APUSH Unit 2

French and Indian War

French and Indian War

Also called the Seven Years' War 1754-1763; fought between the British colonies and the French (aided by Indians) mainly over the issue of the Ohio River Valley; caused tension b/t Britain and the colonies and essentially ended salutary neglect

George Washington

Lt. Col. in the French and Indian War; sent to forks of Ohio River by VA gov't to prevent French from building forts there so the British could instead build forts there; defeated but allowed to return to VA with his army intact

Edward Braddock

British general defeated a few miles from Fort Duquesne by smaller French and Indian forces

Albany Plan of Union (1754)

Plan created by Ben Franklin for colonial home rule to deal with defense and Indian affairs; delegates accepted it, but colonies argued it was not enough freedom, while British argued it was too much freedom and both rejected it

Peace of Paris (1763)

Treaty that essentially removed France from NA, making England the dominant New World power once more

salutary neglect

Reduced intervention from British gov't into colonial affairs from 1713 to 1763; the colonies were essentially left to develop self-reliance and effective organization

King George III

Sought to exercise increased control over the colonies; surrounded himself with highly inept governments/advisors; instrumental in ending salutary neglect

Whigs

Believed that concentrated power (tyranny) corrupts and a balanced gov't where legislatures check the power of the king should exist; became the most powerful element in British politics after the Glorious Revolution

Parliament

Lawmaking body of British government whose members are elected into office; became more intrusive in colonial politics

Pontiac's Rebellion (1763)

Outraged by the treatment of Indians by colonists in the French and Indian War, Chief Pontiac refused to surrender his land; revolted for 18 by taking or damaging several English forts and other properties of whites; British retaliated by practicing germ warfare, spreading disease to kill of Indians

Proclamation of 1763

Edict issued by George III that prohibited colonists from moving west of the Appalachians; essentially created an invisible border between colonies and Indian land; infuriated colonists who were veterans or those hungry for expansion

Sugar Act (1764)

Updated version of the Molasses Act of 1733; first act ever passed that raised revenue specifically for the crown; aimed to regulate triangular trade to collect duties that the colonists had averted for decades

Quartering Act (1765)

Certain colonies mandated to provide food and housing for British troops

Stamp Act (1765)

Raised revenues by taxing all legal documents to support the new military force in the colonies; single most important event leading to American Revolution because it was an internal tax

Patrick Henry

Led the Virginia Resolves, which established no taxation w/o representation (only Virginians could tax VA)

Stamp Act Congress (1765)

Meeting of 27 delegates from 9 colonies who adopted the VA Resolves; important because it set precedent for colonial unity against British in the Revolution

Sons and Daughters of Liberty

Sons were led by Samuel Adams and used intimidation tactics to drive stamp distributors out of business; Daughters held spinning bees and made their own tea to decrease reliance on British goods

Declaratory Act

Main purpose was to save face; claimed that Parliaments had power to tax colonies in the future

Townshend Acts (1767)

Took revenues from taxes to pay salaries of royal governors and judges; an external tax placed on various goods (tea, silk, glass, etc.)

Writs of Assistance

Search warrants used by British customs officers to harass colonial shipping; involved completion of extensive paperwork to prevent smuggling/illegal trade

John Dickinson's Letters From a Farmer in Pennsylvania

Written in response to the Townshend Acts; challenged the distinction b/t internal and external taxes; claimed it was illegal to levy taxes for purpose of revenue

Samuel Adams

Leader of the Sons of Liberty

James Otis

A young Boston lawyer who demanded Parliament repeal the Writs of Assistance; Parliament refused but his argument for "no taxation w/o representation" became well known

Lord Frederick North

Bowed to colonial pressure and convinced Parliament to repeal the Townshend Acts in 1770; small tax on tea remained to exhibit Parliament's power to tax

Boston Massacre

British soldier, provoked by colonists, fired on a crowd of Bostonians, killing or wounding 11 civilians

Crispus Attucks

A mulatto merchant seamen who was the "first due die in the Revolution" and alleged leader of the crowd who provoked the soldiers in the Boston Massacre

Committees of Correspondence

Intercolonial committees who spread propaganda and other information to keep opposition to British policy alive

Gaspee Incident (1771)

An incident in which the Sons of Liberty disguised themselves and set fire to a British ship, harming the commander; guilty parties were never discovered nor tried but the incident caused further tension

Tea Act (1773)

British granted British East India Company a monopoly on American tea business; although it made tea cheaper, colonists reacted angrily b/c the felt the British were trying to trick them into accepting the tax with cheaper tea

Boston Tea Party (1773)

Led by Sons of Liberty dressed as Indians; sacked three British ships carrying tea and dumped over 300 crates of tea into the Boston harbor

Intolerable Acts (1774)

