Day #5
5th grade
Social Studies
AMERICAN
REVOLUTION VOL. 1
Tea Act
In the game "Monopoly", the goal is to own as much of the game board as possible. A player
that is able to purchase and own a majority of the game board is eventually able to force opponents
into bankruptcy. Throughout history, real-life monopolies have existed in the businessworld. Certain
companies have owned large enough portions of one industry to force all the competing companies
out of business.When a company achieves a monopoly, it no longer has to worry about having low
prices or making high-quality products. It is not competing with other companies anymore.
British East India Company
Great Britain passed the Tea Act in 1773 in order to create a monopoly for the BritishEastIndio
Company. The BritishEast India Company was struggling at the time. The Britishgovernment thought
that passing this law would force American colonists to do more businesswith the tea company. h
order to convince coloniststo only buy tea from the BritishEastIndia Company, the Britishgovernment
lowered the price of the company's tea. The Britishtea was considerably cheaper than that of any
other tea supplier. The Britishwere able to do this because all legal tea had to pass through England.
The British East India Company paid little to no taxes on its tea as it passed through England to
America.
The American colonists did not receive the Tea Act well. The issue of unfair taxation by the
Britishgovernment was already a source of conflict. Just after the Stamp Act was repealed, the British
government issuedthe Townshend Acts. Theseacts placed unfair taxes on trade. Americans thought
the Tea Act was unfair because it only removed the tea tax for the BritishEastIndia Tea Company. All
of the other companies were stillheavily taxed. Buying tea from any other supplier was so much more
expensive than buying the Britishtea. Even Dutch tea that was iliegally smuggled into the colonies was
more expensive than the Britishtea.
Boycott the British
Instead of purchasing the BritishEastIndia Company tea at cheap prices, American colonists
boycotted it. This means that they refused to buy it.
The colonists knew that by boycotting the tea they were
helping local tea merchants. They were also preventing
Great Britainfrom collecting taxes on the sale of tea. They
saw the Tea Act as an example of "taxation without
representation" and decided that they would not even
allow Britishtea to be unloaded from the ships.Some ships
carrying tea were sent back to Britain. Others were left at
sea where the tea eventually spoiled.
The Tea Act of 1773 is most famous for one event
that it eventually caused - the Boston Tea Party. On
December 16, 1773,a group of American colonists known
as the Sonsof Liberty jumped on board three Britishshipsin
the Bostonharbor. Theywere disguised as Mohawk Indians.
They dumped 340 chests of BritishEast India Company Tea
into the Boston harbor. The amount of tea the Patriots
destroyed would be worth almost $1 million today. The
Britishresponded by putting harsher rules in place in the
colonies. This ultimately caused even greater resistance
from the Americans.
Word Count: 528
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Name
TEXT-BASED EVIDENCE QUESTIONS
Tea Act
Directions: Answerthese questionsafter you read the passage.Rememberto begin your answerby
restatingpart of the question,usedirect evidence from the text, and explainyourthinking.
KEY IDEAS & DETAILS
1. What are some examples from this passage that exploin the role that the Tea Act played in
the American Revolution? Cite evidence from the text. Rl.l
2. Explainwhy the Britishcame up with the idea for the Tea Act. RI.3
3. Explain the relationship between the stomp Act. the Townshend Acts, and the Tea Act. RI.3
4. Explain how the colonists responded to the Teo Act. RI.3
5. Summarize the main ideo of the section "BritishEastIndio Company" in one sentence. RI.2
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Nome
TEXT-BASED EVIDENCE QUESTIONS
Tea Act
Directions: Answer these questions after you read the passage. Remember to begin your answer by
restating part of the question, use direct evidence from the text, and explain your thinking.
CRAFT & STRUCTURE
6. Explainthe meaning of the word "monopoly" in the context of this article. RIA
7. How isthe passage organized? (Chronological, cause/effect, comparison/contrast,
description, problem/solution). Useevidence from the text to explain your answer. RI.5
INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE & IDEAS
8. What is the author's message about the importance of the Tea Act? Useevidence from the
text to support your reasoning. RI.8
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Student Directions
1. Read through the text once.
Pay attention to what the text says.Thinkof the main ideas and key
details. Usea pencil to underline or a highlighter to note the important
ideas you find as you read.
2. Think and Respond.
Go back into the text to answer the Key Ideas & Details section of your
question sheet. Use direct evidence from the text to support your
thinking.
3. Read through the text a second time.
Pay attention to how the text explains the information to you as the
reader. Thinkabout the author's word choices and how the author's
point of view might impact (or affect) the meaning. Use a pencil to
underline or a highlighter to note the important ideas you find as you
read.
4. Think and Respond.
Go back into the text to answer the Craft & Structure section of your
question sheet. Use direct evidence from the text to support your
thinking.
5. Read through the text a third time.
At thispoint, you know the text very well. Asyou re-read, think carefully
about the author's message. Evaluate the evidence that the author
uses to support his/her reasoning. Pay attention to what the text is
saying. Usea pencil to underline or a highlighter to note the important
ideas you find as you read.
6. Think and Respond.
Go back into the text to answer the Know/edge & Integration of Ideas
section of your question sheet. Use direct evidence from the text to
support your thinking.
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