Taxes & Trade
Name the 1764 act that taxed molasses.
Sugar Act – taxed molasses and sugar imports (1764).
What happened at the Boston Massacre in 1770?
British soldiers fired into a crowd, killing five colonists.
Who wrote Common Sense in 1776?
Thomas Paine.
Who warned that British troops were marching on April 18, 1775?
Paul Revere and William Dawes.
Which British law banned settlement west of the Appalachians after 1763?
The Proclamation of 1763.
Which 1765 law taxed paper goods like newspapers and legal papers?
The Stamp Act.
Who dumped tea into Boston Harbor in 1773?
The Sons of Liberty.
Name an Enlightenment thinker whose ideas appear in the Declaration of Independence.
John Locke.
Where were the first shots of the American Revolution fired?
At Lexington and Concord.
How did British trade restrictions hurt the colonies?
They limited profits and punished smugglers, angering merchants.
How did colonists resist the Townshend Acts?
They boycotted British goods and made non-importation agreements.
What was the impact of the Intolerable Acts on the colonies?
They closed Boston Harbor, increased quartering, and led to the First Continental Congress.
300: Q: How did rationalism shape colonial views of government?
A: Colonists judged government by reason and natural rights, not just tradition.
What roles did African Americans play during the Revolutionary War?
They fought on both sides — Patriots offered freedom, and Britain promised liberty to enslaved people who joined.
What were some long-term impacts of the Revolution?
Independence, but also debt, Loyalist tensions, and ongoing issues with slavery and equality.
Explain the phrase “no taxation without representation.”
Colonists believed only their elected assemblies, not Parliament, could tax them.
How did British military crackdowns fuel colonial resistance?
They convinced colonists that Britain meant to crush their freedoms.
Compare the Declaration of Independence with other revolutionary documents.
It shared themes with the English Bill of Rights and Virginia Declaration of Rights about liberty and consent.
Why was the French alliance important to American victory?
France supplied troops, a navy, and funds that helped win at Yorktown.
How were Loyalists affected after the war?
Many lost land or fled to Canada or Britain.
Evaluate how British taxation policies led to unity and rebellion.
Taxes (Sugar, Stamp, Townshend) angered colonists, inspired cooperation through congresses and committees, and set the stage for independence.
Evaluate whether protests were effective against British control.
Boycotts, the Tea Party, and congresses undermined authority and convinced many independence was the only solution.
Evaluate the Enlightenment’s long-term impact on later reforms.
Its ideas about liberty and equality inspired later movements like abolition, women’s rights, and democracy.
Evaluate three factors behind the American victory in the war.
French aid, Washington’s leadership, and British supply and strategy problems.
Evaluate whether the war resolved issues for all groups.
Patriots gained freedom, but Loyalists were displaced, most enslaved people stayed in bondage, and Native Americans lost land.