Chapter 5 APUSH

Sugar Act

( to regulate trade )A strongly enforced tax on molasses (sugar) imposed by the British on American imports. This act was passed to help pay off the national debt that England faced after the 7 years war. After the war Great Britain had to end salutary neglect and weave in mercantilism within the economy of the colonies.This act ultimately helped shape the thought of any sort of revolution against the mother country. This act used to encourage and enforce trade.

Vice-Admiralty Court

governing tribunals by British appointed judges. Merchants prosecuted under British acts would be tried in this tribunal. Merchants were previously tried under local law where friendly judges acquitted. WIth no jury in these trials victims were always found guilty. When the sugar act was established and salutary neglect was abolished it extended the jurisdiction of the vice admiralty courts to all custom offenses, prominently smuggling. Ultimately this tribunal created more tension between the colonies and the mother country, allowing the mother country to hold more power and keep a strong chokehold on the colonies.

Stamp Act

( Pay money for the troops) Used as a ¨cover¨ of the cost to keep more of the British troops in America. In order to gain larger amounts of money, a tax was placed on all printed items, starting from college diplomas, to court documents and land titles, and contracts to newspapers, cards, and almanacs. This act was purposely put into place and relied more heavily on the richer Americans, since they had more money and this act required no new bureaucracy. Overall, this act was put into place to support the British financially for paying the costs of the French and Indian War. ( No taxation, no representation, which is tyranny).Colonists argued that it wasn't fair, it was unconstitutional.

Virtual Representation

(American or colonist representation in government) An act or right in parliament at which colonists had the opportunity to be represented in parliament and the members of parliament gained rights to speak for the interests of British Subjects. The British used this as an ¨ argument¨, to reject the ideas of important figures like Ben Franklin, who imposed and demanded the idea of ¨ If you tax Americans, at least have some of our members belong in your legislature and let us be one people¨. The British found that to be too radical. Most of all, Virtual representation was the ability and the right to speak for all British subjects and to have a say and voice in government. Even some Colonial leaders were skeptical of Franklin´s idea because they felt the colonies were a great distance from the mother country.

Stamp Act Congress

Virginia house of Burgess complained about the British acts and how they were not receiving representation. James Otis, republican-minded firebrand ( a person that is passionate about a certain cause and taking radical action), persuaded the House of Representatives to call a meeting of all the mainalds to "implore relief" from the Stamp Act. Nine assemblies sent delegates to the Stamp Act congress in NYC in October 1765. The congress protested the loss of American "rights and liberties," especially the right to trial by jury. They challenged the constitutionality of both the stamp of sugar acts by declaring that only the colonist elected representatives could tax them. Colonists humbly petitioned for repeal of the stamp act, "glory in being subjects of the best of Kings." organized a (peaceful) boycott of British goods.

Declaratory Act

This act asserted parliament's full power and authority to carry out rules and have control. Parliament is saying through the Declaratory Act, they have full Sovereignty ( full power and control of government).This act showed the colonists that the government has full legitimate power and sovereignty over all the colonies.This act accompanied and came into play after the repeal ( cancelation or ending) of the Stamp Act. If parliament believes their right and have full sovereignty over their colonies, they will use force to assert their authority to those who disrespect or try to rebel against them and their power by military force.

Townshend Acts

A series of acts that were passed by the British Parliament in 1767 that taxed goods imported into the colonies. The act taxed British china, glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea that was imported to the colonies. The purpose of this act was to raise revenue to pay the colonial governors and judges to maintain their loyalty, punish New York for failing to comply with the Quartering Act, and establish that the British Parliament had the right to tax the colonies. This act met resistance which turned violent and led to the Boston Massacre in 1770.

John Dickinson's Letter From a Pennsylvania Farmer

This was a series of essays that were written by John Dickinson who was a lawyer and legislator from Pennsylvania. The essays were published under the pseudonym "A Farmer." 12 letters were written and these were important in uniting the colonists against Townshend Acts. Dickinson's central idea was that Parliament had the right to regulate trade but not to raise revenue from the colonies. These letters were spread throughout the colonies and formed the basis for the protests against the Townshend acts.

Daughters of Liberty

A female association that was formed in 1765 to protest the Stamp Act. They also later protested against the Townshend Acts and this term was used to describe women who fought for independence during the American Revolution. They aided the Sons of Liberty in boycotts and other movements prior to the American Revolution. For example, they helped create homespun cloth for colonists to wear instead of buying British clothes. They also helped boycott British tea and melted metal down into bullets and helped sew soldier uniforms during the war.

Committees of Correspondence

A collection of American political organizations that opposed the British Parliament and later American Independence. This was the idea of Samuel Adams and was important in setting up the first continental congress which met in Philadelphia. The committee spread word of the actions taken by the British government from the cities to the countryside and eventually became the leader of American resistance to Britain.

Tea Act

This act provided financial relief for the East India Company, a royally chartered private corporation that served as the instrument of British imperialism. Increased smuggling. Due to the decreased sales of tea, the East India company was left with a large surplus of tea in England. The tea act allowed the company to cut out the middle men (American traders and merchants) and directly sell their tea to the colonies at a much lower price than dutch tea that was being smuggled.

Boston Tea Party

An American political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston on December 16, 1773. This was in response to the Tea Act which the British passed on May 10, 1773. Protesters, disguised as American Indians, destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company by throwing it all into the Boston Harbor. The British Government reacted harshly with the Intolerable acts and considered this an act of treason.

Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts)

Four of these acts were passed, the Boston port bill closed Boston harbor to shipping, the Massachusetts government act annulled the colonies charter and prohibited most town meetings, a new quartering act mandated new barracks for British troops, and the justice act allowed trials for capital crimes to be transferred to other colonies or to Britain

First Continental Congress

The delegates demanded the repeal of the coercive acts and stipulated that British control be limited to matters of trade. It also approved a program of economic retaliation: Americans would stop importing British goods in December 1774.

Lexington and Concord

The first military engagements of the American Revolution. The colonial government exercised control over the colony of Massachusetts outside of the British controlled Boston. This made the British declare that Massachusetts was in a state of rebellion. On the night before the battle, Paul Revere and Samuel Prescott alerted militias nearby of the British plans. Eventually, the British retreated to Boston under heavy fire.

Second Continental Congress

Delegates from all colonies other than Georgia convened in Philadelphia on May 10,1775 which was shortly after the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The congress created a new country and decided to name it the United States of America. The second continental congress served as the government at the beginning of the revolutionary war. By the time the Congress adopted the Lee Resolution which declared independence from Great Britain on July 2, 1776, all colonies had sent representatives. The Congress agreed to the Declaration of Independence two days later.

Thomas Paine/ Common Sense

Thomas Paine was the author of Common Sense, a pamphlet that was very influential in causing the Patriots to declare independence from Great Britain in 1776. His ideas reflected the enlightenment era ideal of human rights. Common Sense was the 47 page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine advocating independence from Great Britain to the people of the colonies. It used moral and political arguments to fight for an egalitarian government.

Quartering Act

Required Colonial governments to provide barracks and food for British troops.Also, it prohibited British soldiers from being quartered in private homes.