  8. Load Map of the Burgoyne Campaign of 1777 in Main Image Viewer
  9. Load Map of the Battle of Bemis Heights in Saratoga. in Main Image Viewer
  10. Load Map of the New York Frontier in the Revolution in Main Image Viewer

Suggested Teaching Instructions

Learning Standards and Practices
4.3 COLONIAL AND REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD IN NEW YORK: European exploration led to the colonization of the region that became New York State. Beginning in the early 1600s, colonial New York was home to people from many different countries. Colonial New York was important during the Revolutionary Period. (Standards: 1, 3, 4; Themes: MOV, TCC, GEO, SOC, GOV).
4.3d Growing conflicts between England and the 13 colonies over issues of political and economic rights led to the American Revolution. New York played a significant role during the Revolution, in part due to its geographic location.
Ø Students will examine New York’s geographic location relative to the other colonies, locate centers of Loyalist support, and examine the extent of the British occupation.

 

 

Setting the Stage
Introduce the topic of mapping the American Revolution to students using the video link below. Students will learn about key geographic areas, including: where important battles took place, and New York’s geographic location in relation to the other colonies.​
The Revolutionary War Animated Map