The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution

Evaluate the declaration of John Adams in 1818: “The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people”

Explain how the Revolutionary writers’ self-conception differed from the British government’s view of them.

Why was the pamphlet form characteristically used by Revolutionary writers as a medium of communication? Are there any limitations of the pamphlet form as a source for the colonists’ opinions in the Revolutionary era?

How did Enlightenment thinkers tend to view the inhabitants of the American colonies?

How did the cause of the American colonies in the Revolution affect the cause of enslaved Black people?

Explain how the colonists’ view of English history shaped their conception of America’s role in history.

What were Thomas Paine’s criticisms of the British “mixed” constitution in Common Sense (1776)? What did John Adams fear in Paine’s proposed model of government?

Explain why the writings of the Radical Whigs had relatively little political influence in England but were immensely influential in colonial America.