APUSH Unit 3

Stamp Act

Stamp Act

1765 direct tax on documents and printed material; resulted in boycotts, violent protests, and the tarring and feathering of tax collectors that led to its repeal

2nd Continental Congress

A colonial assembly of delegates from all states that met a month after fighting began; created a committee to draft the Articles of Confederation and the Declaration of Independence

Whiskey Rebellion

After an excise tax was put in place to pay off the national debt, farmers and distillers protested the tax causing Washington to bring in federal troops to break it up; controversial because people feared the power of the federal government

Proclamation Line of 1763

After Pontiac's Rebellion, the British government put this in place to keep the colonists from going west past the Appalachian Mountains to prevent future conflict with Native Americans

Saratoga

A major turning point in the Revolutionary War; a decisive victory for the colonists in 1777 that resulted in a French pledge to aid the colonists against Britain

Washinton's Farewell Address

A speech to the American people at the conclusion of a presidential term that warned against foreign alliances and political parties in an effort to protect America as a whole and to prevent internal conflict

1st Continental Congress

Assembly of delegates from all states except Georgia; did not hold any real legislative authority, but simply wrote a letter to the king to address grievances, but the king did not respond before fighting began

John Adams

Author of the Massachusetts state constitution; Massachusetts delegate in the Continental Congress; Washington's Vice President; 2nd President of the U.S. whose presidency includes the Alien and Sedition Acts and the appointment of the midnight judges

Connecticut Compromise

Combination of constitutional proposals that created a House of Representatives from the large-state plan and a Senate from the small-state plan; proposed by Roger Sherman

Boston Massacre

Conflict between colonists and British troops that resulted in five deaths; this event was used as propaganda to get support for the revolutionary cause

Alexander Hamilton

Delegate at the Constitutional Convention for a portion of the time who later became the first Secretary of Treasury; his economic plan involved an increase of power to the federal government and the establishment of a national bank

Northwest Ordinance

As land was sold to help pay off the national debt, this was used to govern that new land; after reaching a population of 60,000, an application for statehood could be made to Congress

Anti-Federalists

During the ratification process for the Constitution, they argued that before approving it, a list of civil liberties needed to be added; typically middle and lower class Americans who favored states' rights

French and Indian War

Fighting started in the American colonies between the British and the French until erupting into a world conflict known as the Seven Years' War

3/5 Compromise

Instead of abolishing slavery in the Constitution, the northern states agreed to count a portion of slaves for congressional representation in this proposal to appease slave-holding states

New Jersey Plan

Kept the idea of equal representation from the AOC to favor small states, but included a proposal to have more than one executive; proposed by William Paterson

Intolerable Acts

Passed in response to the Boston Tea Party and included the Quebec Act, a new Quartering Act, and the Boston Port Bill that closed Boston Harbor until the amount lost was paid back; the colonial response to these acts was the First Continental Congress

Federalists

People who supported the Constitution over the Articles of Confederation; typically favored a strong central government; most were wealthy and well educated

Albany Plan of Union

Proposed by Ben Franklin in 1754 to unify the colonies before the French and Indian War; slogan "Join, or Die"

Virginia Plan

Proposed to favor large states since representation in COngress would be based on population; proposed by Edmund Randolph and James Madison in an attempt to change representation that existed under the AOC

Sons of Liberty

Radical group led in part by Samuel Adams designed to spread anti-British sentiment, plan protests, and organize boycotts; responsible for the Boston Tea Party

Townshend Acts

Series of laws that replaced the Stamp Act; taxes on glass, paper, paint, and tea among other British imports

Common Sense

Thomas Paine's pamphlet that argued an island cannot effectively govern a large continent

George Washington

Veteran of the French and Indian War before becoming the Commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolution; President of the Constitutional Convention; first President of the U.S.

Articles of Confederation

Written by a committee from the Second Continental Congress; a constitution that granted most power to the states and included only one branch of federal government, a weak legislature