Teacher Resources
Hackensack
Students examine the American Revolution as a civil conflict by analyzing the experience of Bergen County, New Jersey, where patriot and Loyalist neighbors turned against each other. Using primary sources including loyalty oaths, confiscation records, and raid reports, students investigate how ordinary people made choices about allegiance and how those choices destroyed communities even as they built a new nation.
Grade Range
8-12
Duration
3 class periods
Included
5 Resources
What's Included
Everything
You Need
- Full lesson plan (3 class periods)
- 5 primary sources with analysis prompts
- Quiz with answer key (5 questions)
- Differentiation strategies (struggling / advanced / ELL)
- 3 printable handouts
Lesson Overview
Students examine the American Revolution as a civil conflict by analyzing the experience of Bergen County, New Jersey, where patriot and Loyalist neighbors turned against each other. Using primary sources including loyalty oaths, confiscation records, and raid reports, students investigate how ordinary people made choices about allegiance and how those choices destroyed communities even as they built a new nation.
Essential Questions
- Why did the Revolution divide Bergen County more deeply than many other communities?
- How did ordinary people decide which side to support, and what happened to those who tried to remain neutral?
- What were the consequences of the Revolution for families and communities that were split by divided loyalties?
Primary Sources
5 Sources for Analysis
SECONDARY · TIER1
The Revolutionary War in the Hackensack Valley: The Jersey Dutch and the Neutral Ground, 1775-1783
Rutgers University Press
INSTITUTIONAL · TIER1
Washington's Headquarters: The Hackensack Area in the Revolution
National Park Service
View SourcePRIMARY · TIER1
Bergen County in the American Revolution: Primary Sources
New Jersey Historical Society
View SourceSECONDARY · TIER1
New Jersey in the American Revolution (Rutgers Encyclopedia)
Rutgers University Press
View SourcePRIMARY · TIER2
First Reformed Church of Hackensack: Minutes and Records, 1775-1783
First Reformed Church of Hackensack / New Jersey Historical Society
Lesson Plan
In the Classroom
Learning Objectives
- 1Explain why Bergen County was more divided than most regions during the Revolution and identify the factors that influenced loyalty choices
- 2Analyze primary sources related to the civil conflict in Bergen County, including loyalty oaths and property confiscation records
- 3Evaluate the human cost of the Revolution as a civil war by examining the impact on families and communities
- 4Compare the experience of Bergen County to the broader narrative of the Revolution as a war between nations
Warm-Up · 15 minutes
Present students with a scenario: your community is deeply divided over a political question. Your family supports one side, but your closest neighbor and longtime friend supports the other. Armed groups on both sides are pressuring everyone to declare their loyalty. Write a paragraph explaining what you would do and why. Then discuss: what factors would influence your decision?
Direct Instruction · 25 minutes
· Background: Bergen County's Dutch Reformed and Anglican communities and the religious and economic factors that divided them
· The Committee of Safety: How patriot governance operated in a divided county
Closure · 10 minutes
Class discussion: After the war, patriot and Loyalist families had to live in the same communities again. How do communities rebuild after a civil conflict? Are there parallels to other periods in American history? Exit ticket: Name one way that the Revolution in Bergen County was different from the Revolution as it is usually taught in textbooks.
Differentiation Strategies
Struggling Learners
Provide a graphic organizer with columns for "Patriot Perspective" and "Loyalist Perspective" to organize information from the lesson. Simplify primary source documents with vocabulary support.
Advanced Learners
Research the post-war confiscation process in Bergen County and write an additional analysis of how property seizures affected the social structure of the community for a generation after the war.
ELL Support
Provide a visual timeline of events in Bergen County with key vocabulary defined. Allow the writing assignment to be completed using a structured template with sentence starters.
Assessment
Hackensack in the American Revolution
Answer the following questions based on our study of Revolutionary history.
What makes Hackensack significant in Revolutionary history?
multiple choice
Primary sources are documents or objects created during the time period being studied.
true false
Name one event that occurred in Hackensack during the Revolutionary period and explain its significance.
short answer
+ 2 more questions in the full packet
Ready to Print?
The full teacher packet includes cover page, lesson plan, all primary source worksheets, quiz, answer key, and standards alignment — formatted for classroom printing.