LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Social Studies — Grade 8

Goal 2: The learner will trace the causes and effects of the Revolutionary War, and assess the impact of major events, problems, and personalities during the Constitutional Period in North Carolina and the new nation.

Objective 2.04. Examine the reasons for the colonists' victory over the British, and evaluate the impact of military successes and failures, the role of foreign interventions, and on going political and economic domestic issues.

Additional related resources

We’re in the process of aligning our content for students to the Standard Course of Study. As we do, you’ll find it here.

A Virginian responds to Dunmore's Proclamation
In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 3.6
Response to a 1775 proclamation by the Royal Governor of Virginia offering freedom to slaves and indentured servants who agreed to serve in the king's army. The writer argues that the governor does not have slaves' best interests at heart. Includes historical commentary.
Format: newspaper/primary source
The Southern Campaign
In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 5.2
In 1780 and 1781, the War of American Independence was fought largely in the South, not only between the British and Continental armies but between Patriot and Loyalist militias and between neighbors. A series of bloody battles ended in General Lord Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown in September 1781, effectively ending the war.
Format: article
The Overmountain Men and the Battle of Kings Mountain
In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 5.4
In October 1780, in response to a British threat in the Carolina backcountry, Patriot militias gathered in the mountains of present-day North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. They marched southeast to a site near present-day Morganton, joined forces, and proceeded to defeat Loyalist militias at the Battle of King's Mountain in South Carolina. The battle helped turn the tide of the war for independence.
Format: article
By Randell Jones.
Muskets and rifles: The soldier's experience
In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 5.5
In this short film, reenactor Bill Thompson explains late eighteenth-century small arms, including how a flintlock works and the differences between rifles and muskets, and demonstrates the loading and firing of an English "Brown Bess" musket. Filmed during Living History Week at Alamance Battleground.
Mary Slocumb at Moore's Creek Bridge
In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 3.8
Story, perhaps fictional or embellished, of the heroism of Mary (Polly) Slocumb, who tended Patriot wounded after the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge in 1776. Includes historical commentary.
Format: book/primary source
Lord Dunmore's Proclamation
In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 3.5
Proclamation by the Royal Governor of Virginia, 1775, offering freedom to slaves and indentured servants who fought in the king's army against the colonial uprising. Includes historical commentary.
Format: proclamation
"Liberty to slaves": The black response
In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 3.4
During the American Revolution, some black people living in the colonies fought for the British and some fought for the revolutionaries. Their actions during the war were often decided by what they believed would best help them throw off the shackles of slavery. Most believed that victory by the British would bring an end to their enslavement.
Format: article
By Jeffrey J. Crow.
The Halifax Resolves
In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 3.10
After the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge, North Carolina's fourth Provincial Congress met at Halifax in April 1776, and resolved that the colony's delegates to the Continental Congress should support a move to declare independence. Primary source includes historical commentary.
Format: proclamation/primary source
David Fanning and the Tory War of 1781
In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 5.10
During the American Revolution, Patriots and Loyalists fought in the North Carolina backcountry. In 1781, David Fanning, commanding the Loyalist forces of five counties, terrorized residents of the Piedmont.
Format: article
A call for independence
In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 3.9
After the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge, North Carolina's fourth Provincial Congress met at Halifax in April 1776, and resolved that the colony's delegates to the Continental Congress should support a move to declare independence.
Format: article
The Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge
In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 3.7
In February 1776, Patriot militia companies fought an army of Loyalists, mainly Scottish Highlanders, at Moore's Creek Bridge near Wilmington, North Carolina. The Patriot victory convinced colonial leaders to push for independence.
Format: article
The Battle of Kings Mountain
In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 5.3
At the Battle of King's Mountain, fought in October 1780 in South Carolina, Patriot militias defeated Loyalists under the command of a British Army officer.
The Battle of Guilford Courthouse
In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 5.9
In North Carolina History: A Sampler, page 7.2
During the American Revolution, on March 15, 1781, American and British armies met at Guilford Courthouse, in present-day Greensboro, North Carolina. Although the British won the battle, they lost so many troops that the battle ultimately helped the American cause. Includes a slideshow of photographs from a 2008 reenactment.
Format: article

General resources

Aligned lesson plans