Essential question

You are a colonist living in New Haven, Connecticut. You are asked to write a letter to General George Washington defending or accusing Benedict Arnold of treason. You will learn about his life and use events from it to support your statement.

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  Essential question: Was Benedict Arnold really a spy or was he a victim of bad circumstances?
  When someone mentions the name of Benedict Arnold you first think of a traitor. Author James Kirby Martin points out that Arnold's life, could not be seen in just black and white, right or wrong. He was one of the most successful generals of the time. "His treason was shocking because of the magnitude of his contributions to the Revolutionary effort," writes Kirby, a professor at the University of Houston. Arnold always felt underappreciated and misunderstood. He was not a political man which led to many fights and misunderstanding that might have been avoided. Use the questions below to help you discover what kind of man Benedict Arnold really was.
  

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  Who are you?
  

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  Choose your side. Think about what you need to do to gather the information.
  How will you decide what information to write down in your notebook?
  Who will you go to if you're having problems?
  Collect the information to answer your questions. You will use the following resources:
  

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  Write your letter
  

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  Ask yourself the following questions before you turn your letter in.