Colonial Town Meeting

On Oct. 27 and 28th we held a Colonial Town Meeting in order to better understand the debate over colonial independence in early 1776. Students were each assigned a specific historical figure. They were given a description of that person's view on independence and were told whether they were a Patriot, a Loyalist, or if they were Neutral at that time. Each student had to create a poster they would use to present their "Key Ideas" at the Town Meeting

The Patriots and Loyalists switched off presenting their ideas to the Neutralists. After each presentation, Neutralists were given the opportunity to question the presenter, and the opposing side was given an opportunity for rebuttal.

The students really liked this activity and all of them did a good job of representing their side. Many students got into their character, which sometimes led to a heated, but good spirited, debate.

At the end of the meeting, the Neutralists had to declare whether they would side with the Patriots or Loyalists.