answered: In this class, we look closely at three major wars in Americ

  

In this class, we look closely at three major wars in American and US history: the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) , the Revolutionary War/American War of Independence (1775-1783), and the Civil War (1861-1865).
The topic this week is the the Revolutionary War, the war British Americans fought against Great Britain to achieve political independence. Many Americans today mistakenly think the war began in 1776, but the war actually began in Massachusetts in April 1775. We associate the war with the year 1776 because that is the year the Continental Congress formally declared political independence from Britain, thus, 1776 is identified as the formal beginning of the US history. For the record, Congress officially resolved, or voted, to declare independence on July 2 and agreed on the final publish of the Declaration of Independence two days later on July 4. Thus, what we actually celebrate on the Fourth of July is not the beginning, or even end, of the war but rather finalization of perhaps the most important document in US history, the Declaration of Independence.
All that said, we don’t normally think of the War of Independence as a civil warLinks to an external site., but in many places it was a civil war. It was not a civil war of the same character and scale as the Civil War of 1861-1865, but the War of Independence included many features of a civil war. It was a war of British colonists and subjects, most of whom were civilians before the war, against the British government, army, and navy. Additionally, the war divided colonial society. It is very much a matter of conjecture and debate among historians, but experts on the colonial and Revolutionary eras estimate that 15-25% of colonial society did not support the war for independence. Those who did not support the war were known as Loyalists or Tories. Those who supported the cause of independence were known as Patriots or Whigs, and historians estimate that Patriots likely made up just 50% of colonial society. The rest (roughly 25%) of colonial society was undecided or indifferent to the war and Patriot cause of independence.
Complete both tasks below to receive full points on this discussion assignment:
TASK 1: Post a 300- to 400-word response to the discussion question: In what ways was the War of Independence a civil war?
A. Review the lecture PowerPoint and Chapter 5 of The American Yawp.
B. Review the following online sources for additional information about Loyalists during the Revolution:
Loyalists,Washington Library : https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/loyalists/
Loyalist,Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution), Wikipedia : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyalist_(American_Revolution)
C. Write a single paragraph that analyzes lines of support and opposition to the Revolutionary War within colonial society. Who supported the war—who tended to be Patriots? Who did not support the war—who tended to be Loyalists? Why? Provide at least two specific examples or forms of evidence in your analysis.
D. Include one short quotation—and corresponding citation—from The American Yawp. Your citation should be an MLA-style parenthetical citation that includes “Locke and Wright” (the last names of the editors of the book) and the inclusive page number(s). For instance, if you’re reading the online version of the textbook without page numbers, your citation should look like this: (Locke and Wright). If you’re reading the PDF version with page numbers your citation should look like this (Locke and Wright 32) or (Locke and Wright 32-33).