Period 3 (1754-1800)

French and Indian War/Seven Years War

War between French and British over territory. Caused by British-American colonists encroaching on Ohio River Valley land that the French laid claim to

Albany Congress

Delegates from several British colonies met to discuss a more organized colonial response to frontier defense, trade, and westward expansion. Wanted to become allies with Iroquois confederacy

George Washington

1753- appointed lieutenant colonel in Virginia militia. Warned French of encroaching on British holdings and French rebuffed.

Acadians

French residents of Nova Scotia, many were uprooted by the British in 1755 and scattered as far as Louisiana

Pontiac’s War

Uprising of Native American tribes after French and Indian war that led to passage of Proclamation of 1763

Proclamation of 1763

Forbade colonists from migrating west across the Appalachian mountains, colonists migrated anyways because war was fought on their soil at the cost of their blood and they were entitled to the spoils of the war.

Mercantilism

Idea that there was a limited amount of wealth in the world (because it was measured in gold) so colonies had to trade with only their mother country

Benjamin Franklin- Albany Plan of Union

Colonies would establish a council of representatives to decide on matters. Rejected because bad taxation but laid foundation for future revolutionary congress.

Sugar Act

Extended Molasses Act by changing the tax on imports from the Caribbean. Allowed British courts to try smugglers instead of colonial courts

Quartering Act

Forced colonists to house British soldiers in their homes

Stamp Tax (1765)

Imposed a tax on all printed materials (newspapers, legal documents, playing cars…)

Admiralty Courts

Courts held outside of the colonies where they had no jury, held the burden of proof, and was considered guilty until proven innocent

Stamp Act Congress

Held goal to petition British parliament to repeal the Stamp Act. Included 27 delegates from 9 colonies, congress made petitions acknowledging they were loyal subjects to the king and country. Repealed Stamp Act and Sugar Act but passed the Declaratory Act.

Non-importation Agreements

Merchants and traders agreed to boycott goods that were subject to the Townshend Act until taxes on those goods were repealed

Sons and Daughters of Liberty

Included all manners of people, sprang up especially in response to the Stamp Act

Declaratory Act

Passed after Congress repealed Stamp and Sugar Acts. Affirmed Parliament had the right to pass whatever laws they wanted

Townshend Acts

levered taxes on items like paper, tea, glass that were imported into colonies.

Boston Massacre (1770)

One night a group of boys and young men began harassing a group of British soldiers, someone fired a gun, leading to British soldiers shooting, hurting and killing colonists, enraged colonists.

Committees of Correspondence

Created to encourage opposition to earlier acts, grew to coordinate boycotts and help people become aware of their liberties

Boston Tea Party

Against the Tea Act, 50 members of the sons of liberty disguised themselves as Native Americans and dumped 45 tons of British tea into the Boston Harbor.

Coercive/Intolerable Acts

• Massachusetts Government act- Curtailed self-government there

• QW

Quebec Act

Extended southern boundary of Quebec and granted religious toleration to Catholics

First Continental Congress

First real colony-wide government in British-America. 12/13 colonies met in Philadelphia to coordinate resistance against the Intolerable Acts

The Association (1775)

A document produced by the Continental Congress that called for a complete boycott of British goods

Paul Revere

Midnight ride (1775), warned colonial militias of British troop movements before the Battles of Lexington and Concord

Second Continental Congress

Convention of delegates from the 13 colonies that met beginning in 1776. Assumed the normal functions of a government, appointing ambassadors, issuing paper currency, raising the Continental Army through conscription, and appointing generals to lead the army.

Bunker Hill

First major battle of the Revolutionary War, Americans slayed

Olive Branch Petition

Final effort of the Second Continental Congress to persuade King George III to respond to the concerns of colonists and settler their differences amicably.

Hessians

German mercenaries from the principality of Hesse who were hired by King George III.m

Common Sense- Thomas Paine

Book that was extremely widely read saying America is exceptional

Declaration of Independence

Founding document of the U.S., Detailed its reasons for breaking political bonds with Great Britain

Loyalists

Tories, Colonists who remained loyal to the British

Patriots

Wanted independence from Britain

Battle of Yorktown

Last major battle in the war, American forces defeated the British and forced them to surrender.

