Liberty Under Law: Military Security
Suggested Teaching Instructions
Introduction:
Part of the Revolutionary War’s “Neutral Ground,” Westchester County was home to many significant battles, and was subjected to raids, pillaging, and guerilla warfare.
On January 8, 1776, the Westchester County Committee of Safety wrote to the New York Provincial Committee of its loyal support to the cause, stating that the “Friends of Liberty in this County are willing strenuously to exert themselves to reduce the Enemies to their Country.”
Watch Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" and answer the questions that follow before analyzing the document. Note: There are three short videos to watch.
Learning Standards:
7.3 AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE: Growing tensions over political power and economic issues sparked a movement for independence from Great Britain. New York played a critical role in the course and outcome of the American Revolution. (Standards: 1, 4, 5; Themes: TCC, GOV, ECO)
7.3c Influenced by Enlightenment ideas and their rights as Englishmen, American colonial leaders outlined their grievances against British policies and actions in the Declaration of Independence.
Students will examine the influence Enlightenment ideas such as natural rights and social contract and ideas expressed in Thomas Paine’s Common Sense had on colonial leaders in their debates on independence.
11.2 CONSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATIONS (1763 – 1824): Growing political and economic tensions led the American colonists to declare their independence from Great Britain. Once independent, the new nation confronted the challenge of creating a stable federal republic. (Standards: 1, 5; Themes: TCC, GOV, CIV, ECO)
11.2b Failed attempts to mitigate the conflicts between the British government and the colonists led the colonists to declare independence, which they eventually won through the Revolutionary War, which affected individuals in different ways.
Students will examine the purpose of and the ideas contained in the Declaration of Independence and consider its long term impacts.