Nicholas Lombardi Block 2 T-316

6/16/11

Taxes and Arms A Revolutionary War Simulation

Imagine working on a review when, suddenly the door to the classroom bangs open and a man with a powdered wig and cape barges in yelling commands to you, demanding taxes paid. How would you feel? Frightened? Surprised? Angry? Would you ask questions like Who is he? or What does he mean by taxes? These were the thoughts and feelings of the colonists when the British governors came. loyalists. The patriots were colonists who wanted the taxes lowered and eventually wanted freedom from England. If you are a patriot you wont pay taxes to the Governor and will oppose his will. The Governor will gather loyalists to take your stuff and mess up your area. He might also start questioning you on why you became a patriot. The patriots were different from the loyalists because they wanted freedom, not loyalty. Some of the factions of the patriots were The Sons of Liberty, The daughters of Liberty, and the Comities of correspondence. If you are a patriot you might join one of these groups. These different factions allowed the patriots to do many jobs and missions at once. These were what some of the colonists were and some of the actual groups that they organized. The colonists were mostly patriots but some were not. Some were actually Tories or loyalists [usually there will be more patriots than loyalists].

Taxes!
Shortly after the Governor shows up taxes appear. The Governor makes you pay taxes for the king and if you should run out of money to pay, the Governor will find other ways to make you pay your taxes. The taxes that the Governor makes you pay are on everything, everything! The Governor never really stops giving you taxes to pay, but once things start heating up you dont really pay taxes. These taxes should lead you toward opposing the Governors will. This is exactly what happened to the colonists of the New England colonies as the British forced them to pay unfair taxes that they had no say in.

Loyalists!

Patriots!

A Continental Soldier in 1777.

At this point, youll take a side. The two main sides are the patriots and the

English soldiers known as Red Coats were a common sight.

The other group is called the

Nicholas Lombardi Block 2 T-316 loyalists. They were the colonists still loyal to king George. Loyalists were usually wealthy merchants or landowners who did not want to lose their profits or property by separating from King George. Loyalists did not engage in battles, but were always verbally abusing the Patriots. If you chose to be a Loyalist, you can expect a small cut in your taxes because you are loyal. You can also expect that the Governor will allow you to steal the Patriots property and mess up their area. The downside of being a Loyalist is that you are still expected to pay taxes. Loyalist were different because they were not rowdy and not violent. They also voiced their opinion in a subtle way. Unlike the Patriots, the Loyalist had no major factions. Some colonists were indeed against the Patriots and spied on them and criticized them. Some Loyalist returned to England where their loyalties lied. Only about 25% of the colonists were Loyalist and were often ostracized and disgraced by the Patriots.

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might write a document of freedom. This might resemble the Declaration of Independence and you might have all your fellow Patriots sign it. If you are a Loyalist, you wait to see if the Patriots will be taken care of by the Governor. He and his followers might start making and enforcing laws to squelch the Patriot activity. At this point, the revolution begins and the outcome is determined by the actions of both sides. When the actual American Patriots decided that they had had enough of English rule, they tried reasoning with England. When diplomatic solutions failed, they soon entered a war, the American Revolution. The idea of this simulation is to have fun and learn about the founding of our nation. To learn why we rebelled against England and why the English pushed us into war. Have fun, but beware the Governor.

Revolution
After being taxed for a while, as a Patriot you would feel the need for justice, and as a Loyalist you would feel the need to rally your classmates around the Mother Country. If you are a Patriot you will gather your fellow Patriots and stand up to the Governor. If you are a Loyalist you will stand by your English Governor. After opposing the Governor you

George Washington crossing the Delaware River on Christmas Eve.