Crash Course: Prelude to Revolution

Why did the British government place new taxes on the colonists?

• To pay for debt from the French and Indian War

• To raise money to build a new palace for King George

• To pay for debt from the English Civil War

• So the colonists could not afford to raise an army and fight for their independence

What was the primary reason colonists opposed the new taxes placed on them by British Parliament?

• They were too expensive

• British citizens did not have to pay the same taxes

• They did not have any representation in British Parliament

• They believed King George III was punishing them

How did the colonists respond to the Stamp Act?

• They happily paid the tax

• They boycotted British goods

• They killed five British soldiers during a protest known as the Boston Massacre

• They declared the colonies independent from Great Britain

TRUE OR FALSE: The Tea Act made tea more expensive in the colonies.

• True

• False

How did Britain respond to the Tea Act?

• By closing down all ports in the colonies until the tea was paid for

• By passing new, higher taxes on tea and other commonly used products

• By killing five colonists during a protest known as the Boston Massacre

• By passing the Intolerable Acts

Why did delegated from 12 colonies meet at the First Continental Congress?

• To declare independence from Great Britain

• To coordinate the colonists' response to the Intolerable Acts

• To coordinate all the colonial militias into one continental army

• To draft a letter to King George detailing 27 grievances colonists had with Britain

What was the first "Shot heard round the world?"

• Bobby Thompson's walk off home run to win the National League pennant

• George Washington shooting at British troops as he crossed the Delaware River

• The first shot of the Revolutionary War at Lexington and Concord

• The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

What did the Olive Branch Petition of 1775 suggest?

• Colonists were declaring independence from Great Britain

• The Colonial army was preparing for war with Great Britain

• The colonies needed support from Britain to fight the Second French and Indian War

• Colonist were loyal to Great Britain

The Second Continental Congress

• declared the colonies independent from Britain

• declared war against Britain

• put an embargo British goods

• wrote the U.S. Constitution

What is a question you have about the events leading to the American Revolution?