American Revolution Flashcards

Flashcards about the Enlightenment, the Great Awakening, and the American Revolution.

What was the Enlightenment?

An 18th-century intellectual movement focused on reason and science to understand the world.

What is Rationalism?

The Enlightenment idea that the universe is governed by logical, understandable natural laws.

Who was John Locke?

A key Enlightenment philosopher who influenced the American Revolution.

What are Natural Rights, according to Locke?

The idea that all people are born with rights to Life, Liberty, and Property.

What is the Social Contract?

Locke's idea that people form governments by consent to protect their natural rights.

What is the concept of Tabula Rasa (Blank Slate)?

Locke's idea that people are born innocent, not with original sin, and are shaped by their experiences.

What is Deism?

The belief in a "clockmaker" God who created the universe but does not interfere in it.

What was the First Great Awakening?

A series of emotional religious revivals in the colonies during the 1720s-1740s.

Who was Jonathan Edwards?

A Great Awakening preacher famous for his scary sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."

Who was George Whitefield?

A traveling preacher who spread the Great Awakening and the idea of being "born again."

What did "Old Lights" believe?

They were traditional clergy who rejected the emotionalism of the Great Awakening.

What did "New Lights" believe?

They embraced the emotional, revivalist style of the Great Awakening.

What is Egalitarianism?

The belief in the equality of all people; a key social outcome of the Great Awakening.

What is Mercantilism?

The economic theory that colonies exist only to make the mother country wealthy.

What were the Navigation Acts?

British laws that forced the colonies to trade mostly with England.

What was the Dominion of New England?

A supercolony created by King James II to take away colonial self-government.

Who was Edmund Andros?

The hated royal governor of the Dominion of New England who dissolved colonial assemblies.

What was the Glorious Revolution (1688)?

The event where King James II was overthrown in England, leading colonists to overthrow the Dominion of New England.

What was the Covenant Chain?

The series of alliances between the Iroquois League and the British colony of New York.

What was Salutary Neglect?

Britain's "hands-off" policy of not strictly enforcing its laws, which allowed the colonies to become very independent.

What event ended Salutary Neglect?

The French and Indian War, because it left Britain with a massive debt to pay.

What was the Proclamation of 1763?

A law that banned colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains.

What was the Sugar Act (1764)?

The first law passed to raise revenue from the colonies after the end of salutary neglect.

What were Admiralty Courts?

Hated military courts with no juries where smugglers were tried.

What was the Quartering Act (1765)?

A law forcing colonists to house and supply British soldiers.

What was the Stamp Act (1765)?

A direct tax on all paper goods (newspapers, legal documents, playing cards).

What was the main colonial argument against the Stamp Act?

"No taxation without representation."

What was Britain's argument of "Virtual Representation"?

The idea that every Member of Parliament represented all British subjects, not just a local district.

Who were the Sons of Liberty?

A protest group led by Samuel Adams that used intimidation and violence against British officials.

What was the Declaratory Act (1766)?

A law stating Parliament had the right to rule the colonies "in all cases whatsoever."

What were the Townshend Duties (1767)?

Import taxes on items like glass, lead, paper, and tea.

Why were the Townshend Duties so threatening to the colonists?

The money was earmarked to pay royal governors' salaries, taking power away from colonial assemblies.

What was the Boston Massacre (1770)?

An incident where British soldiers fired on a colonial crowd, killing five people.

What is Propaganda?

Distorting the truth for political purposes, like Paul Revere's engraving of the Boston Massacre.

What was the Tea Act (1773)?

A law that made British tea cheap, but was seen as a trick to make colonists pay the tea tax.

What was the Boston Tea Party (1773)?

A protest where the Sons of Liberty destroyed a fortune's worth of tea in Boston Harbor.

What were the Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts)?

Britain's harsh punishment of Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party.

How did the Coercive Acts punish Boston?

It closed the Port of Boston and dissolved their colonial assembly.

What was the First Continental Congress?

A meeting of 12 colonies in 1774 to protest the Intolerable Acts by boycotting British goods.

What happened at Lexington and Concord?

The first battle of the American Revolution; the "shot heard 'round the world."

What was the Olive Branch Petition?

The colonists' final attempt at peace, which King George III rejected.

What was Thomas Paine's Common Sense?

A hugely influential pamphlet that convinced many Americans to support independence.

What was the main purpose of the Declaration of Independence?

To list the reasons (grievances) why the colonies were breaking away from Britain.

Who were the Patriots?

Colonists who supported independence from Britain (about 1/3 of the population).

Who were the Loyalists?

Colonists who remained loyal to Britain (about 1/3 of the population).

Why did most Native Americans side with the British?

They believed the British would protect their land from American settlers.

Why did many enslaved people side with the British?

The British offered them freedom if they fought on their side.

What was Washington's overall military strategy?

A war of survival: use hit-and-run tactics and drag the war out until the British gave up.

What was the importance of the Battle of Trenton?

A surprise victory that was a crucial morale boost and saved the revolution from collapsing.

What was the importance of the Battle of Saratoga?

The turning point of the war; this victory convinced France to become an American ally.

What was the most important contribution of the French?

Their navy, which was essential for the final victory.

What was Britain's "Southern Strategy"?

A failed plan to win the war by rallying Loyalist support in the southern colonies.

What happened at the Battle of Yorktown?

