apush | period 3 vocab

taken from AMSCO book

Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War)

final war in the series of wars between France and Great Britian. began in 1754 and ended in 1763. at first went badly for the British. the retaking of Louisbourg in 1758, the surrender of Quebec in 1759, & the taking of Montreal in 1760 led to a peace treaty between the two countries. was a turning point in the military & diplomatic conflict in North America

George Washington

was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797

Edward Braddock

a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War)

Albany Plan of Union

an agreement adopted by seven colonies to provide an inter-colonial government, a system for recruiting troops, and collecting taxes from colonies. each colony was concerned with themselves and it never took effect. set the precedent for revolutionary congresses in the 1770s

Peace of Paris (1763)

a peace treaty between Great Britain and France that ended the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War). Great Britain acquired French Canada & Spanish Florida. France ceded their territory west of the Mississippi River (Louisiana) to Spain. this helped Great Britain extend their control over North America.

salutary neglect

unofficial British policy of lenient or lax enforcement of parliamentary laws regarding the American colonies during the 1600s and 1700s

Pontiac’s Rebellion

an attack led by Chief Pontiac on colonial settlements in 1763. led to destroyed forts and settlements from New York to Virginia. the British sent regular British troops to put down the uprising (which costed them money)

Proclamation of 1763

prohibited colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains. colonists reacted with anger and defiance

Patrick Henry

an American politician, planter, and orator (public speaker) who demanded that the king’s government recognize the rights of all citizens (including the right to not be taxed without representation) as a reaction to the Stamp Act

Stamp Act Congress

a meeting held in New York in which representatives from the nine colonies met to resolve that only their elected representatives had the legal authority to approve taxes

Sons and Daughters of Liberty

a secret society organized for the purpose of intimidating tax agents. members sometimes destroyed revenue stamps and tarred & feathered revenue officials

John Dickinson; Letters From a Farmer in Pennslyvania

in 1768 he argued that Parliament could regulate colonial commerce, but if it wanted to tax colonies, it had to have the approval of assemblies that included colonial representatives

James Otis

wrote the Massachusetts Circular Letter with Samuel Adams and sent copies to every colonial legislature

Samuel Adams

wrote the Massachusetts Circular Letter with James Otis and sent copies to every colonial legislature. known for his ability to harness popular resentment against Parliament's authority to tax the colonies in a productive manner

Massachusetts Circular Letter

written by James Otis and Samuel Adams. urged the colonies to petition Parliament to repeal the Townshend Acts because they damaged trade and generated a disappointingly small amount of revenue.

Committees of Correspondence

initiated by Samuel Adams in 1772. Adams began the practice of organizing committees that would regularly exchange letters about suspicious or potentially threatening British activities in Boston & other Massachusetts

Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts)

a series of four laws passed by the British Parliament to punish the colony of Massachusetts Bay for the Boston Tea Party

Parliament

legislative body of government. uses representatives to create laws

George III

king of Great Britain and Ireland 1760 to 1820

Whigs

Americans who objected to increased imperial control of the colonies adopted the name "Whig" to show their commitment to legislative supremacy

Lord Frederick North

became the new prime minister in Great Britain. urged Parliament to repeal the Townshend Acts because they damaged trade and generated a disappointingly small amount of revenue

Sugar Act (1764)

placed duties on foreign sugar and certain luxuries. was intended to regulate the sugar trade and to raise revenue. also provided for stricter enforcement of the Navigation Acts to stop smuggling. those accused of smuggling were to be tried in admiralty courts by crown-appointed judges without juries in Great Britain

Quartering Act (1765)

required the colonists to provide food and living quarters for British soldiers stations in the colonies

Stamp Act (1765)

required that revenue stamps be placed on most printed paper in the colonies, including all legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, & advertisements. collected from those who used the goods instead of taxing importing goods (were paid by merchants)

Declaratory Act (1766)

asserted that Parliament has the right to tax and make laws for the colonies “in all cases whatsoever”. would soon lead to renewed conflict between the colonists and the British government

