The

American
Revolution
What efforts
were made to
avoid war?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfnrdWYmZus
 Activity #1: Key People/Event
Research
1) With your group, research the key people/event on your card. You may use the
provided sources, the text book or chrome books as research tools.
2) Prepare a brief description of your key people/event you have researched and be
prepared to present it to the class. Your description should in some way answer
the following:
- who (who is involved)?
- what (what is happening)?
- when(month/date/year)?
- where (where in the world)?
- why (why is this important to the question: what efforts were made to avoid
war)?
The British
Repeal of the
Stamp Act
March 18th, 1766
- Stamp Act was a major cause of the
Revolution: taxation without representation
is tyranny
- Repealed as a result of months of protesting
by colonists, as well as Benjamin Franklins
appeal before the British House of Commons
- The King was not in favour of a total repeal,
he just wanted to save face, so on the same
day Parliament passed the Declaratory acts
which stated that British government had free
and total legislative power over colonies
Coercive Acts
1774
- A series of rules put in place by the British Parliament in
response to blatant acts of rebellion and destruction by
American colonists (i.e. the Boston Tea Party).
- Coercive Acts:
o The Boston Port Act- closed the Boston Port until
damages from the tea party were paid
o The Massachusetts Government Act- restricted
Massachusetts democratic town meetings
o The Administration of Justice Act- made British
officials immune to criminal prosecution
o The Quartering Act- forced colonist to house and feed
British troops
o The Quebec Act- extended freedom of worship to
Catholics in Canada, which Americans disliked because
they were largely Protestant.
- Parliament wanted to use these acts to cut Boston
specifically off from the rest of the colonies.
- The Coercive Acts led to the formation of the First
Congressional Continental Congress.
First Continental Congress
September 5th, 1774
- First meeting held at Carpenters Hall in
Philadelphia
- All colonies send delegates except Georgia
(who at the time was fighting a Native
uprising)
- Formed largely in response to the
Coercive Acts imposed on the colonies by
British Parliament
- Purpose of the first Continental Congress
was to begin to consider a united
American resistance to British rule
- Issued a Declaration of Rights, which
affirmed Americas loyalty to Britain by
disputed Britains right to tax them.
- Compiled the Olive Branch Petition to try
to appeal to King George III to come
together and resolve their differences.
 Battle of Lexington and Concord
April 19th, 1775
- Known as the event that sparked the beginning
of the American Revolution
- Britains army planned to send troops into
Boston and attack Lexington (where they would
capture Colonial leaders) and Concord (where
they would seize gunpowder)
- Spies leaked word to the Americans about
Britains attack
- British soldiers arrived in Lexington first, but
colonist soldiers were ready for them and the
first shot of the battle was set off as the shot
heard around the world
- 174 casualties came from the battle at Concord
(from both sides)
- These attacks left colonial powers feeling forced
to arm themselves against Britain
Olive Branch Petition
July 5th, 1775

- Written by John Dickinson, a Philadelphia

politician and future Founding Father of the
United States
- Adopted by the Continental Congress as an appeal
to King George III to consider reconciliation
between Britain and the colonies
- Intended to prevent any further, more extreme
violence between Britain and the colonies
- King George III refused to even receive the
petition
Primary vs Secondary Sources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHLmEyo05EY&list=PLR1yhQDVK5txCQyP9tiHamrc5clPhuxVu
 What is a Primary Source?

- Contemporary Account
- Written by someone who experienced or
witnessed a specific event
- Original document ( ie. They are not about
another document or account of an event)
- Provide first hand evidence
 What is a Secondary Source?

- Not a contemporary Account

- Not created by someone who has experienced the
event they are writing about
- One step removed from an event: they interpret,
assign value to and/or draw conclusions about
events reported in primary sources
 Examples
Primary Sources Secondary Sources

Letters Books
Speeches Encyclopedias
Diaries Newspaper articles
Statistical data about a past event
Audio/video Book/movie review
recordings Scholarly Journal
Paintings/photograp Articles
hs Textbook
 Primary or Secondary?

A copy of Benjamin Franklins Final Speech Youtube Video about Benjamin Franklins
Final Speech

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpysm2e18
T0
 Activity #2: Source Analysis
1) In the same group, analyze the sources you have been given.
2) Identify whether your document is a primary or secondary source. Explain your
reasoning.
3) Answer the following questions regarding your document:
-Who is speaking/writing in this document? Are they important to the American
Revolution? If so, why?
-What kind of document is this? (ex. newspaper article, song, declaration, letter,
diary entry etc.)
-When was this document written?
-Where was this document written?
- Why is this document important with regards to the American Revolution and
the question of what was done to prevent war?