MISSION 1: “For Crown or Colony?”
1. Why would people who enjoyed the benefits of being part of the richest, the most powerful, and the freest Empire in the world, risk their lives to revolt?
For 150 years the colonies were at peace, and deeply attached to Crown and country by:
2. How do big changes – like a revolution against a government – happen?
4. Do the colonists practice what they preach?
Source: Mission US Educator Page
1. Why would people who enjoyed the benefits of being part of the richest, the most powerful, and the freest Empire in the world, risk their lives to revolt?
For 150 years the colonies were at peace, and deeply attached to Crown and country by:
- protection from the British military on the frontier and the sea;
- successful trade, through a large market for American raw materials and access
- pride in English culture and traditions, and the power of the Empire.
2. How do big changes – like a revolution against a government – happen?
- Who first protested against the British? Who remained loyal? Who was neutral?
- How did a person’s status in colonial society shape their political perspectives?
- What did colonists mostly agree about? What did they disagree about?
- What causes a shift in people’s opinions – is it events, arguments, persuasion, propaganda, or a combination of many factors?
- What different kinds of protest do the colonists engage in?
- How are the kinds of protest different for women and men, for people who have wealth and literacy and those who don’t?
- What role does violence play in the conflict between the Crown and the colony?
- How did colonists argue about violence at the time ?
4. Do the colonists practice what they preach?
- What principles do the Patriots say they are fighting for? What language do they use?
- Who in colonial society do the Patriots’ principles apply to? Who do they not apply to?
- Did the colonists practice these principles after gaining independence?
Source: Mission US Educator Page