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Teacher Resource Packet

The Gaspee Affair: Why the Revolution Started in Rhode Island

Providence, RI

Grades 8-10·55 minutes

Students examine the 1772 burning of the HMS Gaspee — three years before Lexington and Concord — to understand how the Revolution began not as a single moment but as an escalating series of confrontations between colonial communities and British authority over trade, taxation, and legal rights.

This Packet Includes

  • Learning Objectives & Essential Questions
  • 5 Primary Source Analysis Worksheets
  • 3 Reading & Activity Handouts
  • Assessment Quiz (5 questions)
  • Answer Key
Unit:The Gaspee Affair: Why the Revolution Started in Rhode Island — Lesson Overview
History is for Everyone
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Learning Objectives

By the end of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Describe the events of the Gaspee Affair and why Providence merchants burned the British revenue schooner
  2. Explain what the British Crown's response — a commission empowered to ship Americans to England for trial — revealed about the limits of colonial rights
  3. Analyze the Gaspee Affair's relationship to other pre-Revolution confrontations (Stamp Act, Tea Act)
  4. Evaluate whether the Gaspee Affair should be considered the true beginning of the American Revolution

Essential Questions

Keep these questions in mind as you work through this packet:

  • When does political resistance become revolution?
  • Why did the British government's response to colonial grievances consistently make the situation worse?
  • What does the Gaspee Affair reveal about the relationship between commerce, law, and political resistance?
Unit:The Gaspee Affair: Why the Revolution Started in Rhode Island — Primary Source Analysis
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Primary Source 1 of 5
Document Information
DocumentProceedings of the Gaspee Commission, 1772-1773
SourceRhode Island State Archives
TypePRIMARY
Proceedings of the Gaspee Commission, 1772-1773

Proceedings of the Gaspee Commission, 1772-1773

Analysis Questions

Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.

  1. Who created this source and why?

  2. When was this source created?

  3. What perspective does this source represent?

  4. What was happening when this was written?

  5. How might the author's position affect their account?

Reflection

How does this source connect to what happened in Providence, RI? What does it tell you about the people involved?

Unit:The Gaspee Affair: Why the Revolution Started in Rhode Island — Primary Source Analysis
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Primary Source 2 of 5
Document Information
DocumentJohn Brown Papers, 1763-1803
SourceRhode Island Historical Society
TypePRIMARY

Analysis Questions

Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.

  1. Who created this source and why?

  2. When was this source created?

  3. What perspective does this source represent?

  4. What was happening when this was written?

  5. How might the author's position affect their account?

Reflection

How does this source connect to what happened in Providence, RI? What does it tell you about the people involved?

Unit:The Gaspee Affair: Why the Revolution Started in Rhode Island — Primary Source Analysis
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:
Primary Source 3 of 5
Document Information
DocumentRecords of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Volume VII
SourceA. Crawford Greene, State Printer (John Russell Bartlett, ed.)
TypePRIMARY

Analysis Questions

Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.

  1. Who created this source and why?

  2. When was this source created?

  3. What perspective does this source represent?

  4. What was happening when this was written?

  5. How might the author's position affect their account?

Reflection

How does this source connect to what happened in Providence, RI? What does it tell you about the people involved?

Unit:The Gaspee Affair: Why the Revolution Started in Rhode Island — Primary Source Analysis
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:
Primary Source 4 of 5
Document Information
DocumentGaspee Affair Historical Overview
SourceNational Park Service, American Revolution
TypeINSTITUTIONAL
Gaspee Affair Historical Overview

Gaspee Affair Historical Overview

Analysis Questions

Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.

  1. Who created this source and why?

  2. When was this source created?

  3. What perspective does this source represent?

  4. What is the institution's mission?

  5. How does that mission shape the presentation?

Reflection

How does this source connect to what happened in Providence, RI? What does it tell you about the people involved?

Unit:The Gaspee Affair: Why the Revolution Started in Rhode Island — Primary Source Analysis
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:
Primary Source 5 of 5
Document Information
DocumentRhode Island Politics and the American Revolution, 1760-1776
SourceBrown University Press (David S. Lovejoy)
TypeSECONDARY

Analysis Questions

Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.

