Name ________________________________ Friberg/Sabo

SS/ Grade 7 Date ________________

DUE DATE: ________________________

American Revolution Unit Project: A Document Based Question

Historical Background:

When the Revolutionary War began, not everyone in the colonies supported the
cause. Some colonists remained loyal to Great Britain. Others had mixed feelings. They
had ties to Great Britain but resented being heavily taxed by a far-off government that
allowed them no representation in Parliament.

To win the Revolutionary War, the colonists had to pull together enough to
present a reasonable united front against Britain. When people pull together in a
common cause, they are said to have unity. Without a certain degree of unity, the cause
of independence was doomed to fail.

Task: Based on your understanding of the documents in this packet, answer the following
question in well developed essay.

Topic: unity in the colonial/Revolutionary War era.

How was unity important to the colonists before and during the Revolutionary
War. Give examples from at least 4 documents that demonstrate unity.

Before you write your essay, study the documents that follow and answer the
scaffolding questions about them.

Reminders:
 All answers for Part I & Part II must be written in complete sentences.
 Essay must be typed, double-spaced in Times New Roman 12 or a similar font.
 Late assignments lose 10 points for each school day they are late.
Part I: Scaffolding Questions

Directions:
Using information from the documents and your knowledge of Social Studies
answer the questions(s) that follow each document. Your answers will help you write the
essay in Part B.

Document #1

1. The troops of the Continental Army will be lead by whom? (3 Points)

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2. According to the poster, what were the two reasons to join the army? (4 Points)
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Document #2

A political cartoon that first

appeared in the Pennsylvania
Gazette on May 9, 1754. During
that time there was a superstition
that if the pieces of a cut snake
were put back together before
sunset, it would come to life.

3. What do the different pieces of the snake represent? (3 Points)

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4. What is the cartoonist’s message? (4 Points)

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Document #3

5. What were the delegates debating in this painting? (3 Points)

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6. How does this painting demonstrate unity among the colonies? (4 Points)

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Document #4

The history of the present King of

Great Britain is a history of repeated
injuries and usurpations… To prove
this, let Facts be submitted to a candid
world…
For cutting off our trade with all
parts of the world.
For imposing Taxes on us without our
consent.
For depriving us in many cases, of
the benefits of a Trial by Jury…
He has plundered our seas, ravaged
our Coasts, burnt our towns, and
destroyed the lives of our people.

7. To whom is the Declaration of Independence addressed? (3 Points)

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8. The colonists thought that the King of England had treated them unfairly in many
ways. According to these excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, what
were three unfair practices of the King against the colonists? (6 Points)

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Document #5

Philadelphia
In CONGRESS, Thursday, September 22, 1774

Resolved,

That the Congress request Merchants and

Others, in the several colonies, not to send
to Great Britain, any Orders for Goods, and
to direct the Execution of all orders already
sent, to be delay or suspended, until the
Sense of the Congress, on the Means to be
taken for the Preservation of the Liberties
of America, is made public.

9. On what date did this meeting take place in Congress? (3 Points)

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10. What did Congress ask the colonists to do? (4 Points)

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Document # 6

11. Whom did the organizers invite to attend this meeting? (3 Points)

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12. When and where would this meeting be held (include date (day, month, year),
time, place (city) and location)? (4 Points)

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Document # 7
REVOLUTIONARY TEA

There was an old lady lived over the sea

And she was an island queen.
Her daughter lived off in a new country
With an ocean of water between.
The old lady’s pockets were full of gold
But never contented was she,
So she called on her daughter to pay her a tax
Of three pence a pound on her tea,
Of three pence a pound on her tea. – Anonymous Author(s)

13. What country was the “old lady” who was “an island queen?” (3 Points)

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14. Whom did the daughter represent? (3 Points)

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15. What reaction did the “daughter” have to the demand for the tax on tea? (4 Points)

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Document # 8
16. Who wrote these documents? (3 Points)

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17. When were these letters written? (3 Points)

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18. Was the author of the letters a Loyalist or a Patriot? (3 Points)

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Document # 9

19. To what were the American colonists denied admission to? (3 Points)

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20. What right did the colonists think was being violated by the denial shown in the
drawing? (4 Points)

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