The Boston Tea Party

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Great Britain spent a great deal of money to defend the colonists from attacks by the French and others.  Since the British soldiers were protecting the colonists, the British believed that the colonists should help pay for the expenses of the war.  To do this, the British placed very high taxes on certain goods in the Colonies.  The Stamp Act of 1765 imposed taxes on popular items such as newspapers, pamphlets, and other documents.  The Stamp Act was met with an uproar amongst the colonists because they felt that paying tax was unfair.  In 1766, after various protests from the colonists, the British government ended the tax.  However in the years to come, Britain added taxes on more items.  The colonists became significantly infuriated when the British placed taxes on tea.  As a result in 1773, the colonists revolted against the British and their tax on tea in the Colonies by dumping tea into the harbor, in what is today known as the Boston Tea Party.   Conflicts like these eventually led to the American Revolution which resulted in the writing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. 

 

 

 

TASK

 

You have been asked by your teacher to prepare a report that you will present to a Public Policy Analyst who will be visiting your class in November.  Your teacher would like you to work in groups of four to eventually come up with a best possible solution for how the funding for war could have been raised differently, without imposing taxes. 

 

 

PROCESS

 

1.        Meet with your group, and thoroughly explore the resources below. 

2.      Follow the 6 step process below to analyze a funding for a war and in the end you will come up with the best solution for future funding.  You will be able to develop a solution by completing each worksheet in the six steps below.   

 

Public Policy Analyst Process: 

Step 1:   Defining the Social Problem

Step 2:  Gathering Evidence of the Problems

Step 3:  Identifying Causes of the Problems

Step 4:  Identify and Evaluate Existing Pubic Policy

Step 5:  Develop Public Policy Solutions

Step 6:  Selecting the Best Policy

 

 

RESOURCES

 

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb/revolut

http://ahp.gatech.edu/stamp_act_bp_1765.html

http://www.history.org/History/teaching/tchcrvar.cfm

http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/teaact.htm

 

 

 

EVALUATION

 

 

 

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

Score

Written proposal

 

 

Incomplete.

Complete with too few recommendations for best policy solutions.

Complete with additional recommendations for best policy solution. 

Complete and additional recommendations for best policy solutions, with a  convincing argument included in their report. 

 

 

Website search

 

 

Too few links relevant to the report are quoted. 

Enough links, relevant to the report quoted. 

Good links are quoted in support of best policy solution. 

Excellent links are quoted in support of the best policy solution.

 

 

Public policy analysis protocol use

 

 

Minimal use of the PPA site.

Sufficient use of the PPA site.

Used the PPA site and additional resources.

Used the PPA site effectively which contributed to the best policy solution.

 

 

 

STANDARDS  

 

English Language Arts

 

Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.

As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts,

and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced

texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language to acquire, interpret, apply,

and transmit information.

 

Standard 2: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.

Students will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and performances,

relate texts and performances to their own lives, and develop an understanding of the diverse social,

historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers,

students will use oral and written language for self-expression and artistic creation.

 

Social Studies

 

Standard 1: History of the United States and New York

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas,

eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

By doing this project, you have acquired research skills.  You have also learned the 6 steps of being a Public Policy Analyst.  In addition, you have written a report and presented it to a public policy analyst.