THE CHOICES PROGRAM BROWN UNIVERSITY
VIDEO COLLECTION

The American Revolution: Experiences of Rebellion

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Part I: English Colonization of North America

How was the American Revolution more radical than the founders intended?
What role does slavery play in the history of the United States?
What is racial slavery and how is it different from other forms of slavery?
Why should we use the term “enslaved people” instead of “slaves”?
How did enslaved people challenge the institution of slavery?
Why were British goods important to colonists?
What was society like in colonial North America?
How did the French and Indian War affect life for Native people?
What was the relationship between Native people and European colonists?
What was life like for Native people in the North American colonies?
Who were the enslaved people in the British North American colonies?
What was life like for free Black people in the British North American colonies?
Why did colonists in the British North American colonies support the institution of slavery?
What role did slavery and enslaved people play in the northern colonies of the present-day United States?
What was daily life like for enslaved people?
What was life like for enslaved people in New England?
What types of work were enslaved people forced to do in the winter months?
How did enslaved people resist slavery?
How did enslaved people build communities?
What was the transatlantic trade of enslaved people?

Part II: The Widening Split

What is a republic?
How were the Founding Fathers influenced by classical political thought?
How did colonial women express revolutionary ideas?

Part III: The War of Independence—1776-1783

Why is George Washington an interesting historical figure?
How were Native people affected by the American Revolution?
How is racial inequality rooted in the founding of the United States?
What kind of freedom did enslaved people seek?
Why didn’t the Declaration of Independence extend rights to enslaved people?
Why did some enslaved people support different sides during the American Revolution?
How did slavery change after U.S. independence from Britain?
How have the legacies of slavery affected the history of the United States?
What was the role of enslaved people in the American Revolution?

Lesson: Interpreting a Native Map

Reading maps: How to analyze a map
What was the relationship between Native people and European colonists?
What was life like for Native people in the North American colonies?

Lesson: Revolutionary People

What was society like in colonial North America?
What was the relationship between Native people and European colonists?
What was life like for Native people in the North American colonies?
Who were the enslaved people in the British North American colonies?
What was life like for free Black people in the British North American colonies?
What was the role of enslaved people in the American Revolution?
How was the American Revolution more radical than the founders intended?
What kind of freedom did enslaved people seek?

Lesson: Art History and the American Revolution

Why are historical objects and art important for understanding the American Revolution?
How do you go about analyzing a work of art?
What can art reveal about history or current events?
How do you choose art for an exhibit?

Lesson: The Declaration of Independence

Why didn’t the Declaration of Independence extend rights to enslaved people?
What kind of freedom did enslaved people seek?
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