The Road to Revolution Study Guide Name:
Chapter 6, pages 155-189 Period:
Learning Goal: Students will understand the events and individuals that influenced the colonists to declare independence from Great Britain.
Answer the following questions in complete sentences with the question in the answer on a separate piece of paper.
Section 1: pp. 157-159
1. What were and why did Parliament pass new laws governing the colonies after 1763?
The Laws passed by Parliament in order to govern the colonies after 1763 included:
· Proclamation of 1763- Forbade the colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains. It was designed to maintain peace between the Colonies and Native Americans.
· Quartering Act – This act required the colonists to house British soldiers and provides them with supplies. It became too expensive for England to keep 10,000 soldiers in the colonies to protect the proclamation line.
· Sugar Act (1764) (tax on sugar shipped to the colonies) and Stamp Act (1765) (tax on all legal and commercial documents). Taxes were intended to pay off debt acquired fighting the French and Indian War, frontier defense, and colonial government.
· Declaratory Act - This act replaced the repealed Stamp Act and stated Parliament had supreme authority to govern and tax the colonies. Parliament wanted to reassert its control over all colonial affairs
· Townshend Acts (1767) - tax on imports (glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea) to the colonies. Since taxes were repealed under the Stamp Act, England needed to raise money for troops and other expenses.
· Tea Act (1773) - passed by Parliament to break the boycott of British tea by the colonist. Parliament’s purpose was to allow the East India Company exclusive rights to sell tea in the colonies.
Parliament passed these laws to make it clear to the colonies that they were the Mother Country, in charge, and it was time to generate revenue to help pay off the British debt, as they were British citizens.
2. How did the colonists react to these new laws?
There were several ways the colonists reacted to the laws. They used protests to express their discontent with the acts and boycotts were common for goods that were taxed. Speeches were made by Patrick Henry, and organizations were also created to help organize the protests and boycotts. These included the Stamp Act Congress, who drafte a petition to the king protesting the Stamp Act, and the Sons of Liberty who attacked custom officials. The tactics worked, especially the boycott of British good, and the Stamp Act was repealed in 1766.
Section 2:pp. 161-169
3. Why did the Townshend Acts anger the colonists?
The Townshend Acts, which were acts passed by Parliament in 1767 to tax imports in the colonies, were viewed as yet another tax and the colonists believed that only their local governments should have the right to impose taxes. These taxes were on basic goods, and colonists believed the acts to be illegal because it was passed without their consent. The Acts also included the writs of assistance, which allowed British officials to search and enter home to look for smuggled goods, and this violated their natural rights as stated by philosopher John Locke.
4. Describe how the colonists protested British laws.
The colonists in Boston again organized a boycott of British goods, public protests that at times turned violent and formed secret societies including the Daughters of Liberty. They urged colonists to weave their own clothand use only American products.
5. Explain How the Boston Massacre and the Tea Act united the colonists against the British.
News of the Boston Massacre spread throughout the colonies in anti-British propaganda in newspapers, pamphlets, and political posters (Paul Revere painting).
Colonists reacted negatively towards the Tea Act and boycotted British tea. Colonists became more politically active against the British. The Tea Act led to the Boston Tea Party and other forms of protests in South Carolina, New York, and Philadelphia. Colonial leaders began to communicate with each other through committees of correspondence on colonial affairs and resistance to British policy
Section 3: pp. 169-174
6. What rights of the colonists were threatened by the Intolerable Acts?
The rights of the colonists that were threatened by the Intolerable Acts were:
· The right to freely trade (Boston Harbor was closed)
· The right to freely meet/organize (Town meeting banned)
· The right to elect a council (council now appointed)
· The right to self-govern (increased power was granted to British Governor, Gen. Gage)
· The right of colonists to prosecute and judge British officials- trial by jury (British officials now sent back to England to be tried)
· The right to refuse quartering British troops (The Quartering Act allowed British officers to be housed in the homes of colonists)
7. Why was the First Continental Congress a key step in American history?
The First Continental Congress was a key step in American history because although most delegates were not ready to call for independence, they were determined to uphold colonial rights. This meeting planted the seeds of a future independent government.
8. Why did fighting begin at Lexington and Concord?
Fighting began at Lexington and Concord because on the night of April 18, 1775, General Gage learned that the Massachusetts militia was storing weapons and ammunition in Concord. He ordered the supplies destroyed, and in addition, ordered Samuel Adams and John Hancock arrested in Lexington. The Sons of Liberty had prepared by having Paul Revere and William Dawes alert the colonists about the British troop movements – “one lantern by land and two if by sea” on their midnight ride on April 18. Joined in Lexington by Dr. Samuel Prescott, he broke away and spread the news to Concord when Dawes and Revere were stopped at Lexington.
On the morning of April 19, the British troops found the colonial militia waiting at Lexington. The British commander ordered the colonists to drop their muskets, but the colonists refused and firing began. Eight militiamen died, and it was “the shot heard ‘round the world.”
Section 4: pp. 177-183
9. Explain the three main points of Common Sense?
The three main points of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense were: first, All men, not just land owners, should have the right to vote; second, kings ruling by the will of God is ridiculous and all monarchies are corrupt; and finally, the new nation can survive on its own and need not be economically tied to England.
10. Explain the two important ideas and list the four major parts found in the Declaration of Independence.
The two major ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence are:
First, That every person has natural and unalienable rights that the government cannot take away which are the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and second, that if the government disregards these rights – the people have the right to abolish that government by force if necessary and form a new government.
The four major parts of the Declaration are: Preamble; Rights Colonists should Have, List of grievances against British; Proclaimed existence of new country
The Declaration of Independence meant only, however, white landowning men at this time.
11. Describe the events and individuals that influenced the colonists to declare independence from Great Britain.
The events and individuals that influenced the colonist to declare independence from Great Britain were many. The Proclamation of 1763 and the Quartering Act caused colonists to fear loss of freedoms (right to privacy) and not move beyond the Appalachian Mountains. The Sugar Act and Stamp Act threatened colonists’ rights by taxing without representation in Parliament and the Sugar and Tea Acts hurt merchants and trade with the taxes. The Townshend Acts prompted the colonists to further unite in protest. The Boston Massacre served as a symbol of British tyranny, while Tea Act and Boston Tea Party pushed many colonists into open rebellion. The Intolerable Acts resulted in the colonists forming the First Continental Congress, which banned all trade with Britain and called on colonies to train troops. The battles at Lexington and Concord now forced Americans to choose sides- as Loyalists or Patriots. The colonists organized protests, boycotts, secret societies, and congresses which further divided the colonies from Britain led by Patrick Henry (speeches), Samuel Adams (Sons of Liberty and Committees of Correspondence), John Hancock, and George Washington (First Continental Congress). All these events and individuals led to the start of a new nation – after fighting their Mother country.
Please circle the answers to the map on the back of this page.