Process
Opener: Describe the difference between a direct and indirect tax in 1-2 sentences.
Read the Summary of the Stamp Act of 1765, as transcribed from the Colonial Williamsburg website: http://www.history.org/History/teaching/tchcrsta.cfm
- What class of people was more directly affected by the Stamp Act (Rich or poor)? Explain.
- How did the Stamp Act raise concerns among the colonists about Britain’s right to tax them?
Once you have a working knowledge of the Stamp Act, read The resolutions of the Stamp Act Congress: October 19, 1765 http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/D/1751-1775/stampact/sa.htm
Complete the Stamp Act Resolution worksheet.
Review the
questions as a class, read the document together, and then answer the accompanying
questions in pairs.
Read an introduction to growing dissent among colonists towards British Parliamentary policy. Listen to a Podcast describing the events of August 14, 1765.
Read the following documents:
“Proclamation, 1765, Published by Authority by his Excellency Francis
Bernard, Esquire”
http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/c-eight/america/bosriot.htm
“The Boston Riot of 26 August 1765”
http://massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=236
Answer questions in response to above documents
The introductions for the documents were adapted from the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities website: http://www.massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=236
Summarizing Activity
Upon completion of the examination of the primary sources, you will demonstrate your understanding by creating an editorial on the issues presented in this lesson.
An editorial is a newspaper article in which the author expresses his or her opinion on a certain event or issue. The author needs to support his or her opinion using factual evidence.
Boston Gazette Editorial September 1, 1765
You are an editorial writer for the Boston Gazette. You’ve witnessed the action taken by the mob against Andrew Oliver and Thomas Hutchinson. You will be writing an editorial in response to the statement below.
Support or refute: The Sons of Liberty were justified in using the mob as a political tactic. Use evidence from the documents to support your opinion.