political thought and action exam 2 - american revolution

when was the french and indian war

1754 - 1763

during the french and indian war, how did britian help American colonies

helped provide security

what happened upon french ceding in the French and Indian war

American colonies look to claim territories and expand west to 'unsettled' territories

what was the problem with britian after the French and Indian war

war is expensive - they began to look to the colonies as a way to recoup cost of war

when was the stamp act passed. by who?

in 1765 by british parliament

what did the stamp act cause?

tax on all paper documents in the colonies

what was the problem with the stamp act

taxation without representation

by creating the stamp act, what was the british government denying the colonies?

social contract and natural rights

what did the stamp act cause the spread in the colonies

discontent - as more laws are passed without representation, more anger grows in the colonies

what is rights consciousness

political dissent based on violations of...

1. individual sovereignty

2. consent of the governed

3. representation

rights consciousness might have some evidence for..

lockean liberalism

what was the continental congress

colonies start to organize based on their shared discontent with british government

the continental congress inspired calls for...

revolution and independence

what is the relevance of thomas paine

wrote common sense

what did thomas paine argue was the colonies one option

dissolving ties with Britain and declaring independence

what was unique about "common sense"

very blunt

what did common sense claim about the british constitution

it is inaccessible

what did common sense claim about the social contract

people cannot evaluate compliance with social contract

what did common sense claim regarding security provided by britian

is for preservation of their economic/political interests, not colonists rights/interests

what did common sense think we needed to do to protect our rights

we need something new that is written down and can be held accountable by the people

what followed revolution

articles of confederation, state govenrments, individuals

is the natioinal government strong or weak under the articles of confederation

weak

in summary, what is national power like in the articles of confederation

confederal design, one institution, each state has equal power.

why did they make the articles of confederation the way they are

americans were distrustful of power not located close to the people

what do state governments maintain

authority and autonomy of the people

what do state government constitutions serve as

a separate social contract and sovereign government

in state governments, does the power stay close to the people?

yes

what do state govenrments preserve

state cultures, values, beliefs

individuals primary allegiance is to

their home state