AP US History Unit 3: Birth Of A Republic Key Terms

Flashcards covering the foundational vocabulary, events, and key figures of the American Revolutionary War, the Critical Period, and the Federalist Era from AP US History Unit 3.

Baron von Steuben

A Prussian-born aristocrat and military leader who provided critical training to the Continental Army at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-78, improving organization, sanitation, tent arrangement, volley exchange methods, and command structure.

Battle of Saratoga

A turning point of the Revolution in October 1777 in New York where 6,000 British soldiers surrendered, convincing the French to ally with the colonies and assuring the ultimate success of independence.

Battle of Yorktown

An October 1781 siege in Virginia where Washington trapped 8,000 British soldiers on a peninsula, causing the British to cease large-scale fighting and start negotiations leading to colonial independence.

Ben Franklin

America’s leading diplomat and statesman who participated in prerevolutionary congresses, helped secure the 1778 French alliance, and negotiated the 1783 Treaty of Paris.

Boston Massacre

A March 1770 confrontation between British soldiers and Boston citizens resulting in the death of five colonials, which American radicals used to roil relations with England.

Coercive Acts (1774)

British laws punishing Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party by closing the port of Boston, revoking the colony's charter, moving trials of accused British officials outside the colony, and quartering soldiers in private dwellings; known in the colonies as the Intolerable Acts.

Declaratory Act (1766)

A face-saving act passed by the British Parliament upon repealing the Stamp Act that asserted Parliament's sovereignty over colonial taxation and legislative policies.

George III

The king of England during the American Revolution who strongly advocated for harsh policies toward the American colonies.

George Washington

The commander of the colonial army whose integrity and judgment preserved the army and proved indispensable to the colonial cause.

John Dickinson

A conservative colonial leader who authored Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, urged conciliation with England, opposed the Declaration of Independence, and later helped write the Articles of Confederation.

John Jay

The lead American diplomat in negotiating the Treaty of Paris (1783), who secretly dealt with British representatives in Paris to secure American independence goals despite French and Spanish meddling.

John Locke

An English philosopher who stated that governments are obligated to protect people's life, liberty, and property; his concepts were incorporated into colonial political thought.

Loyalists (Tories)

Colonists who stayed loyal to England, typically comprising older, well-educated individuals affiliated with the Anglican Church.

Marquis de Lafayette

A French aristocrat and military leader who commanded American troops, provided crucial aid at the Battle of Yorktown, and assisted in securing French support for the American cause.

Patrick Henry

An early champion of independence, opponent of the Stamp Act, and defender of individual liberties who proclaimed in 1775, “Give me liberty, or give me death.”

Pontiac's Rebellion (1763)

An Indian uprising in the Ohio Valley that killed 2,000 settlers, prompting the British to issue the Proclamation of 1763 prohibiting colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Salutary neglect

The British policy prior to 1763 of largely permitting the colonies to manage their internal affairs without interference; its abandonment became a major catalyst for revolution.

Samuel Adams

A political agitator and leader of the Sons of Liberty who served as the primary leader of the Boston Tea Party and later as a delegate to the Continental Congress.

Seven Years War

A 1756–1763 conflict between England and France (known as the French and Indian War) over the Ohio River Valley that forced France out of North America and triggered the British taxation policies that led to revolution.

Sons of Liberty

Street gangs formed during the Stamp Act crisis that operated as the vanguard of the Revolution by enforcing boycotts and using violence to intimidate British officials.

Stamp Act (1765)

A tax on over fifty items such as newspapers, pamphlets, playing cards, and dice, which colonists opposed as an illegitimate internal tax intended solely to raise revenue.

Stamp Act Congress (1765)

A gathering of nine colonies in New York City that petitioned the king and organized boycotts against the Stamp Act, marking a major step toward colonial unity.

Sugar Act (1764)

The first parliamentary measure aimed at raising colonial revenue rather than regulating trade; it revised the Molasses Act, established new customs rules, sent smugglers to vice-admiralty courts, and lowered import duties on sugar to curtail smuggling.

Thomas Jefferson (Revolutionary Era)

The lead author of the Declaration of Independence who articulated the philosophical justification for colonial separation, writing that governments failing to safeguard unalienable rights should be altered.

