JW - APUSH Period 3 Flashcards

What was the Albany Plan of Union?

a 1754 proposal by Benjamin Franklin to create a council with representatives from all the colonies. They would have the power to tax, raise militias, and create strategic relations. However, it failed.

What was the French & Indian War?

1754-1763; A war between Britain and her colonies v.s. France and their Native American allies over the Ohio River Valley. Eventually, it spread to Europe and became the 7 Years’ war. Britain ultimately wins, but with a large amount of debt.

What incident sparked the French & Indian War?

George Washington was sent to make the French leave a fort because they were too close to British Territory. The French ignored him, and Washington returned later and attacked them. They lost, and were forced to retreat.

What was the Albany congress?

A group of colonists who met in Albany to convince the Iroquois to ally with Britain against the French

What was the Peace of Paris?

1763; The treaty that ended the French and Indian War. Spain ceded Florida, and France ceded the Ohio River Valley to the British. France also ceded their territory west of the Mississippi to Spain.

What was the Proclamation of 1763?

A law passed by the British government preventing American colonists from settling beyond the Appalachian Mountains following the French and Indian War

Who was George Grenville and what did he do?

He was the British Prime Minister whose policies increased dissent amongst the colonists. He increased enforcement of the Navigation Acts by sending British troops, continued the Quartering Act, implemented the Sugar, Currency, and Stamp Acts, and, when they caused too much dissent, the Intolerable Acts

What was the Quartering Act?

a law requiring colonists to feed and house British soldiers

What was the Sugar Act?

1764; a bill that lowered the price on imported molasses in an attempt to curb sugar smuggling

What was the Currency Act?

1764; prevented the colonies from printing their own money and required them to use British currency

What was the Stamp Act?

1765; tax on all paper goods

Who were the Sons and Daughters of Liberty and what did they do?

Colonial groups made up of merchants, traders, and artisans. They fought originally for the repeal of the Stamp Act through committees of correspondence, and later led the resistance movement agains the Townshend Acts, the Intolerable Acts, and the British government all together

What were committees of correspondence?

communication networks that circulated information throughout the colonies and helped coordinate resistance to the British

What were the Virginia resolves?

papers passed by the House of Burgesses condemning taxation without representation

What was the Stamp Act Congress and what did they do?

1765; A group of delegates from several colonies who met to petition Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act

What was the declaratory act?

1766'; bill passed by Parliament immediately following the repeal of the stamp and sugar acts declaring that Parliament can pass any laws they want

What were the Townshend Acts?

1767; taxes on common household items ex. tea, paper, glass

What was the general Colonial response to the Townshend Acts?

they boycotted the taxed British goods and found locally-made alternatives ex homespun clothes

What was the Boston Massacre?

1770; An incident in Boston in which a group of British soldiers fired into a crowd of rioters, killing and wounding many

What was the public response to the Boston Massacre?

The Sons of liberty spread the news and used it as evidence of British tyranny, which fueled public dissent

What was parliament’s response to the Boston Massacre and its aftermath?

They repealed the Townshend acts, except for the tax on tea

What was the Boston Tea Party?

1773; The Boston Sons of Liberty snuck onto a British East India Company boat and dumped tea into the Boston Harbor

What was the Tea Act and what was the public reaction to it?

1773; a bill that lowered taxes on tea, but removed colonial merchants from the buying and selling process and gave the control to the British East India Company. Direct response was the Boston Tea Party

What were the Coercive or Intolerable Acts?

1774; A group of bills put in place to punish the perpetrators of the Boston Tea Party. They closed Boston Harbor until the lost tea was paid for, sent more soldiers to enforce laws, and installed a new Quartering Act

What is the Social Contract?

Enlightenment philosophy that the power to govern is in the hands of the people, who agree to give up certain freedoms for a government’s protection

What are Natural Rights?

Rights that every person is born with and are given by god: the right to life, liberty, and property

What was the purpose of the First Continental Congress, and what did they do to achieve it?

1774 Philadelphia; their goal was to formulate a plan to resist further rights violations by the Crown, They decided to continue the boycott of British goods

What was the purpose of the Second Continental Congress, and what did they do to achieve it?

they wanted to avoid an all-out war against Britain, so they sent King George the Olive Branch Petition

What was the Olive Branch Petition?

A petition created by the 2nd Continental Congress to King George as a last-ditch attempt to avoid an all-out war and gain full British rights

What was Common Sense and why was it so important?

A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that compared the British’s previous actions to tyranny and argued that independence from Britain was the only option.

What was the Battle of Trenton and why was it so important?

