Colonisation
What did Britain do in the late 16th century?
Britain colonised America and gave its place names to cities like New York and New Jersey.
What is "No taxation without representation"?
The colonial slogan used to protest British taxation without colonial seats in Parliament.
What was the Boston Tea Party?
The night of December 16, 1773, approximately 116 men dumped this many chests of tea into Boston Harbour.
Who is Crispus Attucks?
The man of African and Native American descent who was among the five killed in the Boston Massacre, often cited as the first to die for American independence.
What was the Seven Years War?
The war between Britain and France, partly fought in America, that left Britain deeply in debt and led directly to colonial taxation.
What is the First Charter of Virginia, and when was it published?
The 1606 document that justified colonisation by claiming it would spread Christianity to the "savages" of America.
What is the Stamp Act?
The 1765 act that required all printed materials — including playing cards and legal documents — to carry an official revenue stamp.
What is the date and location of the Boston Massacre.
March 5, 1770, outside the Custom House on King Street, Boston?
Who is Paul Revere?
This Patriot produced a famous engraving of the Boston Massacre depicting the soldiers firing in a deliberate, organised line — one of colonial America's most powerful pieces of propaganda.
Why did the Tea Act receive protests for lowering the price of Tea?
The Tea Act of 1773 actually lowered the price of tea, yet colonists still protested — because the tea tax itself remained and a British company was given a monopoly.
What is the Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee)?
This alliance of 5 (later 6) Native American nations governed by the Great Law of Peace is believed to have influenced the U.S. Constitution.
What are the Townshend Acts?
Named after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, this 1767 series of acts imposed duties on glass, paper, paint, and tea.
What are the Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts)?
Britain's response to the Boston Tea Party, these 1774 acts closed Boston Harbour, stripped Massachusetts of self-governance, and forced colonists to house British troops.
Who is Voltaire?
This French philosopher praised William Penn's treaty with the Lenni-Lenape as "the only treaty never sworn to and never broken," making Pennsylvania the most peaceable colony in the Americas.
What happened to unite moderate colonists with the Patriot cause (pushing them toward independence)?
The Intolerable Acts backfired on Britain by achieving this unintended consequence among the colonies.
Who are the Lenni-Lenape? Who formed a treaty with them?
William Penn formed a Treaty of Friendship with this Indigenous group, but his own sons later cheated them out of 1,200 square miles of land in 1737.
What is the Declaratory Act?
Britain repealed the Stamp Act in 1766, but simultaneously passed this act asserting the right to legislate for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever."
What is the quote "swept them clean" in reference to?
The Boston Tea Party protestors were disciplined in their actions — they broke only one padlock, which they replaced, and did this to the ships' decks before leaving.
What is the Stamp Act Congress?
This 1765 gathering brought together delegates from nine colonies to petition Parliament — one of the first coordinated inter-colonial political actions in American history.
Describe the lead up to Bacon's Rebellion.
Poor economy based on tobacco. The Doeg Raid, violence escalates as the militia target the wrong Indigenous Tribe. Bacon sees the escalating violence and decides that war on the Indigenous is the only way to stop it.
Compare the Iroquois Confederacy and Colonial Societies.
The Iroquois Confederacy was matrilineal and fairly egalitarian, while colonial society had no political rights for women and gave all power to wealthy landowners.
Who is John Dickinson (Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer)?
This colonial writer argued in his 1767 pamphlet that any tax imposed for revenue — not trade regulation — was unconstitutional, regardless of whether it was called an internal or external tax.
What is the rule of law, and where do we see it?
John Adams defended the British soldiers at trial after the Boston Massacre. This is historically significant not just for the outcome, but because it demonstrated this broader principle.
Who is Thomas Jefferson?
The Declaration of Independence was primarily drafted by this man.
How does the quote "all men are created equal," demonstrate contradiction within American society?
There is a visible continuation of slavery, and the exclusion of women, Indigenous peoples, and non-landowners from political rights demonstrating contradictions from the Declaration of Independence