UCLA British and American Colonial Perspectives on Freedom Essay

I’m working on a history writing question and need a reference to help me study.

Part 1: From Resistance to Revolution

You will consider three primary sources related to British and American colonial perspectives on freedom. You will also write a short essay in which you discuss how these primary sources reflect these differences.

Question: 

As the United States moved from acts of resistance towards the British Crown to outright revolution, conflicts between the Crown and the Patriots grew from a war of words to skirmishes and battles on land and sea. As the British decided how to respond to growing insurrection and rebellion, members of the Continental Congress had to work together to articulate the reasons for the colonies’ proposed separation from the mother country—and, once independence was declared, to decide how to govern and represent the newly formed United States—all the while fighting a war.

Study the following documents. How do the British and American colonial perspectives on freedom differ? How did the British, as represented by Lord Dunsmore, view the actions of the Patriots? How did the Patriots, as represented in the Declaration of Independence and the new Great Seal of the United States, simultaneously articulate the reasons for separating from the Crown and define themselves as a new nation?