Ch. 4, 5, 6 - French and Indian War through Treaty of Paris, 1783

John Locke, Second Treatise of Government

He wrote that all human beings have a right to life, liberty, and property and that governments exist to protect those rights. He rejected the theory of the Divine Right of the monarchy, and believed that government was based upon a "social contract" that existed between a government and its people. If the government failed to uphold its end of the contract by protecting those rights, the people could rebel and institute a new government.

Why the French and Indian war began

Began in North America over control of the fur trade in the Ohio River Valley; France began to encroach upon land that was claimed by the Ohio Company (out of Virginia)

Albany Plan of Union (1754)

Plan proposed by Benjamin Franklin that sought to unite the 13 colonies for trade, military, and other purposes at the onset of the French and Indian War; plan failed because colonies thought they would lose their individual authority over their people.

Proclamation of 1763

A proclamation from the British government which forbade British colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains, and required any settlers already living west of the mountains to move back east; was a measure to prevent future conflict between the colonists and natives that had been previously allied with the French.

Ohio River Valley

controversial land that led to the French and Indian War; British win war and claim this land; region where British fur traders went; rich soil for farming; many colonists were determined to settle in this region after the F/I War.

Consequence of French and Indian War

Strengthened pride among American colonists about being part of the British empire

Revivalist Ministers of the First Great Awakening

Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield

What did First Great Awakening urge?

For people to return to their faith and find personal salvation with God

Stamp Act of 1765

Placed a DIRECT tax on all commercial and legal documents (printed materials) in the colonies; this was the FIRST DIRECT TAX Parliament imposed upon the colonists

Boston Tea Party (1773)

British ships carrying tea sailed into Boston Harbor and refused to leave until the colonials took their tea. Boston was boycotting the tea in protest of the Tea Act and would not let the ships bring the tea ashore. Finally, on the night of December 16, 1773, colonials disguised as Indians boarded the ships and threw the tea overboard.

Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts)

-1774

-Designed to punish the colonists of Boston for the Tea Party (1773)

-Shut down the port of Boston, ended self-rule in Massachusetts, tried colonists for high crimes in England, and created the New Quartering Act for all colonies.

-Colonial reaction: "First Continental Congress" (convention of delegates from 12/13 colonies called in response to the Coercive Acts - not Georgia since it was a "convict state") met and called for (1) noncompliance with the Coercive Acts; (2) formation of militias; and (3) a boycott of and embargo on exports to Britain.

Boycott of British goods

Colonies resisted the Britain's attempts to tax them by boycotting in order to send a message to Parliament; contributed to drastic decrease of British exports into the colonies from 1774-1775.

Daughters of Liberty

This organization supported the boycott of British goods by having women produced goods (like homespun fabrics) for American use. They urged Americans to wear homemade fabrics and produce other goods that were previously available only from Britain. They believed that way that the American colonies would become economically independent.

Natural Rights

The idea that all humans are born with rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and property; this Enlightenment philosophy influenced Thomas Jefferson while he drafted the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Common Sense by Thomas Paine

Pamphlet urging the colonists to declare independence from England. Heavily influenced by Enlightenment, Paine stated that the British were trying to destroy colonists natural rights. Government is there to protect life liberty and property. Power came from people, not kings. Colonies don't benefit from British Empire; through 'reason' and the violation of natural rights, individuals have the right to rebel against unjust governments.

Battle of Saratoga (1777)

Decisive colonial victory in New York; considered the turning point of the American Revolution.

Historical Significance:

Caused France to openly support the colonies with military forces in addition to the supplies and money already being sent

Battle of Yorktown (1781)

Was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by General Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by General Lord Cornwallis; Cornwallis backed himself into a peninsular city and had no means to escape by land or water; trapped by Patriot forces and forced to surrender the war. It proved to be the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War, as the surrender of Cornwallis's army prompted the British government to eventually negotiate an end to the conflict.

Treaty of Paris 1783

This treaty ended the Revolutionary War, recognized the independence of the American colonies, and granted the colonies the territory from the southern border of Canada to the northern border of Florida, and all lands east of the Mississippi River to the the Atlantic coast; Spain received Florida back for their alliance with the Americans.

Taxation without representation

Reason why colonists went to war with England. Colonists thought it was unfair to be taxed by a government in which they had no voice/representation; Britain taxed the colonies as a means to clear debts from the F/I War; colonists saw it as a form of 'slavery,' and a violation of their natural rights, as stated by Enlightenment ideals.

Abigail Adams "Remember the Ladies"

In the midst of revolutionary fervor in 1776 Abigail Adams, the wife of John Adams raised her voice on behalf of women in this private letter to her husband, urging him to "remember the ladies" in his new governement and to give them some power in the new country. Was not executed, women still had no political voice by 1783.

Abigail Adams and Education

Requested that women have equal access to education; this worried the Founding Fathers as now women were attempting to achieve political equality in the new nation.

Republican Motherhood

The idea that American women had a special responsibility to cultivate "civic virtue" in their children; women played a vital role in educating future citizens of the US at home; makes women want to seek out an education.