What if America had lost the revolution? Did you ever wonder what your life would be like if the United States were led by a king or queen?

* OBJECTIVE

Students should understand

* that historic events we now take for granted were, in their time, uncertain and could have turned out otherwise.

* WORDS TO KNOW

patriot: a person who loves his or her country * treaty: a formal agreement reached by negotiation and signed by officials * tyrant: a ruler with absolute power who wields his or her authority harshly.

* TEACHING STRATEGY

Ask students to describe an important historic event. Then ask them to imagine that it had turned out differently. How might that difference have affected what followed?

* BACKGROUND

Many of the events of the American Revolution could easily have ended differently. For example, an assassin once aimed his gun at George Washington, but did not shoot. One way to understand historic events is to consider the impact that even small differences could have had on the results.

* CRITICAL THINKING

RECALLING DETAILS: Why did many Americans grow increasingly frustrated by British rule? (Officials thousands of miles away were imposing laws and taxes without real understanding of how the colonists lived or what they needed.)

MAKING PREDICTIONS: The Revolution's leaders were influenced by what European movement? Would they have gone to war if they had not known of it? Explain. (the Enlightenment; answers will vary)

* ACTIVITY

HOLD A DEBATE: Divide students into two groups of "colonists"--one supporting the Revolution, the other loyal to the King. Give them time to prepare arguments in support of their causes, then hold a debate. If time allows, have the teams switch sides, and argue the opposite.

STANDARDS

SOCIAL STUDIES, GRADES 5-8

* Time, continuity, and change: That our perspective of historic events is different from how people living at the time saw them.

* Civic ideals and practices: How people's ideals and actions can influence or change government

RESOURCES

PRINT

* Nardo, Don (ed.), The American Revolution (Thomson Gale, 1998). Grades 6 & up.

* Schanzer, Rosalyn, George vs. George: The American Revolution as Seen From Both Sides (National Geographic Society, 2004). Grades 5 & up.

WEB SITES

* American Revolution time line infoplease.com/ipa /A0001229.html

* Library of Congress Learning Page memory.loc.gov /learn/features /timeline/amrev/amrev.html

Picture this: In a town square in London, England, a noisy crowd of people surrounds a wooden platform. Four hangman's posts line the back of the platform. In front of each post stands a man, hands tied behind his back and a rope hanging loosely around his neck.

A government official steps forward and silences the crowd. "Hear ye, loyal subjects of Britain! Before you stand four men who have been found guilty of an unforgivable crime: betraying their King and country. These traitors led thousands of their countrymen in open rebellion against their sovereign." He turns to address the four men. "George Washington! John Adams! Thomas Jefferson! Benjamin Franklin! As punishment for your crimes, you will hang by your necks until you are dead!"

You won't find that incident in your history books, because it didn't happen. America won its revolution. Instead of remembering those men as traitors or troublemakers, we honor them as heroes and Founding Fathers. Washington was the general who guided America's army through the war. Adams, Jefferson, and Franklin helped write the Declaration of Independence, the formal statement of why America had gone to war.

There was no guarantee that Britain's 13 Colonies would win the American Revolution. Those four men and many other people willingly risked their lives to take part in a struggle that could have easily ended in defeat.

An Unlikely Victory

The list of Britain's advantages over the Colonies is a long one. For starters, Britain had a huge, well-trained army and navy. Most of its generals were professional soldiers. America's army was a mismatched bunch of men and boys who knew more about farming, shopkeeping, blacksmithing, or schoolteaching than they did about warfare. Its leader, General Washington, had never commanded an army.

The first shots of the Revolution were fired on April 19, 1775, in Lexington, Massachusetts. Fighting ended on October 19, 1781, when the British surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia. In 1783, Britain signed a treaty recognizing the United States as an independent nation--the war's official end.

At almost any point, America could have lost the Revolution. Again and again, Washington's Continental Army came dangerously close to defeat. In August 1776, for example, a huge British fleet had Washington's army trapped on the Brooklyn side of New York's East River. Before the British could complete the attack, a dense fog enveloped the area.