Townshend Acts (1767)

new duties to be collected on colonial imports of tea, glass, and paper. the revenue was to be used to pay crown officials in the colonies, making the officials independent of the colonial assemblies that paid for their salaries. also provided the search of private homes without a writ of assistance

writs of assistance

a general license to search anywhere (similar to a warrant)

Tea Act (1773)

made the price of the British East India Company’s tea lower (even with tax), which made it cheaper than smuggled Dutch tea

Coercive Acts (1774)

directed at punishing the people of Boston and Massachusetts and bringing them under control

Port Act

closed the port of Boston, prohibiting trade in and out of the harbor until the destroyed tea was paid for

Massachusetts Government Acts

reduced the power of the Massachusetts legislature while increasing the power of the royal governer

Administrative of Justice Act

allowed royal officials accused of crimes to be tried in Great Britain instead of in the colonies

Quebec Act (1774)

organized the Canadian land gained from France. established Roman Catholicism as the official religion in Quebec, set up a government without representation assembly, and extended Quebec’s boundary to the Ohio River. the colonists viewed this as an attack because it took land away from New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. they also feared that the government would enact similar laws

Enlightenment

intellectual and philosophical movement that occurred in Europe and spread around the world. popular ideas were that human reasoning could discover truths about the world, religion, and politics and could be used to improve the lives of humankind

Deism

belief in the existence of a supreme being, specifically of a creator who does not intervene in the universe

rationalism

a belief or theory that opinions and actions should be based on reason and knowledge rather than on religious belief or emotional response

social contract

the concept of an agreement among people to form a government to promote liberty and equality

John Locke

English philosopher and physician who pioneered the ideas of natural law, social contract, religious toleration, and the right to revolution

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

well known for his work On the Social Contract. influenced the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, & the development of modern political, economic, and educational thought

Thomas Paine

supported revolutionary causes in America and Europe. wrote a pamphlet called the Common Sense in which he argued in clear and forceful language that the colonies should become independent states and break all political ties with the British monarchy

First Continental Congress

in Philadelphia in 1774. was organized to respond to what the delegates viewed as Britain’s alarming threats to their liberties

John Adams

political philosopher, served as the second President of the United States. was a radical in the first Continental Congress

George Washington

first American president, commander of the Continental Army, president of the Constitutional Convention, and farmer. was a moderate in the first Continental Congress

John Jay

one of the framers of the Constitution, author of five of The Federalist Papers, and the first Chief Justice of the United States. was a conservative in the first Continental Congress

Joseph Galloway

distinguished American colonial attorney and legislator who remained loyal to Great Britain at the time of the American Revolution. was a conservative in the first Continental Congress

Suffolk Resolves

a statement originally issued by Massachusetts. called for the immediate repeal of the Intolerable Acts and for colonies to resist them by making military preparations and boycotting British goods

economic sanctions

commercial and financial penalties applied by states or institutions against states, groups, or individuals

Second Continental Congress (1775)

in Philadelphia 1775. was divided. many from the New England colonies thought that the colonies should declare their independence. many from the Middle colonies hoped the conflict could be resolved by negotiating a new relationship with Great Britain

Declaration of the Causes and Necessities for Taking Up Arms

called on the colonies to provide troops

Olive Branch Petition

a petition send to King George III in which they pledged their loyalty and asked the king to intercede with Parliament to secure peace and the protection of colonial rights

Thomas Jefferson

American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and the third President of the United States

Declaration of Independence

goals were to rally the troops, win foreign allies, and to announce the creation of a new country. The introductory sentence states the Declaration's main purpose, to explain the colonists' right to revolution

Concord

marked the start of the American War of Independence. persuaded many Americans to take up arms and support the cause of independence. British lost

Paul Revere

alerted the colonial militia of the British invasion before the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

William Dawes

warned the countryside and alerted John Hancock and Samuel Adams that the British troops were marching to Lexington and Concord on the evening of 18 April 1775

Lexington

marked the start of the American War of Independence. persuaded many Americans to take up arms and support the cause of independence. British lost

