Textbook Terms, Chapter 4

Discusses the importance of the French and Indian war and its effect on subsequent relations between the colonist and Great Britain.

Albany Plan

A 1754 proposal led by Benjamin Franklin to create a unified colonial government for defense and Native relations during the French and Indian War; it was rejected by the colonies

Benjamin Franklin

A colonial leader, writer, and diplomat who promoted unity among the colonies and proposed the Albany Plan of Union

Boston Massacre

A 1770 incident in which British soldiers fired on a crowd in Boston, killing five colonists and intensifying anti-British sentiment

Boston Tea Party

A 1773 protest in which colonists dumped British tea into Boston Harbor to oppose the Tea Act and taxation without representation

Charles Townshend

A British official who proposed the Townshend Duties, taxing colonial imports to raise revenue for Britain

Coercive Acts/Intolerable Acts

A series of punitive laws passed in 1774 to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party and reassert British control

Committees Of Correspondence

Colonial communication networks organized to share information and coordinate resistance against British policies

Creoles

People of European descent born in the colonies, often developing distinct identities separate from those in Europe

Currency Act

A British law restricting colonial paper money to protect British merchants, contributing to colonial resentment

Daughters Of Liberty

Patriot women who supported resistance through boycotts and producing homemade goods to replace British imports

First Continental Congress

A 1774 meeting of colonial delegates to coordinate a unified response to the Intolerable Acts

George Grenville

A British prime minister who enacted the Sugar Act and Stamp Act to raise revenue from the colonies

Imperial Authority

The power exercised by Britain over its colonies through laws, taxation, and military enforcement

Impressment

The British practice of forcibly recruiting colonial sailors into the Royal Navy

Iroquois Confederacy

A powerful alliance of Native American nations in the Northeast that played European powers against each other during colonial conflicts

Lord North

The British prime minister during most of the American Revolution who supported strict measures against the colonies

Mercy Otis Warren

A colonial writer and political activist who used plays and pamphlets to criticize British policies and support independence

Mutiny Act

A British law requiring colonial assemblies to provide housing and supplies for British troops stationed in America

Patrick Henry

A Virginia legislator who authored the Virginia Resolves and spoke out strongly against British taxation

Paxton Boys

A group of Pennsylvania frontiersmen who attacked Native Americans in protest of colonial policies they believed failed to protect settlers

Pontiacs Rebellion

A 1763 Native American uprising led by Pontiac against British forts and settlements after the French and Indian War

Proclamation Of 1763

A British decree prohibiting colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains to reduce conflict with Native Americans

Quebec Act

A 1774 law extending Quebec’s boundaries and allowing Catholicism, angering colonists who saw it as favoring British control

Samuel Adams

A radical Patriot leader who organized resistance, helped form the Sons of Liberty, and promoted colonial unity

Seven Years War/French And Indian War

A global conflict (1754–1763) between Britain and France that ended with British victory but left Britain in debt and seeking colonial revenue

Sons Of Liberty

A Patriot organization that used protests and sometimes violence to oppose British taxation policies

Stamp Act

A 1765 law requiring colonists to purchase stamped paper for legal documents and printed materials, sparking widespread protest

Stamp Act Congress

A 1765 colonial meeting that petitioned the king and Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act

Sugar Act

A 1764 law lowering the tax on molasses but increasing enforcement to raise revenue from the colonies

Tea Act

A 1773 law allowing the British East India Company to sell tea directly to the colonies, undercutting merchants and leading to the Boston Tea Party

Townshend Duties

Taxes on imported goods such as glass, paper, and tea, intended to raise revenue and assert British authority

Virginia Resolves

A series of resolutions introduced by Patrick Henry asserting that only Virginia’s assembly could tax Virginians

William Pitt

A British leader who directed wartime strategy during the French and Indian War and prioritized victory over France in North America