Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources Looking for American Revolution resources

I come here again for suggestions. DS8 is currently interested in the American Revolutionary War. He has gone through the kiddie stuff which gives high level of the fact it happened. I am looking for something which discusses the strategies of the various battles, the politics and culture in both America and England at the time just prior to the war/at the beginning of the war/and during the war, England's views versus the Colonist views, etc. He has studied the different fighting styles a bit and is quite intrigued as to how the English style actually had any success. He has also studied the financial situation a little bit, which has been of interest. He knows England was in a lot of debt as a result of fighting the French. He also knows there was a monarchy change in this time period as well. Financial/commerce consequences would be an added bonus.

Of course, all this has to be relatively G rated. Nothing such as how prisoners were treated or anything gory with pictures of wounded with dead bodies lying nearby. He is learning about different treatments for individuals of various economic status. He does not like it, but seems to tolerate that a bit better other types of classification consequences.

Thank you so much for your suggestions.

A few ideas -

PBS series "Liberty's Kids" shows how friends and neighbors sometimes held strong opposing views.

The book "Johnny Tremain" shares the experiences of a 14-year old boy at the time of the Revolutionary War.

These books about the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution portray that signers came from all walks of life.

The book "The Declaration of Independence (museum in a book)" features pockets with reproduction documents, letters, artifacts.

I can't help on the topic specifics, but I can recommend a tool. I don't know if your DS' interest level exceeds the upper range for this idea, but one database I like to use when finding resources is called "NoveList K-8 Plus" (there is an unbounded follow-on, otherwise-- "NoveList Plus: Your Guide to Reading"). These give you keyword, theme, and tone targets (as well as level) for fiction and non-fiction. We have both of these available free through our public library.

If your local library doesn't have these services and they're of interest, PM me. I've used them to find some really niche media.

For background may want to look into the French Indian wars as these really cemented the future viability of the English speaking North American colonies and it was basically arguments over the bill that brought the whole independence thing to a head. Just like today - the rich (read truly wealthy as opposed to temporariy high income) did not want to pay their fair share of taxes so stirred everyone up into a frenzy of misdirection, IMO LOL.

Our DD really enjoyed the historical ficton novel "My Brother Sam is Dead." (Though part of the appeal was her teacher, a veteran, and how he spoke about his war experiences).

Perhaps not what you are looking for, but fun, is the musical 1776- there is a film version which my kids love. Not a lot of factual regurgitation, but humorous and good music, too. (Depending on your kid, you may want to consider skipping the scene where Jefferson is reunited with his wife after being away in Philadelphia for months- it is all implied, but innuendo is part of the humor).

You might find some interest in the documents and lesson activities associated with them in this list of primary sources compiled by the National Archives:

http://www.ourdocuments.gov/content.php?flash=true&page=milestone

They do range across the entire history of USA nationhood.

Naturally, the individual reactions would have run the gamut, just as they always do when the subject of taxes comes up, but the general collective reaction would have been for the colonists to pay their taxes, just as patriotic citizens of the mightiest empire on earth should.

The problem is that Parliament took it upon itself to dictate tax policy to the colonists. The colonists did not recognize Parliament to have any authority over them whatsoever, and they stood on some fairly firm legal ground in doing so. Many of the colonial charters, signed by the king, had been originally written or subsequently updated to describe a situation in which the king appointed governors and judges, and the locals organized their own legislatures. In this arrangement, Parliament was redundant. It was in recognition of this situation that Parliament attempted to establish its authority with the Declaratory Act, which had as much effect as if it had voted itself emperor of Russia.

Given a tax bill from the king, the local legislatures would likely have produced their own tax structures that they could live with, and there would never have been a revolt. The proof is that the US is the only colony that ever did so, and afterwards Parliament largely quit meddling directly in the affairs of colonies.

Those primary sources are pretty cool! Thanks!

Back to the OP: This is a subject area in which I have some expertise, so I can be a resource for any specific questions your DS may have, if you like.

This is a pretty short, simple summary of the basic tactics: link. The differences between the two sides in this area are much smaller than most people realize. The colonists used partisan tactics to harass the British and interrupt supply lines. They also made good use of skirmishers (Daniel Morgan's riflemen being the most prominent example) due to their use of the long rifle. American officers were often insubordinate and self-serving, which often led to disaster (except at Saratoga, in which is was an advantage). Apart from that, and the fact that the Americans had to depend on undependable militia units, the two sides fought largely the same way. In fact, warfare looked much the same until the Civil War, where trench warfare was invented.

That site has some pretty good write-ups on battles in NJ, too. I would always recommend that anyone interested in understanding how the battles unfolded take a broader view, and attempt to understand the individual battles as part of a campaign. The battles do tend to flow one into another.

As far as understanding the political sphere, I second the recommendation for original source documents, but recognize that they're beyond 8th grade reading, nevermind 8yo reading. For a perspective from across the pond, I'd recommend seeking stories of Charles Fox and Edmund Burke, as the opposition voices in Parliament. I'd also recommend information on John Locke, since the rebellion was largely based on his philosophies. A compare/contrast of Locke/Rousseau will also do as a good backdrop for understanding the divides of Federalism/anti-Federalism, Federalists/Democratic Republicans, and John Adams/Thomas Jefferson, though this is mostly for understanding the era immediately following the Revolution.

While there is a lot of background knowledge required, I know that I could have read and understood Common Sense by Thomas Paine when I was 8 because I have always been fascinated by history from the time that I learned to read. I would suggest it to your son to get a flavor for the time and the debates running at that moment in our history.


Gutenberg project link here