APUSH- Period 3 Vocab

Neutrality

Sugar Act of 1764

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

• tax on molasses and sugar

• heavy burden to colonists, led to colonial resitance

• goal was to relieve British debt, which tripled after the 7 year’s War
  

Stamp Act 1765

Laws passed by Parliament that raised tax money by requiring colonists to pay for an official stamp whenever they bought paper items such as newspapers, licenses, and legal documents

• Led to many colonists creating groups to try to repeal the Stamp Act, the Sons and Daughters of Liberty.

• Led to the Stamp Act Congress, which led to boycotts and the Parliament's repeal of the Stamp and Sugar Acts.

• Taxation without representation, colonist had no elected representatives in Parliament, therfore they were not represented 

• Direct Tax

Stamp Act Congress(1765)

A meeting was held in 1765 in New York with delegates from 9 colonies.

• Said that only colonies could tax themselves, they had the and the Parliament could not tax the colonists.

• Led to boycotts and the repeal of the Stamp Act

• colonists wanted to be treated the same as British citizens, not seek independence from the British, but just for equality.

Boston Massacre(1770)

British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists who were teasing and taunting them. ll colonists were injured, and 4 were killed in Boston

• The act carried out by the Sons of Liberty 

• Colonists believed a standing militia during peacetime was trouble

• Colonists used propaganda to show British tyranny

• A key massacre that led to the American Revolution.

Intolerable Acts 1774

Laws passed by England to punish colonists for the Boston Tea Party

• Increased colonial resistance

• Boston Harbor was shut down until paid for

• An increase in British trying to establish their dominance over colonies

• The Intolerable Acts consisted of the New Quartering Act, Quebec Act, Boston Port Bill, Administration Act, and Massachusetts Act. Colonists slowly began to see the Parliament’s unfairness.

Paxton Boys

A group of Scots-Irish men living in the Appalachian hills. Made an armed march on Philadelphia in 1764 to protest the lenient way the Quakers treated the Indians, because they wanted protection from Indian attacks. Highlighted the division between colonists and Natives and their continued oppression.

Sons of Liberty

A radical political organization that formed after the passage of the Stamp Act to protest various British acts. Used both peaceful and violent means of protest.

• Led boycotts, antagonized British tax collectors, and caused issues for the British to address their unfair and unlawful rights.

• Sons of Liberty actively used protest to voice their concerns to the parliament and other colonists about their political ideas.

Lexington and Concord

These battles initiated the Revolutionary War between the American colonists and the British. British governor Thomas Gage sent troops to Concord to stop the colonists who were loading arms. The next day, the first shots were fired in Lexington, starting the war. As a result, the British retreated from Boston in 1775.

• British many victories

• Commenced the beginning of the American Revolutionary War

• British victories in the American Revolution were due to its immense power, soldiers, and population, which outnumbered the French and Americans.

Olive Branch Petition(1775)

Document sent by the Second Continental Congress to King George III, proposing a reconciliation between the colonies and Britain.

• King George III rejected the petition and passed the Proclamation of Rebellion, declaring American colonists traitors.

• Pushed colonists to the American Revolutionary War and independence.

Declaration of Independence(1776)

Document recording the proclamation of the Second Continental Congress asserting the independence of the colonies from Great Britain. Grivances against the king and the enlightenment ideals that were not fulfilled by the government. The Declaration was filled with enlightment ideals.

• Established American independence from Britain and the beginning of the Revolutionary War.

Loyalists 1765

(Tories) during the American Revolution

Colonists loyal to the king during the American Revolution.

• Ideological differences between colonists continue

• Often, wealth, the Anglican clergy, and many who feared British law.

• Unanimous revolutionary support.

Articles of Confederation

1781-1788. First Constitution of the US. (weaknesses- no executive, no judicial, no power to tax, no power to regulate trade)

• Shay’s Rebellion highlighted the weaknesses of AOC

• Initially, the AOC was to be revised, but the Constitution was adopted

• The first government of the United States had weaknesses that led to a “modification” and organized and divided government powers into branches.

John Locke

17th-century English philosopher. Opposed the Divine Right of Kings and asserted that people have a natural right to life, liberty, and property. John Locke’s Enlightenment ideals were implemented in our government and used by many authors and political figures. Locke’s ideas led Americans to fight for sovereignty from the British Parliament.

• Common Sense

Thomas Paine

American Revolutionary leader (born in England) and pamphleteer. Supported the American colonists fight for independence and supported the French Revolution. Used biblical illusions and enlightenment ideals.

