The American Revolution: Valley Forge

Procedure

Read the Summary of the 1765 Stamp Act at http://www.history.org/history/teaching/tchcrone.htm

• What did the Stamp Act require the colonists to do? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

• Why did Britain impose the Stamp Act? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

• Why did the colonists object to the Stamp Act? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

Read about the Boston Tea Party at http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/H/1990/ch2_p8.htm

• How did the colonists protest the Stamp Act before the Boston Tea Party? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

• What did the patriots hope to accomplish by throwing the tea into Boston harbor? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

• How did the British government respond to the Boston Tea Party? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

Read the text of the Declaration of Independence at http://earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/freedom/doi/index.html

• Which three complaints against the King do you feel are the most important, and why?

Part II

Visit the following areas to answer the questions below:

• The Story of Valley Forge
• The Museum
• The Revolutionary War Timeline
• Who Served Here
• The Weather Report

Questions:

1. How long did the soldiers spend in Valley Forge? ______________________________________________________________

2. How many men stayed at Valley Forge? ______________________________________________________________

3. What was the first thing the soldiers had to do upon arrival at Valley Forge? ______________________________________________________________

4. List five of the medical problems that the men suffered. ______________________________________________________________

5. Which disease did George Washington try particularly hard to prevent his army from getting? ______________________________________________________________

6. It is commonly understood that the weather at Valley Forge that winter was especially terrible, but was that really the case? Was that winter the most severe one during the Revolutionary War? ______________________________________________________________

7. Why did the soldiers have a particularly hard time remaining comfortable in the cold that winter? ______________________________________________________________

8. What were some of the duties of a doctor at Valley Forge? ______________________________________________________________

9. Were there any women there? If so, what did they do? ______________________________________________________________

10. What was George Washington,s marquee and what did he use it for? ______________________________________________________________

11. Why did the soldiers of Valley Forge suffer a shortage of food and equipment? ______________________________________________________________

12. Was there any opportunity for recreation? If so, what did they do? ______________________________________________________________

13. Why did morale improve once spring arrived? ______________________________________________________________

14. With what nation did the colonists form a treaty of alliance and commerce while the army was at Valley Forge? ______________________________________________________________

15. Do you think you could survive conditions such as those that the army faced at Valley Forge? Why or why not? ______________________________________________________________

Part III

Imagine that you're a soldier at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-1778. Write an account of your experiences, including the following:

• Describe your daily life, including a description of your duties and the physical hardships that you face.
• Explain why you,re willing to endure these conditions, what you,re fighting for, and why the fight is worth it to you.
• Base your response on all the pages you have visited in this exercise.