Unit 3 Practice Flashcards: Causes of the American Revolution and the Early Republic

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the causes of the American Revolution, the Revolutionary War, the Articles of Confederation, and the development of the U.S. Constitution and early republic.

French and Indian War

A conflict between France and Britain over disputed territory in the Ohio River Valley that erupted in $1754$ due to a military blunder by George Washington.

Seven Years War

The name given to the French and Indian War once the conflict spread beyond North America to Europe and parts of India and Africa.

Treaty of Paris ($1763$)

The treaty that ended the war where Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain, France gave up territory west of the Mississippi River to Spain, and Great Britain gained the Ohio River Valley.

Proclamation Line

A boundary established by Great Britain to prevent westward expansion for colonists because the war debt left no money to manage conflicts between American Indians and colonists.

George Grenville

The Prime Minister appointed by King George to develop a plan to reassert control over the American colonies and address Great Britain's war debt which had increased by $5\times$.

Salutary Neglect

The period during which the British government allowed the American colonies to routinely ignore existing laws, such as trade restrictions.

Navigation Acts

British laws that restricted colonial trade to Great Britain alone.

Quartering Act

A policy requiring colonial subjects to house and feed members of the British military, enacted as a response to the French and Indian War and Pontiac's Rebellion.

Stamp Act

A tax on paper items that led to colonial outrage and the slogan \"no taxation without representation!!\" because colonists were accustomed to self-government.

Committee of Correspondence

An organization that organized and spread information about colonial grievances against British policies.

Sons of Liberty and Daughters of Liberty

Groups of merchants, traders, and artisans created to fight for the repeal of the Stamp Act.

Stamp Act Congress

A meeting of delegates from $9$ colonies who petitioned Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act, arguing that taxation without representation was tyranny.

Coercive Acts

A series of laws known as the Intolerable Acts in the colonies that closed Boston Harbor until tea from the Boston Tea Party was paid for and introduced a new Quartering Act.

Declaratory Act

An act asserting that Parliament was still in charge and could pass any laws they wanted for the colonies.

Natural Rights

An Enlightenment idea that humans are born with rights to life, liberty, and property, and that the purpose of government is to protect these rights.

Common Sense

A pamphlet published by Thomas Paine in $1776$ that used Enlightenment ideas and biblical allusions to argue that declaring independence was the only way to preserve liberty.

Battle of Trenton

A surprise attack led by George Washington against Hessian troops that proved the Americans could win the war.

Battle of Saratoga ($1777$)

A major patriot victory that led to a formal alliance with France, which provided aid, troops, ships, and supplies.

Battle of Yorktown

The final battle of the American Revolution which led to the signing of the Treaty of Paris and American victory.

Republican Motherhood

The role of women in the new republic responsible for educating their sons about liberty and government.

Haitian Revolution

An uprising where the majority enslaved Black population rose up against the French to establish the first Black-led republic in history.

Articles of Confederation

The first constitution of the United States which kept the federal government weak and gave most power to the state governments.

Northwest Ordinance

A law that regulated the western territory gained from the Treaty of Paris, reserved land for schools, banned slavery in the territory, and dictated how territories became states.

Shays' Rebellion

An uprising of Massachusetts farmers against courthouses that demonstrated the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and the need for a new constitution.

Separation of Powers

The creation of three branches of government—legislative, executive, and judicial—where each branch holds different powers and can check and balance the others.

Federalism

A system of government where power is shared between federal and state governments.

Virginia Plan

A proposal for representation in government based on population which favored the interests of large states.

New Jersey Plan

A proposal for equal representation in government regardless of population which favored the interests of small states.

Great Compromise

An agreement that established a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives based on population and a Senate with equal representation.

Three-Fifths Compromise

An agreement that $3/5$ of the enslaved population of a state would count toward its total representation.

Federalists

A group led by Alexander Hamilton that argued for the ratification of the Constitution and a stronger federal government.

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of the Constitution who argued that a strong central government would lead to tyranny and could not represent all interests equally.

Judiciary Act ($1789$)

A law that created a multi-level federal court system for the United States.

National Bank

A proposal by Alexander Hamilton to establish U.S. credit and create conditions for national economic flourishing.

Whiskey Rebellion

A protest by western farmers against a tax on whiskey that demonstrated the new federal government's capability to keep order.

Neutrality Proclamation

A declaration by George Washington to keep the U.S. out of the French Revolution to protect American trade.

Alien and Sedition Acts

Laws passed by John Adams that allowed the federal government to silence dissent against Federalist policies.

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

Statements that declared the Alien and Sedition Acts unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable.

Battle of Fallen Timbers

A conflict where George Washington sent troops to defeat British-allied Natives, resulting in the Treaty of Greenville and opening the Ohio territory for settlement.

Pinckney Treaty

A treaty that formally recognized the borders between U.S. and Spanish territory.