Us History Ch. 6 Terms

acadians

French residents of Nova Scotia, many of whom were uprooted by the British in 1755 and scattered as far south as Louisiana, where their descendants became known as “Cajuns.”

french and indian war

Nine-year war between the British and the French in North America. It resulted in the expulsion of the French from the North American mainland

seven years war

First global war, with battles on four continents, as France, England, Spain, Prussia, and other European powers clashed.

albany congress

Intercolonial congress summoned by the British government to foster greater colonial unity and assure Iroquois support in the escalating war against the French.

regulars

Trained professional soldiers, as distinct from militia or conscripts.

battle of quebec

Historic British victory over French forces. The surrender marked the beginning of the end of French rule in North America.

pontiac’s war

Bloody campaign waged by Ottawa chief to drive the British out of Ohio Country. It was brutally crushed by British troops, who resorted to distributing blankets infected with smallpox as a means to put down the rebellion.

proclamation of 1763

Decree issued by Parliament in the wake of Pontiac’s War, prohibiting settlement beyond the Appalachians. Contributed to rising resentment of British rule in the American colonies.

republicanism

Political theory of representative government, based on the principle of popular sovereignty, with a strong emphasis on liberty and civic virtue. It stood as an alternative to monarchical rule.

radical whigs

Eighteenth-century British political commentators who agitated against political corruption and emphasized the threat to liberty posed by arbitrary power.

mercantilism

Economic theory that closely linked a nation’s political and military power to its bullion reserves.

sugar act

First tax imposed on the colonists by the crown and was lowered substantially in response to widespread protests.

quartering act

Required colonies to provide food and quarters for British troops. Many colonists resented the act, which they perceived as an encroachment on their rights.

stamp act

Widely unpopular tax on an array of paper goods, repealed in 1766 after mass protests erupted across the colonies. Colonists developed the principle of “no taxation without representation” that questioned Parliament’s authority over the colonies and laid the foundation for future revolutionary claims.

admiralty courts

Used to try offenders for violating the various Navigation Acts passed by the crown after the French and Indian War. Colonists argued that the courts encroached on their rights as Englishmen because they lacked juries and placed the burden of proof on the accused.

stamp act congress

Assembly of delegates from nine colonies who met in New York City to draft a petition for the repeal of the Stamp Act.

nonimportation agreement

Boycotts against British goods adopted in response to the Stamp Act and, later, the Townshend and Intolerable Acts. The agreements were the most effective form of protest against British policies in the colonies.

sons of liberty

Patriotic groups that played a central role in agitating against the Stamp Act and enforcing nonimportation agreements.

daughters of liberty

Patriotic groups that played a central role in agitating against the Stamp Act and enforcing nonimportation agreements.

declaratory act

reaffirmed Parliament’s unqualified sovereignty over the North American colonies.

townshend acts

External, or indirect, levies on glass, white lead, paper, paint, and tea, the proceeds of which were used to pay colonial governors. Sparked another round of protests in the colonies.

boston massacre

Clash between unruly Bostonian protestors and locally stationed British redcoats, who fired on the jeering crowd, killing or wounding eleven citizens.

committees of correspondence

Local committees established across Massachusetts, and later in each of the thirteen colonies, to coordinate colonial opposition to British policies through the exchange of letters and pamphlets.

boston tea party

Rowdy protest against the British East India Company’s newly acquired monopoly on the tea trade. Colonists, disguised as Indians, dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston harbor, prompting harsh sanctions from the British Parliament.

intolerable acts

Series of punitive measures passed in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party, closing the Port of Boston, revoking a number of rights in the Massachusetts colonial charter, and expanding the Quartering Act to allow for the lodging of soldiers in private homes.

quebec act

Allowed the French residents of Québec to retain their traditional political and religious institutions, and extended the boundaries of the province southward to the Ohio River.

first continental congress

Convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies that convened in Philadelphia to craft a response to the Intolerable Acts. Delegates established The Association, which called for a complete boycott of British goods.

the association

Nonimportation agreement crafted during the First Continental Congress calling for the complete boycott of British goods.

battles of lexington and concord

First battles of the Revolutionary War, fought outside of Boston. The colonial militia successfully defended their stores of munitions, forcing the British to retreat to Boston.

valley forge

Encampment where George Washington’s poorly equipped army spent a wretched, freezing winter. Hundreds of men died and more than a thousand deserted. The plight of the starving, shivering soldiers reflected the main weakness of the American army—a lack of stable supplies and munitions.

camp followers

Women and children who followed the Continental Army during the American Revolution, providing vital services such as cooking and sewing in return for rations.