• Author of Common Sense, which mobilized the Colonies to gain independence from Britain.

New Jersey Plan

Framework for the Constitution proposed by a group of small states. Key Points: one house legislature with one vote for each state, the establishment of the acts of Congress as the "supreme law" of the land, and a supreme judiciary with limited power.

• Led to bicameral congress

• Improtant in history because it led to the construction of the legislative branch and its differences.

Navigation Acts

Came out of the theory of mercantilism; these laws dictated the certain goods shipped from the New World had to go to Britain and had to be shipped on English ships 

• Resources in the America must go to the mother land

Albany Plan of Union(1754)

7 colonies north of VA gathered to plan mutual defense against the French and the Indians. Not successful due to taxes, but it set future American unity in motion. 

Ben Franklin created his “Join or Die” cartoon.—— unitary government in colonies

• Colonists feared British Parliament would have too much power and vice versa for the Colonists

• Salutary neglect: was ended

French and Indian War (1754-1763)

(1754-1763) A war was fought in the colonies between the English and the French for possession of the Ohio Valley area. The English won.

• The British gained vast territories and had to govern them

• The French lost the majority of their land in North America

• Salutary neglect: was ended after the war

Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763)

An Indian uprising after the French and Indian War, led by an Ottowa chief named Pontiac. They opposed British expansion into the western Ohio Valley and began destroying British forts in the area. The attacks ended when Pontiac was killed.

• this lead to Proclamation of 1763

• Angered loyalists and farmers who fought in the war

Virginia Plan

Proposed at the Constitutional Convention, it called for a bicameral legislature based on population, favoring large states.

• lead to bicaramel congress- H.O.R:435 Senate: 100

• Great Compromise

The Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise)

•  Combined the Virginia and New Jersey Plans by creating a bicameral legislature: the House based on population, the Senate with equal representation.

Three-Fifths Compromise

•  Agreement that each enslaved person would count as three-fifths of a person for purposes of representation and taxation.

Kentucky & Virginia Resolutions (1798–1799)

• Political statements written by Jefferson and Madison asserting that states could nullify unconstitutional federal laws, challenging federal authority.

  • increase in state power and decrease in federal governments power

Alien and Sedition Acts

•  Laws passed by the Federalist-controlled Congress that restricted speech critical of the government and made it harder for immigrants to become citizens, provoking backlash.

Federalist

Supporters of the Constitution who favored a strong national government and ratification of the new constitution.

Anti-Federalist

• Opponents of the Constitution who feared centralized power and pushed for a Bill of Rights to protect individual liberties.

Whiskey Rebellion (1794)

•  A protest by western farmers against an excise tax on whiskey; Washington’s suppression of the rebellion demonstrated the power of the new federal government.

XYZ Affair (1797–1798)

•  Diplomatic scandal in which French agents demanded bribes to begin negotiations, leading to an undeclared naval conflict with France.

Quartering Act (1765)

Required colonial assemblies to house and supply British soldiers stationed in America; viewed as an imposition on colonial self-government and privacy, it fueled growing resentment toward British authority.

Proclamation of 1763

•  Issued by the British government to prohibit colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains in an attempt to prevent conflicts with Native Americans; angered colonists eager to expand westward and contributed to colonial resentment.

Boston Tea Party (1773)

•  A political protest where colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians dumped British tea into Boston Harbor to oppose the Tea Act’s taxation and monopoly on tea sales.

Patrick Henry

•  A fiery Virginia orator and member of the House of Burgesses who strongly opposed British taxation, famous for his declaration “Give me liberty, or give me death!” and advocating colonial rights.

George Grenville

•  British Prime Minister who implemented policies such as the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, and enforcement of the Navigation Acts to raise revenue from the colonies to pay off war debt, triggering widespread colonial opposition.

The Continental Congress

•  The governing body of the American colonies during the Revolution, which coordinated the war effort, drafted the Declaration of Independence, and later created the Articles of Confederation.

Second Continental Congress (1775)

Convened after Lexington and Concord to manage the war, create the Continental Army, and eventually declare independence from Britain.

Abigail Adams

Wife of John Adams and early advocate for women’s rights and abolition; famous for urging her husband to “remember the ladies” in the new government.

Thomas Paine’s Common Sense (1776)

•  A widely read pamphlet that argued for complete American independence from Britain, using clear language to persuade colonists to support revolution.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

•  Legislation that established procedures for settling and governing the Northwest Territory and banned slavery there, serving as a model for future expansion.

