This lesson focuses on the pine tree riot, a result of british actions that built resentment among the colonists and that led to the division into rebels and tories. The unit uses two focus questions in one era.
 

FOCUS QUESTION IV: How have government and politics affected New Hampshire groups and individuals?

FOCUS QUESTION VI: How have groups and organizations contributed to New Hampshire life?

ERA: 3. Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820's)

INSTRUCTIONAL OUTCOMES: Students should be able to understand how one group reacted to government directives and how the government dealt with them. Students should be able to describe how one non-governmental group acted to create NH history.

QUESTIONS TO EXPLORE: (inquiry questions from NH History Curriculum)

1.   How have people in NH history made or changed the rules and laws that they had to obey?

Methods:
A.  Maintain a bulletin board time line of national and regional events covered in this era (pre-Revolution) to include: Sugar Act, April 1764; Stamp Act. March 1765; Repeal of Stamp Act, March 1766; Townshend Acts, June 1767; British Troops land in Boston, Oct. 1768; Boston
Massacre, March 1770; Repeal of Townshend Acts, 1770; Pine Tree Riot, April 1772; Boston Tea Party, Dec. 1774; Raid on Fort William and Mary, 1774; fighting at Lexington and Concord , April 1775 Declaration of Independence, July 1776. Have students write brief descriptions of each event to put on the board.

B.  Read article on "Colonial Masting" from Perspectives '76 (see Resource list.) Have students read orally in cooperative groups. Then do closed-book note taking and have each student write a short summary of the article, OR have the cooperative groups list the order for cutting and hauling the mast
trees and the events that affected the operation of masting. Then develop a master list of the steps and events. Have each student select an item from the list to illustrate on poster paper. Finally, create a linear bulletin board using the posters or insert them on the bulletin board described above.

2.   What non-governmental groups have helped form NH history?

Methods:
A.  Read the summary article on the Pine Tree Riot (attached). Have each student select the role of a person involved in the Pine Tree Riot (see attached list of 21 people mentioned in the article). Have each student write a letter to Gov. John Wentworth describing and explaining one character's
participation in and opinion about the riot. The letters can be read aloud in front of the class. In art class have students draw portraits of their characters using reference books to help them make accurate clothing and hair styles.

B.  (Optional) Develop a role play based on the summary article on the Pine Tree Riot. Use the court meeting in Portsmouth with Blodget and the trial before the four judges for the role play.

C.  Hold a class discussion on how one can change or affect laws with which they disagree. Include analysis of the techniques used by the Pine Tree Rioters. Discuss how they might have achieved their goals without violence. Emphasize that this was action by a nongovernmental group. You will probably want to compare the Pine Tree Riot to other actions at the time of the Revolution and/or with more recent events such as the Civil Rights Movement or local events where citizens petitioned or acted independently to change rules or laws.

ASSESSMENT:
Within the Methods described above are items fof assessment. They include discussion, writing and artistic presentations. Each teacher can vary the assessment depending on the approach taken within the class and the ability of the students. In designing any assessment be certain to keep in mind the Instructional Objectives stated above. For any written evaluations create rubrics to use in discussing the writing with individual students. Develop rubrics for the evaluation of any group work.

SOURCES: [Those preceded by an S are suitable for students.]
S      Appelbaum. Diana. Giants in the Land. Houghton Mifflin, 1993. A picture book about colonial masting. An excellent resource.

S       Begor, Kathy Lyn. New Hampshire Through the Years. Littletown Enterprises, 1986.

S       Cobblestone Magazine. September 1983. Patriotic Tales of the American Revolution.

S       Grant, Louise. The Fort and the Flag. Regional Center for Educational Training, 1977. Fictionalized account of the raid on Fort William and Mary.

S       King, David C. America's Ston': Forming a New Nation. Sundance Publishers. 1993. Contains short, grade level articles with study questions.

S       Randall, Peter. New Hampshire: Years of Revolution 1774-1783. Article on the raid on Fort William and Mary by Anne and Charles Eastman.

S       Shackburg. Richard. Yankee Doodle. Half Moon Book, 1965. Words and music about the song.

S        Sutton, Betty Ann. A Summon- of the Pine Tree Riot. Written for Fourth Graders. Attached. From Weare, NH's Town History.

S      Weber. Laurence. "Colonial Masting," Perspectives '76. Hanover: Regional Center for Educational Training. 1976. (Available at the Museum of New Hampshire History store.)

NH STANDARDS: Civics 1. 2: Geography 14; History 16, 17