APUSH Era 3 Vocabulary

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering key events, acts, laws, and concepts from APUSH Era 3, including the causes of the American Revolution, the formation of the new government, and early constitutional debates.

Albany Plan

Plan created by Benjamin Franklin in $1754$ to create a unified government for the colonies. Proposed a general council and a president. The plan was rejected by the British government.

Treaty of Paris (1763)

Treaty ending the Seven Year's War. France ceded Canada and all territory east of the Mississippi, as well as their sugar plantations in the caribbean. The Spanish also ceded Florida to the British in $1763$.

Proclamation of 1763

Royal decree issued by King George II in $1763$ to prevent colonists from expanding westward and starting conflicts with Native Americans. Sparked anger in the colonists, and they often broke the rule.

Pontiac's Rebellion

Launched in $1763$ by Native Americans who were dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region following the Seven Year's War in an effort to drive British soldiers and settlers out of the region.

Sugar Act of 1764

Imposed taxes on sugar and molasses and raised penalties for smuggling in $1764$.

Quartering Act of 1765

Required the colonists to provide food, shelter, and other supplies to British soldiers stationed in the colonies in $1765$.

Stamp Act of 1765

Imposed a tax on all printed materials, including newspapers, legal documents, and even playing cards in $1765$. This was a very triggering act for the colonists because of the ongoing print culture in the colonies.

Declaratory Act of 1766

Law asserting Parliament's unassignable right to legislate for its British colonies in all cases whatsoever, enacted in $1766$.

Townshend Acts of 1767

Imposed taxes on a variety of imported goods, including glass, lead, paint, and tea in $1767$. They were met with arguably the most resistance, as the colonist's loved tea. Revenue paid despised British officials.

Stamp Act Congress of 1765

Colonial response to the Stamp Act of $1765$ demanding the king to repeal the act. Parliament did eventually repeal the act to appease colonists temporarily.

Nonimportation Agreement

Called for colonists to stop importing a wide range of goods from Britain including textiles, clothing, and many other manufactured goods. Enforced by The Sons & Daughters of Liberty.

Tarring & Feathering

Violent protest method used by the Sons of Liberty. Involved pouring tar on someone and then covering them in feathers. Viewed by the British as acts of terrorism.

Boston Tea Party of 1773

Protest organized by the Sons of Liberty in $1773$ where colonists disguised as Native Americans threw $342$ crates of tea from the British East India Company in the Boston Harbor.

First Continental Congress

Meeting of colonial representatives to discuss ways to solve their grievances. Sent a polite letter to King George III explaining their dissatisfaction but emphasizing their loyalty.

Sons of Liberty

Group of men who banded together to protest the Stamp Act and other imperial reforms of the $1760s$. Originated in Boston but soon spread to all the colonies.

Daughters of Liberty

Group of women who supported the cause of independence and worked to further the goals of the Sons of Liberty. Organized boycotts such as by spinning cloth to replace imported fabrics.

Common Sense

Pamphlet created by Thomas Paine in $1776$. It used everyday, persuasive language to convince citizens of the need for independence from Britain.

Social Contract

Unwritten agreement within a society where people agree to follow rules and laws in exchange for protection and benefits from the government or authority.

Natural Rights

The rights to life, liberty, and property. According to John Locke, governments derived from social compacts that people made to preserve their natural rights.

Committees of Correspondence

A communications network established among colonial assemblies between $1772$ and $1773$ to provide for rapid dissemination of news about political developments.

Tea Act of May 1773

British act passed in May $1773$ that lowered the existing tax on tea and granted exemptions to the East India Company to make their tea cheaper in the colonies and entice boycotting.

Intolerable/Coercive Acts

Four British acts of $1774$ meant to punish Massachusetts for the destruction of three shiploads of tea. Known in America as the Intolerable Acts, they led to open rebellion in the northern colonies.

Continental Association

An association established in $1774$ by the First Continental Congress to enforce a boycott of British goods.

Minutemen

Colonial militiamen ready to mobilize on short notice during the $1770s$. Formed the group that met British troops at Lexington and Concord in April $1775$.

Second Continental Congress

Legislative body that governed the United States from May $1775$ through the war's duration. Established an army, created it's own money, and declared independence.

Declaration of Independence

A document containing philosophical principles and a list of grievances that declared separation from Britain. Adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July $4, 1776$.

Boston Massacre

Deadly confrontation between British soldiers and a group of American colonists in Boston in $1770$. Colonists who threw snowballs at British soldiers were attacked, and $5$ were killed.

Battle of Long Island (1776)

A multistate battle in New York in $1776$ ending with the surrender of British general John Burgoyne. Ensured the diplomatic success of American representatives in Paris, who won a military alliance with France.

Valley Forge

A military camp in which George Washington's army of $12,000$ soldiers and hundreds of camp followers suffered horribly in the winter of $1777$-$1778$.

Phillipsburg Proclamation

A $1799$ proclamation that declared that any slave who deserted a rebel master would receive protection, freedom, and land from Great Britain.

Battle of Yorktown (1781)

A battle in $1781$ in which the French and American troops and a French fleet trapped the British army under the command of General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. Led to the end of the war.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

The treaty that ended the Revolutionary War in $1783$. Great Britain formally recognized American independence and relinquished its claims to lands south of the Great Lakes and east of the Mississippi River.

