American History Homework Two Answers - Student 32

1. I think one of the most important causes of the American Revolution was that the colonists were tired of getting taxed without representation, as evidenced by the Boston Tea Party and Boston Massacre. The colonists were angry that they had “virtual representation”, which really meant no representation.

I believe that the second most important cause of the Revolution was that the colonists were used to “salutary neglect”. For many years, England let the colonies do as they pleased, without interference. When King George III came into power this policy changed. Lastly, I think that the third most important cause for the American Revolution was that 1/3 of the colonists were not even English and didn’t see why they had to give anything to England.

Superb.

2. “Taxation without representation” became the slogan for the colonists. It is unclear as to who said this phrase initially. The colonists believed that they were unfairly taxed on many things and had no say in these Acts of Taxation. They did not have any members representing them in Parliament.

Correct.

3. The Boston Tea Party came about because of the Tea Act enacted by Parliament. The East India Company obtained a monopoly on tea from England and was able to undersell the colonists. Samuel Adams and a group of colonists disguised themselves as Indians and boarded the company’s ships. They then threw all the tea overboard.

Correct.

4. I blame jealous people for the Salem Witch Trials. I think people were jealous of others who had more than they did and made up random stories about them hoping to get them convicted. Furthermore, they hoped that the conviction of the alleged witches might result in the opportunity of obtaining their land or property.

Superb.

5. False. I believe that the religions practiced by the colonists didn’t matter to the King of England. The conflict between the King and the colonists began after the end of the war with France. England was in great debt. To alleviate some of that debt, the King and the members of Parliament decided to start taxing the colonies.

Good, but give an example of a colony. (Minus 1).

6. Debate: Should England have been able to impose direct taxes on the colonies?

I don’t think England should have been able to tax the colonists because the colonists had no representation in Parliament. I believe that Patrick Henry was right in his belief that only the people who live in those colonies could and would understand the impact of those taxes and therefore, needed to be heard in Parliament. For the British to claim the colonists had “virtual representation” was not enough.

Excellent.

7. This cartoon was drawn by Benjamin Franklin. Its meaning is that if the colonies did not join and become one, divided they would fall. This cartoon was drawn shortly before the American Revolution, probably in the 1750s or 1760s, because the colonies united and became free from England.

Correct.

H1. When I looked at the map of the 13 colonies, I was less impressed with the colonies and extremely interested as to why Detroit was on the map. I did not realize that Detroit had been founded in those early years. I researched the city of Detroit and discovered that Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, a French man, felt that that the French needed a post, a major stronghold, in the west to keep the British from moving westward. He was also interested in “Europeanizing” the Native Americans so that he could convince them to establish settlements around this post. He thought that the best place to establish this stronghold would be on the river in an area known as le detroit. Cadillac’s plan was approved by King Louis in 1701. Cadillac was named the commandant of the new post.

Terrific, made this a "model answer."

H3. What happened to the Lost Colony? I think the people of the Lost Colony of Roanoke were either taken hostage or killed by Indians. I believe this is true because of the fact that the Indians found the secret area where the settlers kept all their maps and books and destroyed them. I think the word “Croatoan” carved into a tree was done by the Indians to take credit for their actions just as some terror groups do today.

Good.

H5. Debate: George Washington. Was he great, and if so, why? I think George Washington was great because while he could have had ultimate power, he declined to do so. In addition, George Washington was so popular, he was offered a third term as President, but refused to accept the position, setting a very important precedent. Lastly, President Washington stressed the importance of neutrality in European affairs which did not directly affect America and I believe this is not such a bad idea.

Superb.

--MarkDeJ 12:35, 18 September 2008 (EDT)

Terrific answers. 99/100.--Aschlafly 09:59, 29 September 2008 (EDT)