us history

Albany Plan of Union

plan proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 that aimed to unite the 13 colonies for trade, military, and other purposes; the plan was turned down by the colonies and the Crown

French and Indian War

(1754-1763) War fought in the colonies between the English and the French for possession of the Ohio Valley area. The English won. Called 7 Years War in England.

George Washington

1st President of the United States; commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution (1732-1799). Rose to prominence as leader of Virginia Regiment in French and Indian War.

Chief Pontiac

Ottawa Indian who led a rebellion against the British occupying the western parts of the American colonies after the French & Indian 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.

Paxton Boys (1764)

Armed march on Philadelphia by Scotts-Irish frontiersmen in protest against the Quaker establishment's lenient policies toward Native Americans.

Murdered several Susquehanook Indians in response to Pontiac's Rebellion.

Proclamation of 1763

A proclamation from the British government which forbade British colonists from settling west of the Appalacian Mountains, and which required any settlers already living west of the mountains to move back east.

Way to save money for the British Crown to not pay to protect the colonists. Response to Pontiac's Rebellion.

George III

Became King of England in 1760, and reigned during the American Revolution.

George Greenville

Prime Minister of England, began enforcing 1763 Navigation Acts strictly and instituted other taxes the colonists found unbearable. Believed the colonists should help pay for their protection.

Sugar Act

(1764) British deeply in debt partl to French & Indian War. English Parliament placed a tariff on sugar, coffee, wines, and molasses. colonists avoided the tax by smuggling and by bribing tax collectors.

Navigation Acts

1660-Laws that governed trade between England and its colonies. Colonists were required to ship certain products exclusively to England. These acts made colonists very angry because they were forbidden from trading with other countries.

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.

Currency Act

1764 British act forbidding the American colonies to issue paper money as legal tender; forced them to pay in gold and silver; act was repealed in 1773 by the British as an effort to ease tensions between themselves and the colonies.

Stamp Act

1765; law that taxed printed goods, including: playing cards, documents, newspapers, etc.

Stamp Act Congress

A meeting of delegations from many of the colonies, the congress was formed to protest the newly passed Stamp Act It adopted a declaration of rights as well as sent letters of complaints to the king and parliament, and it showed signs of colonial unity and organized resistance.

Virtual Representation

British governmental theory that Parliament spoke for all British subjects, including Americans, even if they did not vote for its members

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, many of the local chapters formed the Committees of Correspondence which continued to promote opposition to British policies towards the colonies. The Sons leaders included Samuel Adams and Paul Revere.

Daughters of Liberty

This organization supported the boycott of British goods. They urged Americans to wear homemade fabrics and produce other goods that were previously available only from Britain. They believed that way, the American colonies would become economically independent.

Declaratory Act (1766)

Passed at the same time that the Stamp Act was repealed, the Act declared that Parliament had the power to tax the colonies both internally and externally, and had absolute power over the colonial legislatures.

Townshend Acts (1767)

Provisions:

Imposed a tax - to be paid at American ports - on items produced in Britain & sold in the colonies, including paper, glass, lead, paint, & tea.

Suspended the New York Assembly for refusing to provide British troops with supplies.

Established an American Board of Customs & admiralty courts to hear cases of smuggling.

Issued Writs of Assistance.

Historical Significance:

Led to a boycott of British goods, the Circular Letters, John Dickinson's "Letters from a Pennsylvania Farmer," and unrest in Boston.

Massachusetts Circular Letter

A letter written in Boston and circulated through the colonies in February, 1768, which urged the colonies not to import goods taxed by the Townshend Acts. Boston, New York, and Philadelphia agreed to non-importation. It was followed by the Virginia Circular Letter in May, 1768. Parliament ordered all colonial legislatures which did not rescind the circular letters dissolved.

Quartering Act of 1765

Was an act enforced by the British on their North American colonies. It required colonist to provide adequate housing and basic necessities like food and drink to British soldiers.

Boston Massacre

The first bloodshed of the American Revolution (1770), as British guards at the Boston Customs House opened fire on a crowd killing five Americans

Committees of Correspondence

organized by patriot leader Samuel Adams, was a system of communication between patriot leaders in New England and throughout the colonies. They provided the organization necessary to unite the colonies in opposition to Parliament. The committees sent delegates to the First Continental Congress.

Mercy Otis Warren

A 19th century American historian who wrote a 3-volume history of the American Revolution.

Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania

Written in response to the Townshend Acts by John Dickinson, this discourse asserted the idea that "no taxation without representation" was an essential part of English government, and that Parliament had no right to impose duties on British colonies. 1767

Boston Tea Party

demonstration (1773) by citizens of Boston who (disguised as Indians) raided three British ships in Boston harbor and dumped hundreds of chests of tea into the harbor

Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts)

-1774

-Designed to punish the colonists

-Shut down the port of Boston, ended self-rule in Massachusetts, tried colonists for high crimes in England, and created the New Quartering Act for all colonies.

