Writing Exercises: The American Revolution

Get historians writing about the American Revolution using this short-answer activity! Three big-picture prompts are intended to guide deeper thinking and prepare students for later discussion and application. They consider the influence of Enlightenment ideas, describe economic causes, and put themselves in the shoes of Thomas Jefferson's slave, imagining what they would take from the Declaration of Independence. No informational text is provided, so precede with notes or pair with a reading.