Essential Question
How did thirteen colonies declare and win their independence — and on what principles?
This week tells how thirteen British colonies declared and won their independence, and on what principles. We follow the road from taxation disputes to Lexington and Concord, to the Declaration of Independence (1776), through the war to Saratoga and Yorktown, anchored by the steady leadership of George Washington. Because Holy Week and Easter fall near here, the week meditates on sacrifice and self-giving — the cost of liberty mirrored in, and infinitely surpassed by, the cost of our redemption.
Liturgical note: HOLY WEEK and EASTER fall near this week — the Church walks with Christ from the Last Supper to the Cross to the empty tomb. The theme of sacrifice unto new life frames the whole week. If your homeschool pauses for the Triduum, treat these four days flexibly around the liturgies.
Threads at a Glance
The age of Atlantic revolutions begins; Britain's global empire and the crisis with its colonies.
A nation of immigrants: Ellis Island, cities, and reform
George Washington.
The Revolutionary War; the 13 states and key sites — Boston, Saratoga, Yorktown.
Revolutionary-era American art — John Trumbull's history paintings, Gilbert Stuart's Washington, John Singleton Copley.
Music of the Revolution — fifes and drums, 'Yankee Doodle'; and the late Classical era of Mozart.
St. Junípero Serra — founding the California missions (1769).
Sacrifice and self-giving — Holy Week; the cost of liberty.
YOUCAT — Marian prayer and the Rosary; the Hail Mary (Q481-Q484, Q511).
Parallelism and balanced structure (the rhetoric of the Declaration).
Rhetorical analysis — how the Declaration of Independence persuades.
Weekly Writing Assignment
The Declaration of Independence is one of history's most persuasive documents. In a 5-paragraph essay, analyze HOW it persuades. Examine at least three techniques: its logical structure (principle → evidence → conclusion), its use of parallelism and balanced phrasing, and its appeals to reason, justice, or shared values. Quote at least three short phrases and explain why each is effective. Conclude with your judgment: does the argument hold up?
The Week
Close the Week
Add each date to your running timeline notebook — one color for World History, another for US History.
Unit Reading · Revolutions & the Modern Age
by Baroness Orczy
A masked Englishman risks everything to rescue innocent aristocrats from the guillotine while playing the fool in society. The original 'secret identity' adventure, set in the Terror of revolutionary France.
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Ingalls family loads the wagon and heads west to build a new home on the open prairie. A beloved classic of homesteading, family, and the hard, hopeful work of the American frontier.
by Willa Cather
Two French missionary priests build the Church across the vast deserts of the American Southwest, among Native and Hispanic peoples. A luminous Catholic classic about faith, friendship, and a lifetime of quiet service.
by Charles Dickens
Dickens's masterpiece of the Revolution, moving from the Reign of Terror to one of the greatest acts of self-sacrifice in all of literature. A natural companion to The Scarlet Pimpernel and a standard high-school classic on the Cardinal Newman Society list.
by Stephen Crane
A young Union soldier marches off dreaming of glory, then flees in terror from his first battle — and must wrestle with shame, fear, and what courage really means. A short, vivid American classic on the Cardinal Newman Society reading list.
by Jane Austen
Sharp, funny, and wise, Austen's beloved novel follows quick-witted Elizabeth Bennet and the proud Mr. Darcy as they misjudge each other and slowly learn better. A perennial high-school classic on the Cardinal Newman Society list.