American+Revolution+and+Independence

AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE ON AMERICAN REVOLUTION BRITISH PERSPECTIVE ON THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AGREE OR DISAGREE? (British Perspective) **The British perspective of the American Revolution is really interesting. They had good and bad ideas, and ideas that I agreed a disagreed with. One of their ideas I disagreed with was their choice of leaving the colonists to do what the wanted, salutary neglect, then after the war they tried to regain control over the colonies. I think that this was a bad idea because the colonies had an idea of the certain rights that they had, and they had started liking the idea of governing themselves. Then, the British took that away from them by creating taxes and enforcing laws. If the British had just kept tight control over the colonies, then there was less of a chance of the colonists rebelling because they wouldn't really know what they were missing out on. Also, I think that creating the Stamp Act was clever, but they went a bit too far. This caused the colonists to rebel, but the thing that I disagreed with the most was that the British backed down. That was probably the worst move. The British should have shown colonists that they were powerful and that no one could take advantage of them. Although, they didn't and the colonists gained a little more power because they felt as though they didn't need the British, and they felt more important and powerful. I liked the idea that the British were taxing the colonies, but i think they should have gotten the colonies more involved, and they should have been represented in Parliament. Although, I understand that Parliament didn't have say in the colonies ordeals, but since the law involved the colonies, they should have had someone represent them n Parliament. If Britain had done this, then the American Revolution could have been avoided. Honestly, I don't really agree with any of Britain's ideas, because they made poor decisions and choices that led to America's independence. ** media type="custom" key="7114739" DO NOW-10/6/10 Perspective means a point of view, or a way of looking at something. Everyone can have a different perspective on something, because it's your own way of looking at something.

I think that this is a really stupid idea. I understand why they want to get more money by doing this, and I think that this is a good idea to earn more money. Although, I don't think it will make much of a difference because people are still going to buy candy and sugar.

[] (PARTNER DISCUSSION) [] (CLASS DISCUSSION) [] (HOMEWORK)

__//**10/6/10 Homework**//__
 * Why is it important to acknowledge other perspectives even if we disagree?**

I think that it's very important to acknowledge other perspectives even if we disagree. I think this because it's good to know other people's opinions and where they stand. It's good to look at things from other peoples' points of view, because then you might gain a better understanding. Also, if you learn other peoples' opinions and acknowledge their perspectives you might change yours because you think theirs is better, or you could build up on your own opinion, or just change it completely. You aren't always right, so it's better to look at different people's perspectives so you can explore all sides of a situation/problem.

__ STAMP ACT __ 10/19/10 Do Now A stamp is a item that is placed on things you mail out such as letters or boxes. You pay for stamps, and I think that stamps are an official seal used all of over the world so it can be mailed all over the world. Site used- [] media type="custom" key="7276801" It seems as though the colonists were very furious about the Stamp Act, and wanted the British to repeal it, because they didn’t want to pay taxes.
 * What is a stamp?**
 * Direct Tax-** A tax exacted directly from the persons who will bear the burden of it (without reimbursement to them at the expense of others), as a poll tax, a general property tax, or an income tax. Property tax and income tax are examples of modern day direct taxes.
 * Indirect Tax-** A tax that is included in the price of an item so that the consumer isn't aware or informed of the tax. Some examples of indirect taxes are
 * ACTIVITY 1 : **
 * ACTIVITY 2: **
 * ACTIVITY 3: **
 * __ How does it seem the colonists felt about the Stamp Act? __**

__** How do you think they might react to the imposition of this law? **__ I think that the colonists will react very badly to the imposition of this law, because as I said before, they don’t want to pay taxes. The especially don’t want to pay taxes if they haven’t even been represented in Parliament.


 * __PODCAST:__**

My predictions were correct. I knew that the colonists would be furious to have a tax imposed on them without having a say. If I were in their shoes, I would be irate too. It's not fair to be forced to do something you don't want to do, and that's exactly what was happening to the colonists.

__** Two Column Notes on the British Government's response to August 14: **__
 * Summary:** In 1765, the British imposed the Stamp Act on the colonists. The colonists had to pay for paper, licenses, etc. This strongly affected the colonists, so they rebelled. They hung effigies of British public figures on their Liberty Tree which many other colonies adopted. The colonists then held riots and meeting at the Liberty Tree and protested against the Stamp Act which led the British to cut down the Liberty Tree.
 * Solution:** The British could have had colonists represent themselves so that the colonies could have a say about the Stamp Act. Then, the colonies wouldn’t have rebelled, and acted as violently as they did. Also, the British would still have owned the colonies, so it would have been perfect.

