Period 3: 1754-1800 Flashcards

Flashcards for Period 3: 1754-1800

French and Indian War / Seven Years War

The American side of a global conflict where the French and their Native American allies fought against the British due to colonial expansion into the Ohio Valley. It ended with England dominating the continent by gaining Canada and nearly all territory east of the Mississippi Valley.

Albany Plan of Union

Proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1754, it suggested an intercolonial government and a tax system for colonial defense. It was rejected by the colonies but laid the foundation for the future revolutionary Congress.

Sugar Act of 1764

A law that aimed to deter molasses smugglers by establishing new duties and provisions. It lowered the duty on molasses from the West Indies but increased enforcement.

Quartering Act

Required colonists to provide housing and food for British soldiers. It extended wartime provisions into peacetime, with acts passed in 1765 and as part of the Intolerable Acts in 1774.

Stamp Act

A law imposing taxes on paper goods and documents in the colonies, leading to colonial resistance and the slogan 'taxation without representation.'

Stamp Act Congress

A meeting in 1765 where delegates from nine colonies petitioned the British Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act, arguing taxation without representation was tyranny.

Sons of Liberty / Daughters of Liberty

Organized groups of merchants, traders, and artisans who protested British policies, especially the Stamp Act.

Townshend Acts

Laws passed in 1767 that taxed imported items like paper, tea, and glass, and arranged for colonial administrators to be paid from customs revenues. It resulted in organized boycotts and protests.

Committees of Correspondence

Groups set up by colonists, often in response to the Townshend Acts, to exchange ideas and information about the political mood.

Boston Tea Party

A protest against the British granting the East India Tea Company a monopoly on the tea trade and imposing new taxes, resulting in colonists destroying tea shipments and leading to the Coercive/Intolerable Acts.

Coercive Acts / Intolerable Acts

Laws passed by the British in response to the Boston Tea Party, including closing Boston Harbor, tightening control over the Massachusetts government, and enacting another Quartering Act. Colonists viewed these acts as punishment and tyranny.

Quebec Act

A law that granted greater liberties to Catholics and extended the boundaries of Quebec Territory, impeding westward expansion desired by colonists and causing dissatisfaction.

Patriots

Colonial leaders and colonists who opposed British policies and tyranny, and began to arm themselves and gather into militias.

Loyalists

Colonists who remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolution.

First Continental Congress

Convened in late 1774, with delegates from all colonies except Georgia, it listed American grievances, developed strategies to address them, and defined the colonial position on the relationship with the royal government. They agreed to boycott British goods.

Second Continental Congress

Met after Lexington and Concord started the American Revolution. It made the Declaration of Independence, established the Continental Army, and wrote the Articles of Confederation. Adopted the Olive Branch Petition, which was rejected.

Declaration of Independence

The document, made public on July 4, 1776, by which the colonies declared their separation from Great Britain. It incorporated Enlightenment ideas such as consent of the governed and natural rights.

Continental Army

The military force established by the Second Continental Congress to fight the British in the American Revolution, led by George Washington.

Enlightenment

A period of intellectual and cultural change in Europe based on logic and reason, influencing colonists' ideas about questioning authority and inspiring ideas in Thomas Paine's Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Paine's Common Sense

A pamphlet published in 1776 that used logic and reason to argue powerfully for independence from Britain, making complex Enlightenment ideas accessible.

Consent of the Governed

An Enlightenment idea, included in the Declaration of Independence, suggesting that a government's legitimacy comes from the permission of the people it governs.

Natural Rights

Enlightenment ideas, included in the Declaration of Independence, referring to fundamental rights inherent to all people, such as life, liberty, and property (or the pursuit of happiness).

Valley Forge

A key event during the Revolutionary War where George Washington's leadership helped preserve the Continental Army through a difficult winter campaign.

Battle of Saratoga

A significant American victory in 1777 during the Revolutionary War that solidified the alliance between the United States and France.

Franco American Alliance

Negotiated by Benjamin Franklin in 1778, this brought France into the American Revolutionary War on the side of the colonists.

Battle of Yorktown

The final major battle of the American Revolutionary War in 1781, where the Continental Army and the French navy trapped and forced the British to surrender.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

The treaty that officially ended the American Revolutionary War. The British acknowledged American independence and ceded their North American territory east of the Mississippi River.

Articles of Confederation

The first national constitution of the United States, written by the Continental Congress after declaring independence. It created a weak central government with only a legislative branch that lacked powers to tax or enforce a military draft.

Shays's Rebellion

An uprising of farmers in Massachusetts protesting debt and foreclosures, which highlighted the weaknesses of the federal government under the Articles of Confederation.

Constitutional Convention

A meeting held in Philadelphia in 1787 with delegates from all states except Rhode Island, where they drafted a new Constitution.

Virginia Plan

A proposal at the Constitutional Convention favoring a strong central government with a bicameral legislature where representation would be based on state population, supported by larger states.

New Jersey Plan

A proposal at the Constitutional Convention suggesting modifications to the Articles of Confederation, calling for equal representation from each state in a unicameral legislature, supported by smaller states.

Great Compromise / Connecticut Compromise

A compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention that blended the Virginia and New Jersey plans. It created a bicameral legislature with the House of Representatives based on population and the Senate having equal representation for each state.

Three-Fifths Compromise

A compromise at the Constitutional Convention addressing how enslaved people would be counted for representation in Congress. It was agreed that three-fifths of the enslaved population would be added to the population count.

Constitution

The governing document of the United States, ratified in 1788 and effective in 1789, which replaced the Articles of Confederation. It established a three-tiered federal government with principles of federalism and separation of powers.

Federalism

The principle of sharing power between the national (federal) government and the state governments.

Separation of Powers / Checks and Balances

A system included in the Constitution to prevent any one branch of government from becoming too powerful by distributing governmental powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

Ratification (of the Constitution)

The process by which the states approved the new Constitution. Nine out of the thirteen states were required to agree for it to become the governing document.

Federalists (Constitution Era)

A political faction that advocated for the ratification of the Constitution and favored a strong central government. Led by figures like Alexander Hamilton, they tended to represent urban and commercial interests.

Whiskey Rebellion

A protest by Pennsylvania farmers against the federal tax on whiskey. George Washington led federal troops to suppress the rebellion, demonstrating the new government's power to enforce laws.

Anti-Federalists

A political faction that opposed the ratification of the Constitution, fearing that a strong central government would become tyrannical. They advocated for states' rights and rural/agricultural interests and demanded a Bill of Rights.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments added to the Constitution in 1791. They enumerate individual rights and protect individuals and states from potential overreach by the federal government.

George Washington

Commander of the Continental Army and the first President of the United States. He was unanimously chosen by the Electoral College.

Presidential Cabinet

A group of advisors to the President, created by Washington, made up of the heads of the executive departments.

Alexander Hamilton

Served as Secretary of the Treasury under George Washington. He was a leader of the Federalist party who favored a strong central government and proposed the National Bank and a financial plan to handle the national debt.

Thomas Jefferson

Served as Secretary of State under George Washington. He was a leader of the Democratic-Republican party who favored states' rights and a strict interpretation of the Constitution. He later became President in 1800.

National Bank (First)

Proposed by Alexander Hamilton to regulate and strengthen the economy. Its creation sparked debate over strict vs. broad constructionism. Washington approved it.

Strict Constructionism

A view of constitutional interpretation, advocated by figures like Jefferson and Madison, which holds that the federal government should only exercise powers specifically listed in the Constitution.

Broad Constructionism

A view of constitutional interpretation, advocated by figures like Hamilton, which holds that the federal government has flexibility in interpreting the Constitution and can exercise powers that are implied but not explicitly written.

Hamilton's Financial Plan

A plan to manage the national debt, including the federal government assuming states' debts and repaying debt holders with land. It favored northern banks and the elite and led to a political compromise regarding the location of the national capital in the South.

Neutrality Proclamation

Issued by George Washington in response to the French Revolution, declaring that the United States would remain neutral in the conflict between France and other European powers.

Alien and Sedition Acts

Laws passed in 1798 during John Adams' presidency. They were controversial and opposed by figures like Jefferson and Madison, who drafted the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions in response.

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

Resolutions drafted by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts. They argued that states had the right to determine the constitutionality of federal laws and declare those they deemed unconstitutional to be void.