APUSH Ch. 4 The Empire in Transition

George I and II

two German-born English kings who had not accustomed to English ways and therefore contributed to shrinking monarchical power

Robert Walpole

the first of the modern English prime ministers who deliberately refrained from enforcing the Navigation Acts

Privy Council

a group of royal advisors in England that helped oversee colonial affairs and manage the implementation of imperial policy

deputies

substitutes who English-appointed colonial officials often employed to go to the American colonies while the actual official stayed behind

colonial postal service

a system established to facilitate communication and the delivery of mail between the colonies and England; contributed to the growth of interconnected colonial economies and enhanced political organization

Albany Plan

a proposal by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 aimed at uniting the American colonies for mutual defense against French and Native American threats

Seven Years’ War

a global conflict between 1756 and 1763 that involved most of the world's great powers and was fought primarily in North America, Europe, and India; it is also known as the French and Indian War in the American context

Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette

French explorers who traveled the Mississippi River in 1673. They sought to establish French claims in North America and map the region for future exploration

Rene-Robert Cavelier

de La Salle, a French explorer known for his expeditions in North America and for claiming the Mississippi River basin for France

Iroquois Confederacy

the dominant Native American tribal presence in the Northeast in the 17th/18th centuries; formed somewhat shallow alliances with both the English/Dutch and the French; played them against eachother

Ohio Valley

the principal area of conflict between the French and the British

King William’s War (1689-1697)

an Anglo-French war taking place in Europe which produced a few, indecisive clashes between the English and French in Northern New England

Queen Anne’s War

a European conflict starting in 1701 that generated border fighting with the Spaniards in the South as well as with the French and their Native allies in the North

Treaty of Utrecht

a treaty that ended Queen Anne’s War and transferred substantial areas of territory from France to Britain, including Newfoundland and Acadia

King George’s War

a conflict that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession and involved British colonists fighting against the French and Spanish in North America, particularly in the region of Nova Scotia

Fort Necessity

a fort built by George Washington, staging an unsuccessful attack on a larger French outpost; the French retaliated by leading an assault on this fort and trapping Washington and his soldiers inside

Edward Braddock

a commander in chief of the British army in America who failed miserably in 1755 to retake the crucial site at the forks of the Ohio River where Washington had lost the battle at Fort Necessity

William Pitt

the British secretary of state(and later prime minister) during the French and Indian War, known for his leadership and aggressive military strategy, which helped turn the tide in favor of the British against the French; implemented impressment

Jeffrey Amherst and James Wolfe

captured the fortress at Louisberg and led successful attacks during the French and Indian War, including the pivotal siege of Quebec.

“scalp bounties”

a term describing the system during the French and Indian War in which the English would reward those who brought back evidence of killing a native

Peace of Paris

ended the French and Indian War; french ceded many of their land holdings to Great Britain

George Grenville

a British Prime Minister whose policies, including the Stamp Act, helped ignite colonial dissent and the push for American independence.

Proclamation of 1763

A declaration issued by King George III that prohibited colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains to avoid conflicts with Native Americans

John Stuart

British colonial administrator and military officer known for his role in the Naive trade (in charge of Native affairs in the southern colonies and was sympathetic to Native needs) and as a loyalist during the American Revolution

Sir William Johnson

managed relations with Native tribes in the North; sympathetic to Native needs; married a Mohawk woman (Mary Brant)

Mutiny Act of 1765

a British law that required American colonists to provide housing and supplies to British soldiers stationed in the colonies

Sugar Act of 1764

a law that imposed duties on imported sugar and molasses in an effort to raise revenue for Britain and curb smuggling

Currency Act of 1765

a British law that restricted the colonies from issuing their own paper money, requiring transactions to be conducted in British pounds, thus affecting colonial trade

Stamp Act of 1765

a tax imposed on the British colonies by Britain which imposed a tax on all printed materials

