Investigating the causes of the American Revolution   A WebQuest for 5th Grade Social Studies   Designed by:   Karen Freed kfreed@brenau.edu       Introduction:   You and your team of investigators have been sent by James Wright, British Royal Governor of Georgia on a secret fact gathering mission.     The year is 1774 and Wright is uncertain on whether to remain loyal to the British Crown, or to begin to support the actions of the revolutionary colonists.  To date, he has supported King George III due to the hostility of the Creek Indians on the Georgia border and the necessity of British military protection.   As a result, Governor Wright blocked Georgia delegates from attending the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1774.  Wright also questions the reports he receives from others outside of Georgia.   Your mission is to travel secretly to the location of many of the conflicts between the colonists and the British, investigate your assigned event, and present these findings back to Governor Wright so that he may make an informed decision on which side to support.    As investigators you will discover and summarize causes of the Revolutionary War.  You will analyze both sides of the assigned conflict.  In doing so you should be guided by the question of whether you would support the British or colonial rebels.  You will have a chance to evaluate the findings of all investigative teams and answer this question in writing your own persuasive letter to King George.

Task You and your team of investigators will have two assignments:    First, as group your team will investigate a significant colonial event and report your findings to Governor Wright.  Your report of the event will be unbiased and will include the opinions of  famous and not so famous persons involved in the conflict to give a voice to those on both sides of the issue.   You will use a poster board created by your team as part of your presentation.  The poster will include a summary of the event, opinions of people supporting rebel colonists and the opinions of those supporting the British government, along with graphics to help capture the event.   Your poster and presentation should help Governor Wright decide whether to remain loyal to the British Crown or to support the rebel colonists.     Your second assignment is to write an individual persuasive letter to King George III of England either to restrict British intervention in colonial rule, or show your support for continued British rule.  Your team is not the only one sent to gather facts by Governor Wright.  In fact, several teams will be reporting on other significant colonial events.  Listen closely to their presentations as you will need to include facts from 3 different events in writing your persuasive letter to the king.

