Causes of the American Revolution and Georgia's Role

A set of vocabulary flashcards detailing the events, figures, and legislative acts surrounding the French and Indian War, the Stamp Act, and colonial resistance leading to the American Revolution, with a focus on Georgia's perspective.

French and Indian War

A conflict starting in 1754 between Great Britain and France (allied with Native Americans and Spain) over territory and trade in the Ohio River Valley; also known as the Seven Years War.

Governor John Reynolds

The royal governor who arrived in Georgia in 1754, the same year Great Britain and France went to war in North America.

Ohio River Valley

The region where Great Britain began infringing on French fur-trading territory and trade, sparking the French and Indian War.

George Washington

A young lieutenant colonel from Virginia who led British troops at the onset of the French and Indian War.

Treaty of Paris of 1763

The peace agreement ending the French and Indian War in which France ceded Canada and territory east of the Mississippi River to Britain, Spain ceded Florida to Britain, and Spain received French lands west of the Mississippi River.

Proclamation of 1763

An order issued by King George III reserving land west of the Appalachian Mountains for Native Americans and restricting British colonial settlement to land east of the line.

Mississippi River

The body of water designated as Georgia's new western boundary under the provisions of the Proclamation of 1763.

Stamp Act

A law passed on March 22, 1765, by the British Parliament that imposed the first direct tax on American colonists, requiring a paid stamp on legal documents, newspapers, pamphlets, and playing cards.

Governor James Wright

Georgia's popular and loyal royal governor who urged calm during the Stamp Act, oversaw the sale of stamps, and prevented Georgia from sending delegates to the Stamp Act Congress.

Liberty Boys

A group organized by Georgians in 1765, affiliated with the Sons of Liberty, created to oppose the Stamp Act.

Commons House

Georgia's colonial legislative body that Governor James Wright refused to call into session to vote on sending delegates to the Stamp Act Congress.

Stamp Act Congress

A 1765 assembly where nine colonies sent delegates to oppose the Stamp Act; Georgia sent no representatives due to Governor Wright's interference.

Intolerable Acts

A series of four coercive parliamentary acts designed to discipline American colonists for anti-tax rebellions and protests, such as the Boston Tea Party.

Quartering Act

A coercive act passed on June 2, 1774, requiring colonists to pay to house British soldiers in unoccupied buildings, barns, outhouses, and other structures rather than private homes.

First Continental Congress

A 1774 meeting held in Philadelphia where delegates from twelve colonies drafted protests and agreed to boycott British goods until parliamentary taxes and trade regulations were repealed.

Creek and Cherokee

The Native American nations whose proximity made Georgia depend on British military protection, dissuading the colony from sending delegates to the First Continental Congress.