New Page 1

Chapter 5: Road to Revolution

Study Guide

Answer the following essay in complete detail. Thoroughly explain each term.   Be sure to include an introduction and conclusion.

Essay #1-The colonists were left with little choice except to fight for Independence. Comment. (40pts)

I. Reaction

A.     Proclamation of 1763(4)

B.     Sugar Act(4)

C.     Stamp Act(4)

D.     Townshend Acts(4)

E.      Boston Massacre(4)

F.      Boston Tea Party(4)

G.     Intolerable Acts(4)

H.     1^st Continental Congress(4)

I.        2^nd Continental Congress(4)

I.D. Terms-2pts each(10 of these)

Monticello

Pontiac

Albany Plan

Nathan Hale

Benedict Arnold

Quartering Act

Treaty of Paris

Battle of Lexington and Concord

Battle of Long Island

Battle of Bunker Hill

Crossing of the Delaware

Valley Forge Encampment

French and Indian War

Currency Act

Battle of White Plains

Treaty of Peace

Quebec Act

Thomas Paine

Patrick Henry

Benjamin Franklin

William Dawes

Loyalists

Patriots

I. Relations With Britain (Pages 132–134)

A. A feeling of distrust between the colonists and Britain grew due to

1. British soldiers stationed in the colonies and on the frontier

2. the Proclamation of 1763

3. the passing of trade laws and the Sugar Act

Colonists feared that British soldiers might interfere with their liberties, and they saw the

proclamation as limiting their freedom.

B. George Grenville, the British finance minister, began to watch colonial trading more

closely in order to catch colonists who were involved in smuggling. In 1764, customs

officials were able to obtain writs of assistance to search homes and warehouses for

smuggled goods. Colonists were outraged by this intrusion without warning.

C. Parliament passed the Sugar Act in 1764 to stop the molasses smuggling between the

colonies and the French West Indies.

1. The act lowered the tax on imported molasses.

2. The British hoped that by lowering the tax, the colonists would be encouraged to

pay the duty on foreign molasses. When Britain collected the taxes, its revenues

would increase.

3. The Sugar Act also allowed special courts that had judges, not juries, to hear

smuggling cases. The colonists were outraged again because this took away their

basic right of trial by jury.

Discussion Question

As a colonist would you have been upset with the laws that Britain passed? (Answers

will vary, but should include reasons for or against being upset. Most students will probably say

that they would be upset by losing their freedoms and by having to pay taxes to Britain.)

II. The Stamp Act (Page 134)

A. The Stamp Act taxed almost all printed material in the colonies such as newspapers,

pamphlets, wills, and playing cards. British officials placed a stamp on all printed

materials. Colonists were opposed because the British Parliament taxed the colonists

directly, and it had passed the act without their consent.

B. The colonists protested this act.

1. In Virginia, Patrick Henry, although accused of treason by his opponents, persuaded

the burgesses to take action against the Stamp Act. They passed a resolution saying

that they had the “sole exclusive right” to tax their citizens.

2. The Sons of Liberty, originally organized in Boston by Samuel Adams, protested

by burning effigies, raiding and destroying houses of British officials, and marching

along the streets to protest Britain’s taxing of Americans.

3. Boycotts against importing British and European goods occurred. Nonimportation

agreements signed by merchants, artisans, and farmers hurt British merchants.

C. In October, Congress petitioned the king and Parliament saying that only their own

assemblies could tax the colonies. In March 1766, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act.

D. Parliament passed another act, the Declaratory Act of 1766, on the same day it

repealed the Stamp Act. The act allowed Parliament the right to tax and to make decisions

for the British colonies “in all cases.”

Discussion Question

Why did the British Parliament pass the Declaratory Act of 1766? (Britain wanted to maintain

control of its colonies and it also did not want to give up the revenue that it received from

the colonies.)

II. New Taxes (Page 135)

A. Parliament passed the Townshend Acts in 1767, which taxed imported goods at the

port of entry. It taxed basic items such as glass, tea, paper, and lead––items that the

colonists did not produce and therefore had to import.

