Worksheet # 32 Home Questions Puzzle Links Next
PONTIACÕS WAR AND THE
KINGÕS NEW RULES
And after France was sent packing, the colonies
stirred
Over new laws enacted by King George the Third.
As more settlers spread out and into those stations
Once owned by the French and the Indian nations.
By acre and by mile, they would creep into lands
That were hunted and farmed by Indian hands.
And so an Ottawa Chief, the revered Pontiac,
Summoned all tribes, and then lead their attack!
And the fighting was frantic, the fray was fierce,
As this storm was abrew for many long years.
And though England won what was PontiacÕs War,
Of bloodshed and battle, no soul could want more.
So the Crown thought it best, to avoid such unrest,
By forbidding all settlers from points further west.
ÒStay east of the mountainsÓ was the KingÕs firm
decree
In the Proclamation of 1763.
Ah, but feelings toward Britain began to turn sour
As the mother country now seemed a smothering power.
And when by The Stamp Act, England levied a tax
On all printed papers. . . Why, she did not even ask!
A tax next on sugar, on the molasses they drank!
It didnÕt sit well or, to be frank, it stank.
Of course, Brits thought the tax fair to pay the warÕs
cost,
-- But theyÕd deeply regret all the love that was
lost.
For though subject to rule, not one colonist was sent
To vote ÒyeaÓ or vote ÒnayÓ in the halls Parliament.
Indeed, in Old England, they passed laws as they
pleased
With but little regard for those overseas.
So, Patrick Henry and others exhorted their fellows
To protest these taxes with shouts and with bellows.
And great outrage soon grew from a minor vexation,
As cries rang out: ÒNo taxes without representation!Ó