TEACHER’S GUIDE
TEACHER’S GUIDE
Follow-up Activities
Suggested Internet Resources
• A Stamp Act Congress was convened by the colonies in 1765 to discuss
issues related to the controversial Stamp Tax. Have students read the
Resolutions of the Stamp Act Congress that were sent to Great Britain,
describe in their own words the most important issues and analyze the
language the Congress used to describe the colonies’ objections. As a
follow-up, ask groups of students to form committees and to write
letters of protest regarding issues of importance to them.The full text of
the Resolutions of the Stamp Act Congress may be found at this Web site:
odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1751-1775/stampact/sa.htm
Periodically, Internet Resources are updated on our Web site at
www.LibraryVideo.com
• ahp.gatech.edu/tea_party_account_1773.html
Georgia Tech presents students with the eyewitness account of George
Hewes, a participant in the Boston Tea Party.
• courses.smsu.edu/ftm922f/Documents/coerciveacts.htm
Southwest Missouri State University offers excerpts from the Boston Port
Act, the Massachusetts Government Act and the Administration of Justice
Act, otherwise known to colonists as the Coercive Acts.
• www.constitution.org/bcp/vir_res1765.htm
Students may read the full text of Patrick Henry’s Virginia Resolves.
• Ask students to imagine they are newspaper reporters on the scene at
the Boston Massacre in 1770, and to write articles that attempt to
capture what happened on that fateful day. Students may also research
the lives of the five victims, including Crispus Attucks, an African
American who is remembered as “the first to die, the first to defy” during
the Revolutionary period.An excellent resource for background information on this incident, An Anonymous Account of the Boston Massacre,
may be accessed at this Web site: www.ku.edu/carrie/docs/texts/
bostanon.html
• In 1772, as the British were becoming increasingly aggressive in their
enforcement of customs laws, a number of colonists led by John Brown,
a prominent Providence merchant, boldly seized and burned the
Gaspee, a British ship that was patrolling the waters off Rhode Island.
Ask groups of students to research the men who participated in the
Gaspee affair and to share what they learn about these men’s roles in
the American Revolution with the class. Information on those who were
involved in the Gaspee Affair may be found at this Web site:
gaspee.org/GaspeeRaiders.htm
• Ask students to gather and analyze evidence about how both British
Parliament and colonial resistance leaders such as Patrick Henry and
Sam Adams felt about English taxes in the aftermath of the French and
Indian War. Based on what they learn, students may conduct a mock
debate on whether the English had the right to tax the colonies.
• A grand jury in Massachusetts indicted Captain Preston and eight British
soldiers for murder in the aftermath of the Boston Massacre. Ask students to research the Boston Massacre trials, describing the key figures,
developing a chronology of events and reading actual court testimony.
As a follow-up, students may conduct their own mock trial of the men
who were involved in this incident. A wealth of information on the
Boston Massacre trials may be found at this Web site: www.law.umkc.
edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/bostonmassacre/bostonmassacre.html
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TEACHER’S GUIDE
Suggested Print Resources
• Forbes, Esther. Johnny Tremain. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA; 1943.
A Newberry Award-winning novel about the events leading up to the
American Revolution as seen through the eyes of a fourteen-year-old boy.
• Furstinger, Nancy. Boston Tea Party. Bridgestone Books, Mankata, MN;
2002.
• Herbert, Janis. The American Revolution for Kids: A History with 21
Activities. Chicago Review Press, Chicago, IL; 2002.
TEACHER’S GUIDE
Jeffrey W. Litzke, M.Ed.
Curriculum Specialist, Schlessinger Media
TITLES
• ORIGINS OF DEMOCRACY (1688-1765)
• CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION (1765-1774)
• DECLARING INDEPENDENCE (1774-1776)
• THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR (1776-1783)
• CREATING A NEW NATION (1783-1791)
Teacher’s Guides Included
and Available Online at:
800-843-3620
Teacher’s Guide and Program Copyright 2004 by Schlessinger Media,
a division of Library Video Company
P.O. Box 580,Wynnewood, PA 19096 • 800-843-3620
Executive Producer:Andrew Schlessinger
Programs produced and directed by Issembert Productions, Inc.
D6862
All rights reserved.
CAUSES
OF THE REVOLUTION
(1765-1774)
Grades 5–9
T
his guide is a supplement designed for teachers
to use when presenting programs in the The
American Revolution for Students series.
Before Viewing: Give students an introduction
to the topic by relaying aspects of the program
summary to them. Select pre-viewing discussion
questions and vocabulary to provide a focus for
students when they view the program.
After Viewing: Review the program and vocabulary, and use the follow-up activities to inspire
continued discussion. Encourage students to
research the topic further with the Internet and
print resources provided.
Program Summary
French and Indian War — A conflict from 1754 to 1763 involving the
Pre-viewing Discussion
In the aftermath of the Seven Years’ War, a power struggle developed
between the American colonies and Great Britain. In need of money to pay
the tremendous costs associated with the war, Great Britain began to enforce
tax and trade laws previously evaded by colonial merchants.The colonists
who had enjoyed substantial freedom in their social, political and economic
life protested, sometimes violently, against the new British policies.
