Lesson Eight:Why Did the American Colonists Want to Free Themselves from Britain? What Basic Ideas about Government Did the Founders put in the Declar

Terms to Know:

Boston Tea Party-1773- in an act of rebellion against British authority, and in particular to protest British taxes in tea imported to the colonies, a band of colonists boarded a ship in Boston Harbor and destroyed thousands of dollars worth of tea by throwing it overboard

Boston Massacre-On March 5, 1770, a mob of colonists harassed British soldiers guarding the tax collector’s office in Boston; the soldiers opened fire, killing five Bostonians, including Crispus Attucks, the first man killed in the American Revolution

Declaration of Independence-document giving reasons as to why the colonies wish to gain independence from Great Britain

First Continental Congress-the body of delegates representing the colonists that first met to protest British rule and eventually became the government of the United States; they met in 1774 and drafted the Declaration of Rights

Intolerable Acts-

Minutemen-civilian armies of the American Revolution, so called for their readiness for battle

Quartering Act-1765- passed by Parliament authorizing governors to requisition certain buildings for the quartering of British troops

Seven Years War-a series of dynastic and colonial wars between Britain and France; the American phase fought between 1754 and 1763, is known as the French and Indian War

Sons of Liberty-an organization of radicals created in 1765 in the American colonies to express colonial opposition to the Stamp Act

Sovereignty-the ultimate, supreme power in a state; in the US, sovereignty rests with the people

Stamp Act Congress-a meeting in New York in 1765 of 27 delegates from nine colonies, the congress was the first example of colonial unity in the development of the struggle against Britain; congress was successful in repealing the Stamp Act

Stamp Act-passed by Parliament in 1765, the law required payment of a tax through the purchase of stamps for all documents such as newspapers, magazines, and legal and commercial papers of all kinds

Tea Act-The act by Parliament that conferred upon the East India Company a monopoly importation of tea into the mainland colonies, thus eliminating the profits of the colonial importer and shopkeeper; brought about the Boston Tea Party

Writs of assistance-the document giving a governmental authority the rpower to search and sieze property without restriction

Question and Answer

1. How would you describe British policies towards the colonies before 1750? How did these policies change in the 1760s and 1770s?

· British policy towards the colonies before the 1750’s was to pretty much leave them alone. The Americans were allowed to come up with their own constitutions and participate in free trade. Afterwards, however, the British government incurred large debts from the Seven Years War (French & Indian), and to raise money, the Parliament decided to make Americans pay a large share of the debt. The British increased control of the colonies, forbid colonists from settling in the west, and introduced new taxes to raise revenue. They failed to remember one of their principles of constitutionalism-consent of the governed.

2. What were the colonists’ objections to the new British policies? What rights did the colonists claim the policies violated?

The colonists believed that each man had natural rights to life, liberty, and property, and thus, taxes should be passed by their own colonial legislatures. They called for no taxation without representation. This goes with the Stamp Act and being charged a tax without consent. And then there was the Quartering Act, which forced colonists to house British soldiers, which was in direct violation of the Petition of Right. Also, Parliament passed writs of assistance, which permitted illegal search and seizure. You could say that this was in violation of habeus corpus or due process because the arrested were not told whether they were guilty or not, but rather transported to England for trials which were frequently delayed.

3. How would you explain the term “sovereignty”? What was the conflict between Great Britain and the Colonies over sovereignty? How was this conflict resolved?

· Sovereignty is the supreme authority over a state. The colonies and Great Britain fought over who had supreme authority over the colonies. In Great Britain, sovereignty rests with the Parliament, and only they can dictate what does and does not happen. The colonists, on the other hand, believed that supreme authority rests with the people. This conflict was resolved with the end of the American Revolution, and the birth of a new United States.
What are the basic ideas and arguments set forth in the Declaration of Independence? Why was it written?

4. What are the basic ideas and arguments set forth in the Declaration of Independence? Why was it written?

· The Declaration of Independence does not make an appeal to the king, but rather it renounces the monarchy and appeals to the natural rights common to all men. I suggest actually looking at the book for the arguments. You cannot summarize this, and it is quite a short read. Begin on page 45.