US History - Road to Revolution and Early Republic

Key vocabulary and concepts related to the causes of the American Revolution, the formation of the United States, and the early republic.

French and Indian War

A conflict between British colonists and the French, who were allied with various Indian tribes, primarily over control of the Ohio River Valley.

Albany Plan of Union

Proposed by Benjamin Franklin during the French and Indian War, it called for a centralized government for the colonies to better coordinate Western defense, but it was ultimately rejected due to taxation concerns.

Peace of Paris (1763)

The treaty that ended the French and Indian War, resulting in France losing nearly all of its North American territories and Britain gaining all land east of the Mississippi River.

Royal Proclamation of 1763

A British edict forbidding colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains in the Ohio River Valley to ease tensions with American Indians.

Taxation Without Representation

The concept in which the colonists were being taxed by the British Parliament, a body in which they had no elected representation.

Salutary Neglect

A British policy of loosely enforcing laws in the American colonies, allowing colonists to manage their own affairs with minimal interference from Parliament.

Navigation Acts

Trade restrictions between Britain and the colonies that were not heavily enforced until the end of Salutary Neglect, leading to colonists smuggling goods without regard to these laws.

Quartering Act of 1765

A parliamentary act requiring colonists to provide housing and supplies for British troops stationed in the American colonies.

Sugar Act

A law passed by the British Parliament that taxed goods like coffee, wine, and other luxury items in the colonies.

Stamp Act of 1765

A tax on all paper goods and legal documents in the colonies.

Virtual Representation

The British assertion that members of Parliament represented all British subjects, including the colonists, regardless of direct election.

Sons of Liberty and Daughters of Liberty

Patriot groups dedicated to the repeal of the Stamp Act and other unpopular British measures through protests and boycotts.

Stamp Act Congress

A meeting in New York where 27 delegates from nine colonies assembled to petition the British Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act.

Declaratory Act

An act passed by Parliament that asserted its right to pass any law it wanted in the colonies.

Townshend Acts

Parliamentary acts that levied new taxes on items imported to the colonies like paper, glass, and tea.

Boston Massacre

An event where British soldiers fired on a group of colonists, killing four, heightening tensions between Britain and the colonies.

Tea Act of 1773

An act that gave the British East India Company exclusive rights to buy and ship tea in the colonies.

Boston Tea Party

A protest in which colonists disguised as American Indians dumped British tea into Boston Harbor to protest the Tea Act.

Coercive Acts/Intolerable Acts

A series of laws passed by Parliament in response to the Boston Tea Party, including the closing of Boston Harbor and a new Quartering Act.

Patriots

Individuals who were against British rule in the colonies and desired independence

Continental Congress

A gathering of leaders from the colonies to resist violations of liberties, operating under the goal of remaining British subjects.

Natural rights

Rights endowed to all human beings by God rather than government, including life, liberty, and property as described by John Locke. It is up to government to protect these rights.

Social contract

The power to govern is in the hands of the individuals. It is up to the government to use the the power that the individuals have given them to protect their natural rights.

Common Sense

A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that contributed to convincing the majority of colonists that independence was the only option.

Declaration of Independence

A document declaring the American colonies independent from Great Britain, influenced by Enlightenment thought.

Loyalists

Colonists who opposed independence from Britain and wished to remain British subjects.

Battle of Saratoga

A decisive victory for the American Patriots that convinced the French to ally with the Americans against the British.

Battle of Yorktown

A decisive battle in which the British army was defeated, leading to the surrender of the British and the independence of America.

Articles of Confederation

The first constitution and government of the United States.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Important legislation that provided a plan for how territories could be occupied and apply for statehood, and that abolished slavery in the Northwest Territory.

Shays' Rebellion

A rebellion led by Daniel Shays, of angry farmers who were seeking debt relief. This rebellion caused alarm in state and national leaders due to how easily angry farmers were able to take up arms and the weakness of the articles.

Constitutional Convention

A convention called in 1787 to revise the Articles, but which quickly pivoted to establishing a new Constitution.

Federalists

Americans, typically urban and with commercial backgrounds, who desired a stronger central government.

Anti-Federalists

Americans, typically rural, who preferred that states have individual power and who did not want to increase the federal government's power.

Virginia Plan

A plan that was argued at the Constitutional Convention which stated that representation in government should be determined by a state's population.

New Jersey Plan

A plan that was argued at the Constitutional Convention which stated that a state's representation in government should be equal, regardless of population.'.

Great Compromise

A compromise that divided the legislative branch into a bicameral (or two house legislative). In the House of Representatives states would be represented by population, and in the Senate each state would be represented equally with two votes per state.

Three-Fifths Compromise

A plan created as a result of discourse between the north and the south which stated that three-fifths of the enslaved population would be counted for representation.

The Federalist Papers

Persuasive essays written by Federalists Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, in order to sway the American public of the merits of the Constitution.

Republican Motherhood

The concept that women could best influence political realities by raising virtuous sons instructed in the principles of liberty.

Elastic Clause

The declaration that Congress has the right to make any law that is necessary and proper in order to carry out its other responsibilities.

Whiskey Rebellion

A rebellion over a tax on whiskey, which was made and consumed mainly by poor frontier farmers. After the rebellion, Washington federalized four state militias and sent them in to crush the rebellion.

Washington's Farewell Address

A speech in which George Washington advised the nation against the formation of parties and their divisive effects. He also cautioned America against getting entangled in foreign, especially European alliances.

XYZ Affair

A diplomatic incident in which three Frenchmen demanded a bribe before they would even sit down to discuss an issue. This led to maritime tension between France and the US.

Alien and Sedition Acts

Legislations that made it legal and easy to deport any noncitizen of The United States, and made it illegal to criticize the government publicly.

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

Resolutions that claimed the right for the states to nullify any federal law that is blatantly unconstitutional.

Indian Trade and Intercourse Act

A law that regulated the relationships among settlers and Indians and made provisions for fair dealings.

Pinckney Treaty

A treaty that decided on the border between The US and Spain once and for all.

African Methodist Episcopal Church

The first African American church denomination in The United States which was formed in Philadelphia.