APUSH Unit 2 Part 1 Key Terms

Albany Plan of Union

Proposal supported by Benjamin Franklin that called for greater unity and home rule among Britain's N. American colonies

Battles of Trenton and Princeton

Demonstrated the resolve of the Continental Army and the military leadership of George Washington

Boston Massacre

1770 incident in which British officers responded to a protest by opening fire on civilians, killing 5 and injuring 6 others

Boston Tea Party

Event staged by disguised Indians to sabotage British support of a British East India Company monopoly.

Coercive Acts

Harsh measures of retaliation by Parliament that included the Boston Port Act closing the city's harbor

Committees of Correspondence

Underground networks of communication and propaganda, established by Samuel Adams, that sustained colonial resistance

Common Sense

Inflammatory pamphlet that demanded independence and heaped scorn on 'the Royal Brute of Great Britain.'

First Continental Congress

Body led by John Hancock that issued a Declaration of Rights and signified growing unification among the colonies

French and Indian War

England gained control of northeastern North America but was left with heavy debt, leading to colonial taxation and unrest

Lexington and Concord

Site where hostilities commenced between colonial militia and British regulars

Loyalists

Colonial Americans who fought for King George III and earned the contempt of Patriots

Olive Branch Petition

Colonial attempt at a peaceful resolution with Great Britain in 1775

Patriots

Colonists who opposed British rule, ultimately pushed for independence through protests, military service, and grassroots efforts

Pennsylvania Gradual Abolition Act

Passed in 1780, it was the first law to begin the process of emancipation in the United States (several Northern states followed)

Pontiac's Rebellion

Uprising on the frontier that caused the British to attempt to limit colonial expansion

Proclamation of 1763

Legislation in 1763 that prohibited the American colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains

Salutary Neglect

Time period where Parliament largely did not enforce regulations in the North American colonies

Sons & Daughters of Liberty

Male and female organizations that enforced the nonimportation agreements, sometimes by coercive means

Stamp Act

Legislation passed in 1765 that directly taxed the colonists

Stamp Act Crisis

First major negative response to British enforcement of Parliamentary regulation and taxing in the colonies.

Sullivan Expedition

Scorched-earth campaign against the Iroquois Confederacy during the Revolutionary War

Tea Act

Legislation that granted a monopoly to the British East India Company

Townshend Acts

Series of laws passed by Parliament that taxed certain items such as glass, lead, paper and tea.

Virtual Representation

British governmental theory that Parliament spoke for all British subjects, including Americans, even if they did not vote for its members

Writs of Assistance

Blank search warrants used by British authorities to regulate smuggling in the North American colonies