American History Homework Two Answers - Model

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Lecture - Questions - Student Answers

1. What do you think were the three most important causes of the American Revolution.

The three most important causes of the American Revolution were the colonists were accustomed to independence, taxes hit at a bad time, and one-third of the colonists were not even English. (Nathanael H.)
A) Colonists accepted John Locke's philosophy of natural rights and a social contract, which conflicted with rule by a monarchy.
B) Colonies disagreed with the “virtual representation”.
C) British burdens hurt nearly all colonists in all walks of life. (Amanda S.)
--British burdens hurt nearly all Colonists in all walks of life. The Proclamation Act hurt the farmers. The Sugar Act hurt the Southern colonies. The Stamp Act hurt the Northern colonies, especially Pennsylvania, which ran a large printing business. The Coercive Acts which were known to the colonists as the Intolerable Acts, hurt Massachusetts. It was as if England was trying to cripple the colonies.
--Taxes hit at a bad time: postwar depression After the war the colonists did not have chance to recover financially, before England began taxing them.
--Colonists were accustomed to much independence and self-determination, and Tory efforts to regulate and tax were bitterly opposed by the Colonies. The colonies thrived under "salutary neglect." When England became 'hands-on', the conflicts began. (Jonathan L.)
"... the micromanaging of the colonies by the king." (Joseph M.)

2. Who used the phrase "taxation without representation," and why?

The phrase "taxation without representation" originated from Reverend Jonathan Mayhew. He used the phrase in one of his sermons because he was adamantly against the method of taxation Britain used. (Bethany S.)
The phrase “taxation without representation” was used by Reverend Jonathan Mayhew in a sermon he delivered in Boston in 1750. But it is most of the time linked to James Otis, a Boston politician who said “taxation without representation is tyranny.” It was a term used by Colonists, that summed up, in a three word phrase, that the heavy taxes that British Parliament were laying on them left and right were unfair because they were NOT being represented in Parliament during their making. Because the Colonies could not elect people for Parliament, they had absolutely no say in the matter. Because they had no say, they were left helpless against the attacks of Parliament, hungry for more money and power. (Deborah B.)

3. What was the Boston Tea Party?

The Boston Tea Party was when the Sons of Liberty dressed as Indians boarded an English ship which was full of tea, and dumped the tea overboard. They did this to show defiance to the king .... (Isaac Z.)
The Boston Tea Party was a protest against the Tea Act, which allowed the East India Tea Company to sell the colonies tea without having to pay the normal ... taxes. Samuel Adams led the Sons of Liberty in boarding the British East India Company ships and dumping all of their tea in the Boston Harbor. (Sarah W.)

4. Do you blame anyone for the Salem Witch Trials? Explain.

I think the judicial system was partially responsible. Allowing spectral "evidence" was absurd and superstitious and the defendants should have been presumed innocent until proven guilty. I think that the doctor was to blame for crediting the idea that it was supernatural. (Michelle F.)
Jealousy: "Most of the accused were richer than the accusers. ..." (Nick DeJ.)
I actually blame two people: the doctor who examined the girls, and Tituba, the Indian slave. The reason I blame the doctor is because he essentially started the whole problem by saying that the cause could be "supernatural." Instead, he should have said that the cause for the girls ailments were unknown instead of blaming it on something that was far more dangerous then it really was. For Tituba it sounds as if she were simply vying for attention. Since she was a slave it would be very likely that she was treated as an invisible being. However, the stories of "voodoo and witchcraft" that she told may in fact be true to the Indian tribes, but that would work only if she had been raised by the Indians and heard these stories for herself, not made them up as she went. The "witchcake" may just have been Indian tradition, too. But when she later "confessed" to being a witch, it was either all in her head, or she simply wanted attention. Attention that would come with the high cost of human life. (Kara H.)

5. True or false: colonies having more religious freedom had less conflict with the King. Explain your answer.

True. The colonies with more religious freedom were run by the Quakers, who did not believe in war. Massachusetts—a Puritan colony—was a leader in the early struggle against British control, while Pennsylvania—a Quaker-led colony open to all religions—was not. (Rachel N.)
True, Colonies with more religious freedom (like Pennsylvania and Rhode Island) had less conflict with the King. I say this because I don’t remember reading (and can’t find) any conflicts between the King and Pennsylvania or Rhode Island. (Sarah W.)
False. Rhode Island was started for religious reasons but ended up having the most slave control and was the first to officially rebel from England. (Benjamin H.)

