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Chapter 6 Reading Guide Sections 3-4
- How did the colonies respond to the Intolerable Acts?
The other colonies offered support to Massachusetts; the First Continental Congress was organized.
- How did British control begin to slip?
Crowds prevented British-appointed judges from holding court, unelected officials were forced to resign, and some colonists prepared to fight.
- What rights were threatened by the Intolerable Acts?
The right to assemble the elected council; the right to trial by jury; and the right to refuse quartering British troops.
- Look at the political cartoon on pages 170 and 171 and answer the following four questions: Why do you think there are cannons pointed at the cage in the “Bostonians in Distress” cartoon?
They are a symbol of the strong British military presence in Boston.
- What images in the “Bostonians Paying the Excise-Man”cartoon show colonists in a negative light?
Men on the boats dumping boxes into the water, colonists smiling as they torture the customs agent.
- Which cartoon is sympathetic to the colonists?
The first cartoon, because it shows the colonists being aided by other colonists while being oppressed by the British.
- How would these images have helped unite the colonists against British policies?
The first shows the colonists under strict British control and starving as a result. This might have appealed to colonists’ feeling about being oppressed. The second image might have frustrated the colonist and pulled them together as well, because it reflected Britain not understanding their point of view.
- Why did the fighting begin at Lexington?
Because the colonial militia wanted to stop British troops from seizing their arms and powder.
- Why did General Gage send troops to Lexington and Concord?
His spies told him that the Massachusetts militia was storing arms in Concord and that Hancock and Sam Adams were in Lexington.
- Why did Americans have to choose to be either a Patriot or a Loyalist at this time?
In a sense, people were forced to pick one side because war had broken out. If they didn’t they might have been considered an enemy by each side.
- Why was New England a hotbed of political protest?
New England was home to many puritans, and they were particularly critical of the rule of the British monarchy.
- What was the purpose of the Second Continental Congress?
To serve as America’s government during the war, and to create a Continental Army, George Washington was chosen as its commanding general.
- List the events in sequence of the siege of Boston.
British troops retreated to Boston; militiamen surrounded Boston; Battle of Bunker Hill took place.
- What events led to the Battle of Bunker Hill?
After the fighting at Lexington and Concord, British troops occupied Boston. The Continental Army took Breeds Hill to force the British to leave the town.
- Look at the map on pg. 178: How many miles could news spread in a two-day period?
About 100 miles
- Why were the British forced to leave Boston?
Washington trapped the British in Boston by placing cannon captured from Fort Ticonderoga on Dorchester Heights. Rather than fight, the British agreed to leave Boston peacefully.
- What was the purpose and outcome of the Olive Branch Petition?
Moderate colonial leaders asked the king to restore harmony; the king refused and vowed to harshly punish the colonies.
- What are the main points of Common Sense?
All monarchies are corrupt, all men should be able to vote, there are economic benefits to being free of Britain.
- Why did colonial leaders choose Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence?
He was a good writer and was from Virginia-an advantage to getting support from this key colony.
- List the events leading to the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
May: Continental Congress authorizes individual governments for each colony; June: Lee proposes that each colony is now a state free from Britain, committee appointed to write Declaration, Jefferson starts writing; July: Congress accepts Lee’s resolution, adopts Declaration.
- What issues united the colonists against Great Britain?
Common economic pressures from taxes and duties; common desire to participate fully in governing themselves; fear of British troops; desire to develop frontier lands.
- Why did it take the colonists so long to declare independence?
Some colonial leaders wanted to resolve the conflict peacefully; others wanted to unite all the colonies against Britain.