Hey, King: Get Off Our Backs!

Name:Micayla Brunson

Really? Was it that bad? By 1776, the American colonists

Give me liberty, living under English rule thought so. In fact, things were
or give me so bad that they went to war to gain their independence.
But why? What could have been so intolerable?
The first Englishmen came to America four hundred years ago looking for
gold, silver, and a waterway to Asia. They were part of a trading company
that convinced the king of England to grant them a charter giving them
permission to set up a colony in America. But they did not find what they
were looking for. Times got so hard those first settlers had to eat rats and
even each other to keep from starving to death. Pretty soon, though, more
people arrived and times got better. The English were here to stay.
Patrick Henry

Hail to the King

Back in England, the King probably figured he had a pretty good
deal. Other people got seasick sailing across the ocean to settle
an untamed land while he sat in his palace ruling England. Except
that being king just wasn’t what it used to be. Back in the 1200s,
a king could really do what he wanted! But this was the 1600s,
and now the English people had representatives in Parliament
who made laws and stood up for peoples’ rights. They even gave
advice to the king. Bah!

You Don’t Mind If We . . . Uh . . .

Govern ourselves, do you? In America, the colonists needed some
kind of government to deal with everyday problems. After all, the
king was on the other side of the ocean. And because of
Parliament, the colonists were used to having a say in
government. In Virginia Colony, the first settlers decided each
community should have two representatives and that all the
representatives would meet together. Farther north, in Plymouth,
the colonists signed a compact agreeing to form a majority-rule
government where all the men would vote on whatever issues
came up. (Women didn’t get to vote in 1620.) Even so, the king
still controlled the colonies, and the colonists had to follow
England’s laws.

We’re Doing Just Fine, Thanks

England had a lot of other colonies besides those in America and plenty
of other problems to deal with. The king and Parliament didn’t have
much time to pay attention to the American colonists. By the mid-1700s
there were 13 colonies, and each colony had its own government.
These little governments grew stronger and more used to being in
control. When problems came up, the colonial governments took care of
things themselves. The colonists were out on their own, making their
own decisions, governing things the way they wanted to without much
interference.
Reading p.1
Hey, King: Get Off Our Backs! Name:

A Raw Deal
But then times got tough, and the British
government went looking for money. Great Britain,
which now included both England and Scotland, saw
its colonies around the world as a source of profit.
Colonies were places to cut timber, grow crops such
as cotton and coffee, and mine for valuable
minerals. The king forced the colonists to sell these
raw materials back to England at really cheap This is SO not
going to
prices. People in England would use the materials to work.
make finished products. But did the colonists get a
bargain on these items because they provided the
materials? No way! The king forced the colonists to
buy the finished products at extra high prices.

Hmm... What about

taxing the American Looking for a Fast Buck?
colonists? That was only the beginning. In the mid-1700’s, Britain fought two
expensive wars. Britain had taken out a lot of debt to pay for the war,
so it went looking for a way to make money fast. Taxing the American
colonists seemed like the perfect idea. So in 1765, Britain passed the
Stamp Act, which forced colonists to put expensive tax stamps on all
legal documents, as well as newspapers, calendars, and almanacs. The
colonists had an answer for that: They quit buying British goods! But
this boycott didn’t work for long. Britain repealed the Stamp Act after
A stamp
King George III one year, but things did not get better.

From Bad to Worse

As soon as the Stamp Act was gone, the British
passed the Declaratory Act saying that the
colonies were dependent on the king and
declaring that all laws passed in the colonies
had no effect. As if that weren’t bad enough,
Britain also passed the Townshend Revenue
Act, taxing things it knew the colonists couldn’t
make for themselves: paint, glass, paper, lead,
and tea. This Act also allowed British Enough is Enough!
government workers to search peoples’ houses The colonists finally decided there was only one
and even break down doors to seize items the solution: self-government! On July 4, 1776, the
homeowner hadn’t paid taxes for. On top of colonies adopted the Declaration of
that, the Quartering Acts of 1765 and 1774 Independence, announcing that the United
forced certain colonists to let British troops live States was free from Great Britain. It wasn’t that
in their houses. The soldiers didn’t even have to easy, though. There was the small matter of
pay rent! Then, in the 1770s, a series of laws fighting a war against Britain to make that freedom
cracked down on rebellious activity in real. When the Americans won the Revolutionary
Massachusetts colony. Colonists called these War, Britain lost all control of the colonies. The
the Intolerable Acts. United States of America was born.
Reading p.2
Hey, King: Get Off Our Backs! Name:

A. Fill In the Blank. Look in the reading to find the missing piece of each sentence.

1. A __________________
Compact is a signed agreement.
2. The ____________________
Quartering Acts forced colonists to house British troops.
3. Britain saw its colonies as a source of _________________.
revenue

4. If you sold a newspaper in 1765, you would have to put a _______

Stamp _____________ on it.

5. We celebrate the 4th of July because that’s when the Declaration

___________________________
of independence was signed.
6. The Townshend Revenue Act allowed the government to ______________
Search peoples’ homes.
House of Burgesses
7. Virginia Colony’s first government was called the ____________________________________.
8. The colonists had to follow the laws of _____________________.
Britain

B. Odd One Out. In each set, cross out the word C. Cause and Effect. Match each effect with its
that doesn’t belong. In the oval, explain what the cause listed below.
three remaining words have in common.
EFFECTS

Glass ____
D 14. In the 1600s, the king could not just do
taxed in the Townshend Act what he wanted.
Cotton
9. ____
B 15. The first colonists started their own
Lead
governments.
Tea
G 16. Colonists were used to having a say in
____
government.
Mayflower Compact
____
H 17. Britain needed a way to make money.
Stamp Act acts passed by parliament A 18. The colonists boycotted British goods.
10. ____
Declaratory Act
Quartering Act ____
F 19. The British taxed paint, glass, and lead.
C 20. The colonists declared independence.
____
____
E 21. Britain lost control of the colonies.
Minerals
Timber materials britain wanted
11. from the colonies BECAUSE...
Crops
Paint A. They were angry about the Stamp Act taxes.
B. The British government was too far away to
deal with daily problems.
Legal documents C. They were tired of the way the British were
items requiring by a stamp
Newspapers treating them.
12.
Troops D. He shared power with Parliament.
Calendars E. The colonists won the Revolutionary War.
F. They knew the colonists could not make those
products themselves.
Boycott goods
actions by colonists G. In England, the Parliament represented people
Search houses in government.
13.
Fight a war
H. It was in debt after fighting expensive wars.
Destroy tea

Review Worksheet