Mixed Government

A political theory that called for three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. Designed to maintain the balance of power in government.

Republican Motherhood

Emphasized the role of mothers in educating their children to be responsible citizens. Suggested that women had a civic duty to instill values of liberty, virtue, and patriotism in their children.

Peculiar Institution

A phrase used to refer to slavery in the South. Called peculiar because it represented a deeply entrenched system of labor and racial oppression where slaves were considered property.

VA Statute for Religious Freedom

Statute authored by Thomas Jefferson in $1777$ that advocated for the separation of church and state. A very important aspect in shaping the First Amendment to the constitution.

PA Constitution of 1776

Granted all taxpaying men the right to vote and hold office in $1776$. Created a one-house legislature with complete power, without a governor, and a mandated system of elementary education.

Articles of Confederation

Written document that defined the structure of the government from $1781$ to $1788$, gave the central government little power and did not have an executive branch.

Western Land Ordinance of 1785

Allowed the federal government to sell western lands in $1785$ to pay off the national debt and organize these new lands into townships and public schools.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Provided for orderly settlement and established a process for territories to become new states in $1787$. It also banned slavery in the Northwest Territory.

Shay's Rebellion

A $1786$-$1787$ uprising led by farmers in western MA, many of them revolutionary war veterans, protesting the taxation policies of the eastern elites who controlled the state's government.

Annapolis Convention

Convention held during $1786$ to create uniform guidelines for regulating trade between states. First official mention of the problems with the Articles of Confederation.

Constitutional Convention

Secret convention in Philadelphia during summer $1787$. $55$ delegates from $\frac{12}{13}$ states drafted a framework for the government known as the Constitution.

Virginia Plan

The legislative branch would be bicameral, with both houses apportioned according to population. It was proposed to give more power to the more populous states in Congress.

New Jersey Plan

It called for a unicameral legislature with equal representation for each state. It was proposed to give more power to the smaller states, as it wanted one vote for each state regardless of population.

The Great Compromise

It established the current bicameral legislature with a different method of representation in each house.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Determined how enslaved people would be counted for representation and taxation purposes. Said that each slave would be considered as $\frac{3}{5}$ of a person for these statistics.

Federalists

Supporters of the constitution of $1787$, which created a strong central government.

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of ratification of the constitution. Feared that a powerful government would be out of touch with the people's needs. Also complained that it failed to guarantee individual liberties.

Federalist No. 10

An essay written by James Madison that challenged the view that republican governments only worked in small countries; argued that a geographically expansive government would be better.

Bill of Rights

First $10$ amendments to the Constitution. Safeguarded fundamental person rights, including freedom of speech and religion, and mandated legal procedures such as trial by jury.

Judiciary Act of 1789

Established federal district courts in each state and three circuit courts to hear appeals from the districts, with the Supreme court serving as the highest appellate court in the federal system in $1789$.

Federalism

Power is split between national and state governments, but the national government is the supreme law of the land.

Report on the Public Credit

Hamilton's $1790$ report recommending that the federal government should take state debts and fund the national debt to offer interest on. Goal to make the country creditworthy, not debt-free.

Bank of the United States

A bank chartered in $1790$ and jointly owned by private stockholders. Hamilton argued the bank would provide stability to the economy through various ways of banking.

Report on Manufactures

Proposal by treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton in $1791$ called for the federal government to urge the expansion of American manufacturing while imposing taxes on foreign imports.

Proclamation of Neutrality

Declaration made by President George Washington in $1793$. Stated that the United States would remain neutral and not take sides in the conflict between Great Britain and France.

French Revolution

A revolution in France in $1789$-$1799$ that was initially welcomed by Americans but eventually became too radical for many.

Whiskey Rebellion

A $1794$ uprising by farmers in western Pennsylvania in response to enforcement of an unpopular excise tax on whiskey.

Jay's Treaty

$1794$ agreement between the U.S. and Britain. Aimed to resolve various issues from the war and improve trade relations. However, it was controversial because many felt it favored Britain.

XYZ Affair

A $1797$ incident in which American negotiators in France were rebuffed for refusing to pay a substantial bribe. Led the U.S. into an undeclared war that dissolved the American-French alliance.

Naturalization Act

Passed in $1798$, lengthened the residency requirement for citizenship.

Alien Act

Passed in $1798$, authorized the deportation of foreigners.

Sedition Act

Passed in $1798$, prohibited the publication of insults or malicious attacks on the president or members of Congress.

Virginia & Kentucky Resolutions

Resolutions by the Virginia and Kentucky state legislatures in $1798$ condemning the Alien and Sedition Acts. Tested the idea that state legislatures could judge the legitimacy of federal laws.

Strict Construction

Following exactly what the Constitution says. Gave less power to the government and was supported by Anti-Federalists.

Loose Construction

Using the Constitution as a guide and creating other policies. Gave the federal government more power and was supported by Federalists.

Sectionalism

The excessive loyalty to a specific region of a country, rather than the country as a whole.

Treaty of Greenville

A $1795$ treaty between the U.S. and various Indian tribes in Ohio. Negotiators acknowledged Indian ownership of the land, and, in return for various payments, they gave most of Ohio to the U.S.