APUSH Unit 2 - Independence

mercantilism

an economic policy under which nations sought to increase their wealth and power by obtaining large amounts of gold and silver and by selling more goods than they bought

Stamp Act 1765

Was issued in order to raise revenues to support the new British military force. Mandated the use of stamped paper certifying the payment of taxes. Colonist were angrily aroused and felt that this act was jeopardizing the basic right of the colonists as Englishmen.

Sons of Liberty

A radical political organization for colonial independence which formed in 1765 after the passage of the Stamp Act. They incited riots and burned the customs houses where the stamped British paper was kept. After the repeal of the Stamp Act

Declaratory Act 1766

this Act repealed the Stamp Act

Boston Massacre

The first bloodshed of the Amercan Revolution

Tea Act 1773

Allowed East India Company to avoid navigation taxes when exporting tea to colonies and gave them power to monopolize tea trade; this angered colonists and threatened merchants and the colonial economy.

Coercive Acts 1774

1. Closed Boston port until destroyed tea paid for. 2. stopped town meetings. 3. Appointed a military government for Massachusetts. 4. Trials of government officials will be in England.

First Continental Congress

Delegates from all colonies except georgia met to discuss problems with britain and to promote independence

Lexington and Concord

the first battle of the American Revolution (April 19

Battle of Bunker Hill

the first important battle of the American War of Independence (1775)

writs of assistance

It was part of the Townshend Acts. It said that the customs officers could inspect a ship's cargo without giving a reason. Colonists protested that the Writs violated their rights as British citizens.

Declaration of Independence

This document was

adopted on July 4

1776. It

established the 13 American colonies as independent states

free from rule by Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson wrote the

majority of this document.

Battle of Saratoga

Turning point of the American Revolution. It was very important because it convinced the French to give the U.S. military support. It lifted American spirits

General Cornwallis

the British general who defied an order and was trapped at Yorktown forcing his surrender; he called Washington an old fox

John Jay

First chief justice of the Supreme Court

Articles of Confederation

This document

Northwest Ordinance

Enacted in 1787

James Madison

Strict constructionist

Anti-federalists

opponents of a strong central government who campaigned against the ratification of the Constitution in favor of a confederation of independant states

John Locke

English philosopher who advocated the idea of a "social contract" in which government powers are derived from the consent of the governed and in which the government serves the people; also said people have natural rights to life

Richard Henry Lee

Member of the Second Continental Congress who urged Congress to support independence; signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Sugar Act of 1764

An act that raised tax revenue in the colonies for the crown. It also increased the duty on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies.

virtual representation

British governmental theory that Parliament spoke for all British subjects

Stamp Act Congress

group of colonists who protested the Stamp Act

Charles Townshend

British Prime Minister. Influenced Parliament to pass the Townshend Acts.

non-importation agreements

A form of protest against British policies; colonial merchants refused to import British goods.

committees of correspondence

Organization founded by Samuel Adams consisting of a system of communication between patriot leaders in New England and throughout the colonies

Intolerable Acts 1774

1774 closed harbor untio damage were paid and order can be ensued + British official if they killed someone they get trial by jury in Britian where they were likely not to get charged. (in response when the colonist threw the tea)

John Adams

America's first Vice-President and second President. Sponsor of the American Revolution in Massachusetts

Second Continental Congress

They organized the continental Army

Thomas Paine

Revolutionary leader who wrote the pamphlet Common Sense (1776) arguing for American independence from Britain. In England he published The Rights of Man

Pontiac's Rebellion

A 1763 conflict between Native Americans and the British over settlement of Indian lands in the Great Lakes area

Benjamin Franklin

Printer