Colonial Influences
How did the Magna Carta influence the government created by the American colonists?
It established that government leaders must obey the law and that government power should be limited.
Why did Great Britain begin taxing the colonies after the French and Indian War?
Britain wanted the colonies to help pay its war debt and the cost of protecting them.
What did the phrase “no taxation without representation” mean to the colonists?
Colonists believed Parliament should not tax them because they had no elected representatives in Parliament.
What was the main purpose of the First Continental Congress?
To coordinate a colonial response to the Intolerable Acts and defend colonial rights.
Who was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence?
Thomas Jefferson
Which colonial document created a government based on the consent of the governed: the Mayflower Compact or the English Bill of Rights?
The Mayflower Compact
Why did colonists believe the Stamp Act violated their rights?
They were taxed without having representatives in Parliament.
Why did colonists organize boycotts of British goods?
To protest British policies and pressure Britain economically.
Why were the Battles of Lexington and Concord historically significant?
They were the first military battles of the American Revolution.
What are the three natural rights identified in the Declaration of Independence?
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
How did the English Bill of Rights protect citizens from government abuse?
It limited the monarch’s power and protected individual rights.
How did the Boston Massacre increase tensions between Britain and the colonies?
It increased colonial anger and was used as evidence of British oppression.
How did the Boston Tea Party demonstrate colonial resistance?
Colonists destroyed taxed tea to protest the Tea Act and taxation without representation.
How did Thomas Paine’s Common Sense influence the colonists?
It persuaded many colonists to support independence from Britain.
According to the Declaration, where does government receive its legitimate power?
From the consent of the governed
Compare the Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights. What principle did both documents support?
Both supported limited government and the protection of individual rights.
Explain how the Intolerable Acts changed the relationship between Britain and the colonies.
They punished Massachusetts, increased British control, and encouraged the colonies to unite against Britain.
Compare the purpose of a boycott with the purpose of a petition.
A boycott applies economic pressure by refusing to buy goods, while a petition formally asks the government to change a policy.
How did Britain’s response to colonial protests push some colonists from demanding rights to demanding independence?
Britain increased punishment and military control, convincing many colonists that reconciliation was unlikely.
Why did the Declaration include a list of grievances against King George III?
To provide evidence that the king had violated colonial rights and justify independence.
Which colonial influence most directly supports the idea that citizens should help make decisions about their government? Explain.
The Mayflower Compact because the settlers agreed to create laws and govern themselves for the common good.
Parliament passed the Stamp Act without allowing the colonists to elect representatives to Parliament. Which founding idea did the colonists believe this violated, and why?
Consent of the governed. The colonists believed a government could not legitimately tax them without their approval through elected representatives.
The colonists argued that Parliament could not tax them because they did not elect representatives to Parliament. Which founding idea is reflected in this argument?
Representative government—citizens should elect officials who make laws and decisions on their behalf.
Thomas Paine argued in Common Sense that the colonies should reject the rule of a king and create their own representative government. Which Enlightenment thinker’s ideas most closely support Paine’s argument, and why?
John Locke. Locke argued that government receives its power from the consent of the governed and that people may replace a government that fails to protect their natural rights.
According to the Declaration, when are people justified in changing or abolishing their government? Explain the principle involved.
When the government repeatedly violates natural rights and fails to protect the people; government exists to protect rights and depends on the people’s consent.