APUSH Terms - Unit 3A (1754 - 1800)

Proclamation of 1763

A British order following the French and Indian War that prevented colonial expansion west of the Appalachian Mountains to avoid conflict with Native Americans and maintain control over new territories; angered colonists as they couldn't explore the new territory they just won.

Sons (& Daughters) of Liberty

An American revolutionary organization formed in response to the Stamp Act that opposed the British; men used acts of violence and protests (Boston Tea Party); women promoted boycotts by making their own tea and cloth.

Stamp Act

British tax on all paper documents in the colonies; led to widespread protest; 1765

Townshend Act

Series of British taxes on imported goods such as glass, lead, paint, and tea to raise revenue for Britain, leading to widespread resistance; 1767

Quartering Act

Series of British laws that required American colonies to provide housing, food, and supplies for British soldiers; viewed as an infringement on liberties; lead to widespread resistance; 1765

Declaratory Act

British law asserting Parliament's authority over the colonies and any opposition was null; colonists ignored it and celebrated repeal of Stamp Act, which was on the same day; 1766

Tea Act

British law granting the struggling East India Company a monopoly on the tea trade in the American colonies, allowed their tea to be really cheap; widespread resistance and caused Boston Tea Party.

Social Contract Theory

Individuals consent to be governed and must give up some freedoms for protection from the government; basis for American Revolution.

Coercive/Intolerable Acts

Series of British laws to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party; closed Boston port, restricted town meetings in Massachusetts, allowed trials to be held in Britain, and put the Quartering Act in place; colonies made First Continental Congress in response.

First Continental Congress

Delegates from twelve colonies (not Georgia) gathered in Philadelphia in response to the Intolerable Acts; established trade boycott w/ Britain, sent King George III a petition.

Committees of Correspondence

Patriot organizations that established communication networks across the 13 colonies to coordinate opposition to British policies.

Virtual Representation

The British argument that the American colonies were represented in Parliament, since the members of Parliament represented all British subjects, even if they didn't vote for them; colonists rejected it.

Boston Massacre

Incident in 1770 in which British troops opened fire on colonists and killed five people, fueled colonist resentment.

Second Continental Congress

A governing body of the colonies that met in Philadelphia; served as the government during the Revolutionary War; established Continental Army, wrote+signed Declaration of Independence, and drafted Articles of Confederation.

Olive Branch Petition

A final offer of peace to Britain after the Battle of Lexington and Concord; asked for their grievances to be solved; King George III ignored it, sealing the colonies' path to revolution.

Common Sense

Book written by Thomas Paine that said the colonies must break away from England to achieve liberty, stability, and prosperity.

Articles of Confederation

USA's first written constitution that was very weak; no way to tax, couldn't regulate trade, or enforce laws, no central military.

Treaty of Paris 1783

Formally ended the American Revolutionary War, British recognized the USA as a free and independent state.

republicanism

A political ideology centered on the belief that a government gets its power from the consent of the governed.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Outlined the process for statehood, guaranteed basic rights like religious freedom and trial by jury, and prohibited slavery in the territory northwest of the Ohio River.

Republican Motherhood

The idea that American women had a special responsibility to raise their sons to be patriotic, virtuous, and future leaders; reinforced domestic gender roles but also invested a new importance in women's role in society.

Shay's Rebellion

Armed uprising by Massachusetts farmers, protesting high taxes and debt collection because of a post-Revolutionary War economic crisis; Regulators led a series of violent attacks on courthouses and other government properties; this highlighted the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation as the government didn't have enough power to stop the rebellion.