Road to the Revolution
This war left Great Britain deeply in debt and contributed to Britain's decision to tax the colonies
French and Indian War
I was the British king during the American Revolution
King George III
Britain needed money after the French and Indian War. What did Britain begin doing that angered many colonists?
Taxing the colonies / imposing new taxes
What are natural rights
Rights people are born with that government cannot legitimately take away
Who wrote the primary draft of the Declaration of Independence?
Thomas Jefferson
Colonists used this phrase to argue that Parliament should not tax them when they had no representatives there.
"No taxation without representation"
I wrote Common Sense and argued that the colonies should become independent
The Stamp Act printed materials. Name one way colonists responded to British taxation.
According to John Locke, what is the purpose of government?
To protect people's natural rights
What was the primary purpose of the Declaration of Independence?
To announce and justify the colonies' independence from Great Britain
After the Boston Tea Party, Britain passed these laws to punish Massachusetts.
Intolerable Acts
I was an Enlightenment philosopher who argued that people possess natural rights
John Locke
What British action directly followed the Boston Tea Party and increased colonial anger?
Britain passed the Intolerable Acts
What does "consent of the governed" tell us about where legitimate government power comes from?
The people
The Declaration contains 27 of these complaints against King George III
What are grievances
Explain how the Boston Tea Party and the Intolerable Acts are connected
The Boston Tea Party was a colonial protest against British tea policies, and Britain responded by passing the Intolerable Acts to punish Massachusetts.
I wrote the primary draft of the Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson
Why did the fighting at Lexington and Concord represent an important turning point in the conflict?
Political disagreement and protest had developed into armed fighting between colonists and British forces
A government repeatedly violates its citizens' rights and refuses to change. According to Locke's ideas, what right do the people have?
The right to alter or abolish the government and establish a new one
Consider this grievance:
"For imposing Taxes on us without Consent."
Which Enlightenment principle did colonists believe this violated, and why?
Consent of the governed, because the colonists argued they were being taxed without having consented through political representation.
Put these events in chronological order: Boston Tea Party, French and Indian War, Lexington and Concord, Stamp Act.
French and Indian War -> Stamp Act -> Boston Tea Party -> Lexington and Concord
My ideas included natural rights, the social contract, consent of the governed, and the people's right to replace a government that violates their rights
John Locke
Explain this chain of events:
French and Indian War -> British taxes -> colonial protests -> British punishment -> Revolution
Britain accumulated debt during the French and Indian War and imposed new colonial taxes. Colonists protested those policies, Britain responded with increasingly punitive measures, tensions escalated, and eventually armed conflict began.
Explain how the idea of the social contract could be used to justify the American Revolution
People agree to accept government in exchange for the government protecting their rights. Colonists argued that Britain had violated their rights and therefore broken the social contract, meaning they were justified in replacing that government.
The declaration argued that governments exist to protect people's rights. Explain the contradiction between that ideal and American society in 1776.
The Declaration proclaimed ideas of equality and liberty while many people-including enslaved people and women-did not enjoy those rights equally. Many of the signers themselves enslaved people.