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Seven Years War (French and Indian War)
a conflict between France and Great Britain that began in 1754 as a dispute over North American land claims in the region around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Albany Plan of Union
A plan to place the British North American colonies under a more centralized government
George Washington
Father of the US, first president, leader of colonial army.
Peace of Paris (1763)
Ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France, as well as their respective allies.
Stamp Act
Imposed a tax on all printed materials, including newspapers, legal documents, and even playing cards.
Sons and Daughters of Liberty
American colonists who supported the patriot cause, used threats, protests, and acts of violence to intimidate loyalists, or those loyal to the British crown, and make their grievances clear to the British Parliament.
Intolerable Acts
A series of laws passed by Parliament after the Boston Tea Party. They were meant to reign in disobedience, resistance, and violence in America, but they had the opposite effect.
Salutary Neglect
an unwritten rule that encouraged British customs officials to allow American merchants to break the laws of the Navigation Acts
Parliament
British supreme legislative body.
Proclamation of 1763
An edict made by King George III after the conclusion of the French and Indian War, declared that colonists could not settle west of the the Appalachian Mountains.
Sugar Act
a tax set by the British parliament on sugar, replaced the Molasses act that was way too expensive.
Quartering Act
required the colonists to provide food, shelter, and other supplies to British soldiers stationed in the colonies
Declaratory Act
stated that Parliament could make laws binding the American colonies "in all cases whatsoever."
Townshend Act
imposed taxes on a variety of imported goods, including glass, lead, paint, and tea
Tea Act
granted the British East India Company a monopoly on the sale of tea in the colonies and lowered the price of tea.
Coercive Acts
a series of harsh and grudging laws constructed by the British in response to the Boston Tea Party
Common Sense by Thomas Paine
argued that the colonists should free themselves from British rule and establish an independent government based on Enlightenment ideals - one that would protect man's natural rights.
First Continental Congress
group of delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies who met in Philadelphia in 1774 to determine a course of action in response to the Intolerable Acts
Second Continental Congress
a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that met beginning on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It managed the colonial war effort, and moved incrementally towards independence, adopting the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
Thomas Jefferson
3rd President of the United States. He favored limited central government. He was chief drafter of the Declaration of Independence.
Declaration of Independence
a formal document in which the Continental Congress representing the American colonies detailed its reasons for breaking political bonds with Great Britain.
Lexington & Concord
battle that initiated the Revolutionary War between the American colonists and the British
Battle of Bunker Hill
Tiny American force under Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold surprised and captured the British garrisons at Ticonderoga and Crown Point in Upper New York
Battle of Saratoga
a series of two battles that became the turning point of the Revolutionary war
Battle of Yorktown
the last major land battle in the Revolutionary War. It signified the end of the war because the American and French forces surrounded ________ and captured Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis and his 8,000 troops.
Patriot
colonists who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution.
Loyalist
those in the colonies who remained loyal to the British crown during the American war for independence
Enlightenment
an eighteenth-century movement in Western philosophy, promoting natural rights
John Lock
English philosopher who advocated the idea of a âsocial contractâ in which government powers are derived from the consent of the governed and in which the government serves the people
Rationalism
The belief that opinions and actions should be based on reason and knowledge rather than on religious belief or emotional response
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
established a government for the Northwest Territory, outlined the process for admitting a new state to the Union, and guaranteed that newly created states would be equal to the original thirteen states.
Articles of Confederation
The First American Constitution that established the U.S. as a loose confederation of states with a weak Congress and that it didn't have the power to regulate commerce or collect taxes.
Shayâs Rebellion
series of armed protests that occurred in Massachusetts between 1786 and 1787, led by a veteran of the Revolutionary War, Daniel Shays. The rebellion was sparked by economic grievances, particularly by the heavy debt and high taxes faced by farmers and smallholders in the state.
Bicameral legislature
Created by John Adams to counter the appeal of the Pennsylvania Constitution. It is a two house legislature. His system dispersed authority by assigning the different functions of government-lawmaking, administering, and judging- to separate institutions
Federalist
those who favored the Constitution and wanted a strong central government.
Anti-Federalist
wanted a weak central government and more power to the people and opposed the ratification of the Constitution.
Alexander Hamilton
Founding Father, chief of staff to General Washington, promoter of the Constitution, founder of the nation's financial system, and the founder of the first American political party.
Framers of the Constitution
delegates to the Constitutional Convention and helped draft the Constitution of the United States
The Federalist Papers
A series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay to promote the ratification of the United States Constitution.
Bill of Rights
the first ten amendments, were added after its ratification as an addition to the main document which guarantees the protection of citizens' rights, freedom of speech, religion, press, and other rights
Checks and Balances
the principle of government under which separate branches are employed to prevent actions by the other branches and are induced to share power
Virginia Plan
called for a legislature divided into two bodies (the Senate and the House of Representatives) with proportional representation.
New Jersey Plan
called for a unicameral legislature with equal representation for each state. The national government would have a limited role and would not be able to regulate commerce, collect taxes, or enforce laws
The Great Compromise (Connecticut Plan)
provided for a bicameral federal legislature that used a dual system of representation: the upper house would have equal representation from each state, while the lower house would have proportional representation based on a state's population.
Three-Fifths Compromise
determined that three out of every five slaves was counted when determining a state's total population for legislative representation and taxation
George Washingtonâs Farewell Address
A document by George Washington in 1796, when he retired from office. It wasn't given orally, but printed in newspapers. It did not concern foreign affairs; most of it was devoted to domestic problems.
Alien and Sedition Acts
four laws passed by the Federalist-controlled Congress and signed by President John Adams intended to reduce foreign influence in the United States and public criticism of the government.
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
s stated that the Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional. They helped establish the practice of being able to declare acts of federal government as unconstitutional. They set the precedent that states could nullify unfair acts of the federal government.
National Bank
document issued by Alexander Hamilton. In this document, Hamilton asked Congress to charter the bank of the United States
Judiciary Act of 1789
Act that established a federal district court in each state and three circuit courts to hear appeals from the districts, with the Supreme Court having the final say
Whiskey Rebellion
an uprising of Western Pennsylvania farmers that took place between 1791-1794 in response to Alexander Hamilton's excise tax on whiskey
Democratic-Republican Party
believed the people should have political power, favored strong state governments, emphasized agriculture, favored strict interpretation of the constitution, were pro-french, opposed national bank, and opposed protective tariff.
Jay Treaty
Was made up by John Jay. It said that Britain was to pay for Americans ships that were seized in 1793. It said that Americans had to pay British merchants debts owed from before the revolution and Britain had agreed to remove their troops from the Ohio Valley.
Pinckney Treaty
Treaty between the U.S. and Spain which gave the U.S. the right to transport goods on the Mississippi river and to store goods in the Spanish port of New Orleans
XYZ Affair
a diplomatic incident between French and United States diplomats that resulted in a limited, undeclared war known as the Quasi-War
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