1765 - The Stamp Act

The British victory in the French Indian War was expensive. The Stamp Act was passed by the

British Parliament on March 22, 1765.

The new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every

piece of printed paper they used. This new tax offended the colonists.

Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry convinced the Virginia House of Burgesses to adopt the Stamp Act Resolves. This

resolution declared that Americans possessed the same rights as the English, especially the right

to be taxed only by their own representatives; that Virginians should pay no taxes except those

voted by the Virginia House of Burgesses. Virginia's Governor did not approve of the resolution.

He dissolved the House of Burgesses in response.

Stamp Act Riots

Reaction to the Stamp Act across the 13 colonies ranged from boycotts of British goods to riots

and attacks on the tax collectors.

1770 - The Boston Massacre

Two weeks after an eleven-year-old boy was killed in a standoff between colonists and British

officials, the soaring tensions in Boston threat to explode into open violence at the slightest

spark. On the 5th of March 1770, an angry mob gathers to hurl snowballs at nervous sentries

guarding the customs house. Suddenly, the blast of a musket rings out. More shots follow. As the

smoke clears, five colonists lay dead in what the Sons of Liberty will dub the Boston Massacre.

With the Boston Massacre, tensions escalated dramatically because until this point, it still had

been largely a political argument. Now, it's a matter of a show of force. Now, people have died.

There is much more at stake than there had been before.

1773 - The Boston Tea Party

It was British attempt to tax tea that spurred the colonists to action and laid the groundwork for

the American Revolution. The East India Company sent shipments of tea to Philadelphia and

New York. These ships were not allowed to land.

December 16, 1773, men disguised as Indians descended upon three ships in Boston and dumped

their cargoes of tea into the harbor. In March 1774, Parliament in London passed the Intolerable

Acts which, among other measures closed the Port of Boston.

Reference

Wilson, J. (2015, May 13). Lesson two: Seeds of discontent. Retrieved from

https://prezi.com/xfrfxh_c-tkr/lesson-two-seeds-of-discontent/

ESL Beginner

Name: ____________________________________________________________

Write the year that each of these events occurred.

British victory in the French Indian War 1763 The Stamp Act ______

The Boston Massacre ______ The Boston Tea Party _______

The Intolerable Acts _______

Re-read the transcript and select the best answer(s)

Why did the British Parliament enact the Stamp Act?

(A) to offend the colonists

(B) to pay for the French Indian War

(C) to increase sales of printed paper

(D) to punish the colonists

According to Patrick Henry:

(A) Americans possessed the same rights as the English

(B) Americans possessed less rights than the English

(C) Americans possessed more rights than the English

(D) Virginians should pay no taxes except those voted by their own representatives

Who died in the Boston Massacre?

(A) an eleven-year-old boy

(B) five colonists

(C) five British Soldiers

(D) Patrick Henry

Why was tea dumped in the harbor at the Boston Tea Party?

(A) Colonists were angry at British attempts to tax tea.

(B) Colonists still were angry from the Boston Massacre.

(C) Colonists were still angry about the Stamp Act.

(D) Colonists wanted to punish the British.

ESL Intermediate

Name: ____________________________________________________________

Re-read the transcript and answer the questions

Why did the British Parliament pass the Stamp Act on March 22, 1765?

What did Patrick Henry convince the Virginia House of Burgesses to do?

How did colonists across the 13 colonies react to the Stamp Act?

How did the Boston Massacre dramatically escalate tensions between the colonists and the

British?

Why would men disguise themselves as Indians at the Boston Tea Party?

ESL Advanced

Name: ____________________________________________________________

Re-read the transcript, consider the British point of view, explain the statements below.

Example: The British Parliament was right to enact to the Stamp Act on March 22, 1765.

The French Indian War was expensive, and this war benefited the colonists.

Virginia's Governor did the right thing to not approve Patrick Henry’s Stamp Act Resolves.

Reaction to the Stamp Act across the 13 colonies was unreasonable.

The angry mob caused the Boston Massacre. The colonists threw snowballs at the British

sentries guarding the customs house.

Throwing cargoes of tea into the harbor is a crime. This act was nothing more than the

destruction of private property.