American History Homework Two Answers - Student 31

1. I believe the three most important causes of the American Revolution were:

A. The colonists were not happy with "taxation without representation".

B. Many colonists believed in John Locke's philosophy that the relationship between the government and the people was a social contract and England was not living up to its part of the contract.

C. Some of the colonists weren't English and did not feel they had to be loyal to England.

Excellent.

2. The colonists used the phrase "taxation without representation" because they were being taxed by England yet they didn't elect anyone to Parliament to represent them.

Right.

3. The Boston Tea Party was a direct result of the Tea Act of 1773. This Act allowed the East India Company, a large British company, to import tea to America and undersell colonial merchants. A bunch of colonists, led by Sam Adams, dressed up as Indians and boarded the tea ships and threw all the tea into Boston Harbor.

Superb.

4. I think that some of the people of Salem should be blamed for the Witch Trials. These people were angry with the people they had accused of practicing witchcraft. Most of the accused were richer than the accusers. The accusers made up lies to get them brought to trial and convicted in hopes of benefitting financially.

Superb analysis about the jealousy factor: the accused were richer.

5. False. From the late 1600s until about 1760 was a time of prosperity in the colonies called salutary neglect. During that time England did not enforce many rules and let the colonies "be". It did not matter whether a colony had more religious freedom than another. After the French and Indian War, England was in great debt. Conflicts between the British and the colonists began when England changed its policy of salutary neglect.

But the conflicts were not the same for each colony with respect to England. (Minus 1).

6. Debate: Do you think a jury should be able to ignore the law in order to find a defendant "not guilty?"

I don't think members of a jury should be able to ignore the law in order to find a person not guilty. While laws can be (and should sometimes be) changed, people who do not obey the current laws should be punished in an appropriate manner.

Good.

7. "Join, or Die" is a famous political cartoon created by Benjamin Franklin. The severed snake was used to depict the colonies. Franklin felt they needed to unite to become strong and deal with the British as one. A rough estimate for its date would be sometime in the 1750s or 1760s.

Superb.

--NickDeJ 11:52, 18 September 2008 (EDT)

Excellent work. 69/70.--Aschlafly 09:49, 29 September 2008 (EDT)