Chapters 5-9: Colonial America, the American Revolution, and the Constitution

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, policies, acts, and constitutional debates from Chapters 5 through 9.

Triangle Trade

A transatlantic trading network linking the American colonies, the West Indies, and the African coast, exchanging commodities like rum, molasses, and enslaved laborers.

7 Years War

Also known as the French and Indian War, an imperial conflict between Great Britain and France (with Native American allies) fought for control over North American territory, resulting in British victory and substantial debt.

Navigation Laws

A series of British parliamentary trade statutes designed to tightly regulate colonial commerce, enforce mercantilism, and require goods to be transported on British ships.

Sugar Act

A 1764 revenue measure passed by Parliament that placed duties on foreign sugar and molasses imported into the colonies, aimed at reducing debt from the Seven Years War.

Quartering Act

British legislation requiring colonial authorities and colonists to provide barracks, lodging, and food to British soldiers stationed in America.

Stamp Act

A direct 1765 tax enacted by Parliament requiring revenue stamps on legal documents, newspapers, and printed materials, provoking fierce colonial opposition and the slogan 'no taxation without representation.'

Sons and Daughters of Liberty

Colonial activist groups that organized direct resistance, public protests, and non-importation enforcement against British taxes and policies.

Non-importation Agreements

Voluntary colonial consumer boycotts against imported British manufactured goods designed to exert economic pressure on Parliament to repeal revenue acts.

Townshend Acts

A series of 1767 parliamentary measures placing import duties on colonial imports of glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea.

Intolerable Acts

A set of punitive British statutes enacted in 1774 in response to the Boston Tea Party, which shut down Boston Harbor, revoked Massachusetts charter privileges, and restricted town meetings.

First Continental Congress

A 1774 gathering of delegates from twelve colonies in Philadelphia that met to coordinate resistance to the Intolerable Acts, declare colonial rights, and establish The Association.

Lexington and Concord

The April 1775 armed clashes in Massachusetts between British regulars and colonial minutemen that marked the military outbreak of the Revolutionary War.

Boston Massacre

A violent confrontation in March 1770 where British soldiers fired into an unruly civilian crowd in Boston, killing five colonists and escalating anti-British sentiment.

Second Continental Congress

The assembly of colonial representatives convening in Philadelphia in 1775 that directed the war effort, appointed George Washington as commanding general, and adopted the Declaration of Independence.

Olive Branch Petition

A July 1775 resolution sent by the Second Continental Congress affirming loyalty to King George III and seeking peaceful reconciliation, which was rejected by the Crown.

Hessians

German mercenary troops hired by the British government under King George III to help suppress the American rebellion.

Common Sense

An influential 1776 political pamphlet authored by Thomas Paine that vigorously advocated for colonial independence and the establishment of a democratic republic.

Declaration of Independence

The formal document written primarily by Thomas Jefferson and approved on July 4, 1776, announcing the political separation of the thirteen United States from Great Britain.

Loyalists

American colonists who opposed the revolution and remained steadfast in their allegiance to the British Crown and King George III.

Patriots

American colonists who supported the revolutionary movement and fought to secure political independence from Great Britain.

Battle of Saratoga

A pivotal 1777 American military victory in New York that ended the British northern campaign and persuaded France to formally sign an alliance with the United States.

Articles of Confederation

The first national constitution of the United States, intentionally constructed with a weak central government that lacked executive and judicial branches, the power to collect taxes, and interstate commercial regulation.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Legislation establishing a structured pathway for governing and admitting new equal states from the Northwest Territory, while also banning slavery within that region.

Shays' Rebellion

A 1786 uprising of indebted Massachusetts farmers led by Daniel Shays protesting tax collection and mortgage foreclosures, demonstrating the instability of the Articles of Confederation.

Virginia Plan

A proposal at the Constitutional Convention drafted by James Madison that called for a bicameral national legislature with representation based on population, favoring populous states.

New Jersey Plan

A constitutional framework introduced by William Paterson calling for a unicameral legislature where each state received one vote regardless of population, protecting smaller states.

Great Compromise

The Constitutional Convention agreement creating a bicameral Congress consisting of a House of Representatives based on population and a Senate with equal state representation.

Federalists

Supporters of the newly drafted 1787 Constitution who advocated for a strong, centralized national government to maintain order and economic stability.

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of the 1787 Constitution who feared that a strong national executive and legislature would infringe on individual liberties and state sovereignty.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments added to the Constitution, drafted primarily by James Madison, explicitly protecting essential individual liberties and civil protections.

Judiciary Act of 1789

Federal legislation that established the structure of the federal judiciary, organizing the Supreme Court, circuit courts, and district courts, as well as the office of the Attorney General.

National Bank

A central financial institution proposed by Alexander Hamilton to manage federal funds, issue currency, bolster public credit, and regulate trade, which drew intense constitutional debate.

Loose Construction

A constitutional interpretation championed by Alexander Hamilton arguing that the 'necessary and proper' elastic clause grants implied powers to the federal government.

Strict Construction

A constitutional interpretation championed by Thomas Jefferson insisting that the federal government strictly holds only those explicit powers enumerated in the written text.

Tariffs

Taxes placed on imported foreign goods designed to produce revenue for the early federal government and protect developing domestic manufacturing.