Crash Course 6-7: American Revolution Taxes and Smuggling (PDF)

Crash Course #6 – Taxes and Smuggling 1. Why did the British begin to tax the American colonist? The british taxed the colonist because of War debt. 2. How did these series of taxes differ from the previous taxes the British had placed on the colonies? These taxes were about trying to regulate trad...

Crash Course #6 – Taxes and Smuggling 1. Why did the British begin to tax the American colonist? The british taxed the colonist because of War debt. 2. How did these series of taxes differ from the previous taxes the British had placed on the colonies? These taxes were about trying to regulate trade in a mercantilist way more than trying to pay back war debt. 3. If the taxes were not the problem or the thing they were anger about, what was the thing that made the colonist mad about the taxes? They didn't have any say about the new taxes that Britain was imposing. They wanted more Parliamentary representation. 4. Why did changing the courts from courts in American to courts in Great Britain make a difference when it came to smuggling? It took that power away from colonial courts, which had been notoriously tolerant when it came to smuggling. 5. What was the first major coordinated action taken by the colonies? The Stamp Act Congress which decided to boycott British goods. 6. List two things that the Committees of Correspondence did. Rallied colonial boycotting of British policies and established a political union between the Thirteen Colonies. 7. What did the Declaratory Act state? The British were allowed to tax the colonies on anything at any time they wanted to. 8. What type of people were the ones organizing the protests? Elites organized protests. 8. What act created a new board of customs to stop smuggling? The "Townshend Acts" 9. Why would merchants not like the boycotts of British goods? Because they made their livings by importing and selling the goods that were now being boycotted. 10. Describe the Boston Massacre Colonists protested British policies and taxes that led to the death of five colonists. 11. Why were colonists so mad about the tax on tea? It actually lowered the price of tea since they were allowed to dump cheap tea on the colonies. 12. What was the British response to the Boston Tea Party? The British responded by passing a series of acts that colonists came to call the "Intolerable Acts." 13. What could you call the first government of America? The first Continental Congress 14. What colonist were not for independence? Elites in colonies like New York and Pennsylvania 15. What is the Olive Branch Petition? A letter that was sent to the King requesting to settle their differences peacefully without going to war 16. What was Thomas Paine’s argument in Common Sense? Paine's arguments all contributed to the idea that America is somehow special, even exceptional, and claimed independence from England and the creation of a democratic republic. Crash Course #7: Who Won The American Revolution 1. What was the strategy of the British in the American Revolution? To capture all the cities and force them to surrender. The 1st part of the strategy worked. They captured Boston, New York, and Charleston but all the colonists had to do was not quit. 2. What were two important battles during the American Revolution? The Battle of Trenton and Saratoga (major defeat for the British). 3. What happened to the French because they helped the US colonist? The French eventually went bankrupt by helping the US, which led to their own revolution. 4. What was the life of the colonial soldier life? Rations were poor, and soldiers went unpaid. Joseph Plumb Martin (a soldier from Connecticut) wrote that they felt they were "starving in detail for an ungrateful people who did not care what became of us." 5. What would happen if a slave went to fight for the British? Fighting in the war meant freedom, therefore, the slaves thought that it was a way to escape and many attempted to do so. 6. Describe the Native American life and actions during the American Revolution (at least 2 things) American troops were burning Native American villages and enslaving prisoners 7. What is republican motherhood? (5:50) It held that for the republic to survive, it was necessary to have a well-educated citizenry. And since women were the primary educators, they needed to be educated. 8. What was revolutionary during the American Revolution (give at least 3 examples) Every man is created equal and every man Has God-given the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 9. What was the biggest contradiction in the American Revolution? Slavery, America claimed that all men were created equal but men of different skin colors existed without rights. 10. According to John Green, what was the biggest revolutionary change in the American Revolution? (11:15) The amount of free colored people in Northern America / American Equality.