B. Another boycott occurred in hopes of showing Britain that only the colonies’ representatives

had the right to tax them. The Daughters of Liberty, an active group in the

protest, urged Americans to wear homemade fabrics and produce other goods so as

not to buy British products.

Discussion Question

What were the effects of the Townshend Acts of 1767? (Colonists were outraged that Britain

was taxing them. An effective boycott against British goods took place as Americans began to use

products that they produced.)

I. Trouble in Boston (Pages 136–138)

A. Parliament sent two regiments of troops (often referred to as redcoats) to Boston. They

set up camp in the heart of the city. These soldiers were in some cases rude and violent

toward the colonists. Because Boston resented the presence of the soldiers,

fighting broke out between the redcoats and Bostonians and continued throughout the

next year.

B. The Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770, was a result of the heated tension between the

redcoats and the Bostonians. Townspeople wielding weapons marched through the

streets toward the customhouse. The redcoats fired, killing five colonists. Among the

dead was Crispus Attucks, an African American dockworker.

C. The Boston Massacre led colonists to call for stronger boycotts of British goods.

Colonial leaders used the killings as propaganda against the British.

D. Parliament repealed the Townshend Acts except the tax on tea.

E. Some colonial leaders still called for resistance to British rule. In 1772 Samuel Adams

revived the committee of correspondence in Boston to circulate colonists’ grievances

against Britain. Other colonies began committees of correspondence that brought

together protesters opposed to British measures.

Discussion Question

Why did Britain repeal the Townshend Acts? (Britain hoped that repealing these acts would

encourage the colonists to again trade with Britain. This increased trade would bring in more

revenue for Britain.)

II. A Crisis Over Tea (Pages 138–139)

A. Parliament passed the Tea Act of 1773 to save the British East India Company from

going under. This act gave the East India Company a favorable advantage over colonial

merchants because it was able to ship its extra tea to the colonies without paying

most of the tea taxes.

B. Because its tea was sold directly to the shopkeepers at a low price and bypassed colonial

merchants, the tea from the East India Company was cheaper than any other tea.

The colonists again boycotted British goods to denounce the British monopoly.

C. The Daughters of Liberty marched through town and burned the East India Company’s

tea. Colonists in Boston and Philadelphia planned to stop the company’s ships from

unloading. In all colonial ports except Boston, colonists forced the company’s ships to

return to Britain.

D. In Boston Harbor in December 1773, the royal governor ordered the tea unloaded. At

midnight on December 16, the Boston Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawks boarded

the ships and threw 342 chests of tea overboard. This became known as the Boston Tea

Party.

E. The king and Parliament vowed to punish Boston and the people of Massachusetts for

using the Boston Tea Party to resist British rule. They passed the Coercive Acts.

F. These acts closed Boston Harbor until the colonists paid for the ruined tea. Closing the

harbor prevented Bostonians from receiving food and other supplies.

G. The laws also banned town meetings and forced Bostonians to house British soldiers

in their homes.

H. The colonists renamed these acts the Intolerable Acts.

Discussion Question

How did the Boston Tea Party challenge British rule? (Colonists defied the order to unload

the tea by throwing it overboard so that it could not be unloaded.)

end

I. The Continental Congress (Pages 141–142)

A. The Continental Congress was a group of prominent colonial leaders who met in

September 1774 to establish a political group that would fight for American interests

and challenge British rule. Among the delegates who attended were Samuel Adams,

John Adams, John Jay, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, and George Washington.

B. The delegates worked together to draft a statement of grievances. They called for

repeal of the 13 acts of Parliament. They voted to boycott all British goods and trade.

C. They also passed a resolution to form militias, or groups of citizens, so that the

colonies would have their own armed forces.

Discussion Question

How did the Continental Congress represent political leadership and achieve its goals?