Thomas Paine

The author of Common Sense, an influential January 1776 pamphlet that presented a impassioned rationale for separating from Great Britain.

Townshend Acts (1767)

Legislation imposing taxes on imported items including paper, glass, and tea; despite being external levies, colonists rejected them as unlawful revenue-raising measures.

Virtual representation

The British doctrine asserting that members of Parliament represented all British subjects collectively, regardless of whether colonials directly elected any representatives.

Alexander Hamilton

A staunch nationalist, the first secretary of the treasury, and founder of the Federalist Party who favored a powerful central government.

Alien and Sedition Acts

A set of laws intended to suppress suspected French agents by allowing the president to deport dangerous foreigners, extending residency periods for naturalization, and curbing freedom of speech and the press.

Annapolis Convention

A 1786 meeting in Maryland attended by five states to address interstate commerce, which Alexander Hamilton used to summon a broader convention to revise the Articles of Confederation.

Anti-Federalists

Individuals who opposed the adoption of the U.S. Constitution because they feared placing excessive authority in a national government.

Democratic Republican Party

A political faction led by Thomas Jefferson that opposed Alexander Hamilton's financial agenda, championed states' rights, favored ties with France, and drew strength from southern agrarian interests.

Farewell Address

President Washington's valedictory message advising the country against forming entangling foreign alliances and creating domestic political factions.

Federalist Papers

A collection of eighty-five essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay to urge New York to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

Federalist Party

A political organization headed by Alexander Hamilton that favored commercial interests, a strong central government, Hamilton's financial program, and friendly relations with England.

Federalists

Supporters of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution by the states.

Great Compromise

An agreement at the Constitutional Convention establishing a bicameral Congress: representation based on population in the lower house and equal representation for each state in the upper chamber.

James Madison

A nationalist leader who organized the Annapolis Convention, authored the Virginia Plan, drafted the amendments comprising the Bill of Rights, and helped establish the Democratic Republican Party.

Jay’s Treaty (1794)

An agreement where Britain promised to abandon forts in U.S. territory near the Great Lakes and partially opened the West Indies to American trade, in exchange for U.S. repayment of pre-Revolutionary debts.

Loose constructionist

A person who reads the Constitution's elastic clause broadly, arguing that the federal government possesses implied powers that are necessary and proper to execute its enumerated responsibilities.

New Jersey Plan

William Paterson's counterproposal to the Virginia Plan that called for a unicameral legislature with equal state representation, preserving key parts of the Articles of Confederation while bolstering powers over taxes and trade.

Northwest Ordinance (1787)

Legislation under the Articles of Confederation establishing guidelines for territorial administration (territorial status at 5,000 population; statehood petition at 60,000) and banning slavery in the Northwest Territory.

Pinckney's Treaty (1795)

An accord with Spain granting Americans navigation privileges on the Mississippi River and the right of deposit in New Orleans.

Shays’s Rebellion

An armed insurrection in western Massachusetts between August 1786 and February 1787 that shuttered courts and highlighted the weakness of the Articles of Confederation in maintaining public order.

Strict constructionist

A person who interprets the Constitution literally and narrowly, maintaining that the federal government cannot exercise powers that are not expressly delegated to it.

Thomas Jefferson (Federalist Era)

The first secretary of state who resisted Hamilton's centralizing programs, founded the Democratic Republican Party, and was elected vice president in 1796 and president in 1800.

Three-Fifths Compromise

A Constitutional Convention resolution establishing that enslaved individuals would be counted as three-fifths of a person for determining congressional representation and taxation.

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

Statements drafted by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson contending that the Constitution was an interstate compact and that states retained the authority to nullify federal laws exceeding constitutional limits.

Virginia Plan

A proposal by Edmund Randolph and James Madison calling for a bicameral legislature with proportional representation based on population, favored by larger states.

Whiskey Rebellion

A 1794 revolt in western Pennsylvania sparked by an excise tax on whiskey, which President Washington suppressed using overwhelming military force to affirm federal authority.

XYZ Affair

A 1797–1798 diplomatic insult where French agents demanded bribes from American envoys before negotiating, sparking anti-French war hysteria in the United States.

Amend

To alter or change significantly.

Condemnation

To criticize or disapprove of something very strongly.

Ratification

The action of signing or giving formal consent to a treaty, contract, or agreement.