A Town Meeting: to Declare Independence Or Not

U.S. 1

A Town Meeting: To Declare Independence or Not

In this activity, you will assume the roles of historical figures to recreate a 1776 town meeting to determine whether the colonies should declare independence from England. Each of you is assigned the persona of someone from the time and must represent the person’s beliefs about independence during the town meeting. At the town meeting, Loyalists and Patriots will argue and attempt to sway the neutral members of the meeting to support their causes.

Procedures

Preparation Loyalists & Patriots: 1) Produce propaganda to support your beliefs. The propaganda must reflect your views regarding independence and must contain some visual or graphic elements (pictures). The propaganda should be designed to influence and persuade the neutral characters and will be displayed during the town meeting. You may confer with other people on your side to develop your arguments and strategize for the meeting. 2) On the back of your propaganda, write three to five key ideas supporting your position. Think carefully about what ideas your character would likely say during a town meeting on independence. These will be your “notes” that you can refer to during the meeting. You may confer with other people on your side to develop your arguments and strategize for the meeting.

Neutrals: 1) Create a two-sided poster: one side has a visual or graphic symbol for the Loyalists; the other side has a visual or graphic symbol for the Patriots. You may visit both sides to get ideas for your symbols. 2) Write ten questions to ask each side during the town meeting. You may visit both sides to figure out what questions you want to ask.

Town Meeting 1) You will sit according to the strength of your conviction regarding independence or loyalty to the crown: The most radical Patriots will sit farthest away from the neutrals and the most loyal Loyalists will sit closest to the neutrals. Neutrals leaning toward Patriots should sit closer to them, etc. 2) One student from the Loyalist side will make an argument against independence. A Patriot may make then a rebuttal. Neutrals may then ask related questions of each side. 3) A Patriot makes and argument for independence and a Loyalist may rebut, etc. 4) Every five minutes, neutrals may shift their positions and explain why they are doing so. U.S. 1

Town Meeting: Evaluation

Name Tag 5 points (Does your quote reflect your views? Does it make sense? Do you wear your name tag during the debate?)

Propaganda / Poster 20 points (Clear, persuasive, historical, visually appealing)

Ideas / Questions 20 points (Ideas: historically appropriate, persuasive, specific, differentiated) (Questions: historically appropriate, critical, mix of more general and specifically- directed)

Participation in Meeting 20 points (Volunteer to participate even when not called on; don’t interrupt others; clear and articulate; persuasive)

Class Work / On Task 10 points (You can lose points for not working on the activity, for having off-topic conversations, and for not bringing materials for activity to class)

75 points total