(Representatives from all the colonies attended the Continental Congress. They worked together

even though they differed on how to achieve their goal of standing against British rule. Their list

of grievances, the boycott against British goods, and the formation of militias all helped to show

Britain that the colonies had had enough and were willing to take steps to protect their rights.)

II. The First Battles (Pages 142–144)

A. The British also prepared themselves for battle. British General Sir Thomas Gage had

3,000 soldiers in and around Boston. In April 1775, his orders were to take away

weapons and arrest the militia leaders.

B. Paul Revere and William Daws rode to Lexington, a town near Concord, to warn

Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British were coming.

C. The redcoats approached Lexington and continued to Concord. They found that the

gunpowder was removed, but they destroyed the remaining supplies.

D. The minutemen were waiting all along the British return trail from Concord to Boston.

They ambushed the British. More than 200 British were wounded, and 73 of them

were dead. The battles of Lexington and Concord began the struggle for independence

from Britain.

How did the minutemen prepare so well to attack the British soldiers? (The militia sent

men to warn nearby troops and spread word of British movements. Because they moved so

quickly and trained as marksmen, they were able to defeat the British.)

III. More Military Action (Pages 144–145)

A. Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain boys captured Fort Ticonderoga on Lake

Champlain on May 10, 1775.

B. The colonial militia grew to about 20,000 after committees of correspondence enlisted

more volunteers.

C. The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 16, 1775. Although the British won the

battle, they suffered heavy losses and learned that defeating the Americans would not

be easy.

D. Americans chose sides. Those who wanted to fight the British until they won their

independence were called Patriots. Loyalists wanted to remain with Britain.

Discussion Question

Why would some American colonists have wanted to support Britain despite the harsh

policies Britain invoked? (Answers will vary, but students should include the ideas that these

colonists may not have felt Britain was being unfair. Additionally they had strong ties with

Britain and perhaps did not want to engage in any military actions.)

I. Colonial Leaders Emerge (Pages 147–150)

A. The Second Continental Congress met for the first time on May 10, 1775. In addition

to the delegates from the first Continental Congress, Benjamin Franklin, John

Hancock, and Thomas Jefferson were new delegates.

B. The Congress governed the colonies. It

1. authorized the printing of money

2. set up a post office

3. established a Continental Army with George Washington as the commander

4. sent a formal request to King George III asking for peace and for the king to protect

the colonists’ rights. King George III refused this Olive Branch Petition and

prepared for war.

C. Washington trained the army, and on March 17, 1776, led his troops into Boston after

surrounding the city and forcing the redcoats to withdraw. The British sailed to

Halifax, Nova Scotia.

D. After an attack on New York by the British in Canada, the American troops at Fort

Ticonderoga struck and captured Montreal in November. American troops failed to

capture Quebec but stayed outside the city through the winter and returned to Fort

Ticonderoga in 1776.

Discussion Question

What traits did George Washington have to be able to lead his troops with such success?

(Answers will vary, but should include organization, strong leadership, good communication

skills, the ability to get people to work together, and perhaps a way to convince the British on the

strength of his army.)

II. The Colonies Declare Independence (Pages 150–151)

A. The Second Continental Congress debated a resolution to support independence.

Some delegates thought the colonies were not ready to separate, and others felt that a

large part of the population wanted to separate from Britain.

B. The Congress formed a committee to draft a Declaration of Independence. Members

included Jefferson, Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, and Robert

Livingston of New York.

C. On July 2, 1776, twelve colonies voted for the resolution for independence. On July 4,

they approved the Declaration with some changes. John Hancock was the first to sign

it. His signature was large so that the king would have no trouble reading it.

D. The Declaration has four main sections:

1. the preamble, or introduction

2. a list of the rights of the colonists

3. a list of the grievances against Britain

4. a proclamation claiming the emergence of a new nation

Discussion Question

What did the Declaration of Independence do for the American colonists? (It explained

the founding principles of the new nation. It served as the first formal document in the move

toward independence. It professed the rights of the colonists and listed the grievances against

Britain so that they would not be repeated.)