• Login
  • Register
  • FAQ
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Documents
  • Activities
  • Activity Tools
    • All Tools
    • Analyzing Documents
    • Discussion Topic
    • Compare and Contrast
    • Zoom/Crop
    • White Out / Black Out
    • Spotlight
    • Finding a Sequence
    • Making Connections
    • Mapping History
    • Seeing the Big Picture
    • Weighing the Evidence
    • Interpreting Data
  • Popular Topics
    • See All
    • National History Day
    • The Constitution
    • Sports: All-American
    • Rights in America
    • American Indians
    • Women's Rights
    • American Revolution
    • The Civil War
    • World War I
    • World War II
    • The Vietnam War
    • 1970s America
    • Congress
    • Amending America
    • Elections
    • What Americans Eat
    • Signatures
    • Nixon and Ford Years
  • Resources
    • Getting Started
    • Document Analysis
    • Activity-Creation Guide
    • Manage Assignments
    • iPad App
    • Presentation Materials
    • Webinars
      • Recorded Webinars
      • Live Webinars
MENU
DocsTeachThe online tool for teaching with documents, from the National Archives National Archives Foundation National Archives

Political Cartoon Analysis: No Taxation Without Representation

Focusing on Details: Discussion Topic

Print
Created by the National Archives
Bookmark this Activity in My Activities:
Copy this Activity to My Activities for editing:
Political Cartoon Analysis: No Taxation Without Representation

About this Activity

  • Created by:National Archives Education Team
  • Historical Era:Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
  • Thinking Skill:Historical Analysis & Interpretation
  • Bloom's Taxonomy:Analyzing
  • Grade Level:Middle School
Start Activity
Please use a tablet or desktop computer to use this activity.
In this activity, students will analyze the colonial grievances that led to the American Revolution through a political cartoon. The cartoon, The Bostonian's Paying the Excise-Man, or Tarring & Feathering, was printed in London in 1774.
https://www.docsteach.org/activities/student/analysis-of-an-american-revolution-image

Suggested Teaching Instructions

Use this activity at the beginning of a unit on the American Revolution when introducing or reviewing the causes of the Revolutionary War. For grades 6-8.

Introduce students to the concept of taxation, taking care to explain why governments collect these monies and how they are used. Then connect the concept to their own lives today – for example, improving transportation by building roads, bridges, and subways; providing free public education; and providing for safety and defense (police, army, etc.).

Ask students, "What are other ways taxes can support the welfare and well-being of citizens, the public good, or national interests?"

Remind students that as a result of the French and Indian War, Great Britain had huge debts (approximately 150 million pounds, equivalent to 30 trillion dollars today) and they used taxation to help pay these debts. They expected British subjects both in Great Britain and in the colonies to help pay for this debt. Ask students:

  • How might colonists have benefited from being protected during and after the French and Indian War?
  • Did the benefits and protections received justify the money collected in taxes?

Introduce and discuss the famous colonial phrase: "no taxation without representation." Ask students to explain what this slogan meant. If required, define the term "representation."  Inform students that this phrase would become one of the grievances included in the Declaration of Independence.

Introduce the image The Bostonians Paying the Excise-Man, or Tarring and Feathering. Ask students to study the image and use it to explain how the colonists' grievances about Parliament's different acts may have led to the actions depicted. Clarify for students that an "Excise-man" was a tax collector in the colonies.

Use the following questions to assist students in completing their image analysis:

  • What is the action taking place?
  • Who is being punished and why?
  • Who is giving the punishment?
  • Where is the action taking place?
  • What do you think the effects of this type of punishment were for those who witnessed or heard about it?
  • Based on the background action in the image, what seems to be the colonial grievance at issue?

After students analyze the image, direct attention to the conclusion question in the "When You're Done" section:

  • Were colonists justified in using force as a form of protest? Why or why not?

This activity was adapted from "Colonial Response to Taxation" in the New York City Department of Education's Passport to Social Studies, Grade 7, Unit 2, Lesson 2 (pg. 79-88).

Documents in this activity

  • The Bostonian's Paying the Excise-Man, or Tarring & Feathering

CC0
To the extent possible under law, National Archives Education Team has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to "Political Cartoon Analysis: No Taxation Without Representation".

  • Explore Primary Source Documents
  •  
  • Discover Activities You Can Teach With
  •  
  • Create Fun & Engaging Activities
Follow us on Twitter:twitter
Follow us on Facebook:facebook
Please enter a valid email address

View our webinars:youtube

Get our iPad app:apple
New Documentsshare
New Activitiesshare

The National Archives

DocsTeach is a product of the National Archives education division. Our mission is to engage, educate, and inspire all learners to discover and explore the records of the American people preserved by the National Archives.

The National Archives and Records Administration is the nation's record keeper. We save documents and other materials created in the course of business conducted by the U.S. Federal government that are judged to have continuing value. We hold in trust for the public the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights — but also the records of ordinary citizens — at our locations around the country.
  • All Education Programs
  • Student Visits
  • Distance Learning
  • Professional Development
  • National Archives Museum
  • Presidential Libraries
  • Archives.gov
  • National Archives Foundation




Creative Commons License

Except where otherwise noted, DocsTeach is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Primary source documents included on this site generally come from the holdings of the National Archives and are in the public domain, except as noted. Teaching activities on this site have received the CC0 Public Domain Dedication; authors have waived all copyright and related rights to the extent possible under the law. See our legal and privacy page for full terms and conditions.