From the Proclamation of 1763 to the Intolerable Acts: British laws and colonial reactions

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   From the Townshend Acts to the Boston Massacre trials, 1767 to 1770 (cards A to E). Card A, a summary in our words from the Massachusetts Historical Society: on June 29, 1767, Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, which put import duties on tea, lead, glass, paint and paper and created a Board of Customs Commissioners in Boston. John Dickinson wrote in his Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania that "the cause of one is the cause of all" and called the new duties "a dangerous innovation." In February 1768 the Massachusetts House sent a circular letter to the other colonies' assemblies. British administrators ordered the House to rescind it, and 92 of its 120 members refused. Governor Francis Bernard then dissolved the General Court. Card B, a summary in our words from the Massachusetts Historical Society: in February 1768 the customs commissioners asked Parliament to guarantee their safety, and troops began arriving in Boston in October 1768. On the evening of March 5, 1770, a crowd gathered around a sentry at the Customs House, Captain Thomas Preston led seven soldiers to reinforce him, and shots were fired: three people lost their lives and two more were fatally hurt. Tories and patriots blamed each other, and each side collected depositions. Patriot leaders drafted a narrative implying a sinister plot, and Paul Revere marketed an engraving that vividly depicts a violent massacre. The Society's own exhibit asks whether it was a "Horrid Massacre" or an "Unhappy Disturbance." Card C, a summary in our words from the National Park Service: five people lost their lives, three that night, one the next morning and one nearly two weeks later. Lawyers refused to take Preston's case until John Adams agreed to join the defense. Adams later wrote that "Council ought to be the very last thing that an accused Person should want in a free Country". Preston's trial opened on October 24, 1770, and the question was whether Preston had given the order to fire. Witnesses contradicted one another. A free Black man, Newton Prince, testified that he saw Preston standing in front of the soldiers and "heard no orders given to fire." On October 30, 1770, the jury found Preston not guilty. The Park Service says the testimony suggests Preston may have been standing in front of his soldiers, unlike the Revere engraving. Card D, a summary in our words from the Massachusetts Historical Society: Preston had been held in jail for seven months before his trial. The soldiers' trial began on November 27, 1770, and the verdict came on December 5, nine months to the day after the shooting, from a jury that did not include a Boston resident. Six soldiers were acquitted and two were found guilty of manslaughter, the lesser charge. Both trials lasted longer than one day, which was rare in Massachusetts courts.

2. 1.

   Card B says three lost their lives and two were fatally hurt. Card C says five lost their lives over two weeks. Do they conflict, Bo asks?

   • Yes: card B says three and card C says five, so the cards conflict
   • No: both total five, and card C adds the timing for each person
   • They differ about which of the soldiers fired the first shot
   • Yes: card C shows that the count in card B is false from start to end
3. 2.

   Card A: 92 of the Massachusetts House's 120 members refused to rescind the circular letter. About what share refused, Esme asks?

   • About 23 percent, the share who did not refuse
   • About 92 percent, because 92 refused
   • About 77 percent, so most colonists opposed the duties
   • About 77 percent of the House
4. 3.

   Card D: the jury acquitted six of the eight soldiers. What share were acquitted, and what does it not show, Jun asks?

   • 75 percent, which proves the soldiers did nothing wrong that night
   • 25 percent, the share who were found guilty of the lesser charge
   • 75 percent; a verdict shows what the jury decided, not proof of every fact
   • About 6 percent, because six of the soldiers were acquitted by the jury in the end
5. 4.

   Cards A and B link events from 1767 to 1770. Which chain is best supported, Kira asks?

   • The Tea Act of 1773 caused the troops to be sent to Boston in the year 1768
   • Troops arrived first, and then Parliament passed the Townshend Acts to pay for them
   • Townshend duties, a customs board needing protection, troops, clashes, the shooting
   • The trials of 1770 led Parliament to pass the Townshend Acts in the year 1767
6. 5.

   A student says: "The Preston verdict proved he was innocent of all blame." How strong is that claim, given card C, Luz asks?

   • Strong: not guilty means the jury found him innocent of everything at all
   • Weak: card C says the jury found Preston guilty of the shooting that night
   • Strong: card B says three lost their lives and two were hurt in the street that night
   • Overstated: not guilty on whether he gave the order is not proof of all blame
7. 6.

   Card B says Tories and patriots each collected depositions. What does that show about their accounts, Milo asks?

   • The Tories collected the statements, so their account alone can be relied on afterward
   • Each side gathered statements to support its own version, so each must be checked
   • Both accounts must be false, because interested parties collected both of them
   • Both sides agreed on what had happened and agreed on who was to blame
8. 7.

   A student says: "The soldiers were not given a fair chance at trial." How strong is that claim, given cards C and D, Noah asks?

   • Weak: the cards show defense lawyers, long trials and a jury with no Boston resident
   • Strong: card D says that the eight soldiers were found guilty together
   • Strong: the Revolution that followed shows that Boston courts were unfair
   • Strong: lawyers first refused to defend the soldiers, so the trial was unfair to them
9. 8.

   Card A runs from June 1767 to 1768. How did the dispute escalate, Pia asks?

   • The full House of 120 refused to rescind it, so Bernard punished the members
   • The Boston Massacre led to the circular letter, which was sent in February 1768 to the colonies
   • A circular letter drew an order to rescind; 92 refused; the assembly was dissolved
   • The Massachusetts House agreed at once to rescind the letter when ordered to
10. 9.

    Card C reports Newton Prince's testimony. What is it best evidence for, and what is its limit, Ren asks?

    • Proof that no person gave an order to fire on the crowd that night
    • A historian's opinion written years afterward about what Prince had heard that night
    • What one eyewitness said he heard, which the jury weighed against contradictions
    • How many people were in the crowd in front of the Customs House that night
11. 10.

    Card C quotes Adams: "Council ought to be the very last thing that an accused Person should want." What principle does it show, Zee asks?

    • Adams approved of what the soldiers did in the street that night in March of 1770
    • Adams believed that accused persons should not be allowed to have lawyers
    • Adams believed that the soldiers were free of blame for the shooting
    • Even unpopular accused persons deserve a lawyer, a principle above popularity