exam 2 key terms

Consumer Revolution

Colonists bought more British goods than ever, tying them to imperial markets and creating debt that later made British taxes feel especially intrusive.

Currency Acts

British laws limiting colonial paper money, worsening cash shortages and fueling anger over imperial control of local economies.

Caribbean exports

Sugar, molasses, and rum produced by enslaved labor; powered by Atlantic trade and linked mainland colonies tightly to slavery.

Navigation Acts

Mercantilist laws forcing colonial trade through Britain. They shaped the economy and encouraged smuggling, planting early seeds of resistance.

Colonial cities

Port cities like Boston and Philadelphia became commercial and cultural centers where print, politics, and revolutionary ideas spread quickly.

Gang system

Large plantations used groups of enslaved workers under constant supervision. Extremely harsh and designed for maximum output.

Task system

Enslaved workers completed assigned daily tasks, common in rice plantations. Allowed limited autonomy but still rooted in brutal exploitation.

Stono Rebellion (1739)

A major slave uprising in South Carolina. Its suppression led to stricter slave codes and heightened white fear of resistance.

Quaker antislavery

Early religious opposition to slavery. Quakers condemned the practice and influenced later abolitionist movements.

Slave trade

Forced transport of Africans to the Americas

Provincial colonies

Colonies under royal control

Proprietary colonies

Colonies run by individuals/families

Charter colonies

Self governing colonies

Companionate ideal

A shift toward marriages based on affection and mutual support, reflecting changing social values in the colonies.

Print culture

Growth of newspapers, pamphlets, and books. Spread ideas fast and helped unify colonists politically before the Revolution.

Great Awakening

Religious revivals stressing personal conversion. Challenged traditional authority and encouraged individual thinking—important for later political unrest.

George Whitefield

Celebrity preacher of the Great Awakening. His tours and mass appeal showed the power of print and public persuasion in colonial society.

Seven Years’ War

Britain vs. France for control of North America. Britain won but gained huge debt, leading to new taxes on colonists.

Paris & Hubertusburg treaties (1763)

Ended the Seven Years’ War. Britain gained major territory; France lost most North American claims. Set the stage for Native resistance and colonial tension.

Neolin

A Native prophet urging rejection of European influence. His message inspired resistance movements, including Pontiac’s.

Pontiac’s War

Native uprising against British expansion in the Great Lakes. Showed the instability of frontier control after the war.

Proclamation of 1763

Banned colonial settlement west of the Appalachians. Colonists ignored it, seeing it as British interference in their expansion.

John Locke

English Enlightenment thinker who argued for natural rights and government by consent; his ideas directly shaped colonial resistance and the Declaration of Independence.

King George III

British monarch during the imperial crisis. Colonists increasingly blamed him for oppressive policies, fueling revolutionary sentiment.

Stamp Act

1765 tax on printed materials. First direct internal tax on colonists, sparking widespread protests, boycotts, and the cry “no taxation without representation.”

Townshend Acts

1767 import taxes on goods like glass, lead, paint, and tea. Led to renewed boycotts and heightened tensions between Britain and the colonies.

Homespun

Cloth made by American women as part of boycotts against British imports. Became a symbol of patriotism and economic independence.

Committees of Correspondence

Colonial networks for sharing news and coordinating resistance. They unified political action and laid groundwork for later revolutionary organization.

Boston Massacre

1770 confrontation where British soldiers killed five colonists. Used as propaganda to highlight British tyranny and inflame public opinion.

Boston Tea Party

1773 protest where colonists dumped British tea into Boston Harbor to oppose the Tea Act. Provoked harsh British retaliation.

Coercive Acts

Punitive laws (1774) closing Boston’s port and restricting self‑government after the Tea Party. Colonists called them the “Intolerable Acts,” pushing many toward revolution.

Continental Congress

Intercolonial assembly formed to coordinate resistance. Eventually became the governing body of the Revolution and declared independence.

George Washington

Commander of the Continental Army. His leadership held the army together and was crucial to eventual victory.

