The Revolutionary War
Essential Question
Why did the colonists rebel?
The colonists rebeled against the british for many reasons. The major reason they started to rebel was because of taxation. After the French and Indian War the British were in debt and needed to pay it off, to do so they started taxing the colonists. Which was the start of tension between the two. Red coats were sent to America to oversee the colonists and make sure everything was in order, the British started to control the trade, and Patriots started to boycott British products. Many Acts were passed trying to improve the terms andend tension between them but the colonists felt that they should not be taxed because they had no representation in the government, which started the saying "No Taxation, Without Representation", and many of them had fought in the war for the British so they fet as if they had done their part. The British also became very controlling over the colonists with sending the Red Coats and making laws that the colonists could not move westward, whoch also angered them. Also they felt as if the Red Coats were causing too much violence, like the Boston Massacre. And lastly, since the British were so controlling they felt as if they had less rights than they should've (they had the same rights as peasents in Britain). All of this came together and they realised that they wanted independance and that is when they started the war. And when they won their independance they made sure that nothing like this would happen again by making the Constitution.
Learning Reflection
A. What are you currently learning about in Social Studies? Give some examples of what you have learned this unit.
We have been learning about the leading up of the Revolutionary War, what happened during the Revolutionary war, and what was a result of the Revolutionary war. We learned a lot about how the British ruled over the colonists and what made the tensions high inbetween both of them. We also learned about the starting, important, and ending battle(s) that occured. And what resulted at the conclusion of the war, such as independence.
B. What do you enjoy about this particular SS unit? Explain.
I most enjoyed playing the Mission US game. This is because we were able to be put in the position of a man during the lead up to the Revolutionary War, and got to experience key events such as the Boston massacre, and the Boston Tea Party. And doing this made it clear to me who I supported.
C. What do you find challenging about this particular SS unit? Explain.
I feel that the memorization of the important dates, people, facts etc. Was quite hard because there was a lot of things you had to know what/who/when they were. And sometimes it could be confusing because you would mix it up.
D. What is something you have done well in this SS unit? Explain.
I feel that I did very well in the Knowledge part of the test. Even though I above mentioned that memorizing everything was quite, if you worked hard enough as I did, you are capable to memorize it and it was quite easy to answer the questions since I knew almost everything.
E. What is something you would like to improve? Explain on how you plan to make improvements.
I'd like to keep improving my presentation skills. Since presenting is a major part of school it's a very good quality to have to be a good presentor. I'll try and improve by making sure I know what I need to say and practice as much as I can, and learning how to keep the audiences attention.
Word Wall
Loyalist - A colonist who supports the crown (British).
Patriot - A colonist who supports the revolution, for independance.
Militia - A millitary made up of civillians (non proffesional).
Boycott - When people refuse, and stop supporting something (such as companies, countries).
Colony - A country or area under the full or partial political control of another country.
Repeal - To revoke (mostly used with laws).
Propaganda - Information that gives support to only one side, to promote their case.
Minute Men - Millitias who were able to fight in a minutes notice.
Parliament - The high legislature of Britain (government.)
Unaliable Rights - Rights that every civillian posseses, that cannot be denied.
Revolution- a forcible overthrow of a government or social order, in favour of a new system.
Pioneers - The first europeans to settle in the backcountry.
Other Projects
About Mission US
During this unit we played a game that had us live as a boy in Boston before the Revolutionary war when tensions were high between the colonists and the British. We experienced other characters view points, and learned different reasons why the colonists were rebeling against the red coats. We also experienced the different views of characters about the Parliament, and identified which ones were Patriots and which ones were Loyalists.
The Enlightenment
While learning about the leading up to the American Revolution we were taught about The Enlightenment. We learned about the many similarities inbetween the two , and how the Revolutionary War was inspired by many aspects of The Enlightenments and its idea's of human rights. We also learned about a few key peole such as; John Locke, Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Jean-Jasques Rousseau and how they contributed their thoughts.
