APUSH Chapter 3 | America in the British Empire

Letters from an American Farmer

A 1782 essay collection by J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur that described the "new American" identity—a mix of peoples, abundant land, and yeoman farming ideal

Mercantilism

An economic system where colonies exist to enrich the mother country by supplying raw materials, buying finished goods, and ensuring a favorable balance of trade

Enumerated articles

Specific colonial products (like tobacco, sugar, rice, indigo, later others) that by law had to be shipped to England or its colonies under the Navigation Acts

Salutary neglect

Britain's long-standing policy (before 1763) of loosely enforcing laws, letting colonies self-govern and prosper

Deism

Enlightenment-era belief in a rational "clockmaker" God who created natural laws but rarely intervenes; religion based on reason, not revelation

Writs of assistance

General search warrants allowing customs officials to search ships, warehouses, and homes for smuggled goods without specific cause

No taxation without representation

Colonial slogan protesting Parliament's taxes passed without colonial representatives' consent

Virtual vs. actual representation

Virtual: Parliament claims to represent all British subjects everywhere; Actual: colonists wanted their own elected representatives to tax them

Direct vs. indirect taxation

Direct (internal) taxes levied within the colonies on everyday items (e.g., Stamp Act); Indirect (external) taxes are customs duties on imports (e.g., Sugar/Townshend Acts)

Navigation Acts

English trade laws (starting 1650s) that restricted colonial shipping to English/colonial ships and routed certain "enumerated" goods through England

Hat, Iron, and Wool Acts

British laws limiting colonial manufacturing in those trades so colonies wouldn't compete with British producers

Great Awakening

1730s-1740s evangelical revival stressing personal conversion, emotional preaching, and questioning established churches' authority

The Enlightenment

18th-century movement emphasizing reason, science, and natural rights; influenced colonial elites and revolutionary ideas

Colonial wars

Series of imperial wars in North America (King William's, Queen Anne's, King George's) culminating in the French and Indian War, 1689-1763

Albany Plan of Union

Ben Franklin's 1754 proposal for a joint colonial council for defense and Indian affairs—famous "Join, or Die" cartoon—ultimately rejected

Great war for empire/Seven Years' War/French and Indian War

1754-1763 conflict where Britain defeated France (and many Native allies) in North America, gaining Canada but huge debts

George Washington

Virginia militia officer whose 1754 actions at Fort Necessity helped spark the French and Indian War; later a key colonial leader

William Pitt

British leader who poured resources into the war effort and promised colonial reimbursements, helping secure victory in the French and Indian War

Treaty of Paris 1763

Peace ending the French and Indian War: Britain gained Canada and lands east of the Mississippi; Spain ceded Florida to Britain; France kept some islands

Pontiac's Rebellion

1763 Native-led uprising in the Great Lakes/Ohio Valley against British forts and settlers after the war

Proclamation of 1763

British line along the Appalachians barring colonial settlement westward to reduce conflict with Natives; angered land-hungry colonists

James Otis

Massachusetts lawyer who argued against writs of assistance and coined "taxation without representation is tyranny"

Sugar Act

1764 law cutting the molasses duty but strictly enforcing collection and smuggling penalties (vice-admiralty courts)

Stamp Act

1765 direct tax on printed materials (legal papers, newspapers, cards); sparked protests, boycotts, and the Stamp Act Congress

Declaratory Act

1766 law asserting Parliament's full authority to make laws and tax the colonies "in all cases whatsoever," passed with the Stamp Act repeal

Boston Massacre

1770 confrontation where British soldiers fired into a crowd, killing five; used by patriots as anti-British propaganda

Gaspee incident

1772 Rhode Islanders burned the British customs ship Gaspee; suspects were to be tried in Britain, alarming colonists

Thomas Hutchinson

Royal governor of Massachusetts whose strict policies and leaked letters calling for curbing liberties inflamed colonial anger

Boston Tea Party

1773 protest where colonists, many disguised as Mohawks, dumped East India Company tea into Boston Harbor against the Tea Act

Lord North

British prime minister (1770-1782) behind the Tea Act and Coercive Acts; led Britain into the Revolution

Coercive/Intolerable Acts

1774 punitive laws closing Boston's port, altering Massachusetts government, allowing trials to be moved, and strengthening quartering; meant to punish Massachusetts

Quebec Act

1774 law extending Quebec to the Ohio River and recognizing French civil law and Catholicism; colonists feared it as a threat to self-rule and Protestantism

George Whitefield

Famous itinerant preacher of the Great Awakening whose dramatic sermons drew massive crowds and crossed colony lines

Jonathan Edwards

New England theologian of the Great Awakening; author of "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," urging personal repentance

Patrick Henry

Virginia orator of the Stamp Act Resolves and "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speech; pressed for colonial rights

Sons of Liberty

Grassroots groups that organized protests, intimidated stamp distributors, and enforced boycotts against British measures

Sam Adams

Boston radical organizer; helped found the Sons of Liberty and Committees of Correspondence; driving force behind resistance

Charles Townshend

British chancellor who enacted the 1767 Townshend Duties on imports (glass, paper, paint, tea) and tightened customs enforcement

Committees of Correspondence

Colonial networks (first widely in the 1770s) to share news, build unity, and coordinate resistance to British policy

First Continental Congress

1774 meeting of 12 colonies in Philadelphia that petitioned the king, endorsed the Continental Association (boycott), and urged militia readiness