AP US History: Period 3 (1754–1800)

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the French and Indian War, revolutionary acts and resistance, the Constitutional Convention, Federalist-era policies, and socio-cultural developments between 1754 and 1800.

Albany Plan of Union (1754)

A proposal by Benjamin Franklin to unite the colonies for defense, promoted by the "Join, or Die" cartoon but rejected by colonial assemblies hesitant to surrender local power.

Treaty of Paris (1763)

The treaty ending the French and Indian War in which France ceded all North American territory east of the Mississippi River to Great Britain, effectively ending French colonial presence in North America.

Pontiac’s Rebellion

A coordinated uprising led by Ottawa Chief Pontiac in which an alliance of Native American tribes attacked British forts to resist post-war territorial encroachment.

Proclamation of 1763

A decree issued by King George III prohibiting colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains to prevent clashes with Native Americans, angering land-seeking colonists.

Salutary Neglect

Britain's historic hands-off policy toward the American colonies that was abandoned after the French and Indian War in order to enforce trade laws and raise revenue.

Sugar Act (1764)

British legislation that lowered the duty on molasses but strictly enforced trade laws and mandated trials in Vice-Admiralty courts without juries.

Stamp Act (1765)

The first direct internal tax levied on printed materials in the colonies, including newspapers, legal documents, and playing cards, prompting the slogan "No taxation without representation."

Declaratory Act (1766)

A British statute that repealed the Stamp Act but asserted Parliament's absolute authority to bind the American colonies "in all cases whatsoever."

Townshend Acts (1767)

Indirect import taxes imposed on everyday colonial goods, including glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea, leading to renewed non-importation agreements.

Tea Act (1773)

An act granting a monopoly on tea sales to the British East India Company, undercutting colonial smugglers and triggering the Boston Tea Party.

Coercive / Intolerable Acts (1774)

Punitive measures passed to discipline Massachusetts after the Boston Tea Party, which closed Boston Harbor, expanded troop quartering, and led to the Quebec Act.

First Continental Congress (1774)

A convention of colonial delegates in Philadelphia that coordinated a unified resistance, enacting a total boycott of British goods and petitioning the King.

Common Sense (1776)

An influential pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in plain language that attacked hereditary monarchy and galvanized public support for complete American independence.

Battle of Saratoga (1777)

A pivotal American military victory over General Burgoyne that served as the turning point of the war by convincing France to enter an official military alliance with the United States.

Battle of Yorktown (1781)

The final major engagement of the Revolutionary War, where American troops and a French naval blockade trapped British General Cornwallis, forcing his surrender.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

The peace agreement in which Great Britain recognized the independence of the United States and granted it territory stretching from the Atlantic Coast to the Mississippi River.

Articles of Confederation

The first national constitution of the United States, which established a unicameral legislature without an executive branch, a federal judiciary, or the power to tax.

Land Ordinance of 1785

Legislation that organized the surveying of public western lands and designated land sale proceeds to fund public education.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

A law establishing a structured process for western territories to achieve statehood while formally prohibiting slavery within the Northwest Territory.

Shays’ Rebellion (1786–1787)

An armed revolt of indebted western Massachusetts farmers led by Daniel Shays that exposed the inability of the central government under the Articles of Confederation to maintain order.

The Great Compromise

An agreement establishing a bicameral legislature combining population-based representation in the House of Representatives with equal representation (two seats per state) in the Senate.

Three-Fifths Compromise

A constitutional agreement stipulating that three-fifths of the enslaved population would be counted for both congressional representation and direct federal taxation.

Slave Trade Compromise

A constitutional provision prohibiting Congress from interfering with the importation of enslaved persons for 20 years, until 1808.

Federalist No. 10

An essay written by James Madison arguing that a large republic provides the best safeguard against the destructive influence of political factions.

Federalist No. 51

An essay explaining how the separation of powers and a system of checks and balances prevent tyrannical overreach in the federal government.

Bill of Rights

The first 10 amendments to the US Constitution protecting individual liberties, promised by Federalists to secure ratification from Anti-Federalists.

Bank of the United States (BUS)

A central bank proposed in Alexander Hamilton's financial program, justified under the Elastic Clause ("necessary and proper"), which ignited early constitutional debates.

Whiskey Rebellion (1794)

An uprising by western Pennsylvania farmers protesting an excise tax on whiskey, quickly suppressed by a federal militia commanded by President Washington to prove constitutional authority.

Neutrality Proclamation (1793)

An executive declaration by George Washington maintaining that the United States would remain neutral in the armed conflict between France and Great Britain.

Jay’s Treaty (1794)

An agreement wherein Great Britain pledged to evacuate its military posts in the western frontier, though it failed to halt the impressment of American sailors.

Pinckney’s Treaty (1795)

A treaty between the United States and Spain granting American merchants unrestricted navigation rights on the Mississippi River and access to the Port of New Orleans.

Washington’s Farewell Address (1796)

A valedictory address warning the United States against forming permanent foreign alliances, the divisiveness of political factions, and sectionalism.

XYZ Affair

A diplomatic incident where French agents demanded bribes from American envoys, prompting an undeclared naval conflict known as the Quasi-War (1798–1800).

Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)

Federalist legislation that lengthened naturalization requirements, authorized deportation of non-citizens, and criminalized spoken or written criticism of the federal government.

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

Resolutions authored by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson articulating the doctrine of nullification, which asserted that states possess the right to invalidate unconstitutional federal statutes.

Republican Motherhood

A post-Revolutionary ideology emphasizing women's duty to raise virtuous, educated sons to participate in the republic, expanding educational opportunities for women.

Treaty of Greenville (1795)

A treaty following the Battle of Fallen Timbers in which Native American tribes ceded vast lands in modern Ohio and Indiana to the United States in return for treaty goods.

Cotton Gin

An invention created by Eli Whitney in 1793 that made processing short-staple cotton highly profitable, entrenching and expanding plantation slavery in the American South.