| A | B |
|---|
| Deism | Religious philosophy that inspired many Founding Fathers with the view of God as a clockmaker but the universe operates according to natural law |
| Lexington and Concord | The Second Continental Congress raises an army and names George Washington as its commander |
| The King's outright rejection of the Olive Branch Petition | Ended hopes of reconciling with the King who wanted to stamp out rebellious activity once and for all |
| The fact the Patriots did not have to win the war, they were defending their own soil, obtained foreign aid/support and possessed superior leadership | The Patriots had just enough advantages and intangibles to defeat the mighty British |
| The use of Hessians, the outright rejection of the Olive Branch Petition, the lengthening conflict, and Thomas Paine's Common Sense | Inspired the British cause to demand for independence |
| Thomas Paine's Common Sense (1776) | Provided the colonists with strong arguments to push for independence and seek a republican form of government |
| John Locke's writings and other works of the Enlightenment | Inspired Thomas Jefferson when he wrote the Declaration of Independence to demand protection for natural rights of "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness" |
| The fears of many colonists that the Revolution was futile or treasonous | A large percentage of the colonial population were Loyalists (Tories), or sitting on the fence |
| The British a lesser threat than an independent North American nation to the Indians | Most Native Americans such as Joseph Brant and the Iroquois sided with the British |
| George Washington's ability to hold the Continental Army together during tough times and avoid a decisive defeat | Washington was the "indispensible man" of the Revolutionary cause |
| The Battle of Saratoga (1777) | Finally convinced the French to sign a treaty of alliance with the Americans against the British |
| Foreign support for the Patriots | Evened the scales by providing the colonists with supplies, arms, military advisers, troops and naval support, and Britain was embroiled in a global conflict |
| British fear they would lose the war | Britain's Southern Campaign in the last 1/3 of the war to secure its most valuable colonies |
| Battle of Yorktown (1781) | The defeat of Cornwallis' army effectively ends most fighting in America |
| An overwhelming global conflict, a war-weary population, and an attempt to woo the Americans back away from the French | The Americans received very generous terms in the Treaty of Paris |
| The Treaty of Paris (1783) | The U.S. officially became independent extending all the way to the Mississippi River, and promise to compensate Loyalist property losses |
