Green Line 5 Online
English and Politics: the US
547160-0005
The American Revolution
In the 18th century, 13 British colonies could be found on the eastern coast of North America. More
and more, the people there were becoming tired of being part of Britain. Why? This material gives you
some basic background information on important historical events.
The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor (by Nathaniel Currier, 1846) is the most famous rendition
of the Boston Tea Party.
1 Voices of protest
Imagine it is the 1770s. ‘Listen’ to some of the American colonists. Then say in your own words
why the colonists are becoming so upset1 about their situation.
“The British force us to ship our raw
materials2 to them so that they can
make products. We aren’t allowed to
make our own! But we have to buy the
British products and pay taxes for them,
too! Not fair.”
“I was born here in
America. What do I have
to do with England? I am
American!”
“England and the government is so
far away. They have no idea how we
live and what our needs are. We need
our own government.”
“We work just as hard as
anybody back in Britain. Why
shouldn’t we be independent?”
“We’re not even allowed to be
represented in British Parliament!
So what right do they have to tax
us? I say: ‘No taxations3 without
representation4!’”
!0p*set? aufgebracht • 2raw materials !+rC:-mE*tIEriElz? Rohstoffe • 3taxation !txk*seISn? Besteuerung • 4representation
!+reprIzen*teISn? Vertretung (z. B. im Parlament)
1upset
© Ernst Klett Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart 2010 | www.klett.de Von dieser Druckvorlage ist die Vervielfältigung für den eigenen
Unterrichtsgebrauch gestattet. Die Kopiergebühren sind abgegolten.
Autor: Jörg Nieswand, Berlin
Bildquellen: Wikipedia Foundation Inc. / PD
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Green Line 5 Online
English and Politics: the US
547160-0005
2 Make a time line
Read the short texts below. The texts are not in chronological5 order; that’s your job: Create a time line of
the key events, with a heading for each important date.
Eventually, in 1789, a dream of many
colonists in North America became true:
After winning the Revolutionary War against
Britain, the 13 former British colonies
officially became the United States of
America.
As you can imagine, Britain did not want
protest. The mother country decided to send
soldiers to the colonies to stop any kind of
further upheaval. The Americans, who at that
time did not have an organized army, fought
bravely – and successfully: In 1783, the
British soldiers finally surrendered.
30
25
35
In 1776, on July 4, the colonies declared their freedom from Britain. The
famous Declaration of Independence was drafted10 and signed by the most
important American leaders (who would later be called ‘Founding Fathers’).
!+krOn-E-*lOdZIkl? chronologisch • 6to board !bC:d? an Bord gehen; entern • 7upheaval !0p*hi:vl? Aufruhr • 8to restore
!rI*stC:? wiederherstellen • 9order !*C:dE? Odnung • 10to draft !drA:ft? entwerfen
5chronological
1773
Boston Tea Party
1783
British soldiers
surrender
1789
United States of
America officially
independent
Time line:
2
The settlers are complaining about the fact that they produce a lot of goods, ship them to Britain,
and then have to buy back those products from Britain – taxes included! Also, after many years
in America, they feel more American than British and want a government of their own, which
knows exactly what the local needs are. This government should finally represent America for the
Americans.
1
Lösungsvorschläge
15
20
1776
Declaration of
Independence
10
Because the British government wanted
to increase control over the colonies in
America, it had passed a series of laws, but
the settlers did not accept the new laws. They
did not want to be taxed by Britain anymore
without being represented in British
Parliament, and soon there was upheaval7,
especially in Massachusetts. In 1775, British
troops were sent to Boston to restore8 law
and order9. As a result, a war broke out.
1775
British troops sent
to Boston
5
In 1773, Britain decided to put a tax on tea,
a favourite drink in the colonies, as a source
of more money. This made the colonists very
angry. As a form of protest, some Boston
colonists dressed up as Indians (to hide
their true identities) and secretly boarded6 a
British ship full of tea which had just arrived
in Boston Harbour. The ‘Indians’ threw the
tea into the water and the event became
famous as the ‘Boston Tea Party’.
© Ernst Klett Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart 2010 | www.klett.de Von dieser Druckvorlage ist die Vervielfältigung für den eigenen
Unterrichtsgebrauch gestattet. Die Kopiergebühren sind abgegolten.
Autor: Jörg Nieswand, Berlin
Bildquellen: Wikipedia Foundation Inc. / PD
2/2