Road to Revolution: Taxation, Representation & Resistance — Practice · Grade 7 Social Studies

Chapter: Empire, Revolution & Independence

What this practice covers

By the end of Road to Revolution: Taxation, Representation & Resistance you should be able to:

8 questions, written answer, each with a worked explanation.

Vocabulary used: context, primary source, interpretation, boycott, representation.

Problem 1

Why is dislike of all taxes an inaccurate explanation?
Answer and explanation

The dispute concerned the authority and representation behind particular taxes. Opposition to one institution’s levy did not necessarily reject all taxation.

Problem 2

How could a boycott affect policy beyond one protest day?
Answer and explanation

Sustained reductions in purchases could pressure commercial interests, while coordination and public discussion maintained a broader campaign; actual effects require evidence.

Problem 3

Can a persuasive print be evidence even if its depiction is selective?
Answer and explanation

Yes. It shows representation and political messaging, while its factual details require comparison with independent records.

Problem 4

Why should Loyalists appear in an account of colonial opinion?
Answer and explanation

Their existence and arguments show that colonial positions were varied. An independence movement should not be mistaken for unanimous opinion.

Problem 5

Invented exercise: an assembly proposes a small locally approved tax; a distant legislature proposes an equal-sized tax without the same local election process. A pamphlet objects to the second measure. Explain why equal amounts do not make the political objections identical.
Answer and explanation

The objection can concern who authorizes the tax rather than its amount. Equal rates do not establish equal representation or accepted authority. The pamphlet records a particular argument; more records are needed to determine how widely it was shared and why people responded.

Identify the same monetary amount.

Compare the claimed authority and means of consent.

Qualify conclusions about the pamphlet’s wider support.

Response criteria

  • Describe the historical context and institutions accurately.
  • Connect relevant evidence with an explained claim or calculation.
  • Represent particular perspectives without stereotypes or invented testimony.
  • Identify an assumption, evidentiary limit, or distinction that qualifies the conclusion.

Problem 6

Do protests prove that every participant already sought independence?
Answer and explanation

No. Demands could seek repeal, changed administration, or recognition of rights within empire. Compare the participant’s dated statement with later positions.

Response criteria

  • Describe the historical context and institutions accurately.
  • Connect relevant evidence with an explained claim or calculation.
  • Represent particular perspectives without stereotypes or invented testimony.
  • Identify an assumption, evidentiary limit, or distinction that qualifies the conclusion.

Problem 7

Put these events in order: 1775 fighting, 1765 Stamp Act, 1774 Congress.
Answer and explanation

Stamp Act in 1765; First Continental Congress in 1774; fighting at Lexington and Concord in 1775.

Problem 8

What evidence could test boycott participation?
Answer and explanation

Dated import and sales records, merchants’ accounts, correspondence, and records of organization could test extent and consequences.

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