American History Key Events: Townshend Acts to Draft Riots

Townshend Acts

The Townshend Acts were British laws passed in 1767 that placed taxes on imported goods such as glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea.

Townshend Acts Effects

Britain used the taxes to raise revenue and pay colonial officials, while colonists responded with boycotts and protests against taxation without representation.

Townshend Acts Significance

The acts increased colonial unity and resistance and pushed the colonies closer to revolution.

Loyalists D

Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolution.

Loyalists Effects

Many Loyalists supported Britain for economic reasons, fear of mob rule, religious beliefs, or promises of protection and freedom for enslaved people who joined the British.

Loyalists Significance

Loyalists deepened divisions within American society and many lost property or fled after the war.

Shays' Rebellion D

uprising of Massachusetts farmers protesting high taxes, debt, and lack of economic relief under the Articles of Confederation.

Shays' Rebellion Effects

shut down courts and attempted to seize a federal arsenal before being stopped by a state militia.

Shays' Rebellion Significance

exposed the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, lead to the Constitutional Convention.

Privateers

civillain ships for hire

Privateers Effects

Because the U.S. had a weak navy, privateers were used to disrupt British trade and supply lines during the American Revolution.

Privateers Significance

Privateers weakened Britain's economy and helped secure French support for the American cause.

Tecumseh's War

native resistance to stop U.S. expansion into Native lands.

Tecumseh's War Effects

Tecumseh formed a tribal confederation and allied with the British during the War of 1812 after U.S. forces destroyed his brother's village.

Tecumseh's War Significance

Tecumseh's death ended major Native resistance in the Old Northwest and opened the region to American settlement.

Missouri Compromise

made Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state to maintain balance in Congress.

Missouri Compromise Effects

36°30′ line

Missouri Compromise Significance

The compromise temporarily reduced sectional tensions but made slavery a lasting national political issue.

Battle of New Orleans

The Battle of New Orleans was the final major battle of the War of 1812 brit vs us

Battle of New Orleans Effects

Although the Treaty of Ghent had already been signed, Jackson's forces won a decisive victory with far fewer casualties.

Battle of New Orleans Significance

The battle boosted American nationalism

Second Great Awakening

Protestant religious revival movement that emphasized personal salvation and moral reform.

Second Great Awakening Effects

Camp meetings spread across the nation and inspired movements

Second Great Awakening Significance

The movement reshaped American society by encouraging reform and increasing democratic participation. good way for slaves to escape

California Gold Rush

The California Gold Rush began in 1848 after gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in California.

California Gold Rush Effects

After the U.S. defeated Mexico in the Mexican-American War, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 transferred California from Mexican control to the United States.

California Gold Rush Significance

Working in the early mines was dangerous, causing disease, injuries, and death, and later hydraulic mining caused major environmental damage until it was ended by a court ruling in 1884.

Hayne-Webster Debates

The Hayne-Webster Debates were Senate debates over tariffs, states' rights, and federal power.

Hayne-Webster Debates Effects

Northern factory owners worried that if western land was cheap, mill workers would leave their jobs to move west and become farmers.

Hayne-Webster Debates Significance

Because he opposed nullification and supported a strong federal government (putting the Union over states' rights).

Draft Riots

The Draft Riots were violent uprisings in New York City against the Union draft during the Civil War.

Draft Riots Effects

Rioters, mostly working-class immigrants, protested the ability of wealthy men to buy their way out of the draft and attacked Black communities.

Draft Riots Significance

The riots revealed deep racial and class tensions in the North and forced the federal government to restore order by force.