American Republic Ch. 5

Iroquois

The strongest confederation of Indian tribes in America; supported Britain in the French and Indian War.

French and Indian War (Seven Years’ War)

a. How long it lasted: Nine Years 1754-63.

b. Why it started: Both the French and the British were struggling to gain control over the Ohio Valley, and when fighting broke out between LtC. George Washington and the French Fort Duquesne, the war started in America.

c. Major Battles: Washington needing to build Fort Necessity, Braddock’s defeat while attempting to capture Fort Duquesne, and the Battle of Quebec.

d. Results: The struggle for North America ended when Britain won and the Treaty of Paris was negotiated. Britain gained all French land east of the Mississippi River including New Orleans, Canada, and Florida from Spain. French compensated Spain with a large amount of Territory west of the Mississippi River called the Louisiana Territory.

George Washington (before the Revolutionary War)

a. Lieutenant Colonel in Virginia

b. Built Fort Necessity in the disputed Ohio Valley; fought with the French’s Fort Duquesne and was forced to surrender and head back to Virginia.

Fort Duquesne

French fort during the French and Indian War; near present-day Pittsburgh, PA; (named in honor of the new governor of Canada)

Guerrilla Warfare

Hiding behind trees and bush in order to ambush the enemy.

Benjamin Franklin

a. writer, printer, philosopher, scientist, inventor, and politician (nicknamed “the First American.”)

b. Heavily influenced America through is writing, political successes, popularity with the people, and scientific experiments.

Albany Plan on Union

The first attempt to unite the American colonies by calling for the creation of a grand council consisting of representatives from all the colonies; primarily written by Benjamin Franklin.

Edward Braddock

a. British general

b. Slowly moved from Virginia to Fort Duquesne while fighting in the open, organized fashion of European war; was ambushed by the French and Indians and died a few days later.

William Pitt

a. Unofficially but essentially the prime minister of Britain during the French and Indian War

b. His energetic leadership brought a dramatic change in the war: turned Britain’s weak defense tactics into aggressive action, replaced old generals with younger, more energetic ones, and agreed the Britain help pay for outfits and aid the colonial army.

Pontiac

a. Ottawa Indian chief

b. strongly opposed the continuation of expansion by colonists into the western frontier by allowing additional trappers and settlers to move there.

Proclamation of 1763

Prohibited colonists from settling beyond the Appalachian Mountains in order to reduce conflict with the Indians.

Navigation and Trade Acts

Mercantilistic policies passed by Britain between 1651 and 1733 to control colonial trade.

Writs of Assistance

General search warrants giving customs officials the right to search for smuggled goods anywhere.

Sugar Act (1764)

Duties, or taxes, on imported goods such as sugar, molasses, and coffee.

Stamp Act (1765)

Required colonial businessmen and lawyers to purchase special stamps and place them on items such as legal documents, newspapers, calendars, and playing cards; affected virtually every colonist.

Quartering Act of 1765

Law requiring colonies to house British troops in barracks, stables, taverns, and empty buildings and to provide some supplies.

“No taxation without representation.”

Colonial rallying cry against no representation in Parliament.

Sons of Liberty

Groups of colonists who organized rallies to protest the Stamp Act.

Stamp Act Congress

Colonial Assembly in Massachusetts that peacefully protested the Stamp Act; led by Samuel Adams.

Samuel Adams

a. Most famous leader of colonial opposition and a prominent member of the Sons of Liberty

b. Urged the Stamp Act Congress to meet, wrote a letter urging united colonial action, urged Boston to from a Committee of Correspondence

King George III

a. America’s last king

b. desired to being the American colonies under tighter control; suffered heavy mental illness and later went permanently insane.

Townshend Acts (1767)

Taxes passed by Parliament on such items as glass, paper, lead, paint, and tea.

Boycotts

Refusals to buy.

Boston Massacre

The outbreak of violence between colonists and British troops on March 5, 1770, resulting in the deaths of five people.

Intolerable Acts

(Coercive Acts); closed the port of Boston until the cost of the destroyed tea was paid, allowed royal officials charged with crimes to be tried in London or in another colony, changed Massachusetts’ charter and gave British officials more control, and passed a new Quartering Act (of 1774).

Quebec Act

Allowed French law to be used in some court cases in Quebec, extended Quebec’s borders south to the Ohio river, and recognized Roman Catholicism as the leading religion in Quebec.

Committee of Correspondence

Groups that provided written information in the form of letters about British threats to liberty.

Boston Tea Party

A protest against the Tea Act of 1773 by colonists, disguised as Indians, during which the colonists threw tea from British ships into Boston Harbor.

First Continental Congress

a. Why they were called: to decide what action to take against the British for their policies; peace or violence?

b. What they accomplished: Declaration of Rights and Grievances, Continental Association

Patrick Henry

a. Influential man who spoke full of conviction at the Virginia meeting at St. John’s

b. Declared the intensity and lengths America would go to achieve independence; “Give me liberty or give me death!”

Minutemen

Colonial militiamen who were ready to fight at a moment’s notice.

Paul Revere

a. colonial minuteman

b. warned colonists that “The redcoats are coming!“

Lexington and Concord

When it happened: April 18, 1775

What happened: colonial minutemen fought against British soldiers, leaving many casualties.

Why it was important: Word of the conflict spread, and this made colonist rally, and “the shot heard ‘round the world” started a war no one was prepared for.

Casualties

People killed, wounded, captured, or missing during fighting.