APUSH Period 3 Key Terms

Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton

Strong nationalist and first secretary of the treasury; supported a strong central government and founded the Federalist Party.

Alien and Sedition Acts

Series of acts designed to suppress perceived French agents working against American neutrality; gave the president power to deport "dangerous" aliens, lengthen residency requirement for citizenship, and restrict freedoms of speech and press.

Anti-Federalists

Persons who opposed ratification of the U.S. Constitution by the states; feared concentration of power in the national government.

Battle of Saratoga

Turning point of the Revolution in October 1777; British army of 6,000 soldiers surrendered in New York; convinced the French to ally with the colonies and assured independence.

Battle of Yorktown

Siege that ended in October 1781; Washington trapped 8,000 British soldiers in Virginia; led to British ceasing large-scale fighting and negotiations for independence.

Ben Franklin

America's leading diplomat; served as a statesman and advisor throughout the Revolutionary era; secured French alliance and Treaty of Paris.

Boston Massacre

Confrontation between British soldiers and Boston citizens in March 1770; troops shot and killed five colonials; used by American radicals to roil relations between England and the colonies.

Coercive Acts (1774)

British actions to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party; included closing the port of Boston, revoking Massachusetts's charter, trying officials accused of misdeeds outside the colony, and housing troops in private dwellings.

Democratic Republican Party

Political party led by Thomas Jefferson; feared centralized political power, supported states' rights, opposed Hamilton's financial plan, and supported ties to France.

Farewell Address

Presidential message by Washington warning against foreign alliances and domestic "factions" (political parties); basis of isolationist arguments for 150 years.

Federalist Papers

Eighty-five essays written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay; published in newspapers to convince New York to ratify the Constitution; treatise on the foundations of the Constitution.

Federalist Party

Political party led by Hamilton; favored strong central government, commercial interests, Hamilton's financial plan, and ties to England.

Federalists

Persons who favored ratification of the U.S. Constitution by the states.

George Washington

Commander of the colonial army; indispensable to the colonial cause.

John Jay

Lead diplomat in negotiating the Treaty of Paris; gained America's goals for independence despite deviousness and meddling of France and Spain.

John Locke

English philosopher; governments have a duty to protect people's life, liberty, and property; influenced colonial leaders.

James Madison

Strong nationalist; organized Annapolis Convention, authored Virginia Plan, drafted constitutional amendments (Bill of Rights); founding member of Democratic Republican Party.

Jay's Treaty (1794)

Agreement for England to evacuate forts in U.S. territory along the Great Lakes; U.S. agreed to pay pre-Revolutionary War debts owed to Britain; treaty barely ratified in face of strong Republican opposition.

Loyalists (Tories)

Colonists who remained loyal to England; older, better educated people who were members of the Anglican Church.

Loose constructionist

Person who believes the "elastic clause" of the Constitution gives the central government wide latitude of action.

New Jersey Plan

Offered by William Paterson to counter the Virginia Plan; favored one-house Congress with equal representation for each state.

Northwest Ordinance (1787)

Organized the Northwest Territory for future statehood; provided territorial status and procedure for expanding the nation; outlawed slavery in the territory.

Patrick Henry

Early advocate of independence; strong opponent of the Stamp Act and defender of individual rights.

Salutary neglect

British policy before 1763 of leaving the colonies alone; abandonment of this policy led to revolution and independence.

Samuel Adams

Agitator and leader of the Sons of Liberty; supported independence and led the Boston Tea Party.

Seven Years War

Fought between England and France, 1756-1763; known as the French and Indian War in the colonies; impetus for taxing policy that led to the American Revolution.

Shays's Rebellion

Uprising in western Massachusetts between August 1786 and February 1787; central government's inability to suppress the revolt reinforced the need to strengthen or abandon the Articles of Confederation.

Sons of Liberty

Street gangs that formed during the Stamp Act crisis; intimidated British officials with violence.

Stamp Act (1765)

Tax on items such as pamphlets, newspapers, playing cards, and dice; strong protest among colonists.

Stamp Act Congress (1765)

Met in New York City to protest the Stamp Act; petitioned the king and organized a