Name key Founding Fathers and their roles, and describe contributions of lesser-known everyday patriots, including women and African Americans, during the Revolution.
A handful of well-known Founders led key parts of the Revolution: George Washington commanded the Continental Army and later became the first president; Benjamin Franklin, already a famous inventor and writer, served as a diplomat who helped secure France's crucial alliance; John Adams pushed hard for independence and later served as a diplomat himself; and Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. But the Revolution also depended on countless everyday patriots whose names are less often remembered.
Abigail Adams urged her husband John, in a famous 1776 letter, to "remember the ladies" as new laws were written -- a request not acted on at the time, but an early voice for women's rights. Deborah Sampson disguised herself as a man to serve as a soldier in the Continental Army. Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved woman freed shortly after publishing her book of poetry in 1773, wrote verse admired even by George Washington. James Armistead, an enslaved man, served as a spy for the Marquis de Lafayette, gathering crucial intelligence from inside British General Cornwallis's camp before Yorktown; Lafayette later successfully petitioned the Virginia legislature to free him. Remembering patriots like these gives a fuller, more honest picture of who actually won American independence.
Mastery looks like: They can name at least two well-known Founders and two everyday patriots, with one true fact about each.
Common stumbles: Thinking only a few famous men won the Revolution; not knowing any contributions beyond Washington and Jefferson.