Marquis de Lafayette

Helped end the war, aided the colonies during the Revolutionary War

Oui Oui

Treaty of Paris

Where the British formally recognized independence of the U.S., ending the Revolution

Articles of Confederation

Agreement among the 13 states that served as the nation’s first frame of government

Land Ordinance of 1785

Laid out the process by which lands west of the Appalachian Mountains were to be surveyed and sold.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Best thing to come out of the Articles of Confederation, abolished slavery in the North and provided a means by which Western territories could get a population and apply for statehood in the union.

Shay’s Rebellion

Highlighted the flaws of the Articles of Confederation.

Mid 1780s American economy got really, especially for farmers who had fallen into debt while fighting in the Revolution and had trouble paying off their debts. Daniel Shay gathered a militia and armed with stuff from the town arsenal. The Massachusetts militia stopped them and crushed the uprising, they called the president for federal troops but there was no president or federal army, showing the weakness of the Articles.

Virginia Plan

Proposed the creation of a bicameral legislature with representation in both houses proportional to population. Favored larger states, giving them a greater voice.

New Jersey Plan

Called for a unicameral legislature with equal representation for each state

Great Compromise

Established a proportional representation of the states in the House of Representatives but equal representation in the Senate.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Determined that slaves counted as 3/5 of a person when determining state’s total population for legislative representation and taxation.

Electoral College

Group selected by states to elect the president and vice-president, which each state’s number of electors is equal to the number of senators and representatives in Congress.

Federalists

Supported Hamilton’s economic policies, strong central government, and loose interpretation of the Constitution

Antifederalists

Wanted weak central government and power power to the people, opposed ratification of the Constitution

Civic Virtue

Concept that a democracy was established and maintained by every citizen’s ability to work selflessly for the society’s common good

Republican Motherhood

Women need to be educated so they can teach their children

Bill of Rights

First ten amendments that guarantees the protection of citizens’ rights, freedom of speech, religion, press…

Judiciary Act of 1789

Established the federal court system (Supreme court, lower courts, circuit courts)

Assumption

Part of Hamilton’s economic plan— federal government would assume all the states’ debts from the Revolution.

Strict Construction

Believed they had to follow the constitution exactly how it was written (jeffersonians)

Loose Construction

Believed the constitution was up to interpretation (hamiltonians)

Hamilton’s Economic Plan

Economic and Political.

1. Assume states’ debts

2. Funding the debt at par

   1. Pay dollar for dollar

   2. made national credit worthy

3. Whiskey Tax (excise tax)

   1. Pay down debt

4. National Bank

   1. Common currency, made trading across states easier

Bank of the United States

Proposed by Hamilton, first chartered by US Congress in 1791, purpose to handle the financial needs and requirements of the new central government

Democratic-Republicans

Jeffersonians, wanted stronger state governments instead of central, emphasized agriculture, strict interpretation of the constitution, pro-french, opposed national bank and protective tariff.

Neutrality Proclamation

Declared that U.S. would not join any wars, declared they were neutral in the conflict between France and Great Britain.

Jay’s Treaty

Treaty between the U.S. and Great Britain that sought to settle issues between the two. Widely criticized in America and viewed as beneficial to Great Britain

Pinckney’s Treaty

A treaty in which Spain agreed to open the southern part of the Mississippi River and New Orleans to American trade

Washington’s Farewell Address

Stressed maintaining commercial but not political ties with foreign affairs, not entering permanent alliances

XYZ Affair

French officials tried to bribe US diplomats

Quasi-War with France

Undeclared war of US with France because of XYZ affair, America was victorious

Convention of Mortefontaine/1800

Negotiated with Napoleon, ended the Franco-American alliance, removed some French restrictions on U.S. commerce, ended the Quasi-War

Alien Laws

Restricted immigrants’ rights and gave the President power to deport them during peacetime or impson them during wartime

Sedition Acts

1. Made it a felony to convey false statements interfering with American war efforts

2. Made it a felony to willfully employ “disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language”

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

By Jefferson and Madison, secretly made to get the rights back that were taken away by Alien and Sedition Acts.