IB History American Revolution

French and Indian War

War between Britain and France in North America from 1754–1763. Britain won but gained a large amount of debt, leading it to tax the colonies.

William Pitt

British leader during the French and Indian War who promised the colonists they would not have to pay for the war while he was in charge.

Writs of Assistance

Search warrants that allowed British officials to search for smuggled goods in ships, homes, and businesses.

Treaty of Paris (1763)

Treaty that ended the French and Indian War. Britain gained Canada and land east of the Mississippi River from France.

Proclamation of 1763

British law that banned colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains in order to avoid conflict with Native Americans

Salutary Neglect

Britain's policy of loosely enforcing colonial laws, allowing the colonies to have more freedom.

End of Salutary Neglect

Britain began strictly enforcing colonial laws and taxes after the French and Indian War

George III

King of Britain during the American Revolution who believed the colonies were rebelling and needed to remain under British control.

George Grenville

British prime minister who ended salutary neglect and introduced new taxes and enforcement policies in the colonies

Navigation Acts

British laws that controlled colonial trade and required certain goods to be shipped through Britain or on British ships.

Sugar Act (1764)

Tax on sugar and molasses that also strengthened enforcement against smuggling.

Stamp Act (1765)

Tax on printed materials such as newspapers, legal documents, and playing cards.

Sons of Liberty

Colonial protest group that opposed British taxation and used protests, boycotts, and intimidation against British officials

Declaratory Act (1766)

Law stating that Parliament had the right to make laws and tax the colonies in all cases.

Townshend Acts (1767)

Taxes on imported goods such as glass, paper, paint, lead, and tea. The money helped pay colonial governors and judges.

Non-Importation

Agreement by colonists to stop importing British goods as a form of protest.

Boston Massacre (1770)

Conflict in Boston where British soldiers fired into a crowd and killed five colonists.

Charles Townshend

British politician who introduced the Townshend Acts, increasing tensions between Britain and the colonies.

Tea Act (1773)

Law that allowed the British East India Company to sell tea more cheaply in the colonies while keeping the existing tax on tea

Boston Tea Party (1773)

Protest in which colonists dumped British tea into Boston Harbor to oppose British taxation and control.

Intolerable Acts / Coercive Acts (1774)

Punishment laws passed by Britain after the Boston Tea Party that restricted Massachusetts and increased British control.

Boston Port act

Closed Boston Harbor until the colonists paid for the tea destroyed in the Boston Tea Party.

Massachusetts Government Act

Reduced Massachusetts's ability to govern itself and increased British control.

Administration of Justice Act

Allowed some British officials accused of crimes in the colonies to be tried somewhere outside the colonies.

Quartering Act

Required colonies to provide housing and supplies for British soldiers.

First Continental Congress (1774)

Meeting of colonial delegates from 12 colonies to discuss how to respond to British policies and organize resistance.

Lexington and Concord (1775)

Battles where American colonial militia fought British troops; the fighting marked the beginning of the Revolutionary War.

Second Continental Congress (1775)

Meeting of colonial delegates that managed the war, created the Continental Army, and eventually moved toward independence.

George Washington

Virginia military leader chosen by the Second Continental Congress to command the Continental Army.

John Hancock

President of the Second Continental Congress

Olive Branch Petition

Petition sent by the Second Continental Congress to King George III asking for peace and hoping to avoid full-scale war

King George III's Address (October 26, 1775)

Speech in which King George III declared that the colonies were in open rebellion.

Bunker Hill (1775) —

Battle in which Britain defeated colonial forces but suffered heavy losses, showing that the colonists could fight effectively.

Thomas Paine

Writer who encouraged American independence and wrote Common Sense.

Common Sense (1776) —

Pamphlet by Thomas Paine that argued the colonies should become independent from Britain.

Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776)

Document declaring that the American colonies were free and independent from Britain.

Natural Rights

Rights people are born with, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Grievances

Complaints against King George III listed in the Declaration of Independence.

Patriot

Colonist who supported independence from Britain

Loyalist

Colonist who remained loyal to Britain and the king

Actual Representation

A system in which people are represented by officials they directly elect.

Virtual Representation

Britain's argument that Parliament represented the colonists even though the colonists did not directly elect members of Parliament.

Committees of Correspondence

Groups organized by Samuel Adams that helped the colonies communicate and share information about British actions

Vice-Admiralty Courts

British courts that handled cases such as smuggling without using colonial juries.

Folly

Foolishness; lack of good judgment

James Otis

Colonial lawyer and critic of British taxation who famously said, "Taxation without representation is tyranny."

Taxation Without Representation

The colonial argument that Britain should not tax colonists because colonists had no elected representatives in Parliament.

FWTP

French & Indian War → Writs of Assistance → Treaty of Paris → Proclamation of 1763

SSDT

Sugar Act → Stamp Act → Declaratory Act → Townshend Acts

BTIF

Boston Massacre → Tea Act/Boston Tea Party → Intolerable Acts → First Continental Congress

LSKCD

Lexington & Concord → Second Continental Congress → King’s Address → Common Sense → Declaration of Independence

Timeline Years

1754–1763 → 1760 → 1763 → 1763 → 1764 → 1765 → 1766 → 1767 → 1770 → 1773 → 1774 → 1774 → 1775 → 1775 → 1775 → 1776 → 1776