The final battle where the French navy trapped Cornwallis, forcing his surrender.

What was the Treaty of Paris (1783)?

The treaty that officially ended the war and recognized American independence.

What new territory did the U.S. gain from the Treaty of Paris?

All land east of the Mississippi River.

Who were the "real losers" of the war?

Native Americans and African Americans, whose situations worsened after the revolution.

What branch of science did Sir Isaac Newton's work represent?

Pure Science - conducting experiments just to acquire data and draw conclusions.

What branch of science did Benjamin Franklin's work represent?

Applied Science - using knowledge to solve practical, real-world problems.

Name an invention by Benjamin Franklin besides the lightning rod.

The Franklin Stove or Bifocal Glasses.

What two new denominations grew rapidly because of the Great Awakening?

The Baptists and Methodists.

What was the primary difference between Quaker Pennsylvania and other English colonies?

Their commitment to peaceful relations and fair land dealings with Native Americans.

What two political labels did colonists adopt from English politics?

Whigs (critics of the King/imperial policy) and Tories (supporters of the King).

Who was Sir William Johnson?

A key British diplomat and frontiersman who had very close ties to the Mohawk people.

What was the French economic basis in North America?

The fur trade, which required Native Americans as partners, not land-hungry agriculture.

What was the Restoration of 1660?

The event when the Stuart monarchy (King Charles II) was restored to the English throne.

What was the Stamp Act Congress?

A meeting of nine colonies in 1765 to formally protest the Stamp Act, a key step toward colonial unity.

Who was Andrew Oliver?

The Stamp Act agent in Boston who was hung in effigy and had his house destroyed by the Sons of Liberty.

What was the "Liberty Tree"?

A famous elm tree in Boston that became a symbol of the resistance movement after Andrew Oliver's effigy was hung from it.

What was the Circular Letter of 1768?

A letter written by Samuel Adams for Massachusetts, calling on other colonies to protest the Townshend Duties. Britain's attempt to suppress it backfired and created more unity.

What were Nonimportation Agreements?

Organized boycotts of British goods, which were the colonists' most effective economic weapon.

What was the main British goal in passing the Tea Act of 1773?

To save the financially failing East India Company.

Besides the tax, what was the other major colonial objection to the Tea Act?

It created a monopoly for East India Company agents, cutting colonial merchants out of the tea trade.

Who was the British Prime Minister during the Tea Act and Intolerable Acts?

Lord North.

Who was the British military commander in Boston at the start of the conflict?

General Thomas Gage.

Who were the Hessians?

German mercenaries hired by the British to fight in the war.

What was the military significance of the Battle of Bunker Hill?

A technical British victory, but they suffered extremely heavy losses, proving the colonial militias could stand up to a professional army.

Who was the American general who won at Saratoga?

General Horatio Gates.

Who was the British general who surrendered at Saratoga?

General John Burgoyne.

Where did Washington's army spend the harsh winter of 1777-1778?

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

What was the worst single American loss of the entire war?

The capture of 5,000 troops at the Battle of Charleston (1780).

What was the clever American strategy at the Battle of Cowpens?

Using the militia as bait to lure the British into a trap set by the Continental Army.

Who was the British General in the Southern Campaign who surrendered at Yorktown?

General Charles Cornwallis.

Who was the French Admiral whose navy trapped the British at Yorktown?

Admiral de Grasse.

What was the "Meritocracy" of the Continental Army?

The idea that a private could rise to the rank of general based on skill and leadership, not social class.

Who was "Molly Pitcher"?

A legendary woman who became a symbol of female participation in the war by taking her husband's place at a cannon.

What was the approximate population of Patriots, Loyalists, and Neutrals?

Roughly one-third for each group.

What was Queen Anne's War?

An early imperial war (1702-1713) between Britain and France/Spain that was inconclusive in North America.

What was the War of Jenkins' Ear?

A war between Britain and Spain started after a captain showed his pickled ear to Parliament. It merged into King George's War.

What was the most significant colonial victory in King George's War?

The capture of the French fortress of Louisbourg by New England forces in 1745.

What was the political situation in the colonies after the Glorious Revolution?

The Crown ruled with a "lighter touch," but the key result was that colonial assemblies gained more power and autonomy.

What was one of the major "smoldering issues" left unresolved by the Treaty of Paris (1783)?

Britain leaving troops in the western forts, which would later contribute to the War of 1812.

What was the primary economic challenge for the U.S. after the war?

A staggering national debt and massive inflation.

Why did Thomas Jefferson "plagiarize" John Locke in the Declaration of Independence?

He said he was not writing anything original, but simply stating the "widely held beliefs" of the American people about government.

Who was the Prime Minister who created the Stamp Act?

George Grenville.

What was the longest section of the Declaration of Independence?

The list of grievances against King George III.

What percentage of English exports did the American colonies represent?

One-third, which is why the colonial boycotts were so effective.

What was the colonists' core political ideology based on?

Republicanism (from John Locke) and English Whig ideology (suspicion of corrupt political power).

What's the difference between an "internal" and "external" tax?

Internal Tax = To raise money (Stamp Act). External Tax = To regulate trade (Navigation Acts). Colonists only accepted the external.

What did the Staple Act of 1663 do?

Forced European goods to go through England before being shipped to the colonies.

Who joined the Iroquois in the 1720s, forming the "Six Nations"?

The Tuscarora people.