The Road to Independence

The Road to Independence: Virginia 1763-1783 is a publication that offers teachers in the secondary schools of Virginia a special challenge to select important areas. The text says many of the fundamental principles of the nation's development are rooted in the Colonial Period, and that this era therefore deserves careful attention in the public schools of Virginia. The text names Governor Alexander Spotswood, who became a Virginia planter rather than go home to Britain, Governor Hugh Drysdale, who died in Williamsburg, and Governor William Gooch, who served in the colony for 22 years without once visiting England.

The text says Britain negotiated treaties with Hesse-Cassel and Brunswick for 13,000 Hessians to fight with the British armies in America. The text says the king felt that he would violate his coronation oath if he failed to defend the supremacy of parliament. A list of questions asks what environmental factors influenced colonial settlements, and what was the influence of environment in the colony of Virginia.