11/3/10

__**DO NOW :**__ __**Summary of the Townshend Acts-**__

When the Stamp Act was repealed, the colonists felt very happy and triumphant. They didn't feel that way for very long though because then the British created the Townshend Acts. The Townshend Acts are a set of laws that taxed the colonists. The colonists were very furious and rebelled. Unfortunately for the colonists, the British sent their army to the colonies to make sure that they paid the taxes. If the colonists didn't pay their taxes then there would be severe consequences. After a while, the colonists decided to boycott British goods. They thought that it was an effective way of showing the British that they didn't need them anymore. Boycotting British goods also showed England that the colonies could survive on their own without any trouble. Also, tax collectors in the colonies weren't collecting much money due to the colonists' boycott. This then led to several riots and battles, and the tension between the colonists and England grew stronger than ever.

__**Compare and Contrast Image 1 and Image 2:**__ In the first picture, the British are portrayed as the bad guys. This is because they are shown firing their guns at the colonists. The second image portrays both sides shooting, battling, and killing each other. So none of the sides are represented as the bad guys or good guys of this picture.

I think that the Boston judges would find the British to be guilty. I think this because the colonists hate the British soldiers and after they killed five of their own people during the Boston Massacre, of course they are going to arrest the British Soldiers and say that they are guilty. Even with John Adams there, I don't think it would really make that much of a difference, considering they all despise the British army and the British.
 * __Thoughts before video:__**


 * __Homework-__**


 * Do you agree or disagree with the jury? Do you think the British soldiers were guilty or not guilty?**

I completely agree with the jury. I think that the British soldiers were innocent. The colonists were beating them with clubs, throwing snow, ice, oyster shells, and anything else they could find, at the soldiers. Also the colonists were threatening and daring the soldiers to fire their weapons. I think that the colonists were asking for it. Besides, the British wouldn't have even fired if their commander's musket hadn't been dropped and gone off. The only reason it had dropped and fired was because a colonist bashed their commander's head with a club, and he dropped to the ground, along with his musket. As soon as the rest of the British heard the musket fire, they began firing too. They killed five people during the battle, and many other were injured. Even though this happened, I think that the British were innocent, because it wasn't their fault**.** They thought that they were supposed to fire since they heard that first gunshot. Also, I think that the colonists were getting too rowdy, and were being very violent and cruel. The British had to do something to protect themselves since the crowd was growing by the minute and pushing the crowd back and asking them to leave didn't do any good. I'm glad the British were declared innocent, because in some ways I think the colonists deserved it. They went a bit too far and they asked for it.


 * __Homework 10/4/10__**


 * Representative Democracy**- Representative democracy is a form of democracy in which the people allow others to represent them in the various forms of democratic process and are not necessarily directly involved in any of the processes of legislation or lawmaking.
 * Direct democracy**- a form of democracy in which the people as a whole make direct decisions, rather than have those decisions made for them by elected representatives
 * Single-Party State**- A single-party state or one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system and form of government where only a single political party dominates the government and no opposition parties are allowed. This is generally viewed as creating a dictatorship, and many (though not all) actual dictatorships represent themselves as one-party states. In most cases, single-party states have arisen from fascist, communist or nationalist ideologies, particularly in the wake of independence from colonial rule. One-party systems often arise from decolonization because one party has had an overwhelmingly dominant role in liberation or in independence struggles.
 * Theocracy-**Theocracy is a form of government in which a god or deity is recognized as the state's supreme civil ruler or in a higher sense, a form of government in which a state is governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided.

I don't think violence will ever be justified. It's not right to harm others in order to get your point across. I don't think anyone should ever be allowed to hurt someone else because they think it's right. People shouldn't resort to violence to solve their problems.
 * __11/5/10__**

11/15/10 KEY TERMS: **//__Direct tax__//****__-__** **A direct tax is a tax paid directly by the person or organization on whom it is levied.**

**//__Indirect tax-__//** **An indirect tax** **is a tax levied on goods or services rather than on persons or organizations**

**//__Boycott-__//** **To Boycott something is to refuse to purchase something, or to refuse to do business with someone.**

**//__Patriots (Sons of Liberty and Daughters of Liberty)__//** **- Patriots were loyal to the colonies and opposed British laws and rule. The Sons of liberty and the Daughters of Liberty were organizations of American Patriots who tried to gain independence and oppose British taxes and laws through various different ways.**

