Course: Social Studies
Grade Level: 4, 5
Type: Informational/Explanatory
Structure: Explain
4-5 Task 14: Why did the American colonists declare their independence? After reading your social
studies text and the provided articles, write an essay in which you explain the reasons why the American
colonies decided to enter into a war with Great Britain in 1776. Support your response with evidence
from the text. D2: Include at least two examples from two different sources to support your discussion.
Performance Level: Advanced
The Revolutionary War
If you’ve been in a fight with your brother or sister, you may have felt like the colonists
in the years before the American Revolution. The thirteen colonies had so many severe events
with the powerful England that they started a full out war. I think that the three acts, the Boston
Massacre, and the Boston Tea Party are the three most important incidents that triggered the
Revolutionary War.
To start it off, the Sugar, Stamp, and Townshend Acts are the first valuable events that
led up to the Revolutionary War. The Sugar Act was made first to pay for the French and Indian
War, which the British helped the thirteen colonies win. The Parliament made this law. The
Sugar Act taxed molasses and sugar from the Spanish and the French. Now the colonists were
forced to buy England’s sugar. This made money to pay off the war debts. The colonists
protested. King George cut the Sugar Act and made the Stamp Act. This placed a tax on any
printed material. The colonists had to buy a stamp whenever they bought printed materials. The
stamp money went to England to pay off war debts. A lot of the Patriots were upset so they made
a group called the Sons of Liberty. To protest the Stamp Act, they burned stamps, threatened
stamp agents (people who collected the stamps), attacked agents, and sometimes they even
destroyed their homes. King George was furious. Due to the colonists behaviors, he repealed the
Stamp Act and came up with the Townshend Act. The Townshend Act taxed imported goods.
For example, the main things taxed were glass, paint, lead, paper, and tea. The colonists
boycotted the British goods. Throughout the acts, you could here cries of “No taxation without
representation!” The colonists meant that they had no voice in the government. Three years later
Britain had to repeal all but one of the the Townshend Acts because the British companies were
losing money. Tensions between the thirteen colonies and England became bigger and bigger.
Second, I think that the Boston Massacre is another key event that sparked the
Revolutionary War. Before, King George had sent troops to patrol Boston. A couple of Patriots
started harassing a Redcoat. The colonists’ mob grew monsterous and the soldiers side tripled. A
patriot threw a club and the fight started. The soldiers fired into the croud and killed five people
and wounded four. The soldiers had to go to court because of murder. John Adams (Sam Adam’s
cousin) stood up for the Redcoats and said that they shot in defense. The soldiers didn’t go to
jail. King George III became upset because the colonists weren’t listening to the rules. In return,
the Bostonians started the Boston Tea Party.
Lastly, I think that the Boston Tea Party ended all of the small fights and started the
Revolutionary War. The Sons of Liberty wanted revenge with King George because he kept the
tax on tea. The Sons of Liberty disguised themselves up as Mohawk Indians. They went on ships
that had just came into the port. Sons of Liberty members chucked boxes of tea into the harbor
and the water turned brown. All of the tea dumped would cost three million dollars now. To
punish Boston, the Parliament sent the soldiers back, Massachusetts was put under control by the
British general Thomas Gage, and the port of Boston was closed until the tea was paid for. The
colonists refered to this as the Intolerable Acts. King George was furious that all of the tea had
been wasted.
I think that the three acts, the Boston Massacre, and the Boston Tea Party are the three
main events that triggered the American Revolution. Without those events, the colonists
wouldn’t have even tried to win the Revolutionary War. The thirteen colonies went through all of
those events just to get what we all dreamed for: our freedom.
Bibliography
Appleby, Joyce Oldham, Alan Brinkley, and James M. McPherson. "The American Revolution."
The American Journey. New York ed. New York: McGraw, 2006. N. pag. Print.
"Causes of the American Revolution." Leveled Texts for Social Studies: Early America.
Huntington Beach: Shell Education, 2007. 93-100. Print.
Kowalski, Kathiann M. "Seeds Of Revolution." Cobblestone 26.7 (2005): 3. MasterFILE
Premier. Web. 7 Sept. 2014.
Annotation
Focus
4
Controlling Idea
4
Reading/Research 4
Development
3.5
Organization
3.5
Conventions
3
Content
Understanding
3
The essay addresses all aspects of the prompt by explaining that the
Three Acts, the Boston Massacre, and the Boston Tea Party
triggered the war.
The thesis is clear: I think that the three acts, the Boston Massacre,
and the Boston Tea Party are the three most important incidents
that triggered the Revolutionary War. The writer includes
explanations throughout the paper, showing the effects of the three
events to strengthen the position: The colonists protested, Patriots
were upset, King George was furious.
It is evident that the writer has researched the topic. The writer
provides examples with detailed explanations: The Sugar Act was
made first to pay for the French and Indian War, which the British
helped the thirteen colonies win. The Parliament made this law, the
Sugar Act taxed molasses and sugar from the Spanish and the
French. Now the colonists were forced to buy England’s sugar.
This made money to pay off the war debts.
The writer provides a thorough explanation of the Three Acts and
the Boston Tea Party. A more detailed explanation of how the
Boston Massacre and the not guilty verdict affected the progress of
inciting the Revolution would enhance the essay.
The essay follows a logical structure, setting up the essay in order
of the three important incidents mentioned in the thesis statement.
The writer uses transitions: Second, Lastly, Due to, In return, to
show both chronology and cause/effect.
The writer demonstrates a command of standard English
conventions. A few errors, including run-ons and short, choppy
sentences interrupt the flow of the writing: The Parliament made
this law, the Sugar Act taxed molasses and sugar from the Spanish
and the French. Varied sentence structures are needed. The
language and tone are appropriate: severe, incidents, repealed,
boycotted, sparked, tensions.
The writer demonstrates a satisfactory understanding of the
content: All of the tea dumped would cost three million dollars
now. The information presented is generally accurate with the
following inaccuracy: To protest the Stamp Act, they burned
stamps, threatened stamp agents (people who collected the stamps)
....
This student would benefit from feedback, discussion, and/or instruction in the following
areas:
 Varying sentence structure.