Common Sense

1776 pamphlet by Thomas Paine arguing for independence in plain language. Massively influential in shifting public opinion toward breaking from Britain.

Lord Dunmore

Royal governor of Virginia who offered freedom to enslaved people who joined British forces. His proclamation pushed many white colonists toward rebellion.

Declaration of Independence

1776 document asserting colonial separation from Britain, grounded in Enlightenment ideas of natural rights. Became a foundational statement of American political identity.

Battle of Saratoga

Major American victory (1777) that convinced France to ally with the colonies. A turning point in the war.

Battle of Yorktown

Final major battle (1781) where British forces surrendered. Effectively ended the Revolutionary War.

Articles of Confederation

First U.S. national government. Created a weak central authority, revealing the need for a stronger federal system later.

Loyalist

Colonists who remained loyal to Britain

Sugar Act

(1764) A British law lowering the tax on molasses but strictly enforcing collection. Targeted smulling and raised revenue.

Currency Act

(1764) Banned colonial printing of paper money. It worsened cash shortages and made colonists feel Britain was tightening economic control.

Lexington and Concord

First battles of the Revolutionary War (1775). “The shot heard ’round the world” marked open armed conflict between Britain and the colonies.

Shays’ Rebellion

1786–87 uprising of Massachusetts farmers protesting taxes and debt. Exposed weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and pushed leaders toward creating a stronger national government.

James Madison

Key architect of the Constitution and leading Federalist thinker. His ideas shaped the new government’s structure and later the Bill of Rights.

Constitutional Convention

The 787 meeting in Philadelphia where delegates replaced the Articles with the U.S. Constitution. Created a stronger federal government with checks and balances.

Great Compromise

Blended Virginia and New Jersey Plans by creating a bicameral Congress: House by population, Senate equal. Resolved major conflict between large and small states.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for representation and taxation. Strengthened slaveholding states politically and embedded slavery into the Constitution.

Ratification debates

Nationwide arguments over approving the Constitution. Federalists supported it; Anti‑Federalists feared centralized power. Led to demands for a Bill of Rights.

Federalist Papers

Essays by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay defending the Constitution. Influential in shaping public opinion and explaining the logic of the new government.

Bill of Rights

First ten amendments guaranteeing individual liberties. Added to satisfy Anti‑Federalist concerns and secure ratification.

Bank of the United States

Hamilton’s plan for a national bank to stabilize credit and manage federal finances. Sparked major debate over constitutional interpretation.

Whiskey Rebellion

1794 protest against federal whiskey taxes. Washington’s suppression showed the new government’s ability to enforce laws—unlike under the Articles.

Jay’s Treaty

1794 treaty with Britain resolving some post‑Revolution disputes. Prevented war but angered many Americans who felt it favored British interests.

Federalist Party

Led by Hamilton. Favored strong national government, commercial economy, and closer ties with Britain.

Democratic-Republican Party

Led by Jefferson and Madison. Favored limited federal power, agrarian interests, and sympathy for France.

French Revolution

European upheaval beginning in 1789. Deeply divided Americans: Federalists feared radicalism; Democratic‑Republicans supported republican ideals.

XYZ Affair

Diplomatic scandal where French agents demanded bribes from U.S. envoys. Sparked anti‑French sentiment and the quasi‑war with France.

Alien and Sedition Acts

1798 laws targeting immigrants and restricting criticism of the government. Seen as Federalist attempts to silence opposition.

Kentucky and Virginia Resolves

Jefferson and Madison’s response to the Acts, arguing states could nullify unconstitutional federal laws. Introduced the idea of state resistance.

Disestablishment

Ending official state-supported churches. Reflected growing commitment to religious freedom after the Revolution.

Election of 1800

Jefferson defeated Adams in a bitter contest. Marked the first peaceful transfer of power between political parties in U.S. history.

Marbury v. Madison

1803 Supreme Court case establishing judicial review—the Court’s power to declare laws unconstitutional.