September 10, 2009

Today was the second day of "Taxes and Protest". You should now be able to not only know various British Acts that were place on the colonists along with the colonial reaction but also how some of these events relate to one another. You should complete handout #7 to practice the cause and effect relationship between these events. On the front side of handout #7 the following three things go in the "cause" boxes: French and Indian War, Colonists being taxed and the Stamp Act. On the back side of handout #5 the following three things go in the "effects" boxes: Proclamation of 1763, Colonists being taxed and More and more British troops in America.

We also started our first role play. On this role play you will take either the role of a colonist or a member of British parliament. The topic is the imposing of taxes on the colonies. You and your partner will work together to compose a speech in the role that you have been given. The speech should last at least 60 seconds. A rubric for the role play can be found on handout #8. Role plays are designed for you to show you know the history of a particular time period and also to be able to formulate an argumentative speech and then to give that speech in an effective manner. Make sure you have your speech parts done for class tomorrow.

One more thing - the reading assignment is due for tomorrow.

September 9, 2009

We got into the swing of things today talking about the American "Revolution" which John Adams said took place before blood was shed at Lexington. To start off it is important to understand the initial relationship between the American colonists and the British. It was expected that the colonies would provide raw materials for British industry. This was the system of mercantilism. You should complete handout #4/#5 in your notebook. If you need a another explanation of mercantilism you should look on page 98 of your book. Here are the 3 parts to mercantilism: 1)countries wanted to accumulate gold and silver, 2)to do this they needed to export more than they imported, 3)countries would use their colonies to provide them with raw materials and as a market for manufactured goods and thus give them more exports than imports.

When the British beat the French in the the French and Indian War it gave them control of North America but also left them in debt and with troops in America that needed to be paid for. British parliament decided to tax the colonists in order to pay for what the British felt was the defense of the colonies. You should be able to explain some of the British acts placed upon the colonists and also the colonial responses. Handout #6 should be completed where you should list some of the acts passed by the British and the colonial protests that ensued after each act. The acts I will focus on are: The Proclamation of 1763, the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts and the Tea Act.

Looking ahead reading assignment #2 (handout #7) will be due on Monday.