Bunker Hill

bloody fighting took place throughout a hilly landscape of fenced pastures that were situated across the Charles River from Boston. British lost

Battle of Saratoga

persuaded France to join the war against Britain

George Rogers Clark

captured a series of British forts on the Illinois country to gain control of parts of the vast Ohio territory

Yorktown

last major battle of the Revolutionary War. forced surrender of a large British army commanded by General Charles Cornwallis

Prohibitory Acts (1775)

Parliament declared that the colonies were in rebellion. a few months later, they forbade all trade and shipping between Britain and the colonies

absolute monarch

a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in his or her own right or power

Treaty of Paris (1783)

a peace treaty negotiated between the United States and Great Britain that officially ended the Revolutionary War and recognized the independence of the thirteen states

Loyalists (Tories)

pro-British loyalists who maintained allegiance to the king

Patriots

anti-British who had a strong commitment to independence

Minutemen

the first armed militia to arrive or await a battle during the Revolutionary War

continentals

almost worthless paper money issued by Congress in 1777

Valley Forge

the location of the 1777-1778 winter encampment of the Continental Army under general George Washington during the American Revolutionary War

Mary McCauley (Molly Pitcher)

took her husbands place in war at the Battle of Monmouth

Deborah Sampson

passed as a man and served as soldier for a year

Republican Motherhood

called for educating women so that in the home they could teach their children the values of the new republic and their roles of citizens. gave women an active role in shaping the new nation’s political life

Abigail Adams

the wife of John Adams and pleaded to her husband for the equality of women in society

Daughters of Liberty

a group of women who organized to oppose British actions. provided supplies to the fighting forces, worked as cooks & nurses, and some fought in battle as well

Land Ordinance of 1785

Congress established a policy for surveying and selling the western lands

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Congress passed an ordinance that set rules for creating new states. granted limited self-government to the developing territory and prohibited slavery in the region

Articles of Confederation

a way to intentionally create a weak form of central government that was written by the Second Continental Congress during the Revolutionary War

Shay’s Rebellion

Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes on both individuals and their trades.

James Madison

had a pivotal role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights

Alexander Hamilton

founding father of the United States, who fought in the American Revolutionary War, helped draft the Constitution, and served as the first secretary of the treasury

Gouverneur Morris

wrote the “We the People” preamble to the Constitution

John Dickinson

was able to put on paper the thoughts and ideals which formed the foundation for our brand new country

Federalists

those who supported the Constitution and a stronger national republic

Anti-Federalists

those who opposed the ratification of the Constitution in favor of small localized government

The Federalist Papers

a series of highly persuasive essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, & John Jay. presented valid reasons for believing in the practicality of each major provision of the Constitution

Constitutional Convention

met between May and September of 1787 to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation

Mount Vernon Conference

successfully initiated the concept of regular meetings between states to discuss areas of mutual concern

Annapolis Conference

aimed at constructing uniform parameters to regulate trade between states during a time of political turbulence and economic strain

federalism

a system with a strong but limited central government

separation of powers

dividing power among different branches of government

checks and balances

the power of each branch would be limited by the powers of others

Congress

the legislature of the federal government of the United States. it’s bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate

Virginia Plan

each state would be represented by a number of legislators determined by the population of free inhabitants

New Jersey Plan

retain a unicameral (one-house) legislature with equal votes of states and have the national legislature elect the executive

Connecticut Plan; Great Compromise

provided a bicameral Congress. in the Senate, states would have equal representation. in the House of Representatives, each state would be represented according to the size of its population

Senate

the upper chamber of the United States Congress. equal amount of representation

House of Representatives

the lower chamber of the United States Congress. representation based on population

Three-Fifths Compromise

counted that each enslaved individual as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of determining a state’s level of taxation and representation

Commercial Compromise

allowed Congress to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, including placing tariffs on foreign imports, but it prohibited placing taxes on any exports

Electoral College system

instituted because the delegates feared that too much democracy might lead to mob rule. decides who will be elected president and vice president of the United States

amendments

may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress, or, if two-thirds of the States request one, by a convention called for that purpose