Inquiry Question 1: How did social, economic, and political factors contribute to the events of the Boston Tea Party?
Inquiry Question 2: How did the reactions to the Boston Tea Party demonstrate the growing divisions between the various interested parties in the political and economic future of the American colonies?
Inquiry Question 1: In what ways have people of color been both present for and critical actors in turning points in American history?
Inquiry Question 2: How and why has public memory of the Boston Massacre changed over time? In what ways do available evidence and point of view impact interpretations of historical events?
Inquiry Question 1: Although we don't know exactly what happened the night of March 5, 1770, what does the existing evidence from the Boston Massacre teach us about pre-Revolutionary America?
Inquiry Question 2: In what ways did people's political beliefs, social networks, and lived experience shape their understanding of the Boston Massacre?
Inquiry Question 1: Why did some colonists remain loyal to Britain during the Revolution?
Inquiry Question 2: What consequences did loyal colonists face?
Choosing Sides in the Revolutionary War: The Loyalists
Inquiry Question: How did New England merchants engage in trade with China in the decades immediately following the founding of the United States?
Inquiry Question: What was traded and how?
Inquiry Question: What tactics did enslaved people in Massachusetts in the 1700s use to free themselves?
Inquiry Question: Who was Abigail Adams, and what roles did she take on during the Revolutionary Era?
Through her letters and belongings we will explore the ways in which Abigail shaped—and was shaped by—the political and social events unfolding around her.
Inquiry Question: How did women protest the Townshend Acts and aid the patriot cause?
Student Background
Inquiry Question 1: Prior to 1855, in what ways did segregated schools harm Black children in Boston?
Inquiry Question 2: What actions did Black families take to advocate for integration?
In this primary source set, students will engage with a variety of letters, maps, artifacts, and more to explore diverse Bostonian experiences at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.
Inquiry Question 1: How did ordinary Bostonians experience the Siege of Boston? What were their fears and concerns?