6. Briefly discuss (in a few sentences) any of the debate or discussion topics from the lecture, or mysteries.

George Washington. Was he great, and if so, why? George Washington was great, not only because of his accomplishments (for these alone, though great, do not set him apart), but also because of his selflessness. He chose the general good over himself when he decided against the kingship that he could have so easily claimed. Human nature and the culture that he lived in both told him to name himself king; yet he chose against doing so and in that decision essentially gave America her freedom, a freedom that we still experience to this day. (Rachel N.)
Do you think a jury should be able to ignore the law in order to find a defendant 'not guilty'? I believe they should. Because, even if there is a law against what the accused did and he is technically ‘guilty’ of breaking it, if the law in unconstitutional or ridiculous the man isn’t guilty of a crime and therefore shouldn’t be punished for a crime. He committed the action but it wasn’t an action that should be punishment, and therefore, in a court of law seeking to either withhold or distribute punishment he would not be a man guilty of crime. (Katie B.)
7. Explain the meaning of the political cartoon on the right. As with all cartoons, pay particular attention to all of its details. Provide a rough estimate for its date.
Join or Die cartoon.jpg
... if you flip the snake to be vertical, every colony segment is in its proper place as it would be on a map. (Kara H.)
Join, or Die was created by Benjamin Franklin and first published in his Pennsylvania Gazette during May of 1754. It shows a snake severed into eighths. Each segment of the snake is labeled with the initial of a British American colony or region. It suggested that the colonies join together against a threat from the French and Indians. (Natalie D.)

H1. Look at the map of the 13 colonies in the lecture and describe what you find interesting or revealing about it.

It appears as though New Hampshire ascended up the North East Coast. The Colonies had some land in Canada. (Nathanael H.)
When I looked at the map of the 13 colonies, I was less impressed with the colonies and extremely interested as to why Detroit was on the map. I did not realize that Detroit had been founded in those early years. I researched the city of Detroit and discovered that Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, a French man, felt that that the French needed a post, a major stronghold, in the west to keep the British from moving westward. He was also interested in “Europeanizing” the Native Americans so that he could convince them to establish settlements around this post. He thought that the best place to establish this stronghold would be on the river in an area known as le detroit. Cadillac’s plan was approved by King Louis in 1701. Cadillac was named the commandant of the new post. (Mark DeJ.)

H2. Explain how Britain taxed the colonies, and whether you think it was right for Britain to do so.

Britain taxed the colonies by using what we would now consider sales taxes. For example, when someone bought tea or stamps, an additional percentager of the sales price would be added which went to the government. I see no problem with this approach so long as everyone in the British Empire (the English, and their colonies) had to pay the same taxes. However, England did not tax everyone equally. Instead, they placed an unequal amount of the burden on the colonies. I do not think that this situation was fair. (Kevin F.) [Teacher's note for the reader: is the real problem of taxes one of fairness, or the burden and waste of the money?]

H3. Pick out any mystery of your choice prior to or during this period and suggest an explanation for it.

Girls in Salem simply became possessed by a demon. It happened before in Bible times, so why could it not happen today. Demons do exist in the spirit world. (Nathanael H.)

H4. Identify key differences between colonial America and England in their cultures, their laws, their economy, or anything else.

The Americans were given the privilege of 'freedom of the press,' something that, to this day, the English do not have. (Christina F.)

H5. Discuss any of the debate or discussion topics from the lecture.

George Washington, like Jesus, deliberately turned down secular power when offered to him; he only took power when he knew it would please God. Even though he was not a professional general, nor the greatest the world has ever seen, he kept his troops together in the darkest days and used them to great advantage in battle. Even Napoleon once said of him that his crossing of the Delaware was a brilliant move, both politically and militarily. He taught himself geometry, surveying, and other subjects himself. At the Constitutional Convention, James Madison said of him that occasionally it was only his leadership which held the gathering together. (Duncan B.)

See also