History Second Midterm
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32 Terms
1. The Habit of Self-Government
Who: American colonists and their local political leaders.
What: Colonists gained experience governing themselves through elected assemblies, town meetings, and local courts.
When: 1600s–1700s.
Where: British North American colonies.
Why it matters: Colonists became accustomed to making their own laws and decisions. This made them resent British attempts to increase control and helped prepare them for independence.
2. The Consumer Revolution
Who: Colonial consumers, British merchants, and manufacturers.
What: A major increase in the purchase and consumption of goods such as tea, clothing, furniture, and ceramics.
When: Mainly the 1700s.
Where: British American colonies and the Atlantic trading world.
Why it matters: Colonists became more connected to Britain's economy and developed new consumer habits. British taxes later encouraged boycotts of British goods.
3. The Triangular Trade Route
Who: European merchants, African traders, enslaved Africans, and American plantation owners.
What: Atlantic trade networks connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas through manufactured goods, enslaved people, and colonial commodities.
When: Primarily the 1600s–1700s.
Where: Across the Atlantic Ocean between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
Why it matters: The trade generated wealth for merchants and plantation owners while exploiting enslaved Africans. It helped establish slavery as a central part of the colonial economy.
4. The Enlightenment
Who: European and American philosophers, including John Locke.
What: An intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, natural rights, and the proper role of government.
When: 1600s–1700s.
Where: Began in Europe and influenced the American colonies.
Why it matters: Enlightenment ideas challenged absolute monarchy and influenced the Declaration of Independence and American ideas about liberty and representative government.
5. John Locke
Who: English philosopher (1632–1704).
What: Argued that people possess natural rights, including life, liberty, and property, and that governments exist to protect those rights.
When: Late 1600s; his ideas influenced the American Revolution in the 1700s.
Where: England; his writings influenced colonial America.
Why it matters: Locke argued that people could overthrow a government that violated their rights. His ideas helped justify American independence.
6. The Great Awakening
Who: Protestant ministers and colonial Christians, including George Whitefield.
What: A series of religious revivals emphasizing personal conversion and an emotional relationship with God.
When: Mainly the 1730s–1740s.
Where: British American colonies.
Why it matters: It challenged traditional religious authority, encouraged new denominations, and connected colonists across regional boundaries.
7. George Whitefield
Who: English Anglican preacher and leading figure of the Great Awakening.
What: A traveling preacher known for emotional sermons and enormous audiences.
When: Particularly the 1730s–1740s.
Where: England and throughout the American colonies.
Why it matters: Whitefield helped spread evangelical Christianity and connected colonial communities through shared religious experiences.
8. The French and Indian War
Who: Britain and its American colonists fought France and its Indigenous allies; Indigenous nations had varied interests and alliances.
What: A war over territory and influence in North America, especially the Ohio River Valley.
When: 1754–1763.
Where: North America.
Why it matters: Britain won and gained extensive French territory but accumulated significant debt. British efforts to raise revenue from the colonies helped spark resistance and eventually the Revolution.
9. Proclamation of 1763
Who: King George III and the British government.
What: Restricted colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.
When: 1763.
Where: British North America, especially lands west of the Appalachians.
Why it matters: Britain hoped to reduce frontier conflict with Indigenous peoples. Colonists resented the restriction because many wanted access to western land.
10. Stamp Act
Who: British Parliament and American colonists.
What: A direct tax on printed materials, including newspapers, legal documents, and pamphlets.
When: Passed in 1765; repealed in 1766.
Where: The American colonies.
Why it matters: Colonists protested that they were being taxed without representation in Parliament. The controversy popularized “no taxation without representation” and strengthened colonial unity.
11. Townshend Duties
Who: British Parliament and American colonists.
What: Import duties on goods such as glass, paper, paint, lead, and tea.
When: 1767; most duties were repealed in 1770, but the tea duty remained.
Where: The American colonies.
Why it matters: Colonists protested the taxes and boycotted British goods. The conflict increased tensions between Britain and the colonies and contributed to later protests against the tea tax.