Overnight, Washington staged an astounding escape. Hidden by fog from ships just yards away, soldiers, horses, cannons, and supplies were silently rowed across the river. By the time the fog lifted the next morning, 9,000 American troops had reached safety.

The Great Divide

Today, we think of the American Revolution as a war between two countries. At the time, though, it was more like a civil war. In the pre-war Colonies, most people considered themselves to be British--even if they had never been to England.

The Founding Fathers were no different. In his youth, Washington was an officer in the British Army. For more than half of Franklin's life, he also was loyal to England. In 1754, he expressed his hope that Britain and America would "learn to consider themselves, not as belonging to different Communities with different Interests, but to one Community with one Interest." Like many other Americans, Franklin did not demand independence until it was clear that the King and Parliament would not allow Americans rights that they considered their due.

Americans were increasingly frustrated by laws and taxes set by officials 5,000 miles away. The British government was too far removed to have any real understanding of how Americans lived or what they needed.

As resentments deepened, colonists reflected the gap. Americans on both sides considered themselves loyalists and patriots. The difference was: Were you loyal to Britain or to America? To Britons and Tones, independence-seekers were rebels and traitors. To the rebels, Britain's King George III was a tyrant and Tories were the traitors.

The bitterness split families as well as communities. As John Adams put it, "I would have hanged my brother if he took part with our enemy in this country."

What Kind of Country?

It is hard to say what the U.S. would be like today if the American Revolution had ended in a British victory. One possibility: What now is one country could have become any number of smaller ones. North America would look more like Europe. Late in the war (June 1781), Georgia actually did surrender to the British and returned to royal rule. Several other Colonies were close to doing the same. If they had, some Colonies might have become one country, the test another. The vast area west of the Appalachian Mountains might have become a third country, or many small ones.

Another possibility: If America had lost, Britain probably would have established stricter rule here. Imagine the U.S. being ruled by a single, powerful governor appointed by Britain's monarch. (Today, Prince Charles might be the Prince of America rather than the Prince of Wales.)

Even with victory, America's leaders feared any one person having too much power. They designed a Constitution that distributes it among three branches of government. The U.S. President, Congress, and Supreme Court have different powers. If one person held all three responsibilities, the U.S. would be a very different country.

The True Victory

For centuries, the power of kings had rarely been questioned, let alone rejected. But in the 18th century, a movement known as the Enlightenment was growing in Europe. Philosophers were discussing freedom and human rights. America's Founders were aware of those ideals.

So, what if the Colonies had lost the war? According to John Adams, the true victory was won before the fighting even started. "What do we mean by the Revolution?" he later wrote to Thomas Jefferson. "The War? That was no part of [it].... The Revolution was in the minds of the people ... years before a drop of blood was drawn at Lexington."

The idea of independence had already been planted. Deep-rooted, it would have kept growing. Sooner or later, it would have burst free. Your Turn

Words to Know

* monarch: a ruler whose power is inherited and usually held for life.

* Parliament: the legislative (lawmaking) body of Great Britain.

* sovereign: a leader with supreme power.

* Tories: American colonists who remained loyal to Britain.

THINK ABOUT IT

1. How was the American Revolution "like a civil war"?

2. What do you think America would be like today if it had lost the Revolution? Explain.

QUICK QUIZ

* In each sentence below, change the boldface word or phrase to another one that will make the statement correct.

16. The first shots of the American Revolution were fired at London, England.

17. America's Founders were influenced by a European movement known as the Establishment.

18. A dense fog over the East River in Massachusetts helped Washington's army escape from a British trap.

19. Late in the war, Virginia Colony briefly surrendered to royal rule.

20. The Revolution officially ended in 1783, when Britain signed a constitution recognizing the U.S. as an independent nation.

Answers:

16. Lexington, Massachusetts

17. Enlightenment

18. New York 

19. Georgia

20. treaty