"These are the times that try men's souls.
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Flag carried by Colonial troops marching to Boston |
BACKGROUND:
The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 26, 1774, to protest the Intolerable Acts. None of the delegates called for independence, but they agreed to hold another meeting in May of 1775 if Britain did not change their policies. Of course, the laws did not change, so the Americans prepared for battle.
The year is 1775.
Battles have just happened in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. People are joining militias such as the "Maryland Loyalists" who support the king and the "Minute Men" who support Congress. Troops of His Majesty are making Boston into a fort while local colonial militias are beginning to surround the city. People like Patrick Henry are shouting, “Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun!”
Families in the same villages throughout the colonies are taking sides: some say our parents and we have always been Englishmen and will always be loyal subjects to the Crown, while their neighbors are saying we must break away from England. There are arguments in the taverns, streets, churches and homes. People who were friends are becoming angry at each other over what is happening. Some villages are flying the English Flag while some are flying colonial flags.
The former English Prime Minister William Pitt has continued to speak out against British policy in the colonies and has convinced the King to ask the Continental Congress of the American Colonies to hold a Peace Conference. The Continental Congress agreed. If the members of the Conference succeed, the grievances that separate people will be settled and everyone can go back to being neighbors and loyal subjects.
If the delegates to the Peace Conference fail, there will be a Revolutionary War. A Continental Army will march to Boston to begin to do battle with His Majesty’s troops. If war starts, it will lead to many years of ruin and hardship.
Can you help them settle their differences? Will you help bring peace to
the Colonies?
TASK:
Your duty is to work in pairs as member delegates to the Continental Peace Conference. Some of you will be representatives of His Majesty King George III. Some of you will be representatives of the Continental Congress of the American Colonies. Both groups will send representatives to the Continental Peace Conference.
Each delegate pair will investigate and address one grievance
or problem that is upsetting people and causing conflict.
PRODUCTS:
Each delegate pair will make a poster stating the grievance or problem.
You will present your findings in a persuasive speech using the poster you created to the Continental Peace Conference. Your persuasive speech will use the techniques we have addressed in Writer's Workshop.
You will record your thoughts of what other delegates say (take notes). Your writings will be presented to the Chairperson of the Peace Conference (Mrs. Gurwicz).Your persuasive speeches will be published in the Towne Crier, our classroom gazette.
| His Majesty King George III’s Grievance and Problems with the American Colonies |
The American Colonies’ Grievance and Problems with His Majesty King George III |
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1) Colonies are not repaying England for the money spent protecting
colonists in the recent war with the French and Indians, and for the
military protection that continues even now.
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1) Sugar Act of 1764
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2) Refusal of colonies to use imported English goods.
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2) Currency Act of 1764
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3) New York riot in 1770 between citizens and soldiers about the
Quartering Act
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3) Quartering Act of 1765
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4) Secret organizations known as the Sons of Liberty were formed in
1765 and continue today
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4) Declaratory Act of 1766
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5) The Repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766 was forced by the colonies
on His Majesty
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5) Stamp Act of 1765
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6) The Massachusetts House of Representatives called for unified
resistance to His Majesty by all the colonies in 1768
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6) The British governor of Massachusetts dissolved the state's
legislature in 1768.
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7) The Virginia House of Burgesses (Virginia legislature) passed
resolutions condemning Britain's actions against Massachusetts, and
stating that only Virginia's governor and legislature could tax its
citizens in 1769
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7) Virginia’s royal governor dissolved the legislature (Virginia
House of Burgesses) in 1769
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8) Colonies forced His Majesty to cut back the Townshend Acts in
1770
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8) Townshend Acts of 1767
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9) Boston Massacre of 1770
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9) Boston Massacre of 1770 |
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10) Several boatloads of men attacked a grounded British customs
schooner, the Gaspee near Providence, Rhode Island in 1772
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10) The removal of the trial about the Gaspee to England in
1772
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11) Boston Tea Party of 1773
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11) Tea Act of 1773
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12) Harsh treatment of loyal colonial subjects of the King by some
other American Colonists
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12) The Coercive Acts of 1774
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13) Special groups of Colonial militia, known as Minute Men, were
organized in 1774 and continue at the present
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13) British troops seized ammunition belonging to the colony of
Massachusetts. They also began to fortify Boston in 1774 and continue
at the present
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14) Lexington and Concord in 1775
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14) Lexington and Concord in 1775
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After hearing each presentation, the delegates will determine
whether or not that problem/grievance can be settled and a compromise can be
made which will be part of the peace treaty.
RESEARCH:
Use ye olde variety of resources for information including the library’s resources, encyclopedias,
and books. Use the following Internet links as well as other
curriculum links:
Prelude
to Revolution 1763 to 1775
E-Themes: Revolutionary War...Choosing Sides
Benjamin
Franklin, Glimpses of the Man
Events
of 1775
Events
Leading up to the American Revolution
A Quick Biography
of Ben Franklin
AmericanRevolution.org
BrainPop
American Revolution Animation
Liberty! The American
Revolution
(from PBS)
Liberty! The American
Revolution
(from PBS)
Ben
Franklin
(Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids)
The
History Place - Prelude to Revolution
(Timeline for the American Revolution)
Paul Revere
Spy
Letters of the American Revolution
Revolutionary
War Quiz
Timeline
"We
have it in our power, to begin the world anew..."
Words by Thomas Paine
View
Declaring Independence (movie)
Copyright © Richard Levine 2002 - 2003 Coollessons.org
Modifications have been made with special permission from Richard Levine to better serve the needs and goals of Mrs.
Gurwicz's class.
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