12. Boston Massacre
Who: British soldiers and Boston colonists; five colonists were killed, including Crispus Attucks.
What: British soldiers fired into a crowd during a confrontation.
When: March 5, 1770.
Where: Boston, Massachusetts.
Why it matters: Patriot leaders used the incident to portray British troops as oppressive. It intensified anti-British sentiment and increased support for resistance.
13. Committees of Correspondence
Who: Colonial Patriot leaders, including Samuel Adams.
What: Committees that exchanged letters and information about British policies and organized resistance.
When: Especially from 1772 onward.
Where: Boston and communities throughout the colonies.
Why it matters: They helped colonies coordinate protests, spread political ideas, and cooperate against British policies. Their networks helped prepare for the Continental Congresses.
14. Boston Tea Party
Who: American colonists associated with the Sons of Liberty.
What: Protesters dumped British East India Company tea into Boston Harbor.
When: December 16, 1773.
Where: Boston Harbor, Massachusetts.
Why it matters: Colonists opposed British tea policy and taxation without representation. Britain responded with the Coercive Acts, escalating the conflict and pushing the colonies closer to revolution.
15. Coercive Acts
Who: British Parliament and the people of Massachusetts.
What: Punitive laws imposed after the Boston Tea Party, including closing Boston Harbor and restricting Massachusetts self-government.
When: 1774.
Where: Primarily Massachusetts, especially Boston.
Why it matters: Colonists viewed the laws as an attack on their rights. Instead of isolating Massachusetts, the laws encouraged other colonies to unite in opposition to Britain.
16. First Continental Congress
Who: Delegates from twelve of the thirteen mainland colonies; Georgia did not attend.
What: A meeting to coordinate colonial opposition to British policies.
When: September–October 1774.
Where: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Why it matters: Delegates organized a boycott of British goods and petitioned the king for redress. The meeting strengthened intercolonial cooperation before the Revolutionary War.
17. Second Continental Congress
Who: Delegates from the colonies, including John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin.
What: A governing body that organized the revolutionary war effort and eventually declared independence.
When: Began meeting in May 1775.
Where: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Why it matters: It appointed George Washington commander of the Continental Army and adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
18. Common Sense
Who: Thomas Paine, an English-born political writer.
What: A pamphlet arguing that the colonies should break away from Britain and establish an independent republic.
When: Published in January 1776.
Where: Philadelphia; circulated throughout the colonies.
Why it matters: Its accessible language persuaded many colonists that independence was preferable to reconciliation with Britain. It helped build popular support for revolution.
19. Lord Dunmore
Who: John Murray, the royal governor of Virginia.
What: Issued Dunmore's Proclamation, offering freedom to enslaved people belonging to rebel colonists if they escaped and served the British.
When: November 1775.
Where: Virginia.
Why it matters: The proclamation encouraged enslaved people to seek freedom by fleeing to British lines. It exposed the contradiction between revolutionary claims of liberty and the continuation of slavery.
20. Battles of Trenton and Princeton
Who: George Washington's Continental Army against Hessian and British forces.
What: Two American victories during the Revolutionary War.
When: Trenton: December 26, 1776; Princeton: January 3, 1777.
Where: New Jersey.
Why it matters: The victories boosted Patriot morale after a series of defeats, encouraged soldiers to remain in service, and helped keep the Continental Army alive.
21. Battle of Saratoga
Who: American forces, including troops led by Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold, against British General John Burgoyne.
What: A major American victory that ended with Burgoyne's surrender.
When: September–October 1777.
Where: Upstate New York.
Why it matters: It was a turning point in the Revolutionary War. The victory convinced France that the Americans had a realistic chance of winning and helped bring about the French-American Alliance.
22. The French-American Alliance
Who: The United States and France.
What: Treaties establishing a military and diplomatic alliance against Britain.
When: February 1778.
Where: Negotiated in France and applied to the war in North America and beyond.
