Protest Persuasion Worksheet
The Colonial Gazette
Special Edition: March 17, 1774
Issue No. 42
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Protest Persuasion Worksheet
As the streets of Boston grow cold and the harbor smells of tea, two voices rise above the din. Read the arguments below and determine: Were the colonial protests truly justified?
The Patriot's Case
"Liberty or Death!"
We are British subjects, yet we are denied the fundamental rights of Englishmen! Parliament taxes our sugar, our paper, and our tea without a single representative from the colonies to speak for us.
The Proclamation of 1763 traps us along the coast, and the Quartering Act forces us to house soldiers who treat us like criminals. Our protests are not acts of treason; they are the desperate cries of a free people refusing to be treated like property.
- No Taxation Without Representation
- Protection of Natural Rights
- Right to Self-Governance
The Loyalist's Case
"God Save the King!"
These so-called "Patriots" are nothing more than a lawless mob. Great Britain spent a fortune protecting these colonies during the French and Indian War. Is it not only fair that we pay our modest share for that protection?
Parliament is the supreme authority of the Empire. To defy the law is to invite anarchy and chaos. Without the Crown, who would protect our trade? Who would defend our borders? We are part of the greatest empire on Earth; to break away is both ungrateful and suicidal.
- Debt from Colonial Protection
- Maintaining Order and Rule of Law
- Benefits of British Trade & Navy
Critical Thinking Analysis
1. Comparison: Which specific argument from either side do you find most convincing, and why?
2. The Middle Ground: Is there a solution that could have satisfied both the Patriots and the Loyalists without leading to war?
3. Your Verdict: Based on the facts presented, were the colonial protests (like the Boston Tea Party) justified? Explain your reasoning.
Distributed by the Committees of Correspondence
