American Revolution - Roots and Early Conflicts

Flashcards covering key vocabulary, events, and individuals related to the deep roots of the American Revolution, early British taxation policies, colonial resistance, and the beginning of armed conflict between 1763 and 1778, based on the provided lecture notes.

Republicanism

A school of thought in the American colonies where all citizens willingly work towards the common good, prioritizing it over private interests. It emphasized selflessness, self-sufficiency, courage, and opposed authoritarian institutions.

Radical Whigs

A group of British political commentators who criticized monarchy's corruption and encouraged citizens to be vigilant against attempts to take away liberty, influencing American colonists.

Mercantilism

A British economic policy where colonies exported raw materials to Britain and exclusively imported manufactured goods from Britain, viewing colonists as tenants to support the mother country.

Navigation Law of 1650

A British law stating that all goods flowing to and from the American colonies could only be transported in British vessels, primarily aimed at hurting rival Dutch shippers.

Prime Minister George Grenville

The British Prime Minister who, in 1763, ordered strict enforcement of the Navigation Laws and later steered Parliament to pass the Sugar Act and Stamp Act.

Sugar Act of 1764

The first law passed by Parliament to raise tax revenue in the colonies for England, increasing the duty on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies.

Quartering Act of 1765

A British law requiring certain American colonies to provide food and quarters for British troops stationed there.

Stamp Act of 1765

A British tax imposed on the American colonies requiring colonists to use stamped paper to certify payment of taxes on various goods, including newspapers, legal documents, and diplomas.

Stamp Act Congress of 1765

A meeting of 27 delegates from 9 colonies in New York City who drew up a statement of rights and grievances, requesting the king and Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act, marking a step towards intercolonial unity.

Nonimportation agreements

Agreements made by American colonists to boycott British goods, serving as a significant stride towards colonial unity and a protest against British tax policies.

Sons of Liberty and Daughters of Liberty

Colonial groups who, in the mid-18th century, took the law into their own hands by enforcing nonimportation agreements and organizing protests against British taxation.

Declaratory Act

Passed by Parliament in 1766, it reaffirmed England's absolute right to rule over the American colonies, immediately following the repeal of the Stamp Act.

Townshend Acts

Legislation passed by Parliament in 1767 that placed a light import tax on goods such as glass, white lead, paper, paint, and tea in the American colonies.

Boston Massacre

An incident on March 5, 1770, where British redcoats fired on a crowd of 60 townspeople, killing or wounding 11, fueling colonial resentment against British rule.

Samuel Adams

A master propagandist and engineer of rebellion who formed the first local committee of correspondence in Massachusetts in 1772.

Committees of Correspondence

Colonial organizations created to maintain communication among the American colonies, playing a crucial role in coordinating resistance against British policies in the decade before the Revolution.

Boston Tea Party

An act of protest on December 16, 1773, where Bostonians disguised as Indians boarded British ships and dumped tea into the sea to resist British East India Company's monopoly and tea taxes.

Intolerable Acts

Punitive laws passed by Parliament in 1774 in response to the Boston Tea Party, which restricted colonists' rights, limited town meetings, and included the Boston Port Act.

Boston Port Act

A component of the Intolerable Acts that closed the Boston harbor until damages from the Boston Tea Party were paid and order could be ensured.

Quebec Act

Passed in 1774 (not part of the Intolerable Acts), it granted Catholic French Canadians religious freedom, restored French civil law, and extended the land area of Quebec, angering American colonists.

First Continental Congress

A consultative, not legislative, body that met in Philadelphia in 1774, composed of 55 delegates from 12 colonies (excluding Georgia), to respond to colonial grievances over the Intolerable Acts.

The Association

The most important outcome of the First Continental Congress, calling for a complete boycott of British goods through nonimportation, nonexportation, and nonconsumption.

Lexington and Concord

The sites of the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War in April 1775, where British troops seeking colonial gunpowder and 'rebel' leaders were met with American resistance.

Marquis de Lafayette

A French nobleman who became a major general in the colonial army at 19, his services were invaluable in securing further aid from France during the American Revolution.

Articles of Confederation

The first written constitution adopted by the American colonists, put into effect in 1781.

Valley Forge

A site in Pennsylvania where American soldiers endured extreme hardships and went without food for three days during the winter of 1777-1778.

Baron von Steuben

A German military officer who played a crucial role in training American fighters to effectively combat the British army during the Revolutionary War.

Lord Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment

Formed in 1775 by Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of Virginia, following his proclamation promising freedom to any enslaved black person who joined the British army.