Unit 3: AP US History

Albany Plan of Union

Ben Franklin's plan to unite the colonies under one government to defeat France.

Treaty of Paris (1763)

Ended the French and Indian War and effectively kicked the French out of North America

Proclamation Line of 1763

Stated that no colonists could settle in lands to the west of the Appalachian mountains-- made the colonists very upset

Pontiac's Rebellion

A 1763 conflict between Native Americans and the British over settlement of Indian lands in the Great Lakes area

Writs of Assistance

legal document that enabled officers to search homes and warehouses for goods that might be smuggled

The Sugar Act (1764)

The first act that Parliament passed that raised taxes on the colonies. Indirect tax on imported foods from the West Indies. Colonists became so angry that Parliament lowered the duties.

Admiralty Courts

British courts originally established to try cases involving smuggling or violations of the Navigation Acts which the British government sometimes used to try American criminals in the colonies. Trials in Admiralty Courts were heard by judges without a jury.

Stamp Act (1765)

Placed a tax on almost all printed materials in the colonies

Sons and Daughters of Liberty

Organizations that led protests, helped American soldiers, instated a boycott, and generally resisted the British.

Stamp Act Congress

A meeting of delegations from many of the colonies who adopted a declaration of rights as well as sent letters of complaints to the king and parliament, and it showed signs of colonial unity and organized resistance.

Declaratory Act (1766)

Passed at the same time that the Stamp Act was repealed, the Act declared that Parliament had the power to tax the colonies both internally and externally, and had absolute power over the colonial legislatures.

Quartering Act (1765)

Act forcing colonists to house and supply British forces in the colonies; created more resentment; seen as assault on liberties.

Townshend Duties (1767)

imposed new taxes on paint, paper, tea, lead

Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania

Written in response to the Townshend Acts by John Dickinson, this discourse asserted the idea that "no taxation without representation" was an essential part of English government, and that Parliament had no right to impose duties on British colonies.

Boston Massacre (1770)

An incident in which British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists who were teasing and taunting them; five colonists were killed.

Committees of Correspondence

Organization founded by Samuel Adams consisting of a system of communication between patriot leaders in New England and throughout the colonies

Tea Act (1773)

Law passed by parliament allowing the British East India Company to sell its low-cost tea directly to the colonies - undermining colonial tea merchants

Boston Tea Party (1773)

American colonists calling themselves the Sons of Liberty, disguised as Mohawk Native Americans, boarded three British ships and dumped British tea into the Boston harbor.

Coercive (Intolerable) Acts (1774)

acts instituted by the British as punishment for the Boston Tea Party; closed Boston Harbor until debt could be repaid, dissolved all town meetings in MA, and appointed British as all government officials

Quebec Act (1774)

Extended Quebec's boundary to the Ohio River, recognized Catholicism as its official religion, and established a non-representative government for its citizens.

First Continental Congress

September 1774, delegates from twelve colonies sent representatives to Philadelphia to discuss a response to the Intolerable Acts

Olive Branch Petition

On July 8, 1775, the colonies made a final offer of peace to Britain, agreeing to be loyal to the British government if it addressed their grievances. It was rejected by Parliament.

Common Sense by Thomas Paine

Pamphlet that encouraged the Colonists to fight the British.

Crispus Attucks

A free Black man who was the first person killed in the American Revolution at the Boston Massacre.

Salutary Neglect

An English policy of not strictly enforcing laws in its colonies

Loyalists/Tories

American colonists who remained loyal to Britain and opposed the war for independence

British Advantages in the American Revolution

•experienced soldiers and strong leaders

•lots of $ to buy supplies

•many colonists still loyal to Britain

•soldiers outnumber American soldiers

•strongest army and navy in the world

American Advantages in the American Revolution

Fought on their own ground

They had a cause to fight

Leadership in George Washington

George Washington

Commander of the Continental Army

Battle of Saratoga (1777)

Decisive colonial victory in upstate New York; considered to be the turning point of the American Revolution, as France offered its assistance to the colonists.

Franco-American Alliance

Negotiated by Ben Franklin, brought French into war on Americans' side. Helped determine outcome of war.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

This treaty ended the Revolutionary War, recognized the independence of the American colonies, and granted the colonies the territory from the southern border of Canada to the northern border of Florida, and from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River

Declaration of Independence

the document recording the proclamation of the second Continental Congress (4 July 1776) asserting the independence of the colonies from Great Britain

Spinning Bees

Events organized Patriot women to promote American production of yarn. It was meant to help the boycott of British clothing.

Molly Pitcher

heroine of the American Revolution who carried water to soldiers during the Battle of Monmouth Court House and took over her husband's gun when he was overcome by heat

Articles of Confederation

1st Constitution of the U.S. 1781-1788 (weaknesses-no executive, no judicial, no power to tax, no power to regulate trade)

Peter Salem

African American soldier who fought for America's freedom. Fought at Lexington,Concord - became a hero at Bunker Hill.

