The Road to Revolution Study Guide
Name:
Chapter 6, pages 155-189
Period:
Learning Goal: Students will understand the events and individuals that influenced the colonists
to declare independence from Great Britain.
Answer the following questions in complete sentences on a separate piece of paper.
1. What new laws did Parliament pass in order to govern the colonies after 1763? Why did
Parliament pass each law?
A. Quartering Act – The act required the colonists to house British soldiers and provides
them with supplies. It became too expensive for England to keep 10,000 soldiers in
the colonies to protect the proclamation line.
B. Sugar Act (tax on sugar shipped to the colonies) and Stamp Act (tax on all legal and
commercial documents). Taxes were intended to pay off debt incurred by the
fighting of the French and Indian War, frontier defense, and colonial government.
C. Proclamation of 1763- Forbade the colonists from settling west of the Appalachian
Mountains. It was designed to maintain peace between the Colonies and Native
Americans.
D. Declaratory Act- Parliament had supreme authority to govern the colonies. This was
passed with the repeal of the stamp act. Parliament wanted to reassert its control
over all colonial affairs
E. Townshend Acts- tax on imports (glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea) to the colonies.
Since taxes were repealed (stamp act), England needed to raise money for troops
and other expenses. Writs of assistance- warrants used to enter home and search
for smuggled goods
F. Tea Act- passed by Parliament to break the boycott of British tea by the colonist.
Parliament’s purpose was to allow the East India Company exclusive rights to sell tea
in the colonies.
G. Intolerable Acts- a series of laws with the intended purpose to punish Massachusetts
for the Boston Tea Party and to clamp down on resistance in the other colonies.
2. How did the colonists oppose these new laws?
A. Protest: boycotts (successful in repealing the stamp act), speeches (Patrick Henry),
pamphlets (Common Sense), propaganda (Boston Massacre), violence (attack
customs officials), rebellion (Boston Tea Party).
B. Created organizations: Stamp Act Congress, Sons of Liberty, Daughters of Liberty
(urged people to weave their own clothing and use American products), Committee
of Correspondence (exchange information about British policies and American
resistance
3. Why did the Townshend Acts anger the colonists?
A. The Townshend acts included the writs of assistance, which the colonist saw as a major
violation of their rights. Many believed it went against their “natural rights,” as defined
by John Locke
B. The Acts were viewed as yet another tax and the colonist believed that only their local
government (House of Burgesses) shall have the right to impose taxes- Colonists
believed the acts to be illegal because it was passed without their consent.
4. Explain How the Boston Massacre and the Tea Act united the colonists against the
British.
A. News of the Boston Massacre spread throughout the colonies in anti-British
propaganda in newspapers, pamphlets, and political posters (Paul Revere painting).
B. Colonists reacted negatively towards the Tea Act and boycotted British tea. Colonist
became more politically active against the British. The Tea Act led to the Boston Tea
Party and other forms of protests in South Carolina, New York, and Philadelphia.
C. Colonial leaders began to communicate with each other through committees of
correspondence on colonial affairs and resistance to British policy
5. What rights of the colonists were threatened by the Intolerable Acts?
A. The right to freely trade (Boston Harbor was closed)
B. The right to freely meet/organize (Town meeting banned)
C. The right to elect a council (council now appointed)
D. The right to self-govern (increased power was granted to British Governor, Gen.
Gage)
E. The right of colonists to prosecute and judge British officials- trial by jury (British
officials now sent back to England to be tried)
F. The right to refuse quartering British troops (The Quartering Act allowed British
officers to be housed in the homes of colonists)
6. Describe the events of the First Continental Congress.
A. Delegates voted to ban all trade with Britain until the Intolerable Acts were
repealed
B. Each colony agreed to begin training militia troops
C. The meeting was called upon by the committees of correspondence.
D. Colonists agreed that an attack on one colony would be an attack on all colonies.
7. Why did fighting begin at Lexington and Concord?
A. General Gage learned that the Mass. Militia was storing weapons and ammo in
Concord and he ordered them seized. In addition, he ordered Sam Adams and
Hancock arrested in Lexington.
B. Because the colonial militia wanted to stop British troops from seizing their arms
and powder
C. The British commander ordered the colonists to drop their muskets, but the
colonists refused and firing began. 8 militiamen died.
8. Explain the main points of Common Sense?
A. All men, not just land owners, should have the right to vote
B. Attacked the monarchies by saying they are all corrupt and the notion that their
rule is divine is ridiculous.
C. A new nation can survive on its own and need not be economically tied to England
in order to prosper.
9. Explain the major ideas found in the Declaration of Independence.
A. That every person has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Also,
that the people can abolish the government by force if it violates these rights.
B. The Declaration of Independence is broken up into 4 parts: Preamble, Listed rights
colonists should have (rights of people to control their own government) , Listed
grievances against the British (tyrannical acts of the British King), and the proclaimed
existence of a new country (Colonies declared free and independent).
10. Describe the events and individuals that influenced the colonists to declare
independence from Great Britain.
A. The Proclamation of 1763 and the Quartering Act caused colonists to fear loss of
freedoms
B. The Sugar Act and Stamp Act threatened colonists’ political rights.
C. The colonists organized protests, boycotts, and secret societies, which further
divided the colonies from Britain. (Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams)
D. The Townshend Acts prompted the colonists to further unite in protest.
E. The Boston Massacre served as a symbol of British tyranny
F. The Tea Act and Boston Tea Party pushed many colonists into open rebellion.
G. The Intolerable Acts resulted in the colonists forming the First Continental Congress,
which banned all trade with Britain and called on colonies to train troops.
H. The battles at Lexington and Concord now forced Americans to choose sides- as
Loyalists or Patriots.
Please circle the answers to the map on the back of this page.