**//__Liberty tree-__//****The Liberty Tree, cut down in 1775, was a famous elm tree that stood in Boston in the days before the American Revolution. The tree was a rallying point for the growing resistance to the rule of Britain over the American colonies.**

**//__Sugar Act-__//** **The Sugar Act was imposed on the colonists in 1764 and it taxed the colonists on sugar and molasses. It didn't affect the colonists that much because they would just smuggle sugar in from other places.**

**//__Stamp Act-__//** **The Stamp Act was a direct tax, placed on Americans by Parliament in 1765. The Stamp Act taxed the colonists on paper goods, and stamps. It greatly affected everyone and the colonists were very furious because there wasn't a way around it.**

**//__Townshend Acts-__//** **The Townshend Acts were passed in 1767 that taxed the colonists on** **all good such as glass, paper, paint, lead, tea etc.**

**//__Boston Massacre-__//** **The Boston Massacre occurred on March 1770 that resulted in the killing of 5 colonists. The colonists were harassing the British soldiers and the British were ordered not to fire. When a British soldier's musket was accidentally fired, the British soldiers acted on their instincts and fired too.**

**//__The Boston Tea Party-__//** **The Boston Tea Party took place in 1773. Colonists disguised themselves as Indians and raided ships filled with tea. They dumped all the tea into the harbor. It was organized as a protest against the British taxes on tea.**

**__Two Column Notes on the First Continental Congress-__**

//11/16/10//


 * __Arms and ammunition-__ Arms are weapons used in battle, while ammunition are projectiles that are fired from guns. For example, bullets, grenades etc. The British soldiers and colonists used muskets. (muskets produce smoke)**
 * __Minutemen-__ Minutemen were selected group of the American colonial militia and took part in fighting and wars. They trained a lot, and were always ready for battle, because they were required to keep their weapons with them. They were ready "in a minute."**
 * __Militia-__ The militia were people who weren't a part of the army, but were trained to be regular soldiers.** **They were regular people trained as soldiers.**
 * __British Regular__- Foot soldiers of the British ARMY (Red coats)**
 * __Alarm Riders-__ They warned minutemen of "attacks."**
 * __Paul Revere-__ The messenger during the Revolution, particularly during the Lexington and Concord Battle. He is the most famous alarm rider even though he got caught and was arrested.**
 * __Joseph Warren-__ He was an American doctor during the Revolution. He was the only leader in boston that was not wanted by the British because he took care of British soldiers when they were sick.**


 * HOMEWORK-**

Battles of Lexington and Concord Mark up-


 * Battles of Lexington and Concord Two Column notes-**



__//**Points of View**//__

__**1. The British Point of View-**__The British thought the militia had shot at them first and fled back in self defense __**2. The colonists' point of view-**__They thought that the British had attacked them first, because no one can really say who shot the shot heard around the world. __**3. Major Pitcairn's Point of View-**__He ordered the colonists to shoot the militia after the first shot was fired. __**4. General Gage's point of view-**__He ordered the soldiers not to harm or shoot anyone, or to destroy private property.

I think that everyone was bias because they were all on different sides, so I don't really think any of the accounts told about these two battles are true, because people are bias.

11/17/10

I think it was the British's fault and the colonists' fault on April 19, 1775. I think this because they both contributed to tensions between them. Colonists were faced with a situation that ended up with them dying. They were told to shoot at the British army so that they could die with a fight rather than die without a fight. Many thought that dying with a fight was the best way to go, so they got their arms and ammunition and shot at the British army.

Homework- They stood on the green because they wanted to defend their rights and show the British that they were ready to fight. They also dind't really have any other choice, because they were going to die anyway.
 * Q:After watching the opening scenes of the American Revolution, had you been asked to take up arms against your own government soldiers under what circumstances would you agree to do so? Is it possible you might never do so? Explain why.**
 * A: If I had been asked to take up arms against my government, I would only agree to do so if my only other option was death. This is because my own government soldiers are so much more powerful than us, and we would probably not even stand a chance. Although, it's better to die with a fight than without one. If I had a choice, I would never do so because I wouldn't want to die, and because I wouldn't stand a chance, because my government soldiers outnumber me, and are much stronger than me. I would try and avoid taking up arms against them as best as I could, but if my choices were fight, or die, I would fight.**
 * 11/19/10**
 * DO NOW:**
 * Why do you think the Lexington Training Band (militia) stood on the green on April 19, 1775?**

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