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7th grade · Social Studies · Unit 2 of 18

Road to Revolution

Taxes, protests and Patriots

What your child practices

British taxes, colonial protests such as boycotts and the Boston Tea Party, the Continental Congresses, and why Loyalists and Patriots saw things differently.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 7.3a; 7.3b · the French and Indian War, the British taxes that followed and the colonists' protests

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. After the French and Indian War (1763), Britain taxed the colonies to pay its debts.
  2. Parliament passed the Stamp Act and Townshend Acts. Colonists protested with boycotts and the Boston Tea Party (1773).
  3. Patriots wanted independence; Loyalists stayed loyal to Britain.

Example: Why did Britain start taxing the colonies after 1763? Britain had just fought an expensive war. It wanted the colonies to help pay those debts. Answer: To pay its debts from the French and Indian War

Road to Revolution in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 2 of 18 in 7th grade Social Studies, after Colonial Trade & Work and before The American Revolution.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    George Washington, a Virginia planter, joined the Patriots because he believed…

    • the colonies should join France
    • kings should rule forever
    • the colonies should govern themselves
    • Britain's taxes were fair

  2. Question 2

    How did the Tea Act actually change the price of tea?

    • It banned tea
    • It doubled the price
    • It made British company tea cheaper, but kept the tax colonists objected to
    • It made tea free

  3. Question 3

    The Sugar Act (1764) taxed…

    • Tea only
    • Paper
    • Sugar and molasses brought into the colonies
    • Horses

  4. Question 4

    Paul Revere's famous engraving of the Boston Massacre is a good example of…

    • A neutral photograph
    • A map of Boston
    • A British government report
    • A source made to stir up anger at Britain

  5. Question 5

    The Sons of Liberty were…

    • British soldiers
    • A group of colonists who protested British laws
    • The king's sons
    • A group of French traders

  6. Question 6

    Which colonists were called Loyalists?

    • Those who moved to Spain
    • Those who wanted independence
    • Those who were French
    • Those who stayed loyal to the British king

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