Paxton Boys

a band of people from western Pennsylvania who descended on Philadelphia and with demands for relief from colonial (not British) taxes

Regulator Movement

an uprising in the Carolina colonies during the 1760s and 1770s aimed at addressing issues of taxation and lack of representation for upcountry residents, where groups sought to reform local government and justice

tidewater planters

wealthy plantation owners in the coastal regions of Virginia and the Carolinas who relied on cash crops and slave labor for their economic prosperity; governed alongside the governor

Patrick Henry

a prominent colonial leader and orator known for his declaration "Give me liberty, or give me death!"; made a dramatic speech threatening King George III to the House of Burgesses

“Virginia Resolves”

a series of resolutions printed in 1765 asserting the rights of colonists and condemning the Stamp Act as unconstitutional

James Otis

a colonial Massachusetts lawyer and early advocate for the American Revolution; famous for his slogan "Taxation without representation is tyranny"; persuaded his colleagues of the idea of the Stamp Act Congress

Stamp Act Congress

a meeting of representatives from nine colonies in 1765 organized to protest the Stamp Act and to address colonial grievances against British taxation.

Sons of Liberty

a secret organization of American colonists formed in the 1760s to oppose British policies, particularly the Stamp Act, using both peaceful protests and violent resistance.

the Marquis of Rockingham

the British Prime Minister who succeeded Grenville and repealed the Stamp Act in 1766, aiming to ease colonial tensions.

Ethan Allen

a Revolutionary War hero who earlier advocated for the rights of tenants in Vermont, making Vermont a separate state

Charles Townshend

A british politician who assumed the responsibilities of the aging William Pitt as Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1766. He is known for introducing the Townshend Acts, which imposed duties on imported goods and mandated the quartering of soldiers

Samuel Adams

A Boston leader and political activist known for his role in organizing colonial resistance based on stern moral principles (influenced by New England Puritanism) against British policies and his involvement in the Boston Tea Party

Lord North

the Prime Minister of Great Britain during much of the American Revolution, known for supporting strict policies against the colonies and his failure to resolve colonial discontent

Tea Act of of 1773

an act passed by British parliament that exempted the British East India company from normal customs duties as it was going bankrupt; angered colonists

Mercy Otis Warren

a woman who was an early advocate for colonists’ rights, writing dissident literature (satirical plays)

Boston Tea Party

an event in which Boston Patriots disguised themselves as Mohawks and went aboard three ships to dump tea into Boston Harbor in protest against the Tea Act

Coercive (Intolerable) Acts

four acts passed by British parliament in 1774 which targeted Massachusetts (the leading center of colonial resistance) by closing the Boston port, restricting colonial self-government, permitting royal officers accused of crimes in Massachusetts to be tried in other colonies or in Britain, and allowing British soldiers to be quartered in colonists’ homes

Quebec Act

extended the boundaries of Quebec to include the French communities between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers; granted political rights to Roman Catholics and recognized the legality of the Roman Catholic Church within the enlarged province; considered by the colonies as a threat

First Continental Congress

an intercontinental congress called by Virginia during a meeting at the Raleigh Tavern at Williamsburg; elected delegates from all 13 colonies except Georgia met in Philadelphia

rejected the plan for a colonial union under British rule; endorsed a statement of grievances; agreed to nonimportation, nonexportation, and nonconsumption as a means of stopping all trade with Great Britain; approved a series of resolutions; agreed to meet again the following spring

Conciliatory Propositions

Lord North’s measures aimed at easing colonial tensions by offering terms of revenue rather than coercion; proposed that the colonies, instead of being taxed directly by Parliament, would tax themselves at Parliament’s demand

minutemen

farmers and townspeople of Massachusetts who armed themselves for battle, preparing to fight at a minute’s notice

General Thomas Gage

a commander of the British garrison who initially resisted showing force against the minutemen, but eventually sent 1,000 troops to Lexington and Concord to take away the minutemen’s supply of gunpowder