AP US History Period 3 Terms & Significance

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Albany Plan of Union

a 1754 proposal by Benjamin Franklin for the British North American colonies to have a more unified centralized government during the French and Indian War (s: first attempt to unite the colonies under a single government… foreshadowing the Constitution)

Salutary neglect

an unofficial British policy from the late 17th to mid 18th century of loosely enforcing laws in the colonies allowing economic and political autonomy (s: fostered distinct American identity)

Pontiac’s Rebellion

pan-Indian uprising in 1763 against British control in the Great Lakes region after the F + I war (led to Britain’s Proclamation of 1763)

Proclamation of 1763

a British degree issued by King George III that prohibited colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains (s: angered colonists who entitled to the land for expansion)

Stamp Act Congress

a 1765 meeting in New York City where representatives from nine American colonies united to protest British taxes, particularly the Stamp Act (s: sparked the phrase “no taxation without representation”)

Sons and Daughters of Liberty

organization that promoted boycotts and civil disobedience (s: Sons of Liberty led by Samuel Adams carried out the Boston Tea Party)

Samuel Adams

radical leader of the American Revolution, co-founder of the Sons of Liberty (s: key organizer of resistance, including the Boston Tea Party)

Committees of Correspondence

local groups formed to share news and coordinate colonial resistance (s: showed unity and communication among the colonies against Britain)

Intolerable Acts of 1774

Harsh British laws passed by after the Boston Tea Party… like closing Boston Harbor, limited town meetings (s: convinced many colonists Britain was stripping their liberties)

Sugar Act of 1764

tax on sugar and molasses imports (s: tax aimed to raise revenue from colonies)

Quartering Act of 1765

requiring colonists to house and supply British soldiers (s: increased colonial resentment of British presence)

Stamp Act of 1765

tax on printed materials like newspapers and legal documents (s: first direct internal tax on colonies; widespread protests led to Britain repealing it)

Declaratory Act of 1766

stated Parliament had full authority to tax and legislate for the colonies (s: reasserted British power after Stamp Act repeal)

Townshend Acts of 1767

taxes on imports like glass, paper, paint, and tea (s: renewed boycotts and protests)

Tea Act of 1773

gave British East India Company a monopoly on colonial tea sales (s: sparked the Boston Tea Party)

Coercive Acts of 1774 (British POV)

laws punishing Massachusetts after the Tea Party (s: united colonies in opposition to Britain)

John Locke

Enlightenment thinker who argued for natural rights (life, liberty, property). (s: inspired colonial leaders and Declaration of Independence)

Social Contract

enlightenment idea that governments exist by consent of the governed (s: basis for colonists’ argument against British rule)

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

enlightenment thinker who stressed democracy and the general will (s: influenced revolutionary ideas of popular sovereignty)

Thomas Paine

author of Common Sense (s: persuaded colonists to support independence from Britain)

Olive Branch Petition

final colonial attempt to reconcile with Britain after fighting began (s: rejected by King George III, pushing colonies closer to independence)

Thomas Jefferson

author of the Declaration of Independence (s: articulated Enlightenment ideals that justified the Revolution)