  1. Who created this source and why?

  2. When was this source created?

  3. What perspective does this source represent?

  4. What primary sources does this draw from?

  5. What interpretation does the author offer?

Reflection

How does this source connect to what happened in Providence, RI? What does it tell you about the people involved?

Unit:The Gaspee Affair: Why the Revolution Started in Rhode Island — Providence Event Timeline
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Providence Event Timeline

timeline

Students place key events in chronological order and add details

# Providence Revolutionary Timeline


Instructions: Place the following events in order and add one detail about each.


  • [ ] Nathanael Greene Takes Command of the Southern Army
  • [ ] Burning of the HMS Gaspee
  • [ ] Nathanael Greene Appointed Continental Army Brigadier General
  • [ ] Rhode Island Renounces Allegiance to the Crown
  • [ ] Continental Navy's First Fleet Sails Under Esek Hopkins

---


| Event | Date | Significance |

|-------|------|-------------|

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

Unit:The Gaspee Affair: Why the Revolution Started in Rhode Island — Primary Source Analysis
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:

Primary Source Analysis

graphic organizer

Structured analysis of Revolutionary-era documents

# Primary Source Analysis Worksheet


## Source Information

  • Title: _________________
  • Author: _________________
  • Date: _________________
  • Type: _________________

## Observation

What do you notice? (List 3 things)

1.

2.

3.


## Reflection

What do you wonder? (List 2 questions)

1.

2.


## Analysis

What does this source tell us about Providence during the Revolution?


_______________________________________________


## Perspective

Whose voice is represented? Whose might be missing?


_______________________________________________

Unit:The Gaspee Affair: Why the Revolution Started in Rhode Island — Key Figures Profile
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Name: Date: Period:

Key Figures Profile

worksheet

Research template for Revolutionary figures

# Revolutionary Figure Profile


## Basic Information

  • Name: _________________
  • Birth/Death Years: _________________
  • Occupation(s): _________________

## Role in the Revolution

### Nathanael Greene

Rhode Island's most important military figure of the Revolution. A self-taught strategist from a Quaker family, Greene rose from militia private to become Washington's most trusted general. His Southern Campaign of 1780-1781 is considered one of the most skillful operations of the war.


My questions about this person:

1.

2.


### Catharine Littlefield Greene

Wife of Nathanael Greene who accompanied him to winter camps and maintained correspondence networks that kept Rhode Island connected to the war's progress. Known for her resilience and social intelligence, she managed the family's affairs during her husband's long campaigns in the South.


My questions about this person:

1.

2.



## Reflection

Which figure interests you most and why?


_______________________________________________

Unit:The Gaspee Affair: Why the Revolution Started in Rhode Island — Assessment
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:

Providence in the American Revolution

Answer the following questions based on our study of Revolutionary history.

  1. 1.  What makes Providence significant in Revolutionary history?

  2. 2.  Primary sources are documents or objects created during the time period being studied.

  3. 3.  Name one event that occurred in Providence during the Revolutionary period and explain its significance.

    Answer:

  4. 4.  Why is it important to consider multiple perspectives when studying history?

  5. 5.  Describe one connection between this town and another Revolutionary-era town we discussed.

    Answer:

ANSWER KEY · TEACHER COPY · DO NOT DISTRIBUTE

Providence in the American Revolution

The Gaspee Affair: Why the Revolution Started in Rhode Island — Providence, RI

  1. 1.What makes Providence significant in Revolutionary history?
    Answer:A

    Providence played a significant role in the American Revolution as evidenced by the events we studied.

  2. 2.Primary sources are documents or objects created during the time period being studied.
    Answer:True

    Primary sources provide firsthand evidence about historical events.

  3. 3.Name one event that occurred in Providence during the Revolutionary period and explain its significance.
    Answer:[Varies - accept any accurate event with reasonable explanation]

    Students should identify a specific event and connect it to broader Revolutionary themes.

  4. 4.Why is it important to consider multiple perspectives when studying history?
    Answer:A

    Multiple perspectives help us understand the full complexity of historical events.

  5. 5.Describe one connection between this town and another Revolutionary-era town we discussed.
    Answer:[Varies - accept any accurate connection]

    Students should demonstrate understanding of the interconnected nature of Revolutionary events.