PLEASE HELP ME QUICKLY Distinguishing Fact From Fiction
Facts can be verified and checked for accuracy. Opinions express beliefs and cannot be proved or
disproved. Expert opinions on a topic, such as a doctor’s opinion on health, may be more reliable
than other opinions. Words and phrases such as I believe, I think, probably, might, could, should,
best, worst, and greatest help identify opinions.
Read the statements. If the statement is a fact, write F and explain how you could check its
accuracy. If it is an opinion, write O and type the word or words that suggest it is opinion.
9 Points
1. Members of the British Parliament should have considered more carefully the effect of
their stamp policies on the American colonists.
2. The Stamp Act of 1765 required colonists to pay a tax on printed material.
3. Patrick Henry’s speeches before the Virginia House of Burgesses were the most stirring
political speeches made in colonial America.
4. I think taxes are as important in modern politics as in colonial politics.
5. Even after the repeal of the Townshend Acts, some colonial leaders continued to urge
the colonists to resist British rule.
6. John Dickinson’s “Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania to the Inhabitants of the Paul Revere, Artisan
Use the chart below to help you answer the questions that follow.
10 points - 2 each
Paul Revere’s Silver Business
Period A
1761-1775
Period B
1779-1797
Silver Objects Number Percent Number Percent
Flatware
Tea and Coffee Wares
Tablewares
Personal Items
Harness Fittings
Miscellaneous
410
61
129
449
0
96
35.8
5.3
11.3
39.2
0.0
8.4
2,069
198
177
623
1,044
99
49.15
4.7
4.2
14.8
24.8
2.35
Total Objects 1,145 100.0 4,210 100.0
1. How many silver tea and coffee wares did Revere make between 1761 and 1775?
2. By what percentage did Revere’s making of flatware increase between 1761–1775 and 1779–
1797?
Continue on next page. Revere made more miscellaneous items in Period B that Period A, yet the percentage of his
business for such items was greater in A than in B. How can that be true?
4. How did Revere’s silver business change between Period A and Period B? Give specific facts to
support your answer.
5. Which category represented the greatest increase in number of items produced between the
two time periods?
British Colonies” became a widely read publication.
7. If the British Parliament had limited its powers to regulating colonial trade, the colonists
probably would not have rebelled.
8. George Washington was the only military leader capable of leading the Continental
Army.
9. Thomas Paine referred to King George III as a “royal brute” in his pamphlet Common
Sense.
Continue on next page