Class 9 History Chapter 1 American War Of Independence, Elective History class 9 SEBA Notes and Question Answer In English Medium answer to each chapter is provided in the list so that you can easily browse throughout different chapters SEBA Class 9 History Chapter 1 American War Of Independence and select need one.
Class 9 History Chapter 1 American War Of Independence
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American War Of Independence
Lesson – 1
HISTORY
1. Answer very briefly:
(a) When and who discovered America?
Ans: In 1492, Christopher Columbus.
(b) Who founded Virginia?
Ans: Sir Walter Raleigh.
(c) Who was the king of England during the American War of Independence?
Ans: King George III.
(d) How many British colonies were there in America?
Ans: 13 British colonies.
(e) Who drafted the Declaration of Independence?
Ans: Thomas Jefferson’s.
(f) In which battle did the combined forces of America and France defeat General Cornwallis?
Ans: YorkTown.
(g) Mention two foreign powers who had helped America.
Ans: 1. France. and
2. Spain.
(h) Who authored ‘Common Sense’?
Ans: Thomas Paine.
(i) Under whose presidentship was the American Constitution drafted?
Ans: George Washington.
(j) Who was the first president of America?
Ans: George Washington.
(k) The American natives were known by what name? Alternate Question: By what name were the American natives known?
Ans: “Red Indians”.
(l) What is the tenure of office of the American president?
Ans: The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows. U.S. Const. amend XXII.
(m) Name two main political parties of America.
Ans: 1. Democratic Party. and
2. Republican Party.
(n) When did the American Constitution come into force?
Ans: March 4, 1789.
2. WRITE SHORT NOTES
(a) Origin of the name-America.
Ans: The naming of the Americas, or America, occurred shortly after Christopher Columbus’s first voyage to the Americas in 1492. It is generally accepted that the name derives from Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian explorer, who explored the new continents in the following years on behalf of Spain and Portugal.
(b) Declaration of Independence.
Ans: The document announced the separation of 13 North American British colonies from Great Britain. It was the last of a series of steps that led the colonies to final separation from Great Britain.
The three important point of this Declaration were:
(1) God made all men equal and gave them the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
(2) the main business of government is to protect these rights.
(3) if a government tries to withhold these rights, the people are free to revolt and to set up a new government.
(c) Pilgrim fathers.
Ans: The Pilgrim Fathers is the common name for a group of English separatists who fled an environment of religious intolerance in Protestant England during the reign of James I to establish the second English colony in the New World. Unlike the colonists who settled Jamestown as a commercial venture of the joint-stock Virginia Company in 1607, the Pilgrims migrated primarily to establish a community where they could practice their religion freely while maintaining their English identity.
(d) Boston Tea Party.
Ans: The Boston Tea Party, which occurred on December 16, 1773 and was known to contemporaries as the Destruction of the Tea, was a direct response to British taxation policies in the North American colonies. The British response to the Boston Tea Party was to impose even more stringent policies on the Massachusetts colony.
(e) Stamp Act Congress.
Ans: The Stamp Act Congress of 1765 was a meeting of delegates from nine American colonies who met to discuss the rights of the colonists regarding British taxation such as the Stamp Act. The colonists desired ‘no taxation without representation’ and responded to the Stamp Act with the Declaration of Rights and Grievances. The Stamp Act Congress was represented with twenty-seven delegates from nine American colonies including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The objective of the meeting was to denounce the Stamp Act and pass resolutions demanding the repeal of the Stamp Act.
(f) Armed Neutrality.
Ans: Conceived and phrased by the Danes, proclaimed by Catherine the Great of Russia on 29 February 1780, and also subscribed to by Sweden and several other European nations, Armed Neutrality began as a response to specific British naval actions but became a long-lived principle of neutral rights. In order to enforce a blockade of its rebellious colonies, England claimed the right to inspect neutral ships at sea and seize contraband goods bound for America. In practice, this policy focused primarily on ships from the Netherlands. Thus, the Armed Neutrality proved to be detrimental to the British interests as three countries continued to trade with the colonists with the support of the countries of Armed Neutrality.
(g) Bill of Rights.
Ans: The Bill of Rights is the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution. It spells out Americans’ rights in relation to their government. It guarantees civil rights and liberties to the individual — like freedom of speech, press, and religion. It sets rules for due process of law and reserves all powers not delegated to the Federal Government to the people or the States. And it specifies that “the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
3. ESSAY TYPE QUESTIONS
(a) Discuss briefly the English colonisation of America.
Ans: During the early and mid-sixteenth century, the English tended to conceive of North America as a base for piracy and harassment of the Spanish. But by the end of the century, the English began to think more seriously about North America as a place to colonize: as a market for English goods and a source of raw materials and commodities such as furs. English promoters claimed that New World colonization offered England many advantages. Not only would it serve as a bulwark against Catholic Spain, it would supply England with raw materials and provide a market for finished products. America would also provide a place to send the English poor and ensure that they would contribute to the nation’s wealth.
During the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, the English poor increased rapidly in number. As a result of the enclosure of traditional common lands (which were increasingly used to raise sheep), many common people were forced to become wage laborers or else to support themselves hand-to-mouth or simply as beggars.
After unsuccessful attempts to establish settlements in Newfoundland and at Roanoke, the famous “Lost Colony,” off the coast of present-day North Carolina, England established its first permanent North American settlement, Jamestown, in 1607. Located in swampy marshlands along Virginia’s James River, Jamestown’s residents suffered horrendous mortality rates during its first years. Immigrants had just a fifty-fifty chance of surviving five years.