-Colonial reaction: "First Continental Congress" (convention of delegates from 12/13 colonies called in response to the Coercive Acts - not Georgia since it was a "convict state") met and called for (1) noncompliance with the Coercive Acts; (2) formation of militias; and (3) a boycott of and embargo on exports to Britain.

Quebec Act (1774)

The Quebec Act, passed by Parliament, alarmed the colonies because it nullified many of the Western claims of the coast colonies by extending the boundaries of the province of Quebec to the Ohio River on the south and to the Mississippi River on the west. The concessions in favor of the Roman Catholic Church also roused much resentment among Protestants in the Thirteen Colonies as some colonials took it as a sign that Britain was planning to impose Catholicism upon the colonies.

First Continental Congress (1774)

Met to discuss a response to the Intolerable Acts; adopted the Declaration and Resolves in which they:

Declared the Intolerable Acts null and void.

Recommended that colonists arm themselves and that militias be formed.

Recommended a boycott of British imports.

Patrick Henry

a leader of the American Revolution and a famous orator who spoke out against British rule of the American colonies (1736-1799) Give me liberty or give me death!

Continental Association of 1774

Created by the First Continental Congress, it enforced the non-importation of British goods by empowering local Committees of Vigilance in each colony to fine or arrest violators. It was meant to pressure Britain to repeal the Coercive Acts.

Minutemen

companies of civilian soldiers who boasted that they were ready to fight on a minute's notice.

Battle of Lexington

April 19, 1775-Known as the "shot heard around the world". First battle of the Revolution. Outside Boston where British had gone to look for Samuel Adams and John Hancock who were hiding in Lexington.

Redcoats

British soldiers who fought against the colonists in the American Revolution; so called because of their bright red uniforms.

Battle of Concord

April 19, 1775 - The British leave Lexington and head to Concord to take the weapons and gunpowder from the colonists. The British were burning the town when the colonists began firing on soldiers. The British were chased out of town turning the road into a 20 mile battlefield. Colonists win this battle.

Loyalists

American colonists who remained loyal to Britain and opposed the war for independence

Patriots

American colonists who were determined to fight the British until American independence was won

Second Continental Congress (1775)

a convention of delegates from the 13 Colonies, managed the colonial war effort, sent The Olive Branch Petition,moved incrementally towards independence, adopted the Declaration of Independence, acted as the de facto national government.

Continental Army

Army formed in 1775 by the Second Continental Congress and led by General George Washington

Olive Branch Petition (1775)

Conciliatory measure adopted by the Continental Congress, professing American loyalty and seeking an end to the hostilities. King George rejected the petition and proclaimed the colonies in rebellion.

Common Sense by Thomas Paine

Pamphlet that encouraged the Colonists to fight the British. Accused the system of the monarchy of being corrupt. Said that the colonies should not be managed by a corrupt system across the globe. It became a bestseller.

Thomas Jefferson

Wrote the Declaration of Independence. Also became the 3rd president and was an anti-federalist/democratic republican (republican)

Declaration of Independence

1776 statement, issued by the Second Continental Congress, explaining why the colonies wanted independence from Britain.

Battle of Saratoga (October 1777)

Rebels defeated Burgoyne's army which marked the turning point of the war in upstate New York.

This convinced France and Spain to become allies by sending supplies, money, troops and warships.

Battle of Yorktown (1781)

Was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by General Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by General Lord Cornwallis. It proved to be the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War, as the surrender of Cornwallis's army prompted the British government to eventually negotiate an end to the conflict.

Franco-American Alliance of 1778

Bound the US to help French defend their West Indies against future foes in exchange for assistance through funds and naval support in the Revolutionary War.

Ben Franklin

A delegate from Pennsylvania and proposed the "Albany Plan of the Union" as a way to strengthen colonies. He worked closely with France to help persuade them to help during the Revolutionary War.

Treaty of Paris 1783

This treaty ended the Revolutionary War, recognized the independence of the American colonies, and granted the colonies the territory from the southern border of Canada to the northern border of Florida, and from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River

Articles of Confederation

1st Constitution of the U.S. 1781-1788 (weaknesses-no executive, no judicial, no power to tax, no power to regulate trade)

Abigail Adams

Wife of John Adams. During the Revolutionary War, she wrote letters to her husband describing life on the homefront. She urged her husband to remember America's women in the new government he was helping to create.

Shays's Rebellion (1786)

a rebellion by debtor farmers in western Massachusetts, led by Revolutionary War Captain Daniel Shays, against Boston creditors. it began in 1786 and lasted half a year, threatening the economic interests of the business elite and contributing to the demise of the Articles of Confederation.

