Week 5: The Tipping Point

This week we discussed the tipping point of the revolution: what it was that drove the otherwise peaceful colonists—mostly farmers who just wanted to drink their tea, read their newspapers, and live happily ever after--to pick up their guns and aim them at the biggest, most powerful military force in the world. After the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763 to end the French and Indian War, the colonists were prevented by England from expanding westward into their newly acquired territory...strike one. Then, England started imposing all these taxes on the colonists to help pay off their 150,000,000 pound war debt. The taxes themselves weren't so frustrating, it was that the colonists had no say in the imposition of the taxes...strike two. Finally, after the Boston Tea Party, where some naughty colonists dumped the equivalent of $4,000,000 worth of tea into Boston Harbor (and then refused to pay for the damage), England hit Massachusetts with some really oppressive laws, that they called the Coercive Acts, which the colonists quickly renamed the Intolerable Acts...strike three. There was so much tension in the colonial air, you could cut it with a knife--or a bayonet. The colonists finally snapped on April 19th, 1775 in a little country town called Lexington. Tune in next week to find out what happened next!


ASSIGNMENTS:


  • Writing: When is it right to defend your liberty with guns? Explain and use examples. As you write this paper, use the suggestions I gave you on your last paper to help improve your organization and use of the writing process.
  • Reading: 
    • Read The Declaration of Independence. Highlight and define any words you are not familiar with--if you're not 100% sure you know the definition of something, look it up! Please use the 1828 Dictionary.
    • Read John Adams: Reluctant Patriot of the Revolution by Leonard Falkner. Highlight, underline, take notes so you will have questions and comments to share for the book discussion on November 11th.
  • Presentation: Austen will fill us in on what went down at the battle of Lexington and Concord.
  • Devotional: Savanna, will you be so kind as to provide the devotional next week?

 

****Candy Pop Quiz: When you come into class, there will be a spot to write your answer on a slip of paper, and place it in a basket. Get the answers correct and you’ll get candy!****

1.      (From last week) Name the delegates (and the colonies they represented) who were on the committee of five to write the Declaration of Independence.

2.      Name 3 of the 4 Intolerable Acts.


X X X X X X X X X X X X


Make-up work for Austen -  Watch the video below:  

https://youtu.be/Eytc9ZaNWyc


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