NAME ___________________________

Date _________________________

DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTION This question is based on the accompanying documents. The question is designed to test your ability to work with historical documents. Some of these documents have been edited for the purposes of this question. As you analyze the documents, take into account the source of each document and any point of view that may be presented in the document. Keep in mind that the language used in a document may reflect the historical context of the time in which it was written. Historical Context: American Revolution Culminating in the bold move of the American Colonies declaring independence in 1776, the American Revolution was not only a war, but a revolution of ideas around governance that had been evolving for many years. Theme: Causes of the American Revolution Task: Using the information from the seven documents in part A and your knowledge of US history, write an essay (4-5 Paragraphs: Introduction, 2 body paragraphs and a conclusion) in Part B in which you ●

Explain the causes of the American Revolution. Why were the American colonists driven to declare war on the British Empire? ○ Describe in detail 2 causes of the American revolution.

In developing your answers to part B, be sure to keep these general definitions in mind: ● ●

describe means “to illustrate something in words or tell about it” explain means “to make plain or understandable; to give reasons for or causes of; to show the logical development or relationships of”

Guidelines: In your essay, be sure to: ● ● ● ● ●

Develop all aspects of the task Incorporate information from at least three documents Incorporate relevant outside information Support the theme with relevant facts, examples, and details Use a logical and clear plan of organization, including an introduction and a conclusion that are beyond a restatement of the theme

Part A | Short-Answer Questions Directions: Analyze the documents and answer the short-answer questions that follow each document in the space provided. Document 1: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

The French and Indian War resulted in a British Victory... its effects led to an escalation of tensions between the American colonists and their British gov’t. Firstly, the war had been enormously expensive. The British government’s attempts to impose taxes on colonists to help cover these expenses resulted in increasing colonial resentment of British attempts to expand authority in the colonies. Secondly, British attempts to limit western expansion by colonists further angered the colonists. American colonists wanted to expand west to access more natural resources, which they saw as an economic opportunity. The British were concerned that westward expansion would result in another expensive Indian war. These disputes would ultimately spur colonial rebellion that eventually developed into a full-scale war for independence. Office of the Historian, United States of America Department of State (2014)

1) What are two effects of the French and Indian War that escalated tension between the American colonists and British government?

a)

b)

Document 2a: 1 2 3 4 5

“An act for granting and applying certain stamp duties, and other duties, in the British colonies and plantations in America, towards further defraying the expenses of defending, protecting, and securing the colonies…For every skin or piece of vellum or parchment, or sheet or piece of paper, on which shall be engrossed, written or printed....within the British colonies and plantations in America, a stamp duty of three pence…” Stamp Act 1765, Parliament of Great Britain (1765)

1) According to line 2, what were the funds from the Stamp Act going towards?

2) According to lines 3 & 4, what was the Stamp Act taxing?

3) Was the Stamp Act written by the British Government, or the American colonists? How might this have contributed to American colonists’ desire to overthrow the British government?

Document 2b: 1 2 3 4 5

I AM sorry to be obliged to inform my Readers, that as The STAMP ACT, is feared to be obligatory [mandatory] upon us after the First of November (Tomorrow) ...the Publisher of this Paper unable to bear the tax burden, has thought it expedient [urgent] TO STOP publishing this paper awhile, in order to think about, whether any Methods can be found to break the taxing Chains put on us, and escape the insupportable economic Slavery... Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser, William Bradford (1765)

1) According to lines 2 and 3, why was William Bradford no longer able to publish the Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser?

2) Using both document 2a and 2b, how did the Stamp Act affect the lives of everyday citizens in the American colonies? Cite textual evidence from both documents to support your claim.

Document 2c: 1 2 3 4 5 6 78

My Dear Countrymen, AWAKE! Awake, my Countrymen and defeat the British gov’t, who want to enslave us. Do not be cowards. You were born in Britain, the Land of Light, and you were raised in America, the Land of Liberty. It is your duty to fight this tax (stamp act). Future generations will bless your efforts and honor the memory of the saviors of their country. I urge you to tell your representatives that you do not support this terrible and burdensome law. Let them know what you think. They should act as guardians of the liberty of their country. I look forward to congratulating you on delivering us from the enemies of truth and liberty. Boston Gazette (October 7 1765)

1) According to document 2c, how did colonists view the British government after the Stamp Act, as enemies or supporters?

2) Using documents 2a, 2b, and 2c, how could the Stamp Act have led to the American revolution?

Document 3:

Navigation Acts, illustrated RevolutionaryWarCauses

1) What was the British policy of Mercantilism?

2) How did the Navigation Acts & Mercantilism cause the Revolutionary War?

Document 4:

“The Bloody Massacre Perpetrated in King Street, March 5th 1770”, Paul Revere (1770)

1) Which historical event does this image illustrate? Cite evidence from the text to support your claim.

2) This image shows British soldiers on the right firing on a crowd of unarmed American colonists on the left. How could this image have biased American colonists against the British government?

Document 5: 1 2 3 4 5

But there is a greater distinction [difference] for which no truly natural or religious reason can be understood, and that is, the distinction [difference] between men into KINGS and SUBJECTS... For all men being originally equals, no one by birth could have a right to set up his own family in preference as a royal to all others FOREVER, and though he himself might deserve some decent degree of honors, yet his descendants might be far too unworthy to inherit them. It is actually, unnatural. Common Sense, Thomas Paine (1776)

1) In lines 1 - 5, what is Thomas Paine suggesting about monarchies?

2) How could Thomas Paine’s argument have been used to convince colonists to declare independence from Great Britain?

Document 6: 1 2 3 4 5 6

“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security… Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.” Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson (1776)

1.

In line 1, Thomas Jefferson refers to a “...long train of abuses”. What are some examples of actions that Great Britain took prior to 1776 that the colonists might have viewed as abuses?