This module begins with the period just prior to the American Revolution as Great Britain began to enact a “New Colonial Policy” designed to offset the large debt incurred from the French and Indian War (or the Seven Years War) and exert more control over the American colonies. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 represented one of the first steps to achieve these policy goals.  Students will trace the causes of the American Revolution, the major events that defined the war, and the political, economic and social impact of the war on North Carolina. It is important for students to understand that North Carolina was divided by Whigs who opposed the central authority of the British king and Loyalists (or Tories) who were skeptical of the Whig agenda and remained loyal to the British.  Later as the revolution gathered steam the Whig agenda became defined between conservative Whigs skeptical of mob rule [in a similar vein of federalism] and more radical Whigs.