Topic 3 Lesson 2

Explain how John Adams' view of the colonies was ahead of its time.

John Adams wanted independence from the British.

Analyze Paul Revere's engraving of the Boston Massacre, and then contrast it with the description of the event in the text. What do you think was Revere's purpose in creating this piece of art?

To show that the British troops (Red Coats) were bad people and to demonize them.

How did the Sons of Liberty and the Daughters of Liberty protest British rule in different ways?

Sons - violent, tore down the office/ damaged the house of the stamp tax collector, destroyed Massachusetts governor's house Daughters - organized to weave cloth, didn't buy manufactured British goods

nonimportation agreements

colonial consumer boycotts of British exports in response to taxes passed by Parliament

Who did American colonists believe had the right to raise and levy taxes on the colonies?

colonial governments

First Continental Congress

group of delegates representing all the American colonies, except Georgia, that met in 1774

Boston Massacre

incident on March 5, 1770, in which British soldiers killed five colonists in Boston

committees of correspondence

network of local groups that informed colonists of British measures and the opposition to them in the years before the Revolutionary War

Sons of Liberty

organization of colonists formed in opposition to the Stamp Act and other British laws and taxes

Boston Tea Party

protest against British taxes in which Bostonian protestors dumped tea into the harbor on December 16, 1773

Britain's Sugar, Quartering, and Stamp Acts went against the British government's earlier colonial policy of

salutary neglect

Which event occurred as the direct result of the British Crown sending troops to occupy Boston?

the Boston Massacre

In response to the Intolerable Acts, every colony except Georgia sent delegates to

the First Continental Congress

John Adams

(1735-1826) was an American colonial lawyer and writer who became one of the foremost thinkers and activists among American patriots. He spoke out against British tax laws and served as a delegate from Massachusetts to the First Continental Congress. He went on to become the first Vice President and the second President of the United States.

Patrick Henry

(1736-1799) was an American patriot, lawyer, and author. He is best known for a speech he gave before the Virginia Convention in 1775, during which he stated, "Give me liberty or give me death!" Henry served in the Virginia committee of correspondence and served as a Virginia delegate to the First Continental Congress. He fought during the Revolutionary War and went on to serve Virginia as state governor and state legislator.

Stamp Act

1765 law passed by Parliament that required colonists to pay taxes on printed materials

Intolerable Acts

American name for the Coercive Acts, which Parliament passed in 1774 to control the colonies

Illustrate the differences between the British government and the American colonial government in the 1700s. Include information about how many men could vote, the governmental policy, and how representatives were chosen.

British - 3 branches : monarch, House of Lords, House of Commons - only officials in the House of Commons were elected -small percentage of people could vote American - 2 house legislative: an elected assembly and a council of prominent colonists appointed to life terms by govenor -colonial governors were appointed by, represented, and served the king - two thirds of free colonial men owned enough property to qualify to vote

Salutary Neglect

British policy in the early 1700s that allowed the colonies virtual self-rule as long as Great Britain was gaining economically

Explain why the British government officials were puzzled by the colonists' arguments that the new taxes and laws were unfair.

Many large British cities didn't elect representatives to Parliament, which claimed to represent everyone in the Empire.

Why did the British believe they had the right to levy taxes on the American colonists?

Members of Parliament believed that they "virtually represented" every British subject, including the colonists.

What were the Coercive Acts, and why did the colonists consider them "intolerable"?

The Coercive Acts closed the port of Boston to trade until inhabitants paid for the destroyed tea, including the tax on the tea. It also increased the power of the governor at the expense of the elected assembly and town meetings. They were intolerable because it forced colonists to house British troops and allowed British officials to be tried in Britain for crimes committed in the colonies.

Why did the colonists believe these taxes were unjust?

The colonists saw themselves as equal members of the British political body. England had followed a policy of salutary neglect, allowing its colonies local self-rule. The colonists believed that only their own elected officials had the right to tax.

How did Enlightenment ideals influence the American colonists?

They argued that people had divinely granted natural rights, including life, liberty, and property. A good government protected these individual rights.

In what way did the Daughters of Liberty protest British taxes?

They boycotted British goods.

How do you think the British government could have acted differently so as not to create so much resentment among the colonists? Explain.

They could have taxed a lower amount or try to change the system of government that everyone liked. They should have been more reasonable.

Why did the colonists dump tea into the Boston Harbor during the Boston Tea Party?

They thought the British were trying to trick them into paying taxes, so they took it into their own hands.