1777; George Washington and the Continental Army crossed the Delaware River on Christmas and surprise-attacked a group of Hessians camped out in Trenton. This victory, while small overall, gave the Continental Army a huge morale boost

What was the Battle of Saratoga and why was it important?

1777; It was America’s first major victory, and also convinced France to join on the American’s side

What was the Battle of Yorktown?

1783; the last battle of the American Revolutionary war

What was the Peace of Paris?

1783; the treaty that officially ended the Revolutionary War. It gave America all of Britain’s land up to the Mississippi River, including the Ohio River Valley

What was Republican Motherhood?

the idea that the greatest way a woman could contribute to society was to teach her sons about liberty and government

What were the global effects of the American Revolution?

it inspired many other revolutions, including the French revolution, the Hatian revolution, and many Latin American revolutions

What were the Articles of Confederation?

1777; A very weak federal government established after the Revolution

What were the problems with the Articles of Confederation?

The government was too weak to do anything, including tax, raise an army, or navigate foreign affairs

What was the Northwest Ordinance?

1787; a bill to organize and regulate territory gained through the Peace of Paris. It banned slavery, and outlined how much land must be reserved for schools and how the territory could become a state

What was Shay’s rebellion and why was it important?

1786; A group of Massachusetts farmers and ex-Continental soldiers, angry that the federal government couldn’t pay them for their service and the state government was heavily taxing them, attacked and occupied several courthouses and stormed a federal arsenal. The Massachusetts militia ended the rebellion. This was generally the last straw for the Articles of Confederation and led to the creation of the constitution

What was the Constitutional Convention?

1787; State delegates argued over whether to revise the articles of confederation or to scrap it and start over. They ultimately decided to scrap it and write a new constitution.

What is Federalism?

a system in which power is shared between the federal and the state governments

What was the Virginia Plan?

a proposal by Virginia that the representation in Congress be based on population

What was the New Jersey Plan?

A proposal by New Jersey that representation in Congress be equal in all states

What was the Great Compromise?

The decision to have two houses of Congress: the House of Representatives, whose numbers were based on population and were directly elected by their states, and the Senate, who would have two senators per state who would be elected by their state legislatures

What was the 3/5 compromise?

The agreement that 3/5 of the slave population of a state would count towards the number of seats they get in the House

Who were the Federalists?

People who supported the Constitution; believed the federal government must be strong, unity is the only way to ensure survival, and diversity prevents tyranny. Key people include Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison

Who were the Anti-Federalists?

People who did not support the Constitution; believed a strong federal government would lead to tyranny and can’t properly address an entire country’s needs, and wanted a Bill of Rights

What was the importance of George Washington’s Farewell Adress?

He called for national unity, warned against political parties, and urged America to avoid foreign alliances

What was the Whiskey Rebellion?

Part of Hamilton’s financial plan was to tax whiskey to help pay off war debts, but this put strain on farmers, who rebelled in 1792. The federal government ignored it, so it grew, and Washington and several state militias crushed the rebellion

What were the effects of the Whiskey Rebellion?

It showed that the federal government was much more powerful, but Democratic-Republicans called the suppression of the rebellion tyranny

What was the Neutrality Proclamation?

1793; kept America out of the French Revolution, protecting trade with Europe

What was Jay’s Treaty?

1794; Treaty with Britain to remove British troops along the western border to allow Americans to move west. It settled trading issues, but failed to resolve many other important problems.

Who was Edmund Genêt, what did he do, and what was the result of his actions?

French diplomat who ignored the Neutrality Proclamation and began raising his own militia of Americans to fight for he French and began capturing British ships. Britain was angry at this and armed Native Americans to attack the Americans. This led to the signing of Jay’s Treaty and the Alien & Sedition Acts

What was the Alien Act?

1798; Allowed the Federal government to imprison and deport immigrants without citizenship if they criticized the government

What was the Sedition Act?

1798; made it illegal to criticize the government

What were the Virginia & Kentucky Resolves?

statements released by the state legislatures denouncing the Alien and Sedition acts, calling them unconstitutional and unenforceable, and calling any law that allows the federal government to operate beyond constitutional power null and void

What was the Pinckney Treaty?

Formally recognized the borders between US and Spanish territory and opened New Orleans and the Mississippi river to US trade

What was the importance of the cotton gin?

1793; It allowed cotton to be processed faster, leading to an increased demand for cotton goods, an increased demand for cotton, and an increased demand for slaves. The American economy eventually became dependent on the growth and export of cotton (“King Cotton”)