The American Revolution (AMSCO Topic 3.5) — Outside-Research EditionThe American Revolution (AMSCO Topic 3.5) — Outside-Research Edition

AP US HISTORY · UNIT 3

The American Revolution

AMSCO Topic 3.5

AP US History Study Guide — Outside-Research Edition

Learning Objective: Explain how various factors contributed to the American victory in the Revolution. Historical thinking skills this guide targets: causation (why the Americans won a war they were favored to lose), comparison (Patriot vs. Loyalist vs. Native American experience), and continuity/change (how the army and the war's character shifted 1775–1783). First Continental Congress (September 1774)

Called in response to the Intolerable Acts; all colonies except Georgia sent delegates to Philadelphia. Most delegates wanted to restore the pre-1763 relationship with Britain, not independence.

Delegate spectrum: Radicals (Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, John Adams) → Moderates (George Washington, John Dickinson) → Conservatives (John Jay, Joseph Galloway) → Loyalists (unrepresented).

Joseph Galloway's Plan (like the 1754 Albany Plan, a union within the British Empire) failed by just one vote. Instead, Congress:

Endorsed the Suffolk Resolves (repeal the Intolerable Acts; resist via military prep and boycotts)

Passed the Declaration and Resolves (petition to the king; still recognized Parliament's power to regulate commerce) Created the Continental Association to enforce economic sanctions/boycotts

Agreed to reconvene in May 1775 if grievances weren't addressed

OUTSIDE SOURCE — Beyond AMSCO: Galloway's plan lost by exactly one vote, and Galloway himself later defected to the Loyalists and left for England in 1778 — a useful concrete example that the radical/conservative split at the Congress was not abstract; it foreshadowed which delegates would actually choose which side once war broke out. — American Battlefield Trust, "Joseph Galloway" biography, accessed 2026.

Fighting Begins (1775)

Lexington and Concord (April 18–19, 1775): General Thomas Gage sent troops to seize colonial supplies at Concord. Paul Revere and William Dawes warned the Minutemen. First shots fired at Lexington (unclear who fired first — the "shot heard 'round the world"); British took heavy casualties (250) retreating from Concord.

Bunker Hill (June 17, 1775): Fought at Breed's Hill (misnamed). British technically won the hill but suffered massive casualties — a moral victory for the colonists.

OUTSIDE SOURCE — Beyond AMSCO: At Bunker Hill, the British suffered roughly 1,054 casualties (of about 2,200 engaged) compared to around 450 American casualties — a British "victory" so costly that General William Howe later called it a battle he never wanted to fight again this way, and it convinced British commanders that taking the war seriously would be far more expensive than expected. — American Battlefield Trust, "Battle of Bunker Hill," accessed 2026.

Second Continental Congress (May 1775)

Divided between those (mostly New England) wanting independence and those (mostly middle colonies) hoping to negotiate. Adopted the Declaration of the Causes and Necessities for Taking Up Arms; appointed George Washington commander-in- chief.

Authorized Benedict Arnold's raid on Quebec; organized a small navy/marine corps.

Peace effort — Olive Branch Petition (July 1775): pledged loyalty to the king, asked him to intercede with Parliament. King George rejected it and instead endorsed the Prohibitory Act (Aug. 1775), declaring the colonies in rebellion and banning trade with them.

The Declaration of Independence

June 7, 1776: Richard Henry Lee introduces a resolution for independence.

A five-person committee, including Thomas Jefferson, drafts a supporting statement.

July 2: Congress adopts Lee's resolution — John Adams actually predicted July 2, not July 4, would be the date Americans celebrated. AMSCO APUSH Unit 3 2 of 5

July 4, 1776: Congress adopts Jefferson's Declaration of Independence — lists grievances against George III and lays out founding principles ("all men are created equal," unalienable rights to "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness"). For essay writing — contextualize the Declaration, don't just quote it. The "self-evident truths" language borrows directly from John Locke's natural-rights philosophy (see Topic 3.4): government exists to protect natural rights, and when it fails to do so, the people may alter or abolish it. A strong essay response connects the Declaration's ideas back to the Enlightenment social contract, not just its famous phrases.

The Competing Sides

Of ~2.6 million colonists: ~40% Patriots, ~25% Loyalists (Tories), the rest neutral.

British strengths: 3x the population, wealthy economy, powerful navy, experienced army.

Patriots: - Concentrated in New England and Virginia; mostly short-term local militia. - Washington never had more than 20,000 regulars at once; army was chronically underfed/underpaid, but resilient. - African Americans: Washington initially rejected Black soldiers; reversed course once the British offered freedom to enslaved people who joined them (see Lord Dunmore's Proclamation, Virginia, Nov. 1775). ~5,000 African Americans fought as Patriots (e.g., Peter Salem).

OUTSIDE SOURCE — Beyond AMSCO: The clearest example of Black Patriot service is the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, formed in 1778 when Rhode Island — desperate to fill its ranks — began enlisting enslaved men in exchange for freedom. It grew to roughly 225 soldiers, about 140 of them Black, "by far the largest percentage of Blacks in an integrated military unit" in the war. The regiment helped repel three British charges at the Battle of Rhode Island (Aug. 1778) and later fought at the Siege of Yorktown. This is a strong, specific example to cite on an essay about the unevenness of revolutionary ideals (compare with Topic 3.6). — BlackPast.org and World History Encyclopedia, "1st Rhode Island Regiment," accessed 2026.