While Parliament repealed some tax laws such as the Stamp Act, they continued to pass new legislation and declared their power over the colonies in all
cases whatsoever.The 1773 Tea Act led to the Boston Tea Party, causing Great
Britain to issue the Coercive Acts, measures designed to punish the people of
Boston for their destruction of British property.While the British attempted
to shut the port of Boston down, people throughout the colonies organized a
unified response in support of the New England colonists, sending them
much needed food and supplies.
In 1774, the First Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia to discuss
how the colonies might respond to Great Britain. Leaders such as Patrick
Henry and Sam Adams argued for continued resistance and some even said
that Parliament had no authority over the colonies, but the majority of colonial representatives still sought compromise with the British.The colonies
sent a petition to King George III expressing their desire for better treatment,
but the British monarch would not respond, and the animosity between the
two sides grew stronger.
French and their Native American allies against the British.This war was part
of a broader European conflict known as the Seven Years’War.
Pontiac’s Rebellion — A violent rebellion led by Ottawa chief Pontiac that
attempted to drive the British from North America after the French and
Indian War.
Proclamation Act of 1763 — A law passed by Parliament that attempted
to prevent colonists from moving west of the Appalachians in order to keep
the peace between colonists and Native American peoples.
Parliament — The legislative body of Great Britain, consisting of a king or
queen, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Other countries also
have legislatures called parliaments.
Sugar Act — An act passed by Parliament that imposed taxes on imports to
America such as sugar and molasses.
Stamp Act — An unpopular British law passed in 1765 that placed new
taxes on American colonists.
House of Burgesses — The colonial assembly in Virginia.
Virginia Resolves — A set of radical resolutions Patrick Henry introduced
in the Virginia House of Burgesses in response to the Stamp Act.
Sons of Liberty — A secret society of colonial patriots originally formed in
1765 in opposition to the Stamp Act.
boycott — A political or economic protest in which people refuse to buy
certain types of goods from a specific source.
• Ask students to offer what they know about taxes.What is a tax? How
do taxes affect people? Why are taxes important for governments?
Students may attempt to interpret in their own words the phrase,“no
taxation without representation!”
• Describe different forms of protest. How would you resist a law you
thought was unjust or unfair?
• Name some of the leaders who participated in the early part of the
American Revolution.What did they do? Why are they important?
Time Line
Declaratory Act — An act passed by Parliament in 1766 that declared that
the colonies were subordinate to the British crown in all cases whatsoever.
Townshend Revenue Acts — A series of taxes placed on products
imported from England.
Daughters of Liberty — A group of women who resisted British trade
laws by boycotting English cloth and making their own clothing.
Boston Massacre — An incident that took place in Boston on March 5,
1770 in which British soldiers shot and killed five American protestors.
Committees of Correspondence — Colonists who helped organize resistance to the British by writing letters of protest and circulating them
throughout the colonies.
Coercive Acts — Measures passed by Parliament that were intended to
punish Boston for destruction of British tea during the Boston Tea Party.Also
called the Intolerable Acts.
First Continental Congress — A meeting held in Philadelphia in 1774 in
which representatives from the colonies spoke about their problems with
the British.
1763 — The French and Indian War ends.
1763 — Pontiac’s Rebellion begins.
1763 — Great Britain issues the Proclamation Act of 1763.
1764 — Parliament passes the Sugar Act to raise revenue in the colonies.
1765 — The Stamp Act places new taxes on American colonists.
1766 — Parliament repeals the Stamp Act.
1767 — The Townshend Revenue Acts are passed.
1770 — Five colonists are killed by British troops in the Boston Massacre.
1773 — The Tea Act is passed by Parliament.
1773 — Sons of Liberty destroy British tea at the Boston Tea Party.
1773 — The Coercive Acts are passed to punish protestors in Boston.
1774 — The First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia.
Vocabulary
Focus Questions
1.What did Great Britain gain in the aftermath of the Seven Years’War?
2. How did the British government respond to Pontiac’s Rebellion?
3.Why did Parliament pass measures such as the Sugar and Stamp Acts?
4.Why were many colonists angry about the Stamp Act?
5.Who were the Sons of Liberty?
6.Why did Great Britain send troops to Boston?
7.What was the Boston Massacre?
8.What was the purpose of the Committees of Correspondence?
9. How did the Sons of Liberty respond to the Tea Act of 1773?
10.Why did Parliament pass the “Intolerable Acts”?
11. What was the First Continental Congress? What were some of the
actions taken by this group?
Follow-up Discussion
• Ask students to imagine they are colonists at the time the Proclamation
of 1763 was issued, which forbade colonists from moving further west
onto Indian lands.Why did the English enact this rule? How would students have reacted after learning of this restriction? Ask students to
discuss why colonists might have wanted to move further west.
• Some people used violence in their resistance to the Stamp Act.Ask students to describe a few of the more radical protest methods used by
colonists and to evaluate whether these were good or bad ways to
disobey the British.
• Ask students to explain how both Sam Adams and King George III felt
about the Boston Tea Party.
Boston Tea Party — An organized protest against the Tea Act of 1773 in
which members of the Sons of Liberty destroyed thousands of dollars worth
of British tea.
(Continued)
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