HIST 121 BDE: AMERICAN HISTORY TO 1877 DISCUSSION NO LESS THAN 170 WORDS

As you have seen through your assigned reading and media this week, the colonists wanted to be treated like their British contemporaries, including representation within Parliament. However, Parliament argued the colonists were represented, as most British citizens, through virtual representation. What was the series of events that brought Britain and the colonies to the brink of war by 1774? To what extent were these experiences the product of poor leadership? Differing theories of government? Different social experiences? Explain your answer with specific examples from your assigned reading and media.

Readings

• Of the People: A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES WITH SOURCES Fourth Edition: ISBN: 9780190088026 By: Michael McGerr, Jan Ellen Lewis, James Oakes, Nick Cullather, Mark Summers, Camilla Townsend, Karen M. Dunak  Chapters 6 and 7

Primary Sources

• 6.1 Letter from George Washington to Robert Dinwidde, Governor of Virginia (1755)
• 6.6 The Intolerable Acts (1774)
• 7.1 Thomas Paine, Common Sense (1776)

Note: Primary sources are available within your eText.

Multimedia

Videos

closed-captions Closed-captions are available.

• The Seven Years War (Feature History)
• Prelude to the Revolution (Crash Course)
• The Constitution, the Articles, and Federalism (Crash Course)