Key Events and Concepts Leading to American Independence and Early Governance

A comprehensive set of flashcards covering key events and concepts related to the American Revolution and early governance.

Proclamation of 1763

A declaration by the British Crown that restricted colonial expansion westward beyond the Appalachian Mountains.

Sons of Liberty

A group of American colonists formed to oppose British policies and taxation.

Stamp Act

A 1765 law that taxed printed goods in the American colonies.

Townshend Act

A series of acts passed in 1767 taxing goods imported to the American colonies.

Quartering Act

A law requiring colonists to provide housing and supplies to British troops stationed in America.

Declaratory Act

A 1766 act declaring that Parliament had the right to legislate for the colonies in all cases.

Tea Act

An act that granted the British East India Company the right to ship its tea to the colonies without paying taxes.

Social Contract Theory

The philosophical idea that individuals consent to form a government that protects their rights.

Coercive Acts

A series of punitive measures enacted by Britain in 1774 to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party.

First Continental Congress

A gathering of colonial representatives in 1774 to respond to British policies.

Committees of Correspondence

Colonial networks for communicating issues and coordinating responses to British policies.

Virtual representation

The British argument that Parliament represented all British subjects, regardless of whether they had elected representatives.

Boston Massacre

A confrontation in 1770 where British soldiers killed five colonists, escalating tensions.

Second Continental Congress

The assembly of colonial delegates that managed the colonial war effort and moved incrementally towards independence.

Olive Branch Petition

A final attempt by the colonies to avoid war with Britain in 1775, asserting loyalty to the crown.

Common Sense

A pamphlet by Thomas Paine advocating for independence from Britain.

Articles of Confederation

The first governing document of the United States, which established a weak central government.

Treaty of Paris 1783

The agreement that formally ended the American Revolutionary War and recognized U.S. independence.

Republicanism

An ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic.

Northwest Ordinance 1787

A law that established a method for admitting new states to the Union from the Northwest Territory.

Republican Motherhood

The idea that women had a role in shaping the morals of the new republic.

Shays’s Rebellion

An armed uprising in 1786-1787 led by farmers protesting economic injustices.

Great Compromise

The agreement during the Constitutional Convention that established a bicameral legislature.

Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists

The debate between those who supported a strong federal government and those who opposed it.

Three-Fifths Compromise

An agreement that counted three-fifths of the enslaved population for representation and taxation purposes.

Bank of the United States

A national bank proposed by Alexander Hamilton to stabilize and improve the nation's credit.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution that guarantee individual liberties.

Judiciary Act of 1789

A law that established the federal judiciary system and the Supreme Court.

Democratic Republicans vs. Federalists

The first political party system in the U.S., with Democrats opposing Federalist policies.

Whiskey Rebellion

A 1794 uprising in Pennsylvania protesting a federal excise tax on whiskey.

Citizen Genet

A French diplomat whose actions in the U.S. caused political controversy.

Jay’s Treaty 1794

An agreement to settle outstanding issues between the U.S. and Great Britain.

Pinckney’s Treaty 1795

A treaty with Spain that granted the U.S. navigation rights on the Mississippi River.

Washington’s Farewell Address

George Washington's advice to the nation to avoid political factions and foreign alliances.

XYZ Affair

A diplomatic incident in 1797 that led to an undeclared war between the U.S. and France.

Quasi War

An undeclared naval conflict between the United States and France from 1798 to 1800.

Alien & Sedition Acts

Acts passed in 1798 that allowed the government to imprison or deport aliens and prosecute critics.

Virginia & Kentucky Resolutions

Political statements that argued states could nullify federal laws they deemed unconstitutional.

Revolution of 1800

The election of 1800 that marked the first peaceful transfer of power between political parties in the U.S.