Land Ordinance of 1785

A law that divided much of the United States into a system of townships to facilitate the sale of land to settlers.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Created the Northwest Territory (area north of the Ohio River and west of Pennsylvania), established conditions for self-government and statehood, included a Bill of Rights, and permanently prohibited slavery

Shay's Rebellion (1786)

Armed uprising of western Massachusetts debtors seeking lower taxes and an end to property foreclosures. Though quickly put down, the insurrection inspired fears of "mob rule" among leading Revolutionaries.

Constitutional Convention

The meeting of state delegates in 1787 in Philadelphia called to revise the Articles of Confederation. It instead designed a new plan of government, the US Constitution.

Connecticut Plan

The Connecticut Plan called for a two-house Congress in which both types of representation would be applied.

3/5 Compromise

the decision at the Constitutional convention to count enslaved people as 3/5 of a person for the purpose of deciding the population and determining how many seats each state would have in Congress

Executive, Legislative, Judicial Branches

three branches of government, operate under a separation of powers

Federal System

A government that divides the powers of government between the national government and state or provincial governments

Federalists

A term used to describe supporters of the Constitution during ratification debates in state legislatures.

Antifederalists

Opponents of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government, generally.

Federalist Papers

A collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the name "Publius" to defend the Constitution in detail.

Bill of Rights

the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, ratified in 1791; they ensure certain rights and liberties to the people

Abigail Adams

Wife of John Adams. During the Revolutionary War, she wrote letters to her husband describing life on the homefront. She urged her husband to remember America's women in the new government he was helping to create.

Republican Motherhood

The idea that American women had a special responsibility to cultivate "civic virtue" in their children

President's Cabinet

an advisory group created by the president that includes the department heads and other officials chosen by the president

Judiciary Act of 1789

In 1789 Congress passed this Act which created the federal-court system.

Supreme Court

Consists of nine justices, each appointed by the President and confirmed by Congress. Appointment is for life. Supreme Court exercises the power to determine constitutionality of statutes. Highest court in the US.

Alexander Hamilton

1789-1795; First Secretary of the Treasury. He advocated creation of a national bank, assumption of state debts by the federal government, and a tariff system to pay off the national debt.

Hamilton's Financial Plan

Pay off all war debts, raise government revenues, create a national bank

National Debt

the total amount of money that a country's government has borrowed, by various means.

Tariff

A tax on imported goods

National Bank of the US

chartered by congress in 1791 to provide economic security for the U.S.

Strict Interpretation of the US Constitution

meant that anything the Constitution did not list, the government CANNOT do

Loose Interpretation of the US Constitution

The belief that what is written in the U.S. Constitution DOES NOT ALWAYS have to be obeyed

Necessary and Proper (Elastic) Clause

Allows Congress to pass laws that are "necessary and proper" for the benefit of the citizens (Implied Powers).

Whiskey Rebellion

1794 protest against the government's tax on whiskey by backcountry farmers

French Revolution (1789)

Reacting to the oppressive aristocracy, the French middle and lower classes overthrew the king and asserted power for themselves in a violent and bloody revolution. This uprising was inspired by America's independence from England and the Enlightenment ideas.

Treaty of Greenville

This treaty between the Americans and the Native Americans. In exchange for some goods, the Indians gave the United States territory in Ohio. Anthony Wayne was the American representative.

Jay's Treaty (1794)

Treaty signed in 1794 between the U.S. And Britain in which Britain sought to improve trade relations and agreed to withdraw from forts in the northwest territory

Pickney's Treaty (1795)

Spain granted the Americans free navigation of the Mississippi River and the large disputed territory north of Florida.

Federalist Party

A political party created in the 1790s and influenced by Alexander Hamilton that wanted to strengthen the federal government and promote industry and trade.

Democratic Republican Party

An early political party headed by Thomas Jefferson; stood for less centralized government

Washington's Farewell Address

Warned Americans not to get involved in European affairs, not to make permanent alliances, not to form political parties and to avoid sectionalism.

12th Amendment

Election of President and Vice President on the same ticket.

XYZ Affair

A 1797 incident in which French officials demanded a bribe from U.S. diplomats

Quasi War with France

Undeclared naval conflict between the United States and its former allies, the French. Diplomatic tension led to mutual attacks on shipping, and between French and American naval vessels. Both sides sought peace, and the Convention of 1800 ended the brief conflict.

Alien and Sedition Acts

Series of four laws enacted in 1798 to reduce the political power of recent immigrants

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

Resolutions passed in 1798 that attacked the Alien and Sedition Acts as being unconstitutional

Nullification

A state's refusal to recognize an act of Congress that it considers unconstitutional

Revolution of 1800

Electoral victory of Democratic Republicans over the Federalists, who lost their Congressional majority and the presidency. The peaceful transfer of power between rival parties solidified faith in America's political system.