American Revolution and Early Republic

Flashcards reviewing the lecture notes.

Stamp Act Congress

Assembly of 27 delegates from nine colonies in New York to petition the British Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act due to taxation without representation.

Declaratory Act

Act passed by British Parliament asserting their right to pass any law they wanted in the colonies, despite repealing the Stamp Act and Sugar Act.

Townsend Acts

Parliament's imposition of new taxes on items imported to the colonies, such as paper, glass, and tea, leading to organized protests and boycotts.

Boston Massacre

Event in 1770 where British soldiers fired on a group of colonists, resulting in casualties and heightened tensions, viewed by colonists as a sign of British tyranny.

Boston Tea Party

Act of resistance in 1773 where colonists disguised as American Indians dumped British tea into Boston Harbor to protest the Tea Act, leading to the Coercive Acts.

Coercive Acts

Parliament's response to the Boston Tea Party, which closed down Boston Harbor until the tea was paid for and implemented new regulations.

Continental Congress (1774)

Gathering of leaders from the colonies to resist further violations of their liberties by Parliament, while still aiming to remain British subjects.

Natural Rights

Enlightenment idea that all human beings are endowed with certain rights by God, not a government, which cannot be taken away.

Social Contract

Enlightenment idea that the power to govern is in the hands of the people, who give some power to a government that protects their natural rights; if the government fails, the people have a duty to overthrow it.

Thomas Paine's Common Sense

Pamphlet published in 1776 arguing for the necessity of American independence from Britain, influencing colonists with allusions to the Bible and enlightenment principles.

Declaration of Independence

Document written by Thomas Jefferson, influenced by enlightenment thought, asserting the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Loyalists

Colonists who opposed separation from Britain and wanted to remain loyal to the crown.

Battle of Saratoga

Decisive battle in 1777 where the Patriots defeated the British, convincing the French to ally with the Americans against the British.

Articles of Confederation

The first constitution of the United States, which placed all power in the legislative body, lacked an executive or judicial branch, a national military force, and had limited power to tax.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Legislation that provided a plan for unformed territories to be occupied and apply for statehood, and abolished slavery in the Northwest Territory.

Shays' Rebellion

Uprising of angry farmers in Massachusetts, led by Daniel Shays, that displayed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation due to the lack of a national army.

Constitutional Convention (1787)

Meeting called to revise the Articles of Confederation, which resulted in the creation of a new constitution for the United States.

Federalists

Faction of people with a commercial background who wanted a stronger central government.

Anti-Federalists

Factions of rural folk who liked the states having the power and they opposed an increase in the federal government's power.

Virginia Plan

Plan that argued for representation by population.

New Jersey Plan

Plan that asserted that states should be represented equally.

Great Compromise

Plan that split the legislative branch into two houses, which is to say a bicameral congress. In the house of representatives, states would be represented by population. And then in the senate, states would have equal votes, two votes per state.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Compromise that determined that for purposes of representation, counting up all the enslaved people in a particular state, take three fifths of that number, and then that's how many seats will be added to their house representation.

Federalist Papers

Essays written by Federalists Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison in order to convince the American public of the merits of the constitution.

Republican Motherhood

Belief that women could influence political realities by raising virtuous sons instructed in the principles of liberty.

Elastic Clause

Clause of the constitution which says that congress has the right to make any law that is necessary and proper in order to carry out its other responsibilities.

Whiskey Rebellion

Rebellion where poor frontier farmers attacked and assaulted tax collectors who tried to collect revenue from them.

Washington's Farewell Address

Address by George Washington where he cautioned the nation against the formation of political parties and their divisive effects, and cautioned America against getting entangled in foreign, especially European alliances.

XYZ Affair

Affair where three French diplomats demanded a bribe before they would even sit down at the table to negotiate.

Alien and Sedition Acts

Acts that The Alien Act made it legal and easy to deport any noncitizen of The United States, and it was chiefly aimed at the growing Irish and Scottish immigrants who opposed the Federalist sympathies for Britain. The Sedition Act made it illegal to criticize the government publicly.

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

Resolutions where the Democratic Republicans argued that any law passed by the federal government that is blatantly unconstitutional can, with good conscience, be nullified by the states.

Indian Trade and Intercourse Act

Act that regulated the relationships among settlers and Indians and made provisions for fair dealings.

Pinckney treaty

Treaty that decided once and for all where the border was between The US and Spain. The border was established at the thirty first parallel.

African Methodist Episcopal Church

The first African American church denomination in The United States formed in Philadelphia.