Teacher Resources
Baltimore
Inquiry Question
What does it mean for a government to function in crisis, and what are the costs of giving one person emergency powers?
Primary Sources
What Teachers and Students Use
Journals of the Continental Congress, December 1776 - February 1777 (Baltimore Sessions)
PRIMARY · Library of Congress
5 analysis prompts
Maryland Admiralty Court Records: Privateering Commissions, 1776-1783
PRIMARY · Maryland State Archives
5 analysis prompts
Maryland State Archives: Baltimore County Committee of Observation Records
PRIMARY · Maryland State Archives
5 analysis prompts
Chronicles of Baltimore: Being a Complete History of Baltimore Town and Baltimore City
SECONDARY · Turnbull Brothers (J. Thomas Scharf)
5 analysis prompts
Flag House and Star-Spangled Banner Museum
INSTITUTIONAL · Flag House and Star-Spangled Banner Museum / National Register
5 analysis prompts
Downloads
Ready to Print
Student packet, teacher guide with answer key, and quiz — each formatted for classroom printing.
Opens in a new tab. Use your browser's Print dialog (Ctrl+P / Cmd+P) and choose “Save as PDF.”
Lesson Plan
In the Classroom
Learning Objectives
- 1Explain why the Continental Congress relocated to Baltimore in December 1776
- 2Analyze the emergency powers resolution as a response to the crisis of late 1776
- 3Evaluate the tension between civilian control of the military and wartime necessity
- 4Connect the failures of the Continental Congress to the movement for constitutional reform
Explore Further
Baltimore in the Knowledge Graph
The lesson packet draws from these pages. Use them to extend the lesson or give students primary source context.
Comparative Study
Connected Towns
The corroborate prompts in the student packet point to these towns. Teachers can assign cross-town comparisons.
Philadelphia
SHARED EVENT
The Continental Congress fled Philadelphia for Baltimore in December 1776, making Baltimore the national capital during the war's most desperate weeks. Congress returned to Philadelphia after Washington's Trenton and Princeton victories stabilized the situation.
Cowpens
SHARED PERSON
Baltimore's John Eager Howard led the decisive bayonet charge at Cowpens in January 1781 — the turning point of the Southern Campaign. The Maryland and Delaware Continentals who made that charge were among the most experienced soldiers in the Continental Army.
Annapolis
GEOGRAPHIC PROXIMITY
Maryland's commercial and political centers.
Assessment
Baltimore in the American Revolution
Answer the following questions based on our study of Revolutionary history. · 5 questions · Answer key in Teacher Guide PDF
What makes Baltimore 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 Baltimore during the Revolutionary period and explain its significance.
short answer
+ 2 more in the full quiz PDF
Ready to Print?
All three documents below — student packet, teacher guide, and quiz — are formatted for letter-size classroom printing.