Why it matters: France provided money, weapons, troops, and naval support. French assistance was crucial to the American victory at Yorktown.
23. Benjamin Franklin
Who: American printer, scientist, inventor, diplomat, and founding father.
What: Served as an American diplomat in France during the Revolution.
When: Particularly 1776–1783.
Where: France, especially Paris, as well as the United States.
Why it matters: Franklin helped secure French recognition and military assistance and participated in negotiating the alliance with France and the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
24. Battle of Yorktown
Who: American and French forces under George Washington and French commanders against British General Charles Cornwallis.
What: A siege that ended with Cornwallis's surrender.
When: September–October 1781; surrender on October 19.
Where: Yorktown, Virginia.
Why it matters: French naval support helped trap the British army. The surrender effectively ended major fighting and paved the way for the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
25. The Loyalists
Who: American colonists who remained loyal to Britain during the Revolution.
What: Colonists who opposed independence or supported continued British rule.
When: American Revolution, 1775–1783, and its aftermath.
Where: Throughout the colonies; many later moved to Canada or Britain.
Why it matters: The Revolution divided colonial society. Loyalists sometimes faced harassment, property confiscation, and exile, demonstrating that not all colonists supported independence.
26. Articles of Confederation
Who: The thirteen states and the Continental Congress.
What: The first constitution of the United States, creating a relatively weak national government.
When: Drafted in 1777; ratified in 1781; replaced by the Constitution in 1789.
Where: The United States.
Why it matters: Congress could conduct foreign affairs and declare war but lacked an effective power to tax citizens directly. These weaknesses made it difficult to manage national debt and interstate problems, encouraging calls for a stronger federal government.
27. Emancipation in the North
Who: Enslaved people, abolitionists, and northern state governments.
What: The gradual abolition of slavery in northern states following the Revolution.
When: Began during the late 1700s and continued into the 1800s.
Where: Northern states, including Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York.
Why it matters: Revolutionary ideals of liberty encouraged challenges to slavery. However, gradual emancipation left many people enslaved for years, and racial discrimination continued after abolition.
28. New Jersey Plan
Who: William Paterson and delegates representing smaller states.
What: A proposal for a stronger national government that retained equal state representation in Congress.
When: June 1787.
Where: Constitutional Convention, Philadelphia.
Why it matters: Smaller states feared domination by states with larger populations. Although the plan was not adopted in full, its support for equal state representation influenced the Great Compromise and the creation of the Senate.
29. Virginia Plan
Who: James Madison developed the proposal, which Edmund Randolph presented; it was supported by many delegates from larger states.
What: A proposal for a stronger national government with three branches and a two-house legislature.
When: May 1787.
Where: Constitutional Convention, Philadelphia.
Why it matters: Representation would be based on population or financial contributions, favoring larger states. The plan shaped the convention's debates and influenced the structure of the Constitution.
30. The Federalist Papers
Who: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, writing under the pen name Publius.
What: A collection of 85 essays defending the proposed Constitution.
When: Published in 1787–1788.
Where: Primarily New York newspapers.
Why it matters: The essays argued that the Constitution would create an effective national government while protecting liberty through checks and balances. They helped support ratification and remain important for understanding the Constitution.
31. Alexander Hamilton
Who: Founding father and first secretary of the treasury.
What: Advocated a strong federal government and a stable national financial system.
When: Especially the 1780s–1790s; secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795.
Where: United States, particularly the federal government in New York and Philadelphia.
Why it matters: Hamilton proposed federal assumption of state debts, a national bank, and policies supporting commerce and manufacturing. His ideas strengthened federal authority and contributed to the emergence of political parties.
32. Bill of Rights
Who: James Madison and other supporters of constitutional amendments; ratified by the states.
What: The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution.
When: Ratified December 15, 1791.
Where: The United States.
Why it matters: The amendments protect freedoms such as speech, religion, and the press, as well as rights related to criminal trials and searches. They addressed fears that the federal government could abuse its power and helped build support for the Constitution.