Human Heritage: A World History

Chapter 32: Political Revolutions

Web Activity Lesson Plans

“Headline: Boston 1774”

Introduction
Students have read about the politics and taxation that inspired the American colonies to rebel against England. In this exercise, students will examine the reasons that the colonies began to resent English taxation and what the colonists' reactions were to British control.

Lesson Description
Students will use information from the Liberty! The American Revolution Web site to learn about the factors that inspired American rebellion against the British crown. Students will read about the Stamp Act, the Boston Tea Party, loyalists, and British officials in the colonies. Students will also read about the diversity among the colonists and the ways that women supported the cause of freedom. Students will then answer four questions and apply this information by creating a pamphlet calling for colonial resistance to British taxation

Instruction Objectives

1. Students will be able to explain how changes in British policies in North America caused dissatisfaction among colonists.
2. Students will be able to use this knowledge to design a pamphlet calling for colonists to fight against British taxation.

Student Web Activity Answers

1. Colonists objected to taxation by the English Parliament. Included among the taxes was the 1765 Stamp Act. Although taxation was common in the colonies, the revenues were always kept within the colonies to support the structure of colonial government. When England wanted tax revenues from the colonies to pay for the costs of the French and Indian War, colonists objected.
2. Colonists threatened and attacked Crown-appointed office holders in protest of British taxation. One famous demonstration was the Boston Tea Party, during which colonials dumped tea into the Boston Harbor. Colonists also boycotted English goods.
3. The Edenton Ladies Tea Party was one of the earliest efforts on the part of women to influence public policy within an organized group. The group of women pledged their support of colonial resistance and boycotted tea. Women frequently led the boycott of English goods. The Ladies Association was the first nationwide women's organization, and it was formed during the Revolutionary War to raise money for Washington's army. America's first published black poet, Phillis Wheatley, was a patriot and admirer of George Washington.
4. Some colonists remained loyal to England because of fear. They believed that England maintained the order necessary for effective government and served as their "protector." Loyalists tended to be Crown-appointed officials or others who had a distrust of colonial leadership. Many loyalists ended up moving to Canada after the War.
5. Students' pamphlets will vary.