The Jamestown expedition was financed by the Virginia Company of London, which believed that precious metals were to be found in the area. From the outset, however, Jamestown suffered from disease and conflict with Indians. Approximately 30,000 Algonquian Indians lived in the region, divided into about 40 tribes. About 30 tribes belonged to a confederacy led by Powhatan.
Food was an initial source of conflict. More interested in finding gold and silver than in farming, Jamestown’s residents (many of whom were either aristocrats or their servants) were unable or unwilling to work. When the English began to seize Indian food stocks, Powhatan cut off supplies, forcing the colonists to subsist on frogs, snakes, and even decaying corpses.
Captain John Smith (1580?-1631) was twenty-six years old when the first expedition landed. A farmer’s son, Smith had already led an adventurous life before arriving in Virginia. He had fought with the Dutch army against the Spanish and in eastern Europe against the Ottoman Turks, when he was taken captive and enslaved. He later escaped to Russia before returning to England.
Smith, serving as president of the Jamestown colony from 1608 to 1609, required the colonists to work and traded with the Indians for food. In 1609, after being wounded in a gunpowder accident, Smith returned to England. After his departure, conflict between the English and the Powhatan confederacy intensified, especially after the colonists began to clear land in order to plant tobacco.
In a volume recounting the history of the English colony in Virginia, Smith describes a famous incident in which Powhatan’s 12-year-old daughter, Pocahontas (1595?-1617), saved him from execution. Although some have questioned whether this incident took place (since Smith failed to mention it in his Historie’s first edition), it may well have been a “staged event,” an elaborate adoption ceremony by which Powhatan symbolically made Smith his vassal or servant. Through similar ceremonies, the Powhatan people incorporated outsiders into their society. Pocahontas reappears in the colonial records in 1613, when she was lured aboard an English ship and held captive. Negotiations for her release failed, and in 1614, she married John Rolfe, the colonist who introduced tobacco to Virginia. Whether this marriage represented an attempt to forge an alliance between the English and the Powhatan remains uncertain.
(b) Discuss briefly the causes of the American War of Independence.
Ans: The main causes of this revolution were:
- The Americans were not allowed to start any industry. They were not allowed to trade with any country except England. They did not have the same rights as the English enjoyed in England. The Americans did not have any representation in the British Parliament. They had to pay more taxes than the English paid in England.
- The English settlers in America were inspired by European philosophers like John Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, and Montesquieu who believed in freedom, equality, and rights of people.
- In 1765, the English Parliament passed the Stamp Act which imposed stamp taxes on all business transactions. This Act aroused violent resentment among colonists.
- American thinkers like Jefferson asked people to rebel against the tyrannical rule of England.
- The most prominent protest against the British is known as the ‘Boston Tea Party’. A group of people raided British ships in Boston Harbour and threw 340 crates of tea into the sea to protest against the new taxes. The 13 colonies in America revolted against the British. This is known as the American War of Independence.
(c) Write down the factors responsible for the defeat of the British in the American War of Independence.
Ans: 1. Distance and Supply Lines: The distance between Great Britain and the American colonies made it difficult for the British to maintain a steady supply line. Reinforcements, supplies, and communication took months, which hampered their ability to respond quickly to the evolving situation on the ground.
2. Familiarity with the Terrain: The American colonists were fighting on their home turf. They were familiar with the local terrain, weather conditions, and the best places to stage ambushes and guerrilla attacks. This local knowledge was a significant advantage.
3. Foreign Support: The Americans received crucial support from foreign powers, most notably France. The French provided military aid, funding, and troops, which significantly bolstered the American forces. The involvement of other European powers also diverted British attention and resources away from the American colonies.
4. Motivation and Ideals: The American colonists were highly motivated by their desire for independence and their belief in the righteousness of their cause. This motivation sustained them through difficult times and inspired them to keep fighting, even when the odds seemed against them.
5. Leadership: The American Revolutionary leaders, such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson, played a pivotal role in organizing and leading the Continental Army. Their strategic acumen and ability to inspire the troops were instrumental in the eventual victory.
6. British Political and Public Opinion: The war faced significant opposition within Britain. Many Britons were against the conflict, viewing it as a costly and unnecessary endeavor. This lack of public support influenced political decisions and made it challenging to sustain a prolonged war effort.
7. British Military Strategies: The British employed conventional military tactics that were effective in traditional European warfare but less suitable for the unconventional, guerrilla-style warfare used by the American forces. Additionally, the British had to spread their forces thin due to the vast expanse of the colonies, making it difficult to concentrate their strength effectively.
8. Economic Pressures: The cost of fighting a prolonged war across the Atlantic placed a considerable strain on the British economy. The expenses incurred in maintaining a large military presence in America and funding the war effort eventually became unsustainable.
9. Domestic Unrest: The war further exacerbated social and economic tensions within Britain. Issues such as high taxes and economic disparity contributed to domestic unrest, diverting attention and resources away from the war effort.
10. International Pressures: Apart from France, other European powers like Spain and the Netherlands also provided support to the American cause. This international pressure further isolated Britain and complicated its efforts in the conflict.
(d) Briefly discuss the results of the American War of Independence.
Ans: The Results of the American War of Independence are:
1. Emergence of USA: A new nation began to develop called the United States of America [USA]. They wrote the constitution of their own. America became the first country in the world which made written constitution. George Washington became the first President of America.
2. Loss to England: According to the American Revolution England lost there 13 colonies which were the most resourceful colonies.
3. A lesson to England: After the loss against Americans they turned their direction towards East and Asian countries. A belief that Sun never sets in their kingdom was proved wrong.
4. An inspiration to the French Revolution: The efforts made by the philosophers of America and their watchwords also encouraged the French people and inspired them.
5. End of democracy in England: As a result of the loss over America the English king lost his prestige and power in his country.
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