amstud - unit 3b vocabulary

First Continental Congress

a convention in Philadelphia to protest parliamentary infringements of their rights and restore the relationship with the crown

Battle of Lexington and Concord

first battle of the American Revolution; British commander sent troops to seize colonial military supplies in Concord; Paul Revere’s “The British are coming”; Minutemen of Lexington faced the British and forced to retreat; Americans eventually won

Declaration of Independence

a resolution declaration colonies to be independent; introduced by Richard Lee; drafted by Jefferson; July 4, 1776; “life, liberty, pursuit of happiness”

Loyalists (American Tories)

colonists who maintained allegiance to the king; fought with British soldiers

Patriots

American colonists who actively joined the struggle against Britain; large numbers from New England states and Virginia; 40% of American colonists were Patriots

Battle of Saratoga

British forces marched from Canada to join forces marching from the west and south; objective was to cut off New England from rest of states; October 1777; Americans won

Treaty of Alliance with France, 1778

a treaty with France stating that it will aid America; provided money and supplies to the Americas; a chance to weaken Great Britain

Treaty of Paris, 1783

treaty that ended the American Revolution; Britain would recognize the United States as an independent nation, the Mississippi River would be the western boundary of the Americas, Americans would have fishing rights off the coast of Canada, Americans would pay debts owed to British merchants for property confiscated during the war

Daughters of Liberty

Groups of women that opposed British actions; boycotted, provided supplies to armed forces, participated in battle

Republican Motherhood

the rising role for women following the American Revolution; women should be educated so they can teach their children republican values and roles as a citizen; gave women a more active role, but they were still subordinate to men

Haitian Revolution

inspired by the American Revolution and Enlightenment ideals; successful slave revolt → abolished slavery; 1791-1804

Articles of Confederation

a weak form of central government written by the Second Continental Congress during the American Revolution in order to help unite the colonies as a nation; adopted by Congress in 1777

Land Ordinance/Northwest Ordinance

established for the land in the Northwest Territory; granted limited self-government to the developing territory and prohibited slavery in the region

Northwest Territory

the first organized territory of the United States; included territory east of the Mississippi River, northwest of the Ohio River, south of the Great Lakes, and west of Pennsylvania

Shays’ Rebellion

an uprising against high state taxes, imprisonment for debt, and lack of propery money; led by Captain Daniel Shays; 1786

Constitutional Convention

a meeting of delegates in Philadelphia (1787) in order to revise upon the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution was created as a result.

Virginia Plan

a proposal during the Constitutional Convention which gives more representation to the larger states 

New Jersey Plan

a counter-proposal to the Virginia Plan during the Constitutional Convention which gives more representation to the smaller states

Great Compromise (Connecticut Plan)

a compromise solution regarding state representation; bi-cameral (two-house) Congress: Senate (equal representation) and the House of Representatives (representation determined by population size); proposed by Roger Sherman

Three-Fifths Compromise

compromise regarding whether slaves should be counted in state population; each enslaved individual is three-fifths of a person for the purpose of determining a state’s level of taxation and representation

Slave Trade Compromise

a guarantee that slavery could be imported for at least 20 years longer (from 1787-1808); Congress could vote to abolish slavery after that date if they wished

Federalists

supporters of the Constitution and its strong federal government; founded mostly in the Atlantic Coast and in large cities

Anti-Federalists

opponents who did not support the Constitution; feared the new government would be too strong; mostly small farmers and settlers on the western frontier

Federalists Papers

highly persuasive essays written for a New York newspaper in support of the Constitution; written by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison

James Madison

known as the Father of the Constitution; a big contributor to the creation of the Constitution; author of the Federalist Papers along with Alexander Hamilton

federalism

a system with strong but limited central government; what the federalists believed in

separation of powers

the system of dividing powers between different branches of government

Bill of Rights

spells out individual rights of the people; created to appease anti-federalists who were worried that the Constitution could exploit the lack of individual rights; the first ten amendments to the Constitution