Student Worksheet Packet
The Powder House Standoff: Local Decision-Making in April 1775
New Haven, CT
Students analyze the April 22, 1775 confrontation between Benedict Arnold and New Haven's selectmen to explore how ordinary citizens and local leaders made irreversible decisions in the days after Lexington and Concord — before any central authority existed to guide them.
This Packet Includes
- Learning Objectives & Essential Questions
- 5 Primary Source Analysis Worksheets
- 3 Reading & Activity Handouts
- Assessment Quiz (5 questions)
Learning Objectives
By the end of this unit, you will be able to:
- Explain the political and military context of the days immediately following Lexington and Concord
- Analyze the competing considerations facing New Haven's selectmen when Arnold demanded the powder house key
- Evaluate how local decision-making shaped the early Revolutionary War mobilization
- Connect individual episodes to larger patterns of colonial self-governance
Essential Questions
Keep these questions in mind as you work through this packet:
- Who had the authority to make military decisions in April 1775, and how was that authority contested?
- How did ordinary citizens and local officials decide when to act and whom to follow?
- What does the Arnold powder house episode reveal about the relationship between civic order and revolutionary urgency?
Analysis Questions
Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.
Who created this source and why?
When was this source created?
What perspective does this source represent?
What was happening when this was written?
How might the author's position affect their account?
Reflection
How does this source connect to what happened in New Haven, CT? What does it tell you about the people involved?
Analysis Questions
Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.
Who created this source and why?
When was this source created?
What perspective does this source represent?
What was happening when this was written?
How might the author's position affect their account?
Reflection
How does this source connect to what happened in New Haven, CT? What does it tell you about the people involved?
Connecticut's Revolutionary War Coastal Raids: A National Register Context
Analysis Questions
Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.
Who created this source and why?
When was this source created?
What perspective does this source represent?
What is the institution's mission?
How does that mission shape the presentation?
Reflection
How does this source connect to what happened in New Haven, CT? What does it tell you about the people involved?
Analysis Questions
Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.
Who created this source and why?
When was this source created?
What perspective does this source represent?
What primary sources does this draw from?
What interpretation does the author offer?
Reflection
How does this source connect to what happened in New Haven, CT? What does it tell you about the people involved?
Connecticut Council of Safety Minutes, 1779
Analysis Questions
Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.
Who created this source and why?
When was this source created?
What perspective does this source represent?
What was happening when this was written?
How might the author's position affect their account?
Reflection
How does this source connect to what happened in New Haven, CT? What does it tell you about the people involved?
New Haven Event Timeline
timeline
Students place key events in chronological order and add details
# New Haven Revolutionary Timeline
Instructions: Place the following events in order and add one detail about each.
- [ ] Sherman Signs the Declaration of Independence
- [ ] British Raid on New Haven
- [ ] Benedict Arnold Leads New Haven Militia to Cambridge
- [ ] Arnold Leads New Haven Militia to Cambridge
- [ ] Fort Hale Built to Defend New Haven Harbor
---
| Event | Date | Significance |
|-------|------|-------------|
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
Primary Source Analysis
graphic organizer
Structured analysis of Revolutionary-era documents
# Primary Source Analysis Worksheet
## Source Information
- Title: _________________
- Author: _________________
- Date: _________________
- Type: _________________
## Observation
What do you notice? (List 3 things)
1.
2.
3.
## Reflection
What do you wonder? (List 2 questions)
1.
2.
## Analysis
What does this source tell us about New Haven during the Revolution?
_______________________________________________
## Perspective
Whose voice is represented? Whose might be missing?
_______________________________________________
Key Figures Profile
worksheet
Research template for Revolutionary figures
# Revolutionary Figure Profile
## Basic Information
- Name: _________________
- Birth/Death Years: _________________
- Occupation(s): _________________
## Role in the Revolution
### Roger Sherman
Self-educated cobbler, lawyer, and statesman from New Haven who is the only person to have signed all four foundational American documents. His practical intelligence and political skill made him one of the most effective — if least celebrated — architects of American independence.
My questions about this person:
1.
2.
### Elizabeth Hartwell Sherman
Second wife of Roger Sherman who managed the household and family during her husband's extended absences at the Continental Congress. She raised their children through the uncertainties of wartime while Sherman helped shape the new nation in Philadelphia.
My questions about this person:
1.
2.
## Reflection
Which figure interests you most and why?
_______________________________________________
New Haven in the American Revolution
Answer the following questions based on our study of Revolutionary history.
1. What makes New Haven significant in Revolutionary history?
2. Primary sources are documents or objects created during the time period being studied.
3. Name one event that occurred in New Haven during the Revolutionary period and explain its significance.
Answer:
4. Why is it important to consider multiple perspectives when studying history?
5. Describe one connection between this town and another Revolutionary-era town we discussed.
Answer: