AMSCO APUSH Unit 3

French and Indian War

War fought in the colonies between the English and the French for possession of the Ohio Valley area. The English won. (1754-1763)

George Washington

1st President of the United States; commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution

Albany Plan of Union

Ben Franklin's plan to unite the colonies under one government to defeat France.

Peace of Paris (1763)

Ended the Seven Year's War, France had to abandon all claim to North America; Great Britain received Canada and the eastern half of the Mississippi Valley, Spain got back the Philippine Islands and Cuba, but had to cede East and West Florida to England

Salutary Neglect

An English policy of not strictly enforcing laws in its colonies

Pontiac's Rebellion

A 1763 conflict between Native Americans and the British over settlement of Indian lands in the Great Lakes area

Proclamation of 1763

law forbidding English colonists to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains

Stamp Act Congress

A meeting of delegations from many of the colonies, the congress was formed to protest the newly passed Stamp Act; adopted a declaration of rights as well as sent letters of complaints to the king and parliament, and it showed signs of colonial unity and organized resistance.

Committees of Correspondence

Organization founded by Samuel Adams consisting of a system of communication between patriot leaders in New England and throughout the colonies

Intolerable Acts

A series of laws set up by Parliament to punish Massachusetts after the Boston Tea Party

Parliament

Britain's law-making assembly

George III

English monarch at the time of the revolution. He was the main opposition for the colonies due to his stubborn attitude and unwillingness to hear out colonial requests/grievances.

Quartering Act

an act passed by the British that allowed British troops to live in the homes of the colonists

writ of assistance

court document allowing customs officers to enter any location to search for smuggled goods

Enlightenment

A movement in the 18th century that advocated the use of reason in the reappraisal of accepted ideas and social institutions; ideas led to the American Revolution

Deism

A popular Enlightenment era belief that there is a God, but that God isn't involved in people's lives or in revealing truths to prophets.

Social Contract

A voluntary agreement among individuals to secure their rights and welfare by creating a government and abiding by its rules.

John Locke

English philosopher who advocated the idea of a "social contract" in which government powers are derived from the consent of the governed and in which the government serves the people; also said people have natural rights to life, liberty and property.

Thomas Paine

American Revolutionary leader and pamphleteer (born in England) who supported the American colonist's fight for independence; wrote Common Sense

First Continental Congress

Convened on September 5, 1774, to protest the Intolerable Acts. Endorsed the Suffolk Resolves, voted for a boycott of British imports, and sent a petition to King George III, conceding to Parliament the power of regulation of commerce but stringently objecting to its arbitrary taxation and unfair judicial system.

John Adams

America's first Vice-President and second President. Sponsor of the American Revolution in Massachusetts, and wrote the Massachusetts guarantee that freedom of press "ought not to be restrained."

John Jay

1st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, negotiated with British for Washington

economic sanctions

Boycotts, embargoes, and other economic measures that one country uses to pressure another country into changing its policies.

Second Continental Congress

Organized the continental Army, called on the colonies to send troops, selected George Washington to lead the army, and appointed the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence

Olive Branch Petition

Colonists final offer of peace to Britain, agreeing to be loyal to the British government if it addressed their grievances (repealed the Coercive Acts, ended the taxation without representation policies). It was rejected by Parliament, which in December 1775 passed the American Prohibitory Act forbidding all further trade with the colonies.

Declaration of Independence

The document recording the proclamation of the second Continental Congress (4 July 1776) asserting the independence of the colonies from Great Britain

Paul Revere

American silversmith remembered for his midnight ride to warn the colonists in Lexington and Concord that British troops were coming (1735-1818)

Battle of Bunker Hill

First major battle of the Revolutions. It showed that the Americans could hold their own, but the British were also not easy to defeat. Ultimately, the Americans were forced to withdraw after running out of ammunition, and the hill was in British hands. However, the British suffered more deaths.

Battle of Saratoga

American victory over British troops in 1777 that was a turning point in the American Revolution.

Battle of Yorktown

Last major battle of the Revolutionary War. Cornwallis and his troops were trapped in the Chesapeake Bay by the French fleet. He was sandwiched between the French navy and the American army. He surrendered October 19, 1781.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

This treaty ended the Revolutionary War, recognized the independence of the American colonies, and granted the colonies the territory from the southern border of Canada to the northern border of Florida, and from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River

Loyalists

American colonists who remained loyal to Britain and opposed the war for independence

Patriots

American colonists who were determined to fight the British until American independence was won

Minutemen

Member of a militia during the American Revolution who could be ready to fight in sixty seconds

Valley Forge

Place where Washington's army spent the winter of 1777-1778, a 4th of troops died from disease and malnutrition

Republican Motherhood

The idea that American women had a special responsibility to cultivate "civic virtue" in their children

Abigail Adams

John Adam's wife, she appealed to her husband to protect the rights of women

Articles of Confederation

A weak constitution that governed America during the Revolutionary War.

Land Ordinance of 1785

A law that divided much of the United States into a system of townships to facilitate the sale of western land to settlers.

Northwest Ordinance

Established a system for setting up governments in the western territories so they could eventually join the Union on an equal footing with the original 13 states

Shay's Rebellion

A series of attacks on courthouses by a small band of farmers led by a Revolutionary War Captain to block foreclosure proceedings.

Federalists

supporters of the Constitution

Anti-Federalists

opponents of the Constitution

Federalist Papers

A collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the name "Publius" to defend the Constitution in detail.

Federalism

A system in which power is divided between the national and state governments

Separation of Powers

Constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, with the legislative branch making law, the executive applying and enforcing the law, and the judiciary interpreting the law

Checks and Balances

A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power

Three-Fifths Compromise

Agreement that each slave counted as three-fifths of a person in determining representation in the House for representation and taxation purposes

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution

Democratic-Republican Party

Led by Thomas Jefferson, believed people should have political power, favored strong state governments, emphasized agriculture, strict interpretation of the Constitution, pro-French, opposed National Bank

Washington's Farewell Address

Warned Americans not to get involved in European affairs, not to make permanent alliances, not to form political parties and to avoid sectionalism.

Alien and Sedition Acts

Acts passed by federalists giving the government power to imprison or deport foreign citizens and prosecute critics of the government

Citizen Genet

French diplomat who in 1793 tried to draw the United States into the war between France and England (1763-1834)

Pinckney's Treaty

Agreement between the US and Spain that changed Florida's border and made it easier for american ships to use the port of New Orleans

XYZ Affair

A 1797 incident in which French officials demanded a bribe from U.S. diplomats

Eli Whitney

Invented the cotton gin