Also called the Coercive Acts; only applied in Boston as punishment for the Tea Party; Boston Harbor was shut down until damages were paid; MA charter revoked; Enforcing officials who killed colonists would be tried in England; Quartering Acts reenacted in Boston

John Locke

Believed that colonies had the right to break away if natural rights were not ensured; all men created equal; provided influence for Preamble

Jean Jacques Rousseau

A French philosopher who believed that human beings are naturally good and should rely on their instincts; government should be democratic and exist only to protect common good

First Continental Congress

Called in response to Intolerable Acts; all colonies except for GA attended; goals included endorsing the Suffolk Resolves and reestablishing right to assembly and establishing Bill of Rights

John Adams

America's first Vice President and second President; sponsor of the American Revolution in Massachusetts, and wrote the Massachusetts guarantee that freedom of press "ought not to be restrained"

Suffolk Resolves

Denounced Intolerable Acts; urged colonies to organize militias for defensive purposes; called on colonies to suspend remaining trade with Britain; urged citizens not to pay taxes

Paul Revere

Rode through the night on horseback warning the Minutemen of the British's arrival; fell injured

William Dawes

A leader of the Sons of Liberty who rode with Paul Revere to Lexington to warn the Minutemen that the British where coming

Minutemen

Volunteer soldiers who were ready to fight in the Revolution at a moment's notice

Lexington and Concord

First shots fired during the Revolutionary War; began when Minutemen refused to disperse on Lexington Green and the British fired

Battle of Bunker Hill

Bloodiest battle of the war; seen as an American victory; following this battle, King officially declared the colonies in rebellion, which was imperative to declaration of war

Second Continental Congress

Significant for selecting George Washington to head Continental Army

Olive Brach Petition

Largely written by John Dickinson; last ditch effort by moderates in Continental Congress to prevent an all out war

Prohibitory Act

An act passed by Parliament to cut off all British trade with the colonies

Thomas Paine

English printer who wrote the pamphlet Common Sense; advocated colonial independence and argued for republicanism over monarchy

Declaration of Independence

Document meant to cut all ties with Britain and make the "United States" an official, independent country; consisted of three major parts: preamble, list of 27 grievances of the colonies, formal declaration of independence

Thomas Jefferson

Chief drafter of the Declaration of Independence

Patriots

American rebels who fought both British soldiers and loyalists; sometimes called Whigs after British opposition party

Loyalists

Colonists who fought for a return to colonial rule; loyal to the king; sometimes called tories

Valley Forge

Where Washington and his men retired to for the winter of 1777-78; crucial time b/c Prussian drillmaster Frederick von Steuben whipped tired, ragged troops into fighting shape; food and materials were scarce

George Rogers Clark

Frontiersman who seized several British ports along the Ohio River by surprise

Battle of Saratoga

Pivotal battle b/c American victory convinced French to send troops to aid the colonists against the British; essentially cemented American independence

Battle of Yorktown

Last major battle of the war; General Cornwallis surrendered entire force of 7,000 men in 1781 but war cont'd for one more year esp. in the South

Treaty of Paris (1783)

Britain formally recognized American independence; granted Americans generous boundaries stretching to the MI river; America was the only one to gain from the war

Articles of Confederation

America's first constitution; declared that congress was chief agency of the gov't, each state had a single vote, bills required 2/3 votes, amendments to the Articles required unanimous vote; states were given no power to tax or regulate commerce; bound to fail b/c no reforms could ever be made under the system

Land Ordinance of 1785

Split Old Northwest region into townships which were sold to colonists; proceeds went to pay national debt accumulated during the war

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Outlined the requirements to achieve statehood: 60,000 residents at least, forbade slavery in Old NW but allowed Southerners to cross state lines to reclaim fugitive slaves

Mary McCauley

Heroine of the American Revolution who carried water to soldiers during the Battle of Monmouth Court House and took over her husband's gun when he was overcome by heat

Deborah Sampson

Patriot who disguised herself as a man and served in the Continental Army

Abigail Adams

John Adam's wife, she appealed to her husband to protect the rights of women in the new gov't

John Paul Jones

Most famous naval American leader whose chief contribution was destroying British merchant shipping during the war

Battle of Trenton

Washington's troops surprised and captured about 1,000 Hessians who were sleeping off their Christmas partying; one of the quick victories, and gambles, that revived the disintegrating Continental Army

Frederick von Steuben

Prussian drillmaster brought into whip Washington's troops into fighting shape during their winter at Valley Forge

Nathaniel Greene

Colonial Commander in the South who succeeded in clearing GA and SC of most British troops

Hessians

German mercenary soldiers hired by the King to support British forces in the war

General Cornwallis

British general who surrendered troop of 7,000 men at Battle of Yorktown

Benedict Arnold

United States general who becomes a traitor in 1780 by plotting to sell the key stronghold of West Point commanding the Hudson River to the British

privateers

Ships that are privately owned but are urged to attack enemy ships during the war