Review the timeline at the beginning of this unit. what specific events and issues is thomas paine responding to when writing this pamphlet? what are his issues with britain? why were colonists fighting for independence? for example, he writes, “britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to tax) but ‘to bind us in all cases whatsoever’.” this is referring to the act of the british parliament in 1766 that stated they were allowed to make laws about whatever they wanted to in regard to the colonies, which made most colonists extremely angry. identify at least four other specific events or issues that would have caused thomas paine to argue so passionately for independence, and be sure to use specific evidence from the excerpt to support your assertions.

Read the excerpt from "mother tongue." lately, i’ve been giving more thought to the kind of english my mother speaks. like others, i have described it to people as “broken” or “fractured” english. but i wince when i say that. it has always bothered me that i can think of no other way to describe it other than “broken,” as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness and soundness. what best supports the inference that tan believes nonstandard english is no less valid than standard english? tan spends a lot of time thinking about her mother’s “fractured” english. tan has trouble thinking of descriptive words when she is writing. tan’s american education makes it difficult for her to understand her mother. tan winces when she describes her mother’s english as “broken.”