Whiskey Rebellion (1794)

Farmers in Pennsylvania rebelled against Hamilton's excise tax on whiskey, and several federal officers were killed in the riots caused by their attempts to serve arrest warrants on the offenders. In October, 1794, the army, led by Washington, put down the rebellion. The incident showed that the new government under the Constitution could react swiftly and effectively to such a problem, in contrast to the inability of the government under the Articles of Confederation to deal with Shay's Rebellion.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Created the Northwest Territory (area north of the Ohio River and west of Pennsylvania), established conditions for self-government and statehood, included a Bill of Rights, and permanently prohibited slavery

Alexander Hamilton

1789-1795; First Secretary of the Treasury. He advocated creation of a national bank, assumption of state debts by the federal government, and a tariff system to pay off the national debt.

Annapolis Convention (1786)

Held to discuss the barriers that limited trade or commerce between the largely independent states under the Articles of Confederation.

Historical Significance:

Led to the Constitutional (Philadelphia) Convention in 1787.

New Jersey Plan

The proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for equal representation of each state in Congress regardless of the state's population.

Virginia Plan

"Large state" proposal for the new constitution, calling for proportional representation in both houses of a bicameral Congress. The plan favored larger states and thus prompted smaller states to come back with their own plan for apportioning representation.

Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise)

1787

*Called for a bicameral legislative system in which the House of Representatives would be based on population and the Senate would have equal representation in Congress

*Combined pieces of the New Jersey Plan, the Virginia Plan, and other proposals

*Included the Three-Fifths Compromise, which counted slaves as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of apportioning representation and called for direct taxation on the states

Three-Fifths Compromise

Agreement that each slave counted as three-fifths of a person in determining representation in the House for representation and taxation purposes (negated by the 13th amendment)

Anti-Federalists

Anti-Federalists rose up as the opponents of the Constitution during the period of ratification. They opposed the Constitution's powerful centralized government, arguing that the Constitution gave too much political, economic, and military control. They instead advocated a decentralized governmental structure that granted most power to the states

Federalists

A term used to describe supporters of the Constitution during ratification debates in state legislatures.

James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay

Authors of the Federalist Papers who supported the Constitution and took on the name Publius.

Federalist Papers

A collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the name "Publius" to defend the Constitution in detail.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution. Added to pacify the anti-federalists and ratify the constitution.

First Two-Party System

a model of American politics used in history and political science to periodize the political party system existing in the United States between roughly 1792 and 1824.[1] It featured two national parties competing for control of the presidency, Congress, and the states: the Federalist Party, created largely by Alexander Hamilton, and the rival Jeffersonian Democratic-Republican Party formed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

National Bank

Hamilton's big idea; fiercely opposed by Jefferson and Democratic-Rep. The bank would regulate money and draw investors; showed that the constitution could be construed in many a way.

strict constructionist

one who argues a narrow interpretation of the Constitution's provisions, in particular those granting powers to the Federal Government (Favored by Jefferson and Madison)

Loose Constructionist

A person who interprets the Constitution in a way that allows the federal government to take actions that the constitution does not specifically forbid it from taking (Favored by Hamilton). Gives the executive and federal government a lot of implied power.

French Revolution (1789)

Reacting to the oppressive aristocracy, the French middle and lower classes overthrew the king and asserted power for themselves in a violent and bloody revolution. This uprising was inspired by America's independence from England and the Enlightenment ideas.

Citizen Edmond Genet

French government representative asking for assistance for the French Revolution. Sparked support for the French Revolution and led to the creation of the Democratic-Republican party

Neutrality Proclamation

A 1793 statement by President Washington that the United States would not support or aid either France or Britain in their European conflict following the French Revolution

Federalist Party

1792-1816. Formed by Alexander Hamilton. Controlled the government until 1801. Wanted strong nationalistic government. Opposed by Democratic Republicans.

Democratic-Republicans

Led by Thomas Jefferson, believed people should have political power, favored strong STATE governments, emphasized agriculture, strict interpretation of the Constitution, pro-French, opposed National Bank

Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794)

Decisive battle between the Miami confederacy and the U.S. Army. British forces refused to shelter the routed Indians, forcing the latter to attain a peace settlement with the United States.

Jay's Treaty (1794)

Negotiated by Chief Justice John Jay in an effort to avoid war with Britain, the treaty included a British promise to evacuate outposts on U.S. soil and pay damages for seized American vessels, in exchange for which Jay bound the United States to repay pre-Revolutionary war debts and to abide by Britain's restrictive trading policies toward France.

It was signed in the hopes of settling the growing conflicts between the U.S. and Britain. It dealt with the Northwest posts and trade on the Mississippi River. It was unpopular with most Americans because it did not punish Britain for the attacks on neutral American ships. It was particularly unpopular with France, because the U.S. also accepted the British restrictions on the rights of neutrals.

executive privilege

The power to keep executive communications confidential, especially if they relate to national security. Precedent set by Washington.

Treaty of San Lorenzo

Signed with Spain in 1795, the Treaty of San Lorenzo - also known as Pinckney's Treaty - gave the U.S. unrestricted access to the Mississippi River and established the border between the U.S. and Spanish Florida.

Washington's Farewell Address

Its main points included: assuming leadership in the Western Hemisphere, developing its own trade, and not entering into permanent alliances with foreign nations, especially with Europe.