Process   Investigative teams will be assigned one of the following events:   The Sugar Act  (1764) The Currency Act (1764) The Stamp Act and Stamp Act Congress (1765) The Townshend Act and Circular Letter (1767) The Boston Massacre (1770) Tea Act and Boston Tea Party (1773) Intolerable Acts (1774) First Continental Congress (1774)     Your team will be divided into the following roles:   Investigator #1:   Summarize an unbiased report of the facts surrounding the event. Investigator #2:   Document opinions on the event from persons supporting colonial rebellion. Investigator #3:   Document opinions on the event from persons supporting British rule.     Each investigator should complete the attached worksheet to help guide them in their process of understanding their event and the opinions of people caught up on those events.  Click here to down the load worksheets.     click here to download Investigator #1 worksheet click here to download Investigator #2 worksheet click here to download Investigator #3 worksheet     All events take place in the period from 1764 – 1774.  As a team, review the following websites to gain a brief familiarity of the establishment of the 13 original colonies and events leading up to the Revolutionary War: Click here for a link on the background on the 13 colonies Click here for a link to a time line of major events leading up to the Revolutionary War. The group’s poster board for the presentation should be divided into three sections.  One section should contain Investigator #1’s unbiased summary of the event.  A second section should detail Investigator #2’s interview with a person supporting the colonial rebels.  A third section should contain information from Investigator #3’s interview with a person supporting continued British rule.   The group’s poster board should be creative, neat, and attractive.  Graphics should be added to help further Governor Wright’s understanding of the event.    Rubrics detailing requirement for the poster board/presentation and persuasive letter may be found under the Evaluation tab.   The Sugar Act (1764)   Investigator #1:   http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/wwww/us/sugaractdef.htm http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/sugaract.htm http://odur.let.rug.nl/%7Eusa/E/sugar%5Fstamp/act04.htm Investigator #2: (interview Colonel Issac Barre’s, of Parliment): http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Isaac_Barre http://www.connecticutsar.org/articles/scarlet_no6.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamp_Act_1765 See British decision making section Investigator #3: (interview Lord Grenville): http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2005_summer_fall/tax_or_not.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Grenville,_1st_Baron_Grenville The Currency Act (1764):   Investigator #1:   http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/currencyact.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_Act Investigator #2:  (interview Benjamin Franklin) http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/benjaminfranklin1.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_Scrip http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1726-1750/franklin/paper.htm Investigator #3:  (interview Grenville): http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-77701/United-States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Grenville The Stamp Act & Stamp Act Congress   Investigator #1: http://pbskids.org/bigapplehistory/early/topic12.html http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/wwww/us/stampactdef.htm http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/chronicle_subject.html see Pivotal Events: Stamp Act Riots Investigator #2:  (interview Patrick Henry) http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/patrickhenry.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Resolves Investigator #3: (interview Thomas Hutchison) http://www.historycentral.com/bio/RevoltBIOS/HutchisonThomas.html http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/chronicle_subject.html See people: Thomas Hutchison The Townshend Acts   Investigator # 1: http://cybersleuth-kids.com/americanhistory/chapter3/townshendacts.htm http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/E/tax/davis04.htm http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com/WAK-Print.aspx?pin=x-am086000a%20&chapter_id=15&spanish= Investigator # 2: (interview John Dickinson) http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/people/A0815448.html http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/dickinson.htm Investigator #3: (interview William Murray, First Earl of Manfield) http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761569964_3/American_Revolution.html Paragraphs C & D. http://balrog.sdsu.edu/~putman/410a/parldebates.htm The Boston Massacre   Investigator #1:   http://www.kidport.com/RefLib/UsaHistory/AmericanRevolution/BostonMassacre.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Massacre Investigator #2: (interview various witnesses to the event) http://americanhistory.about.com/od/revolutionarywar/a/boston_massacre.htm Investigator #3: (interview Captain Thomas Prescott): http://www.etsu.edu/cas/history/docs/presbostonmass.htm http://americanhistory.about.com/od/revolutionarywar/a/boston_massacre.htm The Boston Tea Party   Investigator #1: http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/bostonteaparty.htm http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Boston_Tea_Party Investigator #2:  (interview Sam Adams) http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Samuel_Adams http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Adams Read Pre-independence political activities and Boston Tea Party sections Investigator #3:  (interview Benjamin Franklin) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761576775_2/Benjamin_Franklin.html (Focus on Section V: Public Office) Intolerable Acts   Investigator #1: http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/wwww/us/intolerableactsdef.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intolerable_Acts Investigator #2: (interview colonist Jonas MacKenzie) http://www.americanrevolution.com/his_events_acts.html Investigator #3: (interview Lord North) http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/wwww/us/lordnorthdef.htm http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/lordnorth.htm http://www.americanrevolution.com/his_events_acts.html First Continental Congress   Investigator #1: http://www.homeofheroes.com/hallofheroes/1st_floor/birth/1bc1a.html http://homeschooling.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=homeschooling&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usfca.edu%2Ffac-staff%2Fconwell%2Frevolution%2Fcongress.htm http://www.kidport.com/RefLib/UsaHistory/AmericanRevolution/FirstCongress.htm http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h650.html Investigator #2: (interview George Washington) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington#Between_the_wars http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gwhtml/gwtimear.html Investigator #3: (interview King George III) http://www.americanrevolution.com/KingGeorge3rd.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proclamation_of_Rebellion http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/proclaims.htm

Evaluation click here to download rubric for poster and presentation click here to download rubric for persuasive essay letter to King George III

Conclusion As you and your team of investigators discovered, there were no clear cut right or wrong sides in the events leading up to the Revolutionary War.  Both England and the rebel colonists had legitimate reasons for their opinions and actions.  You may have been surprised by some people whom you may have expected to feel one way actually agreed at least in part with the opposing party.   As you continue to think about this assignment, consider other situations where there are opposing opinions.  Is it fair to say both sides can be right?  How can differences be solved?  Are there situations where war is justified?       So…What Happened?   After King George had failed to respond to the complaints of the First Continental Congress a Second Continental Congress was held beginning May 23, 1775.  With blood already shed, the delegates now voiced a demand for independence from England.  Toward the end of the Second Continental Congress Delegate Richard Henry Lee’s June 7, 1776 Resolution spelled out the majority of the colonists’ opinion:   "RESOLVED:  That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved."   In January, 1775, Governor Wright made an open address to appeal to members of the Georgia House to act as representatives, not rebels.  However, his plead did little good in preserving British loyalty and 3 delegates from Georgia were elected to attend the Second Continental Congress. In the end, Wright remained loyal to the British crown.  Despite his popularity and leadership, he proved unable to stop the revolutionary movement in Georgia.  Rebels arrested him in January, 1776, but he fled to a British warship and ultimately returned to London.

Credits This webquest was created for ED 630, Brenau University, Fall 2007. Photo courtesy of:  Library of Congress, The Birth of Old Glory by Percy Moran 1862 - 1935.  c 1917. Information on James Wright from: http://ourgeorgiahistory.com/wars/Revolution/revolution06.html http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-669   Text from Richard Henry Lee’s Resolution at the Second Continental Congress from:   http://www.thedeclarationofindependence.org/RichardHenryLee.com/

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