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CHAPTER 4
From Colonies to States
This chapter discusses Britain’s changing policies in the political and economic administration of the
colonies as well as the colonial reaction to these changes. It also discusses the structure of the colonial
government and details the relationship of Britain’s North American colonies with the French and Native
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Competing Neighbors
A. New France
B. The British Colonial System
i. Mercantilism
ii. Navigation Acts
iii. Colonial Resentment
C. The Glorious Revolution
i. John Locke on Revolution
II. An Emerging Colonial System
A. The Habit of Self-Government
J. Pontiac’s Rebellion
K. The Proclamation Line
L. Immigration Soars
IV. Regulating the Colonies
A. Grenville’s Colonial Policy
V. The Crisis Grows
A. The First Bloodshed
B. The Boston Massacre (1770)
C. The Gaspée Incident
D. The Boston Tea Party
H. Bold Talk of War
LECTURE IDEAS
1. A lecture concerning the colonial policies in relation to economic needs is essential. In order to have
the students fully appreciate this issue, trace the economic factors driving political decisions within the
2. Give a lecture on the life and times of John Locke, with the emphasis on his Second Treatise of Civil
Government and its ongoing relevance for the political theory of the United States. See Roger
3. A lecture on the governmental structure of the colonies could serve as a good jumping-off point for a
critical comparison to today’s structure. Break down the role of the governor and assemblies.
4. A wonderful vehicle for studying the French colonial effort in Canada and the encounter of native and
European cultures throughout the New World is the 1991 film Black Robe, which is the story of a zealous
5. Break your class up into groups and have each group research a colonial war. Have them look into the
cause, details, and results of their particular war and then have them give presentations on each. You
6. The most important colonial war was the French and Indian War. A lecture on the causes, fighting,
strategies, results, and aftermath would serve to set up the final phase of conflict before the American
7. A good lecture on the American radicals and radicalism of the Revolution in general should give you
an opportunity to discuss Revolutionary War literature. One of the most important radicals is Thomas
(1991)
8. Write a lecture on the battles of Lexington and Concord and their place in the history and mythology
of the American Revolution. Excellent sources are David Hackett Fischer’s Paul Revere’s Ride (1994)
9. A lecture on the writing and meaning of the Declaration of Independence is essential. You might give a
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES
1. Assign a specific event that led to the American Revolution—for example, the French and Indian War
or the Stamp Act—and have groups of students investigate the impact each had on the Revolution.
2. Challenge students to consider alternative views of the Revolution. Give a lecture on the major
developments of the Imperial Crisis from the Proclamation of 1763 to the outbreak of war and
3. George Grenville’s stricter colonial policies certainly merit a lecture on his style and the impact he had
on the colonies. Discuss in the lecture his concept of government and what role he thought the
4. Ask students to carefully examine Paul Revere’s famous engraving of the Boston Massacre and list
their impressions. Then, have them compare Revere’s engraving with that of Henry Pelham:
http://www.masshist.org/features/massacre/comparison. The resulting discussion should center on
the relationship between Revere’s version with the textbook version of what really happened. What
message did Revere’s engraving send to his fellow compatriots? Did it help to change history? You
5. Ask students to come to class having read Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence (1776), along with
the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789). In a short lecture, provide a brief
background to the French document, why it was written, the influences of the Enlightenment thinking,
6. Begin the class by defining the concept of an “ethnic cleansing.” You might bring in several examples
from history, such as those that took place in what was formerly Yugoslavia or Myanmar. Next, have
the students research the expulsion of the Acadians from North America. Ask them to research and
find evidence from the chapter to answer the following question: How might the expulsion have
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. In what ways did the French and Indian War pave the way for the Revolution?
2. Summarize the argument for independence presented in the Declaration of Independence. How did
this compare with earlier colonial arguments concerning the relationship between Britain and the
colonies?
4. Discuss the background, details, and results of the Boston Massacre. What impact did this conflict have
on the impending Revolution?
5. Describe the “ideological responses” to George Grenville’s colonial policies. What impact did these
responses have on the relationship between Parliament and the colonial assemblies?
6. Shortly before the clashes at Lexington and Concord, Patrick Henry of Virginia declared that war was
inevitable. Was he right? Why or why not?
7. As he wrote the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson recognized the deep contradictions in
freedom and slave-owning revolutionaries. Did address the contradictions forthrightly enough in the
declaration itself? Why or why not?
PRACTICING CITIZENSHIP
When the British expelled the Acadians from Nova Scotia in 1755, they engaged in an eighteenth-century
example of what would now be termed “ethnic cleansing.” After conducting some research on this event,
look for other such episodes, focusing especially on instances that have occurred in your own lifetime or