Jay Treaty (1794)

Treaty between the U.S. and Britain that averted war, resolved some issues left over from the Revolution, but angered many Americans who saw it as too conciliatory.

Proclamation of Neutrality (1793)

Washington’s declaration that the U.S. would remain neutral in the conflict between Britain and France, avoiding foreign entanglements.

The Federalist Papers

•  A series of essays written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay promoting the ratification of the Constitution and explaining the principles of republican government.

George Washington’s Farewell Address, 1796

1796 speech by Washington urging US to maintain neutrality and avoid permanent alliances with European nations

The Constitution(1781)

New format of government focuses more on a central national power and less on states 3 branch government that limit each other

The Townshend Act(1767)

were a series of laws passed by the British Parliament in 1767 that imposed taxes on imported goods, leading to significant colonial resistance and contributing to the American Revolution.

• glass, tea, paper, lead

• Imposed to help regulate and decrease British Debt, that was increased x3 because of the French and Indian War

• T.O.R

The Virginia Resolutions

were a series of political statements drafted in 1798 by the Virginia legislature, responding to the Alien and Sedition Acts. These resolutions asserted that states have the right to judge the constitutionality of federal laws and could refuse to enforce them if deemed unconstitutional. This was a significant early expression of states' rights that influenced the relationship between state and federal power during the formation of the new republic.

• mainly drafted by James Madison democratic republican.

Impressment

is defined as the forcible recruitment of individuals into military service, particularly naval forces, often without their consent.

• Used primarily by the British Royal Army

• Led to nationalism in the U.S. and demand for independence and justice for he parliament's wrongdoing.

Patriots

colonists who rebelled against British rule in the late 18th century, advocating for a new government and nation. Led to ideological divisions in America and unanimous support for the revolution.

Enlightenment Ideals

was an intellectual movement in the 17th and 18th centuries that emphasized reason, individualism, and skepticism of traditional authority. It laid the groundwork for modern democracy, influencing political thought and social reforms, as well as inspiring revolutionary ideas and movements.

Declaration of Sentiments (1848)

is a document that was drafted during the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, which marked the beginning of the women's rights movement in the United States. This declaration outlined the grievances and demands of women, primarily calling for equal rights, including suffrage, education, and legal status.

The Land Ordinance of 1785

It was a legislative act that established a systematic process for surveying, selling, and settling land in the western territories of the United States, promoting orderly expansion and development.  

Baron de Montesquieu (1748)

influential French philosopher known for his ideas on the separation of powers in government, which became a foundational principle in modern political thought.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1762)

was an influential Enlightenment philosopher whose ideas on social contract theory and individual freedom greatly impacted political thought and U.S. government beliefs and government structure.

Quasi War

an undeclared naval conflict between the United States and France that lasted from 1798 to 1800. It stemmed from growing tensions over trade and diplomacy following the French Revolution and was characterized by a series of naval engagements in the Caribbean and the Atlantic.

Revolution of 1800

refers to the election of 1800 in the United States, which resulted in the peaceful transfer of power from the Federalist Party to the Democratic-Republican Party led by Thomas Jefferson. This event marked a significant shift in American politics, emphasizing the principle of democracy and setting a precedent for future electoral transitions. It was seen as a triumph for Jeffersonian ideals, advocating for agrarianism and limited government, contrasting sharply with the previous Federalist administration.

Alexander Hamilton’s Financial Plan

a series of measures proposed by Alexander Hamilton in the late 18th century aimed at stabilizing and improving the financial system of the newly formed United States. It included the federal assumption of state debts, the establishment of a national bank, and the imposition of tariffs to generate revenue. This plan played a crucial role in shaping the economic policies of the new republic and influenced the development of American capitalism.

Pinckney’s Treaty

also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo, was signed in 1795 between the United States and Spain, establishing friendly relations and settling border disputes. The treaty granted the U.S. access to the Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans, allowing for greater trade and expansion into the western territories, which were critical during the early years of the republic.

Neutrality Act 1930s

series of laws passed by the United States during the interwar period aimed at preventing the nation from being drawn into foreign conflicts. These acts were a response to the widespread isolationist sentiment in America following the devastation of World War I and sought to maintain peace by restricting arms sales and financial assistance to nations at war. The legislation highlighted the desire to avoid entanglement in European affairs, ultimately shaping U.S. foreign policy in the years leading up to World War II.